Spring 2008 Courses

English 120-05: Intro to Creative Writing (Bauer)

W 7:00-10:00pm, Old Main 002

Creative writing is whatever you want it to be. It's fiction, nonfiction, personal essay, biography, poetry, blogging, journaling, rhetoric, or the graphic novel. Not only are the boundaries between genres blurring, with the widespread use of the Internet as a delivery tool, writing has become less an exclusive profession than a democratic art – somewhat like graffiti – that's practiced well by many.

This class is for anyone who wants to write in a way that touches, moves, inspires, exhorts, or informs. I am less concerned with the method of delivery (short story, poem, etc.) than with attention to language, rhythm, clarity, narrative coherence, and style. A piece may start off as a poem and become an essay. Diary entries might be the inspiration for a novel. A blog about gay rights or golfing or food can be reshaped into a magazine editorial or speech. In this class, we'll read authors working in different genres – and authors (most notably Lauren Slater) who cross genres. We'll do in-class writing exercises. And we'll workshop as a large group, reading one another's work, preparing written comment, and discussing it at length. I don't care what you write. I do care that you write. And secondarily that you revise, because I believe – as a working writer – that revision is nearly as essential to the writing process as the original drafting of the work.

Spring 2008 Course Listings