Browse Hierarchy SUM503D: Creative Writing Now

What makes great storytelling now, and what makes new narrative or poetic voices so distinctive? What is challenging about writing creatively in the present moment, and how do we understand what constitutes a story or a poetic form in our own writing? This three-week course on Creative Writing Now, drawing on a range of contemporary literature in English, will give students the freedom and the tools to experiment with fiction, nonfiction or poetry, and to shape their own creative voices in the process. Using a combination of writing workshops and seminar-style discussion, we will address the ways contemporary literature reckons with a world in flux (BLM, #MeToo, climate change) and invents new, experimental ways to move beyond the boundaries of literary form. Writers we will look at include Claudia Rankine, Cathy Park Hong, Patricia Lockwood, Sheila Heti, Olivia Laing, Tao Lin, Rachel Cusk and Claire Louise Bennett. The emphasis will be on developing the tools to give and receive constructive peer feedback with an effort to build craft alongside of ¿ but separate from ¿ the students¿ existing skills in analytical reading and writing. The course is assessed by coursework submission as well as feedback participation during the workshops.