Spring 2025 Course Atlas

Duong    Wednesday 2:30-5:30

Pre-requisite: None

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop.

This introductory course is a space for us to form our own poetry writing community based on thoughtful readership, discussion, and collaboration. Over the course of the semester, you will closely read and analyze a wide range of poems in order to develop the skills necessary for generating and workshopping original work. You will be expected to maintain your own dedicated reading and writing practices, which will involve bringing in new poems for workshop on a weekly basis. You will also give a presentation on an assigned poet, devise collaborative writing prompts with your fellow students, and create final poetry portfolios consisting of revised poems accompanied by an artist’s statement.

Assigned readings will include works by 19th and 20th century poets such as Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Elizabeth Bishop, Lucille Clifton, and Amiri Baraka, as well as contemporary poets such as Donika Kelly, Solmaz Sharif, Mary Ruefle, Diane Seuss, and Ocean Vuong. 

Texts:   

1.) American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes

2.) Look by Solmaz Sharif

3.) Information Desk by Robyn Schiff

Assessment:

Final portfolio: 50%

Workshop participation: 20%

Writing Exercises: 20%

Presentations: 10%

Pre-requisite: none

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop.

Sections:

ENGCW 272W-1     Tolin          Tuesday 2:30-5:30

ENGCW 272W-2     Cooper     Thursday 1:00-3:45

Tolin's section:

This class offers an introduction to fiction writing with an emphasis on short stories. As part of your study of successful short stories you will develop vocabulary for discussing the craft of writing. Assigned readings (mostly from contemporary authors) will be analyzed thoroughly, providing models for what fiction writing is and can be. Short, low stakes writing prompts will give you the chance to try out the craft techniques we are learning about, while stories submitted for workshop provide an opportunity to receive in-depth feedback from me and your classmates on stories with a full narrative arc.

The best way to improve your writing is to write often. Like all skills and art forms, good writing requires hard work and practice. Being in community with other writers, such as your fellow classmates, is important for learning and growing as a literary citizen. As a literary citizen in this class, you will be expected to engage seriously and respectfully with your peers and their work.

Texts:

Provided via PDF or hyperlink

Assessment:

Creative Writing (60%)

• Workshop story, roughly 7-25 pages (15%)
• Prompts and other progress work (15%)
• Final Portfolio (30%)
  • Includes your revised workshop story, one new story expanded from the prompt of your choosing, and a 4-6 page self-reflection (double-spaced, Times New Roman, etc.)

Participation (40%)

• Peer critiques (20%)
  • Graded for completion and written in the form of a letter to your peer. Include 3 things you thought were working well in the piece, followed by 3 things you have questions about or would like to see in revision
• Literary citizenship (20%)
  • Includes attendance; participation during peer workshops and discussions of published work; attendance of creative writing departmental event; participation in in-class exercises, prompts, small-group activities; meeting with me in office hours after your workshop to debrief and discuss next steps for the piece
    •  If you are shy and have trouble speaking up in class, please talk to me in office hours or via email about ways to make participating easier for you. If you are not shy, please keep in mind that participating also means knowing when it’s time to let others have a turn.

Cooper's section:

This is an introduction to the art of fiction writing for beginning students. The roots of storytelling will be explored, and elements of the fiction writer's craft will be introduced and practiced (character development, desire/conflict, point of view, dialogue, showing vs. telling, structure, etc.). We will also closely read and examine selected works of published short fiction, though the occasional interdisciplinary model of music, film, and other mediums might be considered—all with an eye toward identifying and generating character and story, and learning how to “read like a writer.” Students will complete shorter writing exercises and responses, as well as one longer story that will be workshopped collectively. Students will also analyze and discuss in-depth both the work-in-progress of fellow students and published stories; thusly, frequent class participation will be required. (Note: we will center character-based literary fiction, meaning this course is not one in which genres like fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, horror, romance, magic realism, etc. will be read or written.) This course will prepare students for intermediate-level workshops in fiction.

Texts:

No texts, but students will be expected to print a significant amount of pages throughout the semester.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on their writing and class participation: 

• Writing (50%): shorter pieces of writing; one longer workshop story; significant revision of workshop story. 
• Participation (50%): oral and written responses to student and published work; presentations; class discussion/participation; shorter writing assignments; attendance; overall effort/improvement.

Pre-requisite: any 200-level workshop

Sections:

ENGCW 370RW-1     Tolin      Monday 2:30-5:30

ENGCW 370RW-2     Jones     Tuesday 2:30-5:30

Tolin's section:

Only accepted students should attend the first class.

Writing sample: 10-15 pages of fiction (double-spaced), genre writing accepted

Finding Your Voice

Now that you’ve completed introductory coursework in creative writing, it’s time to start thinking seriously about how your voice shows up on the page. Are you drawn to short, simple sentences and a blunt narrative voice, a la Ernest Hemingway? Or do you prefer melodic prose with longer, more descriptive sentences, as in the works of Toni Morrison? Maybe you appreciate writers whose sentences reflect a certain chaos or entropy, like Mary Gaitskill and Yiyun Li. Perhaps you like punchy writing, sentences that bounce with humor–Lorrie Moore, ZZ Packer, Philip Roth, and Venita Blackburn, for example.

What we call voice is really a series of grammatical and stylistic choices. Looking closely at these decisions in our work and others’ can help us determine how we might commit our voices to paper in a genuine way. In this course, we will read varied works of published short fiction from contemporary writers with unique prose styles. In addition to craft elements like structure, character development, and point of view, our discussions will focus on voice and how it is achieved at the sentence level. Assigned readings will be used as launchpads for in-class prompts and exercises. Our goal is to write things we feel proud of, the sorts of pieces we might enjoy reading if we encountered them in a book or journal. Meeting this objective requires that we read widely and carefully.

Careful reading extends also to the work of your peers. Everyone will workshop two works of original short fiction, due one week prior to the workshop date. Discussions of student work will focus on guiding the writer more fully toward their vision and should be approached with real seriousness. All students will write workshop letters for their peers and facilitate one presentation on a published story.

I will sometimes assign writing prompts, or “process work,” using the pieces we read for class as launchpads. These are fun, low-stakes assignments usually meant for focus on a particular craft element, though students may find these prompts useful for crafting the longer pieces they submit for workshop.

Work from the semester will culminate into a final portfolio, which will contain a self-reflection in addition to creative materials.

Texts:

Provided via PDF or hyperlink

Assessment:

Creative Writing (60%)

• Workshop Story #1, roughly 7-25 pages (15%)
• Workshop Story #2, roughly 12-30 pages (15%)
• Final Portfolio (30%)
  • Two revised workshop stories and a 4-6 page self-reflection (double-spaced, Times New Roman, etc.)

 Participation (30%)

• Peer critiques (15%)
  • Graded for completion and written in the form of a letter to your peer. As a general format, try to begin with 3 things you thought were working well in the piece, followed by 3 things you have questions about or would like to see in revision
• Literary citizenship (15%)
  • Includes attendance, participation during peer workshops, participation during peer presentations, attendance of creative writing departmental events, participation in in-class exercises, prompts, small-group activities, and meeting with me in office hours after each of your workshops to debrief and discuss next steps for the piece
    •  If you are shy and have trouble speaking up in class, please talk to me in office hours or via email about ways to make participating easier for you. If you are not shy, please keep in mind that participating also means knowing when it’s time to let others have a turn.

 Presentation on a Published Story (10%)

• This component of your grade has a separate assignment sheet.

**Please note: While you will receive an assignment-specific worksheet for your presentation, workshop stories will receive full credit if they are turned in on time, correctly formatted, roughly meet the page count, and show real evidence of proofreading. That said, I can tell when you have written a story in one caffeine-fueled sitting, and because you are expected to work on your stories consistently over the course of the semester and well in advance of the workshop date, overt sloppiness is not acceptable.

Jones' section:

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop.

Writing sample: 10-15 pages of literary fiction (double-spaced), no genre fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, horror, romance, etc.)

Intermediate Fiction is a workshop/studio style course. Students will produce two complete works of short fiction of 10-15 pages. One of the works of short fiction will be revised significantly and this revised version will serve as the final project in lieu of a final exam. Along with peer critique, students will also read widely in the genre of short fiction, focusing on the basic components of fictions, plot, dialogue, setting, character, etc.

Text:

The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: 50 North American Stories Since 1970, eds. Lex Williford and Michael Martone  (should have a yellow cover)

Pre-requisite: any 200-level workshop

Writing sample: 3-4 poems on separate pages

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop.

Sections:

ENGCW 371RW-1       Duong                              Monday 2:30-5:30

ENGCW 371RW-2       Debevec-McKenney       Tuesday 2:30-5:30

Duong's section:

This intermediate course is a space for experienced poets to further sharpen and expand their poetry practices in an intensive workshop environment. Over the course of the semester, we will explore the poem as a kind of hybrid research endeavor—an investigation driven by language and syntax. How do poets draw subjects, language, and even formal considerations for their poems from external sources such as historical records, interview transcripts, and art objects? In each class session, we will work towards a shared set of terms and ideas with which we might complicate our understanding of poetry’s possibilities. We will read five poetry collections and a number of other poems, craft essays, and hybrid works across a range of English-language literary styles and traditions.

Assignments for this course include drafting a new poem for workshop each week, conducting collaborative in-class exercises, devising a unique research assignment, and assembling a final portfolio consisting of revised poems accompanied by an artist’s statement. You will also be expected to give and receive peer feedback on workshop submissions, which you will implement during the revision process. All students are required to attend the Creative Writing Program’s readings this semester.

Texts:    

• Look by Solmaz Sharif  
• Reenactments by Hai-Dang Phan  
• Couplets: A Love Story by Maggie Millner   
• Information Desk by Robyn Schiff  

 Other texts will either be available on Canvas or distributed in class.

Assessment:

Attendance and participation                   30%

Weekly poem submissions                        20%

Poetry research assignment                     10%

Research statement essay                         10%

Final portfolio                                               30%

Debevec-McKenney's section:

This intermediate poetry workshop is an opportunity to strengthen your commitment to your poems, your practices, yourself. To connect with a group of writers who care for your work—to value how vital community is to poetry. Realize you’re capable of much more than you think you are. Gain trust in your voice and question the speaker of your poems. Recognize your patterns and work to harness them. The course will be filled with opportunities to mess with sources, engage your own obsessions, and to experiment with new forms and ways of writing: play, play, play. Students should expect to read and write poems extensively, to give and receive thoughtful feedback from peers. 

Texts:   

Couplets, Maggie Millner

978-0374612818

M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A, A. Van Jordan

978-0393327649

Look, Solmaz Sharif

978-1555977443

R E D, Chase Berggrun

978-0991429882

Stevens    Thursday    1:00-3:45

Waitlisted students do not need to attend the first class if there’s a significant chance they will not enroll.

Pre-requisite: none

Writing sample: 2-5 pages in any genre, preferably dramatic writing or poetry

Writing is a fundamentally solitary endeavor, yet theatre is an art form dependent on collaboration. As such, writing for the stage requires one to balance the isolation of script writing with the communal element of live performance. By writing within a workshop environment, we can hone our own voices and benefit from the perspective and insight of our fellow creative minds.

This class will encourage students to write in their own stylistic voice. Through study of genre conventions, popular style formulas, and historical movements, students will write pieces that give them a sense of control and understanding of their own theatrical aesthetic.

The role of the Playwriting Workshop is to encourage students to find their own voices, review each other's work in an uplifting, supportive, and rigorous artistic environment. We will also read the works of modern playwrights who exemplify the concepts and ideas of writing that we’re pursuing, and study the means through which they accomplish their craft.

 Texts (PDFs will be provided):

 “Visit to A Small Planet” - Elinor Fuchs

“Elements of Style” - Suzan-Lori Parks

TopDog/ Underdog - Suzan-Lori Parks

Matt & Ben - Mindy Kaling & Brenda Withers

The Wolves - Sara DeLappe

Mechanics of Love - Dipika Guha

Neighborhood 3: Requisition on Doom - Jennifer Haley

Peerless – Jiehae Park

The Thanksgiving Play - Larissa Fast Horse

Indecent - Paula Vogel

Is God Is - Aleshea Harris

Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play - Anne Washburn

The Skriker - Caryl Churchill

Cooper     Wednesday     2:30-5:30

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop. Students should be prepared to submit their first workshop story by the second week of class.  

Pre-requisite: A or A- in Intermediate Fiction

Writing sample: 10-12 pages of character-based literary fiction (double-spaced, Times New Roman). Do not submit a sample in genre fiction (including fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, horror, romance, etc.).

This is an intensive workshop in the writing and reading/critiquing of short literary fiction. This course is designed for serious writing students with a working knowledge of fiction and familiarity with the various elements of the craft—and who have participated in regular writing workshops. (Note: we will center character-driven, realistic literary fiction, meaning this course is not one in which genres like fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, horror, romance, magic realism, etc. will be read or written.) Student writing will serve as our texts, but we will also explore published work. Over the semester, students will write and workshop two original short stories. Students will revise these stories for their final Portfolio (serves as the final exam, which will include additional elements). Students will read and respond to weekly student and published work (offering both written and oral feedback), as well as lead workshop discussions. Significant class participation will be expected in this course and is not optional. Students should be prepared to submit their first workshop story by the second week of class.  

Texts:

No texts, but students will be expected to print a significant amount of pages throughout the semester.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on their writing and class participation: 

• Creative Writing (60%): 2 workshop stories; significant revisions of both workshop stories (for final Portfolio).
• Participation/Other Writing (40%): Oral and written responses to student and published work; class discussion/participation; shorter writing assignments; attendance; overall effort/improvement. 

Brown     Tuesday     2:30-5:30

Dr. Brown will review applications after the hard deadline. Students should expect to receive an email about acceptance in early December.

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop. The highest grade you can receive is a B if you miss the first class.

Pre-requisite: A or A- in Intermediate Poetry

Writing sample required: 3-4 poems on separate pages (no longer than 7 pages total)

Generating Lines for a New Generation  

In this course, we will discuss student poems in a workshop environment while examining contemporary poetry. As there is a profound relationship between reading poetry and writing it, we will read, discuss, and even recite the work of several poets whose example might lead us to a further honing of our craft.  In each workshop, we will read and discuss students’ poems in order to examine the relationships between the poet's intentions and ideas and the phrases and images used to embody them. As poetry always has, this course deals with material meant for mature audiences and adult discussion.  Students who do not wish to think or study, should reconsider their enrollment in this course.  Ten poems are due in the final portfolio. Students should budget for photocopying.

Texts:

Rose, Li-Young Lee     

Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir, 1969-1980, Lucille Clifton     

Among the Monarchs, Christine Garren     

Muscular Music, Terrance Hayes    

Information Desk, Robyn Schiff    

Assessment:

Students will be evaluated on their writing and critiquing skills though the following expectations:

Invocation:  5% 

Book Discussion:  25%

Workshop Participation:  25%

Workshop Discussion:  20%

Revisions:  25%

Skibell     Monday     2:30-5:30

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop. 

Pre-requisite: A or A- in Intermediate Playwriting

Writing sample: 10 pages of dramatic writing

In a round-table setting, students will workshop their own work, critique their fellows' work, and delve into the art of playwriting and dramatic narrative, while reading and acting in each other's scenes, and reading published work. Writing and reading intensive.

Text:

Each participant will contribute a published play to read for discussion. This will be our text.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on their performance based on a 100-point system. Class attendance makes up 26 points. Peer responses equal 28. Each writing submission is worth 10 points, and proof of attendance at a Creative Writing Reading Series event or another literary event is worth 2.5 points each. The other 11 points is the professor’s evaluation of the student’s writing and critical reading skills.

Sections:

ENGCW 376RW-1 Nonfiction Magazine and Long-form Writing

Klibanoff    Tuesday    2:30-5:30

ENGCW 376RW-2 Creative Nonfiction: Memoir

Lee     Wednesday     2:30-5:30

Klibanoff's section:

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop. 

Pre-requisite: none, not open to first-year students

Writing sample: 6-10 pages of nonfiction or journalistic writing OR explain in a 3-page essay what motivates you to seek a course that emphasizes nonfiction/journalism. Students must provide some evidence they have done journalistic and/or nonfiction writing. 

This workshop is focused on long-form, nonfiction magazine and feature writing -- reading it, reporting it, writing it, and doing so in ways and by means that separate the exceptional from the pedestrian. This is nonfiction. Be prepared to be a reporter, to meet people face-to-face, to ask questions, to see and hear things with your own eyes and ears. We’ll have visiting experts on hand as we discuss where great ideas come from, how to be strategic in your reporting, the art of the interview, and crafting stories, then stories within stories. We're looking mostly at print, but we will see beyond the dead tree media at the growing opportunities for magazine-style writing and long-form narratives online. Ultimately, the goal of the course is for you to become a considerably wiser and more effective nonfiction story-teller, for which the basis is sound reporting. Students should budget for photocopying.

Text:

Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction, Jack Hart (2nd edition)

Assessment:

This course in magazine and feature writing requires students to report, report and report (which means interviewing people, conducting research, observing people, situations) and to write complete stories in a narrative, journalistic style that meets high standards for clarity, accuracy, story-telling and ethics. Students will be assessed primarily on their engagement in effective, ethical reporting (gathering of information) for magazine and feature stories, and on the overall development of their reporting skills; on the development of their narrative writing as they seek the ultimate goal: to produce publishable work; on class participation, and on the quality of their responses to assignments.

Lee's section:

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop.

Pre-requisite: any 200-level workshop

Writing sample: 3-5 pages of nonfiction (including experimental, flash, and micro writing)

This course explores the art of crafting compelling personal narratives. Students will delve into memoir writing techniques, learning to transform real-life experiences into engaging stories that resonate with diverse readers. Through in-class discussions, writing workshops, and close reading exemplary works from authors ranging from Virginia Woolf to Cardi B, participants will develop their unique voice and storytelling skills.

 Key topics include:

• Mining personal memories and experiences
• Balancing honesty and artistry in personal narratives
• Structuring a memoir: chronological vs. thematic approaches
• Ethical considerations in writing about real people and events
• Developing vivid scenes and characters from real-life

By the end of the course, students will have produced polished memoir pieces, gaining deeper understanding of how to craft meaningful narratives from personal observation.

 Texts 

 PDFs will be provided and students will be asked to bring their own reading

Assessment 

20% Class participation (including workshop comments/questions)

20% Manuscript 1

20% Manuscript 2

10% Short writing/In-class writing

10% Workshop letters

15% Revision of manuscript

5% Write-up of at least one Reading Series event

NOTE: The other section of Screenwriting and Advanced Screenwriting taught by Professor Conway is offered through The Department of Film & Media and does not require an application -- you may register for those classes as normal. Both count as a workshop for Creative Writing majors.

Screenwriting: Feature-length Scripts

Strong Mann     Monday    2:30-5:30

Students must attend the first class to remain enrolled in this workshop.

Pre-requisite: any 200-level workshop or FILM 101/270

Writing sample: 2-5 pages in any genre, preferably narrative prose

Welcome to Screenwriting! In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of writing for film. We will explore the basic elements of storytelling – concept, character, plot, structure, dialogue, etc. -- and how each is used in writing for the screen. Students will also learn the format used for film scripts. Throughout the semester, students will write a complete treatment and the first act of an original screenplay, drawing from these theories.  Classes will involve reading and analyzing professional screenplays and also watching films. Students will engage in roundtable discussion of each student’s work. Classes will be conducted as workshops in which the main emphasis is on the students' own work, with in-class lecture, film clip review, group writing exercises and open discussion. Students should budget for printing/scripts/videos.

Required Text:

Save The Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, Blake Snyder

Recommended Texts:      

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, Syd Field

The Anatomy of Story, John Trudy

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on their writing skills and class participation:

30% Development of screenplay (concept, character, outline). 30% Writing first draft (treatment, presentation, coverage). 30% Delivery of final draft (completed 25-30 page screenplay). 10% Class participation (attendance, discussion, critiquing).

Please note the final draft of your screenplay will be graded on principles of craft taught during the semester, including the quality of title, concept, character, plot, description, dialogue, action, pace, theme, format and overall professionalism. The final screenplay should be delivered online and be no longer than the allotted 25-35 pages.

Kindly notify the instructor if you have any questions about what is expected.

Skibell    Tuesday    2:30-5:30

This Special Topics class counts as a workshop for Creative Writing majors.

Pre-requisite: none for non-majors; any 200-level workshop for Creative Writing majors

Writing sample: none; a brief interview may be requested

This course explores the fall of Jerusalem in 69 CE through the lens of rabbinic literature, focusing on Talmudic tales, aggadah, and midrash, alongside selected passages from Josephus. Students will examine how the destruction of the Second Temple and the ensuing upheaval were understood and interpreted in rabbinic tradition. By comparing these texts with Josephus’ historical account, the class will investigate key themes such as divine retribution, messianism, and the fate of the Jewish people. This course will provide students with a deepened understanding of the religious, cultural, and theological responses to one of the most pivotal events in Jewish history.

In this course, students will actively engage with the primary texts, offering their own interpretations and reflections in class discussions. Each student will approach the material from their unique perspective, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas. As a culminating project, students will have the option to produce either a creative work or a scholarly analysis related to the themes of the course, allowing them to explore the material in a way that resonates with their interests. Whether through creative expression or academic research, these final projects will deepen students' understanding of the fall of Jerusalem and its profound impact on Jewish thought.

Texts:

The instructor will provide the core reading material in weekly handouts, guiding students through the foundational texts of the course. In addition to these readings, students will be encouraged to conduct their own research, delving deeper into the texts and themes that interest them most. This independent exploration will complement the course material, allowing students to develop a more personalized and nuanced understanding of the fall of Jerusalem and its interpretation in rabbinic literature. 

Assessment:

The grading for this course will be structured to emphasize active engagement and critical thinking. Class attendance and participation will account for 50% of the final grade, highlighting the importance of discussion and interaction with the texts. The final project, whether creative or scholarly, will comprise 45% of the grade, allowing students to demonstrate their deeper understanding of the material. The remaining 5% will be based on attendance at creative writing lectures, encouraging students to explore new approaches to storytelling and expression related to the course themes.

Yanique      Wednesday      1:00-3:45

Students (including those on the waiting list) MUST attend the first class session or you will not be permitted to take this class.

Pre-requisite: any 200-level workshop, preferably Intro to Fiction

Writing sample: 1 complete, polished short story or novel chapter (no minimum page requirement)

This class is a study and practice on the form of stand-alone stories that have common elements such as space, kinship, time, character or other elements of craft and content, in order to connect the narratives within a story collection or a novel. We will read book length examples of this form. Students will write three or more linked stand-alone narratives.

Texts: 

These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card      

The Hours by Michael Cunningham       

Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor    

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on five elements of the course, as listed below. Each aspect of the class will be weighed equally at 20%. Students must perform with excellence on all elements of the course to receive an A-. Excellence is defined by the professor. Students performing very well will receive a grade on the B to B+ scale. Students performing well will receive a grade on the C+ to B- scale. Students performing mediocrely will receive a grade on the D to C scale. Students performing inadequately will be asked to leave the class or they will receive an F grade. The A grade is reserved for students who exceed the professor’s expectations.

• Attendance
• Written comments to fellow students
• Writing Exercises
• Class Participation
• 3 pieces of linked fiction (3-25 pages)