English 271: Writing Poems and Stories: An Introductory Workshop
Section 0201, Tu/Th 2:00PM-3:15PM, HBK 0123
Prof. Josh Wiener
Tawes Hall 3113
Telephone: x5-3793 Email: jweiner1@umd.edu
Office Hours: XXXX
Course Description:
An introduction to the theory and practice of writing fiction and poetry, with an emphasis on
critical reading of appropriate literary models, both historical and contemporary, which
demonstrate exemplary technique. Exercises and workshop discussions are devoted to
craftsmanship and the ethics of making literary works, with continual reference to modeling,
drafting, and revising as necessary stages in a creative process. What makes for a successful
poem or story? How do we define genre for the sake of making new works of literature?
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course you will be able to select, evaluate, and apply terms and concepts
relevant to the planning, modeling, critiquing, and revising of your creative writing; you will
be able to read, study, and draw from the literature that constitutes your cultural inheritance,
with an awareness of what succeeds and what fails; you will hone your ability to collaborate
in the ongoing discourse of the workshop, in order to carry your work forward with greater
critical awareness, and to help your colleagues carry theirs; you will have gained a renewed
sense of the ethical implications of aesthetic work; you will produce a new set of creative
drafts.
Class Texts:
M. Martone and L. Williford, eds., The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction.
ISBN 1416532277.
M. Strand and Evan Boland, eds., The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms.
ISBN 0393321789.
Grading:
Quality of written work during revision process
Participation
In-class presentations and written responses
Attendance at Writers Here and Now readings
50%
25%
15%
10%
PLEASE NOTE:
1) Disabilities. If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic
accommodations with me, please contact me immediately.
2) Religious Observance. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor in advance of
any intended absences for religious observances. If you do not give me specific notice in
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writing about planned religious observances by the end of the schedule adjustment period, your
only option will be to count these absences as discretionary absences.
3) Excused Absences. It is also the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor in
advance of any intended absences for university sanctioned events (e.g. competitions,
conferences, athletic events). Notice should be provided in writing as soon as possible, but no
later than the end of schedule adjustment period. Absences for medical reasons must be
accompanied by clear, written documentation, on letterhead, from a physician (or other
practitioner) specifying that the student was incapable of attending the missed classes.
4) Honor Code. The Student Honor Council has requested that faculty members place the
following passage in their course syllabi:
“The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic
Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic
integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are
responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be
aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more
information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit
http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html."
I assume that every member of the class is fully aware of the Code and the consequences for
failure to live up to the Code. I urge you to visit the website indicated above and take
seriously what you read there. All cases of academic dishonesty will be referred to the Honor
Council.
5) Inclement Weather. Assignments and exams will be rescheduled as needed, and as feasible,
on a case-by-case basis in the event of university closings or the instructor's absence.
This syllabus is subject to change. Any changes will be announced in class and on ELMS;
students are responsible for keeping up with such changes. In addition to the readings listed here,
other readings may be assigned from handouts distributed in class and from online sources.
Unless otherwise noted, numbers in parentheses indicate page numbers to be read. Readings
must be completed by the date under which they are listed.
ABBREVIATIONS:
(Tu) = Tuesday
(W) = Wednesday
(Th) = Thursday (F) = Friday
(ELMS) = Blackboard site
(SF) = Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction
(MP) = The Making of a Poem
Week 1
Aug 31st (Tu):
Sept 2nd (Th):
Syllabus and Course Policies (Handouts)
Index Cards (In-class)
Annie Dillard – Total Eclipse (ELMS)
Miller & Paola– The Basics of Good Writing in Any Form (ELMS)
Due: Exercise 1, Description
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Week 2
Sept 7th (Tu):
Sept 9th (Th):
Tim O’Brien – The Things They Carried (SF 469-483)
Steven King – from On Writing (ELMS)
Due: Exercise 2, Description
Kevin Brockmeier – The Ceiling (93-102)
Stuart Dybek – We Didn’t (SF 181-189)
Due: Exercise 3, Description
Week 3
**NOTE: Monday, September 13th is the last day for Schedule Adjustment (Drop/Add)**
Sept 14th (Tu):
Jhumpa Lahiri – A Temporary Matter (SF 321-334)
Due: Submissions due for small group workshop
Workshop: Small groups
Sept 16th (Th):
Mary Gaitskill – Tiny, Smiling Daddy (SF 228-38)
Due: Exercise 4, Character
Week 4
Sept 21st (Tu):
Sept 23rd (Th):
Week 5
Sept 28th (Tu):
Raymond Carver – What We Talk About… (ELMS)
Workshop: __________, __________
Due: Exercise 5, Dialogue
Martin McDonagh – from The Lieutenant of Inishmore (ELMS)
Workshop: __________, __________
Sample Packet – WH&N Robert Boswell and John Murillo (ELMS)
Due: Exercise 6, Dialogue
Workshop: __________, __________
Sept 29th (W):
Writers Here & Now, Robert Boswell and John Murillo
Sept 30th (Th):
Robert Olen Butler – Jealous Husband Returns… (SF 103-108)
Denis Johnson – Car Crash While Hitchhiking (SF 288-292)
Workshop: __________, __________
Week 6
Oct 5th (Tu):
Oct 7th (Th):
Week 7
Oct 12th (Tu):
Oct 14th (Th):
Donald Barthelme – The School (SF 19-21)
Workshop: __________, __________, __________
Due: Exercise 7, Point of View
Workshop: __________, __________, __________
Peter Selgin – Revision: Real Writers Revise (ELMS)
Workshop: __________, __________, __________
Due: Exercise 8, Revision
Workshop: __________, __________, __________
Week 8
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Tues. 10/19 Begin Poetry - List of Poetic Terms (Handout)
Thurs. 10/21 – Poetry cont.
Fri. 10/22 - MIDTERM PORTFOLIO DUE IN MY OFFICE BY 3:00PM
Week 9
Oct 26th (Tu):
Clarity: Description, Grammar/Punctuation, & Exposition
Reading: Doty “Tiara” (197-8); Wright, “Lying in a Hammock…” (219);
Williams, “Loss” (232); Simic, “Miracle Glass Co.” (250)
Due: Exercise 1
Oct 28th (Th):
Lines & Stanzas
Reading: Hayden, “Those Winter Sundays” (150); St. John, “Iris” (203-4); Brock
Broido, “Of the Finished World” (230)
Reading: Maurice Manning (ELMS, WH&N Sample)
Due: Small Group Workshop Poem (bring 4 printed copies)
Week 10
Nov 2nd (Tu):
Devices: Simile & Metaphor
Reading: Walcott, “Midsummer Tobago” (220); Kinnell, “The Bear” (220);
Chuilleanáin, “Pygmalion’s Image” (233)
Reading: Dobyns, “Metaphor and the Authenticating Act of Memory” (ELMS)
Due: Exercise 2
Nov 3rd (W):
Writers Here & Now, 7PM in Tawes, Ulrich Hall
Nov 4th (Th):
Forms: Villanelle
Reading: MP 5-8; Dowson, “Villanelle of His Lady’s Treasures” (9); Roethke,
“The Waking” (11); Bishop, “One Art” (11-2); Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle”
(12); Carruth, “Saturday at the Border” (15)
Workshop: ____________, ____________
Week 11
Nov 9th (Tu):
Syntax, Rhythm, and Sound
Reading - Hopkins, “Carrion Comfort” (64); Gunn, “The J Car” (133-4);
Levertov, “Uncertain Oneiromancy” (273); Plath, “Daddy” (274-5)
Due: Exercise 3 (Villanelle)
Workshop: ____________, ____________
Nov 11th (Th):
Forms: Sestina
Reading: MP 21-3; Spenser, “Ye wastefull woodes” (25); Kees, “After the Trial”
(36); Williams, “The Shrinking Lonesome Sestina” (38-9); Ríos, “Nani” (39)
Workshop: ____________, ____________, ____________
Week 12
Nov 16th (Tu):
Tone & Voice
Reading: Levine, “Smoke” (224-6); Gluck, “Mock Orange” (234); O’Hara, “Ave
Maria” (272); Clifton, “move” (279-80)
Workshop: ____________, ____________
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Due: Exercise 4 (Sestina)
Nov 18th (Th):
Forms: Pantoum
Reading: MP 43-52
Workshop: ____________, ____________, ____________
Week 13
Nov 23rd (Tu):
Forms: Sonnet
Reading: MP 55-9; Wordsworth, “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” (61);
Millay, “What Lips…” (64); Heaney, “The Haw Lantern” (68); Johnson, “Heat”
(68); Palmer, “Sonnet” (70)
Workshop: ____________, ____________
Due: Exercise 5 (Pantoum)
Nov 25th (Th):
Class Cancelled for Thanksgiving Break
Week 14
Nov 30th (Tu):
Memory and Imagination
Reading: Hongo, “The Legend” (197); Oliver, “The Black Walnut Tree” (235);
Komunyakaa, “Starlight Scope Myopia” (282-4); Graham, “Reading Plato” (284)
Workshop: ____________, ____________
Due: Exercise 6 (Sonnet)
Dec 1st (W):
Writers Here & Now, 7PM in Tawes, Ulrich Hall
Dec 2nd (Th):
Revising Poems
Reading: Elizabeth Bishop’s revisions (ELMS)
Workshop: ____________, ____________
Week 15
Dec 7th (Tu):
Performance
Reading: Check ELMS for online links
Due: Exercise 7 (Memorize & Perform a Poem)
Dec 9th (Th):
Final Day
Dec 10th (F):
FINAL PORTFOLIO DUE IN MY OFFICE BY 3:00 PM
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