Approximate Schedule

Engl. 200: Intro. to Creative Writing

Tue. (8/26)

Course Intro. (and explain 1st assignment: Dramatic Sketch/Performance Collage; assign first readings; see below).

Thur.

Art & Kitsch

Readings:

• Gillo Dorfles, Selections from Kitsch.
• Plot summary and Script excerpt from Gilligan's Island.
• Excerpt from Laurie Anderson, United States Part II (text and image).
• Anne Rice, Selection from Vampire Chronicles.
• Mary Shelly, Selection from Frankenstein.
• Erich Segal, Selection from Love Story.
• Ernest Hemingway, Selection from Farewell to Arms.
• Various Heritage Plates from the Franklin Mint.
• Various Selections from Gardner's Art Through the Ages.
• Your Prejudice Is My Taste: Thoughts on Cultural Education/Indoctrination and the Problematic Differences of the Hoipolloi and the Hoity-toity.

Wk 2

Tue.

Art & Kitsch (cont.).

Thur.

Significant Detail and Making Meaning (Literary Denotation and Connotation).

Readings:

• "Getting Started, Keeping Going" (chap. 2 in textbook).
• Be a Part of It (Canadian Club ad).
• Signature montage from The Simpsons (in-class video).
• Craig Baldwin, Excerpt from Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies under America.
• Excerpt from Laurie Anderson, United States Part II (text and image).
• Melanesian Bungee Fertility Rite (in-class video).

Wk 3

Tue.

Significant Detail and Making Meaning (cont.).

Thur.

Significant Detail and Story Form.

Reading: Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried.

Tue.

Dramatic Sketch/Performance Collage Workshop (in-class critique of 1/4 of the class).

Thur.

Dramatic Sketch/Performance Collage Workshop (in-class critique of 1/4 of the class).

Tue.

Elements of a Short Story. Theme. Plot. Character. Setting.

Readings:

• "Basic Fiction Techniques" (Chap 4 in textbook).
• Bobby Ann Mason, "Shiloh."

Thur.

Elements of a Short Story (cont.)
Reading: Susan Daitch, "Storytown."

Tue.

Writing a Short Story. Beginnings/Endings. Structure. Point of View.

          Readings:

• "Writing a Short Story" (Chap. 6 in textbook).
• Jamaica Kincaid, "Girl."

Thur.

Writing a Short Story (cont.)

Reading: Michael Carroll, "The Information Age" (from New England Review)

Wk. 7

Tue.

Narrative Poetry Definition Rhythm, Meter and Phrasing

Readings:

• "Writing Poetry" in text (chap. 3).
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Excelsior."
• Charles Bukowski, "Looking for a Job."
• Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken."
• Selections from United States of Poetry CD: Ruth Forman, "Stoplight Politics"; Amiri Baraka, "The X is Black (Spike Lie)"; Allen Ginsberg, "Personals Ad." Public Enemy, "Can't Truss It."

Thur.

Short Story Workshop (in-class critique of 1/4 the class).

Tue.

Short Story Workshop (in-class critique of 1/4 the class).

Thur.

Poetry (cont.). Alliteration. Assonance. Rhyme.

Reading: "Some Technical Aspects of Verse" (Special Section 1 in text).

Wk. 10

Tue.

Alternative Forms of Fiction. Graphic Stories. Hypertext.

Readings:

• "Writing a One-Act Play" (chap. 5 in textbook).
• Selections from RAW.
• Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Selection from Border Brujo.
• Shelly Jackson, Selection from Patchwork Girl (a hypertext novel on reserve).
• Selections from Michael Joyce, afternoon, a story, Deena Larsen, Marble Spring and Stuart Moulthrop, Victory Garden can be found on-line at www.eastgate.com.
• Also see the on-line journal Alt-X at www.altx.com.
• Also on reserve for reference: Ben Katchor, Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer; Art Spiegelman, Maus (CD-ROM version).

Thur.

Poetry Workshop (in-class critique of 1/4 the class).

Tue.

Poetry Workshop (in-class critique of 1/4 the class).

Thur.

Alternative Forms of Fiction (cont.).

Tue.

Overview of Story Telling.

Thur.

Graphic Story Workshop (in-class critique of 1/4 the class).

Tue.

Graphic Story Workshop (in-class critique of 1/4 the class).

Thur.

Re-Writing and Crafting a Story.

Wk. 14

Tue.

Re-Writing and Crafting a Story.

Thur.

No Class (Thanksgiving)

Wk. 15

Tue.

Final project critique (in-class critique of 1/4 the class).

Thur.

Final project critique (in-class critique of 1/4 the class).

Wk 16

Tue.

Last Class--No sign ups on this date.

Homepage