Department of English

This new first-year seminar will be held at Penn’s vibrant literary arts hub, the Kelly Writers House. Meeting each week in this Victorian cottage for a three-hour seminar, attending events together and debriefing about them afterwards, and writing creatively in response to what they experience in the Writers House Arts Café, students will also work closely with visiting poets, novelists, journalists, and other writers and artists giving readings, workshops, and colloquia at KWH throughout the semester. The course will include writing critical and creative responses to live events; writer visits; hands-on workshops; and exploring surrounding arts sites. In addition to producing their own creative work, students will collaboratively curate a public-facing literary event. The main objective of this course is to introduce students to the disciplines of English and Creative Writing by centering the living, evolving textures of contemporary writing. This course is suitable for first-year and upper-level students alike. Interested upper-level students can email blochj@writing.upenn.edu for permission to enroll.