This upper-division literary arts program will give students an opportunity to generate new fiction and nonfiction; practice craft in community; analyze contemporary literary, cinematic, and televisual narratives; and develop tools and techniques with which to critique and revise our own works-in-progress. We'll read as writers, studying and learning from the interplay of structure, lineage, genre, ethics, politics, and aesthetics in powerful, effective literature. Assume that there will be as many approaches to storytelling as there are people in the workshop. Some of us will explore the registers of realism, others will emphasize language itself as a medium. Some will cross-genres, and some will want to work in a documentary vein, exploring the difference between truth and fact. Our readings of outside authors, from canonical to obscure, will expose us to a wide range of narrative strategies.

 

No art form exists in isolation. We'll expand our narratological lexicons by intersecting with two humanist forums on campus: the Critical and Cultural Theory lecture series, and the Art Lecture series. Our participation in these series' will increase our understanding of the vital symbiotic interconnections between cultural theory, literature, and the visual arts (of special interest for those who use visual imagery in their creative writing). Come prepared to work playfully, experiment rigorously, and think connectively. You will leave the program having completed several original works of imaginative prose (fiction and/or nonfiction) and a series of reviews and essays.