Department of English

This workshop-style course will serve as an introduction to writing short fiction and poetry. We will collect, explore, and promote writing in a range of genres that center around the theme of place. We will begin with more literal notions of place (geography, the city, neighborhoods) and move into metaphorical engagements of the theme, including the idea of one’s place in the world, displacement & diaspora, the page itself, and a myriad of formal approaches that seek to engage place and placelessness in writing. Endeavoring this topic, the class aims to posit the act of writing as a means of establishing a locale for creativity, self, exploration, and more. Through a (seemingly) limited thematic structure, we will see just how numerous and porous literature makes something that is typically mitigated by limits, borders, and territories. The cross-genre nature of this class encourages students to read, challenge, represent, and re-write turf, region, and terrain in a way that is multiple.