KINGSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE (CUNY)
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH – SPRING 2013
ENG 56: CREATIVE WRITING: FICTION (HONORS)
Professor: Dr. Amy Washburn
E-mail: amy.washburn@kbcc.cuny.edu
Site: www.amyleighwashburn.com
Phone: 718-368-5273
Office: F-331
Mailbox: C-309
Office Hours: Tuesday 11:30AM-12:30PM, Wednesday 12:30PM-2:30PM & by appointment
Reading and Writing Center: 718-368-5405, L-219
Course Description: English 56 is an introductory course that offers instruction and practice in
the art of writing fiction, along with the study of works of fiction as examples. However, we also
will explore other forms of creative writing to allow for experimentation and help you settle into
a form(s). We will examine the ways in which various genres can overlap and enrich your
development of superior artistry in imaginative writing. You will read a wealth of writers as
exemplary models. You will engage in open discussion about the works read. You will do close
readings of the texts, and then turn to your own creative work, including fiction, poetry, drama,
and creative nonfiction. You will dabble in your own creative writing, share your work, and
receive constructive feedback in a workshop format. You will revise your work and strive for
substantial improvement. You will read your work to the class around finals. This course fulfills
an Honors requirement.
Required Texts:
•Burroway, Janet. Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle
River: Longman, 2010.
Petry, Ann. The Street. New York: Mariner, 1998.
•Additional readings on Blackboard
•Additional writing help available at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Course Goals:
• You will analyze craft elements in several texts, and understand formal conventions in
imaginative writing.
• You will create your own fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction, and experiment with
genre-crossings in creative expression.
• You will recognize your writing processes, share your work with your peers, receive feedback
from your peers, conference with me, and revise your major writing assignments.
• You will engage in rigorous discussion that fosters creative reflection about your lives, your
work, the world, and the texts through collaborative interaction.
•You will participate in literary readings and evaluate your peers’ work.
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Requirements:
•A work of fiction, either a short story or fictional vignettes, totaling ten to twelve pages
•A creative nonfiction piece, either an auto/biographical essay or a reflective journal, totaling ten
to twelve pages
•A collection of poems or a one-act play, totaling ten to twelve pages
•A reading of your best work around finals
•Class attendance, participation, and conferences
Grade Distribution:
Fiction
Creative Nonfiction
Poetry or Play
Participation (Discussions, Quizzes, Workshops, & Conferences)
30%
30%
30%
10%
Writing Procedures:
• You will engage in a process of composing (i.e., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and
proofreading) for all writing assignments.
• You will receive a wealth of feedback on your writing from your peers. You also will
conference with me. Before you submit your final drafts, you will produce several drafts for each
assignment, including for peer review and professor review. You will present your papers to the
class during writing workshops during the semester for feedback. If you fail to complete your
rough drafts on time, you will have a letter grade taken off for each one late.
• You will have the opportunity to revise your work after your initial grade is recorded so long as
you discuss your writing in informal conferences with me, preferably before the next assignment
is due. Other drafts also may be revised after the first revision, but again, only after you have met
with me. Essentially, you have unlimited revision possibilities. Revisions have the possibility of
replacing the previous grade, but only if substantial improvement is evident.
• You will be given ample feedback on your work before the next assignment is due. This
feedback will allow you to learn from the comments and apply the comments to the next
assignment.
Discussion Procedures:
• You will be well-prepared for all class discussions by doing all the assigned reading and
writing prior to class.
• You will demonstrate your understanding and analysis of the readings by being fully engaged
in class discussions.
• You will be respectful of your peers’ writing and ideas. You will be respectful of my ideas, as
well. (Being respectful also includes turning off cell phones and refraining from other
disrespectful behaviors, such as sleeping, doing homework, and leaving class for food, coffee, or
phone calls.)
•Those of you who are not prepared, not engaged, and not respectful will be asked to leave class.
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Civility: Kingsborough Community College is committed to the highest standards of academic
and ethical integrity, acknowledging that respect for self and others is the foundation of
educational excellence. Civility in the classroom and respect for the opinions of others is very
important in an academic environment. It is likely you may not agree with everything which is
said or discussed in the classroom, yet courteous behavior and responses are expected. Acts of
harassment and/or discrimination based on matters of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality,
religion, and/or ability, etc., are not acceptable. As a Safe Zone ally, I promote strict enforcement
of these rules. All students, faculty, and staff have a right to be in a safe environment, free of
disturbance, and civil in all aspects of human relations.
Attendance:
Attending class is imperative, for that is when much of the discussing, writing, and critiquing
will take place. You also will miss “creative” quizzes, which cannot be made up. I expect you to
attend class regularly and punctually. You are allowed eight hours of absence before you are
given an Unofficial Withdrawal (WU) in the course. An “absence” is any time that you are not
in class. There is no distinction between an “excused” and “unexcused” absence in college.
Frequent lateness also counts towards absences.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged (intentionally or unintentionally) use of summary, paraphrase,
direct quotation, language, statistics, or ideas from articles or other information sources,
including the Internet. You must cite according to MLA or ASA format, outlined in the required
text. If you plagiarize all or part of a writing assignment, you will automatically receive an F on
it, and it cannot be revised. If you repeat the offense, you will fail the course and/ or be reported
to Office of the Dean of Student Affairs. At Kingsborough Community College, plagiarism falls
under the larger heading of Academic Dishonesty and is adjudicated by the Office of the Dean of
Student Affairs. To read a detailed description of each form of Academic Dishonesty, as well as
descriptions of sanctions that may be enforced, please see the Policy on Academic Integrity at
http://www.kingsborough.edu/subadministration/sco/Documents/CUNYAcademicIntegrityPolic
y.pdf.
Access-Ability: Kingsborough Community College provides accommodations to students with
disabilities. If you have a documented disability and need supplemental accommodations in
connection with this class, contact Access-Ability services directly; they are located in D-205
and their phone is: 718-368-5175. Please contact them as early in the semester as possible.
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Schedule of Assignments: The following schedule is tentative and may change based on the
needs of the class. All assignments must be done before the date on which they are scheduled in
order to maximize engagement.
Week One (2/26): Course Introductions
T: Syllabus Distribution and Introductions
Week Two (3/4-3/5): Introduction to Creative Nonfiction
M: Creative Nonfiction Instruction
Read “Invitation to the Writer,” “Development and Revision,” and “Creative Nonfiction,” Janet
Burroway, chs. 1, 2, and 7, pgs. 1-12, 13-24, and 196-214. Read from Creative Nonfiction
Readings: “Heaven and Earth in Jest,” Annie Dillard, pg. 25, “What I Learned,” David Sedaris,
pgs. 26-39, “Beauty, When the Other Dancer Is the Self,” Alice Walker, pgs. 61-66, “JohnJohn’s
World,” Lois-Ann Yamanaka, pgs. 106-110, “At the Dam,” Joan Didion, pgs. 144-145, “The
Slow Train to Kandy,” Paul Theroux, pgs. 146-150, and “The Female Body,” Margaret Atwood,
pgs. 250-251
T: Creative Nonfiction Instruction
Read “No Name Woman,” Maxine Hong Kingston, “The Prism of Race,” Manning Marable,
“Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power,” Audre Lorde, “Journey by Inner Light,” Meeta Kaur,
“Filipino Secrets and American Dreams,” Patricia Justine Tumang, “My Father’s Hands,” Daisy
Hernández, “My Season of Paper Dresses,” Colleen McKee, “Dinner Talk,” Liliana Hernández,
“Ghetto Fabulous,” Tina Fakhrid-Deen, and “My Mother Was a Whore,” Nikki Levine
(Blackboard)
Week Three (3/11-3/12: Creative Nonfiction Workshop
M: Creative Nonfiction Workshop
Rough Draft of Creative Nonfiction Due – Professor/ Peer Review
T: Creative Nonfiction Workshop, Continued
Week Four (3/18-3/19): Introduction to Fiction and Short Story
M: Fiction and Short Story Instruction
Read “Voice,” “Story,” and “Fiction,” Janet Burroway, chs. 3, 6, and 9, pgs. 47-60, 167-175, and
264-274. Read from Fiction Readings: “The Diamond Mine,” Nadine Gordimer, pgs. 30-35,
“The Book of Sand,” Jorge Luis Borges, pgs. 77-79, “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the
World,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez, pgs. 114-118, and “The Werewolf,” Angela Carter, pgs. 154155
Final Draft of Creative Nonfiction Due
T: Short Story Instruction
Read “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman,
“Orange Horses,” Meave Kelly, “The Husband,” Mary Dorcey,” “Tropical Fish,” Doreen
Baingana, “Yellow Woman,” Leslie Marmon Silko, “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin,
“Barbie-Q,” Sandra Cisneros, and “Scar,” Amy Tan (Blackboard)
Weeks Five and Six (3/25-3/26 and 4/1-4/2): Spring Break
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Week Seven (4/8-4/9): Introduction to Novel and Ann Petry’s The Street
M: Fiction and Novel Instruction
Read The Street, Ann Petry, chs. 1-3
T: Novel Instruction
Read The Street, Ann Petry, chs. 4-5
Week Eight (4/15-4/16): Introduction to Novel and Ann Petry’s The Street
M: Novel Instruction
Read The Street, Ann Petry, chs. 6-9
T: Novel Instruction
Read The Street, Ann Petry, chs. 10-11
Week Nine (4/22-4/23): Introduction to Novel and Ann Petry’s The Street
M: Novel Instruction
Read The Street, Ann Petry, chs. 12-16
T: Novel Instruction
Read The Street, Ann Petry, chs. 17-18
Week Ten (4/29-4/30): Fiction Workshop
M: Fiction Workshop
Rough Draft of Fiction Due – Professor/ Peer Review
T: Fiction Workshop, Continued
Week Eleven (5/6-5/7): Introduction to Poetry
M: Poetry Instruction
Final Draft of Fiction Due
Read “Image” and “Poetry,” Janet Burroway, chs. 2 and 10, pgs. 13-24 and 294-310. Read from
Poetry Readings: “Facing It,” Yomunyakaa, pgs. 39-40, “Fistful,” Sian B. Griffiths, pg. 81, “I
Knew a Woman,” Theodore Roethke, pg. 119, “Stonecarver,” Carole Simmons Oles, pgs. 119120, “To Aunt Rose,” Allen Ginsberg, pgs. 120-121, “At Navajo Monument Valley Tribal
School,” Sherman Alexie, pgs. 155-156, “Earthmoving Malediction,” Heather McHugh, pgs.
156-157, “Nude Interrogation,” Yusef Komunyakaa, pg. 158, “Woodchucks,” Maxine Kumin,
pgs. 187-188, “The Hammock,” Li-Young Lee, pgs. 188-189, “Stillborn,” Sylvia Plath, pg. 312,
“The Language of the Brag,” Sharon Olds, pgs. 316-317, and “Dream Song 14,” Jerry Berryman,
pgs. 317-318
T: Poetry Instruction
Read “Poem about My Rights,” June Jordan, “I Wake in Middle-of-Night Terror,” Ericka
Huggins, “To My Silent Church,” Roseleen Walsh, “The Tradition,” Assata Shakur, “The
Afterbirth, 1931,” Nikki Finney, “Cartographies of Silence,” Adrienne Rich, “Some People,”
Rita Ann Higgins, “Love Poem,” Audre Lorde, “Anorexic,” Eavan Boland, “For the White
Person Who Wants to Be My Friend,” Pat Parker, “It’s the Poverty,” Cherrie Moraga, “Wild
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Geese,” Mary Oliver, “Homage to My Hips,” Lucille Clifton, “Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman,
“Cinderella,” Anne Sexton, “Doin’ the Louvre,” Patricia Smith, “Quilts,” Nikki Giovanni,
“Digging,” Seamus Heaney, “Girl,” Jamaica Kincaid, “Homecoming,” Julia Alvarez, “Tonight I
Can Write the Saddest Lines,” Pablo Neruda, “Peeling an Orange,” Virginia Hamilton Adair,
“Barbie Doll,” Marge Piercy, “Let America Be America Again,” Langston Hughes,
“Tranformations,” Joy Harjo, “The Boy Died in My Alley,” Gwendolyn Brooks, “Alabanza: In
Praise of Local 100,” Martin Espada, “Two Homelands,” Jose Marti, “True Love,” Wislawa
Szymborska, “To Live in the Borderlands Means You,” Gloria Anzaldua, “The Real Indian
Leans against,” Chrystos, and “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” Emily Dickenson (Blackboard)
Week Twelve (5/15-5/16): Introduction to Drama
M: Drama Instruction
Read “Character,” “Setting,” and “Drama,” Janet Burroway, chs. 4, 5, and 11, pgs. 87-100, 132143, and 321-333. Read from Drama Readings: The Philadelphia, David Ives, pgs. 159-166
What I Came for, Alice O’Neill, pgs. 349-353, Left to Right, Steven Dietz (Blackboard), and
How I Learned to Drive, Paula Vogel (Blackboard)
T: Drama Instruction
Read The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, Naomi Wallace (Blackboard)
Week Thirteen (5/20-5/21): Poetry and Drama Workshop
M: Poetry and Drama Workshop
Rough Draft of Poetry Collection or One-Act Play Due–Professor/ Peer Review
T: Poetry and Drama Workshop, Continued
Week Fourteen (5/27-5/28): Final Reading
M: No Class
T: Final Reading
Final Draft of Poetry Collection or One-Act Play Due–Professor/ Peer Review
Week Fifteen (6/3): Final Reading
M: Final Reading
Final Exams (6/4-6/10): (TBA)