Fall 2022 – ENGL 280-01: Intro to Creative Writing

Instructor: Prof. David Gewanter

Meeting Times: MW 3:30 – 4:45PM

Location: Maguire 101

Section Description:

In this course, we’ll study and produce four genres of creative writing: poetry, fiction, personal prose, and dialogue. We will explore and discuss great models of each of these forms; we will try our hand at composing our own poems, stories, personal essays, and dialogue (for radio); and we’ll write short analyses on our texts. We’ll also hear craft lectures from the great writers in our Department who produce these works. The authors under study include Semezdin Mehmedinovic, Stephen Crane, D.H. Lawrence, Michael Ondaatje, Anna Deavere Smith, and a number of poets. We’ll follow Ondaatje through the genres. Our course is designed for those who have some experience in studying and writing in at least one of these genres. Please be prepared for intensive research in how each form of writing happens, how it renders human experience, voice, plot, statement, vision, and more. Be prepared both to produce your own texts, and to share your draft work with others.