English 100NF - Spring, 2014

Creative Writing: Nonfiction

Class Information

Instructor: Houston, Pam
Time: W 4:10-7:00
Location: 248 Voorhies

Description

Expanded Course Description
100 NF Spring, 2014
Instructor: Professor Pam Houston

The first thing we will do in this class is ask the very important question: Is there such a thing as nonfiction? Then we will write a lot of it, and at the end of the quarter we will ask the question again.
We will explore which events in our lives deserve to be written about, and when and in what ways it is okay to write about the lives of others. We will talk about several subgenres that exist within the extremely broad and unfortunately named category of nonfiction: the lyric essay, the memoir, and political and environmental journalism in particular. We will talk about whether or not language can mean, definitively, and whether, if so, its meaning can be expected to stand still. We will talk about how to make a beautiful essay as opposed to, say, a beautiful story or poem, and how we decide what material should take which form. We will ponder whether or not there is such a thing as the truth of an essay, and how that might differ from what we might call: how it really happened.
As in any class in artistic writing, there will be a great deal of focus on metaphor, lyricism, form and structure. We will discuss artistic choices available to the essayist such as point of view, tense, narrative stance, tone, scene versus summary, dialogue, beginnings and endings, and voice. Each student will be expected to turn in three new essays during the course of the quarter, two to the whole class, according to the schedule we will make on the first night, and one new essay to me at the end of the quarter. I will also ask for a revision of one or the other of the first two essays. There will be reading assignments throughout the quarter and weekly writing exercises early on that will give way to workshop after a few weeks.

Required Texts:
The Chronology of Water, by Lidia Yuknavitch
Townie, by Andre Dubus III
Island of Bones, by Joy Castro
The Solace of Open Spaces, by Gretel Ehrlich

Grading

Grading will be based on the quality of the work, the quality of the comments on other students work, willingness to engage in rigorous and constructive conversation about both student work and published work, preparedness, presence, and success of the revision.

Texts

The Solace of Open Spaces, Gretel Ehrilch
The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch
Island of Bones, Joy Castro
Townie, Andre Dubus III
The Solace of Open Spaces, Gretel Ehrlich