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.