Department of English

WRITING POEMS AND STORIES: AN INTRODUCTION

This workshop-style class is an introduction to the pleasures of the writing process. We will spend half the semester writing poems, the other half writing fiction. Some of each meeting will be devoted to in-class writing exercises designed to approach the creative act from a variety of perspectives. Take-home writing assignments will allow students to develop their ideas more fully. We will also read a few poems or a short story each week, with the emphasis on reading as writers rather than as scholars. Among our considerations will be how the two genres, poetry and fiction, can intersect. Experimentation and revision will be encouraged. Class participation and attendance are vital. Students will turn in a final portfolio of at least 15 pages, which will include both poems and prose.