George Mason University—Fall 2011
ENGL 396:003 INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING
T 4:30-7:10 / Robinson Hall A210
Instructor: Sally Keith
Office: Robinson Hall 407A
Office Hours: T 3:30-4:30 & by appointment
e-mail: skeith3@gmu.edu
Course Description:
This course will aim to develop writing skills and the ability to talk about and appreciate a
wide variety of writing—across genres, from narrative to lyric, experimental to canonical.
Our study will presume that good writers are good readers and class time will be divided
between the reading and analysis of literature, in-class writing exercises, and workshop,
where student writing will be openly discussed. The course intends to introduce students
to the writing of non-fiction, fiction, and poetry; however, we will also look at ways in which
genre bends and our focus will be on the essentials of great writing that are not genre
specific.
Texts
Michael Ondaatje, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid
Dean Young, Elegy on a Toy Piano
Natasha Tretheway, Native Guard
*Printed copies of all material, as specified on the wiki, for class discussion
Requirements:
1. On-time completion of assignments. No late work will be accepted. It is essential that
you refer regularly to the syllabus and especially the wiki. Apart from the four writing
assignments for workshop, students will keep a journal of writing exercises (a list of which
will be on-going on the wiki) which will be collected on the last day of class. Additionally,
for each of the three required collections (above), response papers will be due, in hand, on
the date specified; responses will be evaluated on a 10 point scale.
2. Participation/attendance/presence. Success in this class has everything to do with
participation and presence. Students are expected to come to class having completed all the
reading, with appropriate texts printed out so that they may be specifically referenced in
conversation. (Only the reading “for reference” may remain un-printed). It goes without
saying that missing class makes it impossible to participate and your grade will naturally be
affected. Students will be required to meet for one conference toward the end of the
semester to discuss progress, as well as to attend three readings. Please include a list of
the readings you attended in your final portfolio.
In an effort to keep the writing classroom a community of writers in conversation, I do not
allow computers in the classroom. If you have a specific need, please talk to me and we will
figure out a resolution.
3. Final project: Students will turn in a final portfolio which will include revised copies of
each piece presented in workshop: essay, short story, short short, and two poems. The
portfolio should open with a brief (1-2 page) introduction, describing your own progress
throughout the course and noting any particular concerns you have with the revisions.
Please attach a rough drafts directly behind the final revised version.
Each of these three components will comprise one third of your grade. If at any time during
the semester you are concerned about your progress, please contact me.
Schedule:
All writing assignments should be brought to class, for discussion, and then kept in a journal
(which may be electronic) to be turned in at the end of the semester. The reading here is
listed under the class for which it is due and must be printed out, read, and brought to class
the day of the discussion. The wiki, which is essential to this class, can be accessed with
your gmu user name and password at: https://my.pbworks.com
New writing assignments will be added to the wiki as the semester progresses.
9.30 INTRODUCTION/ On Language
Assignment (due next class): 1) One page prose description of a significant
event/person/place from your past with attention to class discussion of poetic language; 2)
A list of 10 images.
9.6 IMAGE
Reading Due (all to be found on the wiki): Dybeck’s “Pet Milk,” Denis Johnson’s “Car Crash
While Hitchhiking,” Komunyakaa’s “Facing It,” Ashbery’s “As One Put One Drunk,” IMAGE
MAKING PACKET (Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro,” Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking
at a Blackbird,” assorted haiku)
Assignment (due 9.13): Image Poem + Response to Native Guard (see below)
RESPONSE: Please write (due 9.13) your first response paper (2-3 double spaced pages). In
the response you should describe this book as best you can. After this more general
response to the collection, I would like you to address specifically one poem. Read this
selected poem as closely as you can specifically noticing the way images and language are at
work, according to our class discussions so far. Refer directly to the text in your response.
9.13 Discussion of Tretheway + in-class writing exercises
Reading Due: Natasha Tretheway’s Native Guard
(Note: Natasha Tretheway will read her poetry Thursday, Sept. 22 at 6:00pm in Harris
Theater)
Assignment: Journal (TBA) Due 9.27
9.20 NO CLASS FALL FOR THE BOOK
***You are required to attend THREE readings this semester***
See FFTB schedule: http://www.fallforthebook.org/events/calendar.php
9.27 NON-FICTION
Reading Due: Dillard’s “Total Eclipse,” Naeem Murr’s “Don Nelson Sings Elvis,” and John
D’Agata’s “Halls of Fame” + David Antin’s “The Theory and Practice of Postmodernism: A
Manifesto”
Assignment: Write a three to five page personal essay. Due on 10.4 Bring 5 copies with
you to class.
10.4 SHORT STORY I (Character & Point of View)
Reading Due: David Foster Wallace “Forever Overhead”, Charles Baxter “Snow” + TBA
(please seen wiki), reference essays (need not print): Point of View, Character, “Don’t Do
This.”
Assignment: Short story (4-6 pages) due 10.18 with 5 copies. Critique non-fiction.
10.11 NO CLASS DUE TO COLUMBUS DAY RECESS
10.18 SHORT STORY II + Non-Fiction Workshop Day
Reading Due: Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants,” Tobias Woolf, “Bullet in the
Brain,” Grace Paley “Conversation with my Father” + Reference: Dialogue 1 & 2 (need not
print)
Assignment: Critique short stories (for workshop 10.25)
10.25 POETRY v. FICTION + Fiction Workshop Day
Reading Due: Jerry Gabriel’s “Marauders,” James Wright’s “ ,” Hugo’s “The Freaks at Spurgin
Road Field”
No written assignment for today. Work on revision of Short story.
11.1 THE SHORT SHORT + Matthea Harvey Reading
Reading Due: “The Prose Poem,” Gertrude Stein’s “Tender Buttons,” Mary Robison’s “Yours,”
Sandra Cisneros’ “Linoleum Roses,” Lydia Davis’ “Story,” Jamaica Kincaid “Girl” & Matthea
Harvey Selection
Assignment: Short Short is due 11.8 with 5 copies
11.8 POETRY I + Conferences
Reading Due: Poetry I (see Wiki)
Assignment: Response (see 9.6) to Dean Young
11.15 POEM II Dean Young & Disjunctive Leaps + Short Short Workshop Day
Reading Due: Dean Young’s ELEGY ON A TOY PIANO
Assignment: Write a poem in imitation of Dean Young. You may use this poem or a another
poem for the poetry workshop; however, the poem must be at least 15 lines and may not
rhyme. Due 11.22 with copies (22).
11.22 POEM III Form + Conferences
Reading Due: (see wiki)
Assignment: One page response to Ondatjee’s BILLY THE KID
11.29 CROSS GENRE WRITING: Ondaatje’s Billy The Kid + Workshops
Reading Due: Ondaatje’s BILLY THE KID
12.6 FINALE
Class reading & portfolios due