CREATIVE MANUSCRIPT: ENGL 791B/750 (6 units) Fall 2013 Stephen-Paul Martin/shmartin@mail.sdsu.edu Course Description: This class is designed to provide a supervised environment for MFA students to complete a book-length work of fiction. This work can take the form of a short novel, a novella, a novel-in-stories, or a collection of short fiction. There is no restriction on form or subject matter. You will complete the first half of this work during the current (Fall 2013) semester and the second half during the Spring 2014 semester. The final book should be 100-200 pages, double-spaced, twelve-point type. Typically, this class is taken during your third MFA year, but second-year students can take the class with my permission, and then take it again in their third year, through arrangement with me (or Katie Farris) and the MFA Director. Texts: The only text is the Class Reader (available at CalCopy on College Avenue near Lindo Paseo, 619-582-9949). The reader consists of a collection of stories (Dana Johnson’s Break Down Any Woman Down), a novel-in-stories (Dylan Landis’s Normal People Don’t Live Like This) and a novella (Paul Auster’s Ghosts). We’ll begin the semester by discussing these works. Attached to this syllabus is a reading list of short works (under 200 pp) in all three genres. When we begin the conferencing phase of the semester, I’ll suggest works from the reading list to each of you individually, based on my assessment of your writing. But these will not be required readings. Workshops: You will submit three installments of the first half of your book for group discussion, according to a schedule we will devise today or Wednesday. The class will be divided into four discussion groups, which will allow us to complete the discussion process by early October. Conferences: The second half of the semester will involve one-on-one conferences in my office based on responses and revision ideas from your discussion groups. By the end of the semester, you will have a fully revised version of the first half of your book (50-100 pages). We will complete your book during the Spring 2014 semester working with the same process. Conferences will take place during class time, on Mondays and Wednesdays. During the conferencing phase of the semester, we will not be meeting as a class in our classroom. Final MFA Thesis: Your book is your MFA thesis. It will not be submitted to a committee for approval, and you are not required to submit it to Montezuma Publishing (though you can do this if you want to). ENGL 791B is a credit/no-credit class, and as long as you do satisfactory work on your book during the Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 semesters, you will receive a CR grade each semester, meaning that your thesis has been accepted. For ENGL 750, I’m asked to assign a letter grade, which will only be problematic if you fail to do satisfactory work on your book. For administrative and paperwork requirements connected to this class and graduation, see the attached Graduate Manuscript Procedures pages. Attendance: I will expect you to attend all classroom sessions and to keep your conference appointments. The number of conferences I schedule with you will vary, depending on your progress with your text. You are free to schedule a conference whenever you like, as often as you like. Tentative Schedule: 8/26-8/28: Johnson 9/4-9/9: Landis 9/16-9/18: Auster 9/18-10/9: Group discussions 10/14-12/11: Conferences Reading List NOVELLAS/SHORT NOVELS Christine Schutt: Florida Russell Hill: The Lord God Bird Samantha Hunt: The Invention of Everything Else Norman Lock: Shadow Play Tobias Wolff: The Barracks Thief Rikki Ducornet: Netsuke; Phosphor in Dreamland Mary Robison: Why Did I Ever Roberta Allen: The Dreaming Girl Margueritte Duras: The Lover Lance Olsen: 10:01 John Berger: King Tao Lin: Stealing from American Apparel Richard Bausch: Peace Miranda Mellis: The Revisionist Clarice Lispector: The Hour of the Star Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Chronicle of a Death Foretold Joanne Ruocco: The Mothering Coven Joe R. Lansdale: The Complete Drive-In; The Magic Wagon Ha Jin: In the Pond; Waiting Nicholson Baker: Mezanine Karen Brennan: The Garden In Which I Walk; Wild Desire Paul Auster: Ghosts Patrik Ourednik: Europeana Cesar Aira: The Literary Conference Toni Morrison: Sula; Home Don DeLillo: The Body Artist; Cosmopolis Greg Boyd: Sacred Hearts; The Double J.M. Coetze: Waiting for the Bararians; The Lives of Animals NOVELS IN STORIES (STORY SEQUENCES) Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad Denis Johnson: Jesus’ Son Ron Currie: God Is Dead Carlos Fuentes: The Crystal Frontier Edwidge Danticat: The Dew Breaker Sherman Alexie: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven Gloria Naylor: The Women of Brewster Place Elizabeth Strout: Olive Ketteridge Dylan Landis: Normal People Don’t Live Like This STORY COLLECTIONS Danielle Evans: Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self Daniel Alarcon: War by Candelight Lydia Davis: Almost No Memory Diane Williams: Vicky Swanky is a Beauty Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Thing Around Your Neck Nam Le: The Boat Z.Z. Packer: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere Miranda July: No One Belongs Here More Than You Tao Lin: Bed Julie Orringer: How to Breathe Underwater Sana Krasikov: One More Year Melanie Rae Thon: First, Body Krys Lee: Drifting House Deborah Eisenberg: Twilight of the Superheroes Ryan Boudinot: The Littlest Hitler Junot Diaz: Drown; This Is How You Lose Her Jhumpa Lahiri: The Interpreter of Maladies Jim Gavin: Middle Men Dagoberto Gilb: Woodcuts of Women; Before the End, After the Beginning George Saunders: In Persuasion Nation Dana Johnson: Break Any Woman Down Ana Menendez: In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd Karen Russell: Vampires in the Lemon Grove; St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves Etgar Keret: Jetlag; The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God Steven Milhauser: Dangerous Laughter Rick Moody: The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven Amy Hempel: Reasons to Live; The Dog of the Marriage; Tumble Home Adam Haslett: You Are Not a Stranger Here GRADUATE MANUSCRIPT PROCEDURES (SPRING 2014) Graduate Division Requirements (note: you will need to submit two forms, both are available on the Graduate Division website; below is the information about the process). a) All students planning to graduate Spring 2014 must have taken the Program of Study (POS) workshop, filed a Program of Study with Mary Garcia, Graduate Administrative Assistant , and had their POS approved by the Graduate Advisor prior to November 15th. You won't be able to graduate without having the POS approved by the Graduate Division prior to your final manuscript course. b) All students planning to graduate Spring 2014 need to apply for spring graduation by February 4, 2014. You can find the application on the Graduate Division's web site. c) You need to complete the “Report of Final Examination and Thesis Defense” form (located on Graduate Division website). Bring the completed form to Mary Garcia by February 13. Mary Garcia will process the form and send it directly to the Graduate Division. Here is the link for the two forms described in (b) and (c) above: http://gra.sdsu.edu/grad/graforms.html (The two forms you will need are #3 and #6). Regarding Montezuma Publishing You must make your own decision about publishing your manuscript with Montezuma Publishing. They can post the full manuscript online at SDSU library. You will have to follow their guidelines to do so (see below). However, please know: our MFA program faculty DOES NOT endorse Montezuma. Our faculty has voted not to recommend that you submit your manuscript to Montezuma Publishing. Our faculty finds that Montezuma’s fees are too high, and their deadline--right in the middle of the semester— does not support your continued work on your manuscript. Please know that if you do not wish to format and post your manuscript in Love Library, you are NOT required to submit your manuscript to Montezuma Publishing. Also, please be aware that in the past, some students had copyright issues with potential publishers because their full manuscript, formatted by Montezuma, appeared online at the library website (We were informed by the Graduate Dean that it is virtually impossible to take the manuscripts off the website once they are posted). So, please know: it is optional, not required. And, our faculty does not endorse it. With this said, if you still would like to do this, submit your manuscript to Montezuma publishing directly for all appropriate details in this regard. (619-594-7552). Montezuma publishing requests a specific manuscript format which you can ask them about when you contact them. Remember: contacting Montezuma is optional. It is not required. If you do not contact them, you do not have to worry about formatting of your manuscript or about midsemester deadline with Montezuma. Instead, you will follow the regular class deadlines set up by your instructor. This will give you a great deal more time to devote to your book manuscript. IMPORTANT SPRING 2014 DATES -- (Subject to Change) Jan. 22, 2014 1st day of Spring 2014 classes. Feb. 4, 2014 * Last day to add/drop classes. * Last day to officially withdraw from the university. * Last day to apply for May & August 2014 graduation. March 2014 Gradfest (Actual date to be announced later.) Apr. 11, 2014 review to have Final day to submit thesis WITHOUT RISK to Montezuma Publishing for thesis best possibility for Spring 2014 graduation. Apr. 14-May 20, 2014 Thesis maybe submitted to Montezuma Publishing on an AT-RISK basis. Apr. 25, 2014 for May 2014 Last day for submission of Incomplete & RP grade removals (excluding thesis) graduation. May 2014 * MFA ceremony (Actual date to be announced later.) * Engl 220 & Engl 280 TA orientation (Actual date to be announced later.) May 1, 2014 Completed “Report of Final Examination and Theses Defense” form due to Mary Garcia. (If graduating in May 2014) May 8, 2014 * Last day of classes before final examinations. * Last day for reporting comprehensive examinations to Graduate Division by department. May 9-15, 2014 Final examinations May 16-18, 2014 Commencement (Actual department date to be announced later.) May 16, 2014 completed by noon on Final day @ noon for thesis review process including publishing must be this date at Montezuma Publishing to be eligible for graduation. May 20, 2014 * Last day to apply for leave of absence for Spring semester 2014 * Grades due from instructors (11:00pm) Ryan, Troy, Jo Ellen, Karen, Francois, Elsie, Ingrid, Chad and Kevin will turn in five copies of their texts for discussion on September 18, October 2, and October 16. Carrie, Omer, Sean, Emma, Evan R, Randall, Evan P, and Richard will turn in five copies of their texts to their groups and to me on September 25, October 9, and October 23.