Columbia University School of the Arts

GRADUATE WRITING PROGRAM

FALL 2017 COURSEBOOK

n Workshops n Seminars n n Lectures n Master Classes n

Updated: August 31, 2017

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

List of Courses by Day and Time

Workshops 1

Seminars 2

Lectures

Master Classes

4

5

Course Descriptions

Seminars 6

- Literary Translation Workshops

Lectures

Master Classes

27

28

32

1

WORKSHOPS (6 - 9 points)

FICTION – OPEN (6 points) Sam Lipsyte

Mon., 12:05pm-3:05pm Julie Orringer

Mon., 1:05pm-4:05pm Mike Harvkey

Tue., 10am-1pm Victor LaValle Year-long Novel Workshop (by application. 2nd years only.)

Tue., 1:05pm-4:05pm Heidi Julavits

Tue., 3:20pm-6:20pm Elissa Schappell

Wed., 12:05pm-3:05pm Eli Gottlieb

Wed., 1pm-4pm Deborah Eisenberg

Wed., 3:15pm-6:15pm Rivka Galchen

Wed., 3:15pm-6:15pm Joshua Furst

Wed., 3:45pm-6:45pm Alexandra Kleeman

Thu., 11am-2pm Nicholas Christopher

Thu., 2:10pm-5:10pm Ben Metcalf

Thu., 4:15pm-7:15pm James Canon

Fri., 1pm-4pm POETRY – OPEN (6 points) Dorothea Lasky

Tue., 12:05pm-3:05pm Aracelis Girmay

Wed., 12:35pm-3:35pm Shane McCrae

Fri., 10am-1pm Mark Wunderlich

Fri., 1pm-4pm

POETRY – THESIS (9 points)* Lucie Brock-Broido

Tue., 4:30pm-8:30pm Alan Gilbert

Tue., 4:30pm-8:30pm

NONFICTION – OPEN (6 points) Brenda Wineapple

Mon., 12:35pm-3:35pm Benjamin Taylor

Mon., 5:45pm-8:45pm Wendy S. Walters

Tue., 5:15pm-8:15pm Michael Greenberg

Wed., 3:15pm-6:15pm

NONFICTION – THESIS (9 points)* Leslie Jamison

Mon., 10am-1pm Phillip Lopate

Mon., 1:05pm-4:05pm Lis Harris

Tue., 1:05pm-4:05pm Richard Locke

Tue., 2:10pm-5:10pm

*Second-Years only

2

SEMINARS (3 points)

——MONDAY—— Monica Ferrell (CG) Word and Image: Reading and Writing Contemporary Poetry for Prose Writers

Mon., 10am-12pm Natasha Wimmer (CG, TR) Literary Translation Workshop

Mon., 10am-12:30pm Wendy Xu (PO) Toward Seeing: Writing into the Image

Mon., 3:40pm-5:40pm Leslie Jamison (NF) Regarding the Pain of Others

Mon., 4:10pm-6:10pm Erroll McDonald (FI) Introduction to the Bible as Literature

Mon., 4:10pm-6:10pm Joshua Furst (FI) The Sum of Its Parts: Short Story Collections

Mon., 6:15pm-8:15pm (FI) = Fiction (NF) = Nonfiction (PO) = Poetry (CG) = Cross-Genre (TR) = Translation

——TUESDAY—— Lis Harris (NF) Family Matters

Tue., 10am-12pm Hari Kunzru (FI) The Weight of the World

Tue., 10am-12pm Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts (NF) Essay Films and Filmic Essays

Tue., 10am-12pm Christine Schutt (CG) In So Few Words: The Worlds of Flash Fiction

Tue., 10am-12pm Deborah Eisenberg (FI) Studies in Short Fiction

Tue., 12:05pm-2:05pm Phillip Lopate (NF) Studies in the Essay

Tue., 12:05pm-2:05pm Gideon Lewis-Kraus (NF) Reporting Non-News

Tue., 4:15pm-6:15pm Mark Doten (FI) Queer Form

Tue., 6:30pm-8:30pm

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SEMINARS (cont’d.)

——WEDNESDAY—— Rivka Galchen (FI) Mysteries

Wed., 10am-12pm Lara Vapnyar (FI) Building a Scene

Wed., 10am-12pm Deborah Paredez (CG) Witness, Record, Document: Poetry and Testimony

Wed., 10:10am-12pm Margo Jefferson (NF) Cultural Memoir

Wed., 10:30am-12:30pm Keri Bertino (CG) Writer as Teacher

Wed., 12:05pm-3:05pm Matvei Yankelevich (CG, TR) Revolt of the Word: Anarchy and Innovation in Modern & Contemporary Poetry

Wed., 12:05pm-2:05pm Binnie Kirshenbaum (FI) The Excruciating

Wed., 1:10pm-3:10pm Susan Bernofsky (CG, TR) Through a Glass Darkly: German Romantic & Gothic Tales of Wonder and Horror

Wed., 2:10pm-4pm Camille Rankine (PO) The Poetry of Silence

Wed., 4:05pm-6:05pm

——THURSDAY—— Susan Bernofsky (CG, TR) Literary Translation Workshop

Thu., 11am-1:30pm Nicholas Christopher (CG) Mosaics: Unified Collections of Fiction & Poetry

Thu., 11am-1pm Nalini Jones (FI) Spontaneous Combustion: The Joys of Writing Beyond Our Experience

Thu., 12:05pm-2:05pm Elissa Schappell (CG) The Literary Magazine

Thu., 12:05pm-2:05pm Rebecca Godfrey (FI) The Uses of Violence

Thu., 2:10pm-4:10pm Monica Youn (PO) Race, Identity, and Experimentation

Thu., 2:10pm-4:10pm B.K. Fischer (CG) Comma Sutra: Grammar, Syntax, and Praxis

Thu., 4:15pm-6:15pm James Lasdun (FI) Style, Form, and Meaning

Thu., 5:15pm-7:15pm

Lynn Steger Strong (FI) Plotlessness

Thu., 6:20pm-8:20pm

——FRIDAY—— Lee Siegel (FI) The Novel of Ideas

Fri., 1:05pm-3:05pm

4

LECTURES (3 points)

——MONDAY——

David Gates The Quick and the Dead

Mon., 4:25pm-6:25pm Alan Felsenthal Engraving the Infinite

Mon., 6:40pm-8:40pm

——THURSDAY——

Richard Locke Twentieth-Century Literary Nonfiction

Thu., 2:10pm-4:10pm

Shane McCrae Toward a Theory of (Poetic) Style

Thu., 4:30pm-6:30pm

——FRIDAY——

Christopher Sorrentino The Unblinking “I”: An Incomplete Survey of the First Person

Fri., 10am-12pm

5

MASTER CLASSES (1 – 1.5 points)

——TUESDAY——

Richard Howard The Richard Howard Hours (1.5 points)

Tuesday, 4:10pm-6:10pm I. Sept. 5-Oct. 10 II. Oct. 17-Nov. 28 (no class Nov. 7)

Susan Shapiro How to Write and Publish a Personal Essay (1 point)

Tuesday, 6:30pm-8:30pm Oct. 3-Oct. 24

Jesse Sheidlower Defining the Dictionary (1 point)

Tuesday, 6:30pm-8:30pm Nov. 14-Dec. 5

——WEDNESDAY——

Meghan Daum What’s Problematic? Reading Fearlessly, Writing Dangerously (1 point)

Wednesday, 10am-12pm Nov. 15-Dec. 6

John Keene The Contemporary Novella in Translation (1 point)

Wednesday, 10am-12pm Oct. 18-Nov. 8

Matthew Burgess Serious Play: Teaching Imaginative Writing to Young People (1.5 points)

Wednesday, 4:05pm-6:05pm Sept. 27-Nov. 1

——THURSDAY——

Ru Freeman Other Voices, Other Ways (1.5 points)

Thursday, 12:05pm-2:05pm Sept. 14-Oct. 19

Rachel Sherman Portraying Adolescence in Contemporary Short Adult Fiction (1.5 points)

Thursday, 10am-12pm Oct.26-Dec.7 (no class Nov. 23)

Jay Deshpande As One Admits the Bayonet: The Poems of Denis Johnson (1.5 points)

Thursday, 6:45pm-8:45pm Sept. 28-Nov. 2

——FRIDAY——

Greg Jackson Prose and Cons: On the Challenges of Political Fiction (1.5 points)

Friday, 10:30am-12:30pm Oct. 6-Nov. 10

Alex Abramovich Writing Music (1.5 points)

Friday, 1:05pm-3:05pm Oct. 27-Dec. 8 (no class Nov. 24)

Nicholas Delbanco Travel Writing (1 point)

Friday, 1:05pm-3:05pm Nov. 10-Dec. 8 (no class Nov. 24)

Joshua Bennett Black Soundings in Contemporary Poetry (1.5 points)

Friday, 3:10pm-5:10pm Oct. 27-Dec. 8 (no class Nov. 24)

Garnette Cadogan The Way To See The World: Walking as Writing Teacher (1.5 points)

Friday, 3:10pm-5:10pm Oct. 6-Nov. 10

——WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY——

Leonard Schwartz Eco-Poetics: The Black of the Page (1 point)

Wednesday, 10am-12pm, and Friday, 10am-12pm Sept.6-Sept.15

6

SEMINARS Susan Bernofsky

Through a Glass Darkly: German Romantic &

Gothic Tales of Wonder and Horror (CROSS-GENRE,TRANSLATION) Wed.,2:10pm-4pmWe’veallbeenfrightenedbyhorrorstoriesatsomepointinourlives,buthowisthisfearachieved?It’salltooeasyforattemptstoinspirefeartofallflat,resultinginanythingfromcamptofarce.Trulyfrighteningliteratureinvolvesafeatofstorytellingbywhichdisbeliefissothoroughlysuspendedastorenderthereadervulnerabletothemostimprobablefears.Weareperhapsmostnakedlyhumanwhenconfrontedbywhatunsettlesus.Bycarefullyreadingtheseclassicworksof(mostly)nineteenthcenturywonderandhorror,wewillstudythewaysinwhichtheseeffectsareachievedandthewaysinwhichwritingaboutthesupernaturalservesthewriters’politicalandpsychologicalgoals.Throughoutthesemester,we’llalsobetalkingaboutissuesoftranslationwhenapplicable.Thecoursehasthreemaingoals:1.toacquaintstudentswiththegeneralhistoryofwonder/horrorwritingintheGermanRomanticandGothictraditions;2.togetstudentsthinkingabouttranslationandthewaysitimpactshowweread;and3.toinspirestudentstoexploretheuseofthetechniquesemployedintheseworksforuseintheirownwriting.Readingstobechosenfromamongthefollowing:

HoraceWalpole,TheCastleofOtranto(1764)AnnRadcliffe,TheMysteriesofUdolpho(1794)LudwigTieck,BlondEckbert(1796)BrothersGrimm,“JuniperTree”andotherfairytales(1812)AdalbertvonChamisso,PeterSchlemihl’sMiraculousStory(1814)E.T.A.Hoffmann,TheSandman(1816)&Freud’sessayon“TheUncanny”MaryShelley,Frankenstein(1818)JohnWilliamPolidori,TheVampyre(1819)JosephvonEichendorff,TheMarbleStatue(1819)EdgarAllenPoe,“FalloftheHouseofUsher,”etc.(1839)JeremiasGotthelf,TheBlackSpider(1842)CharlotteBrontë,JaneEyre(1847)JosephSheridanLeFanu,Carmilla(1872)RobertLouisStevenson,Dr.JekyllandMr.Hyde(1886)OscarWilde,ThePictureofDorianGray(1890)BramStoker,Dracula(1897)HenryJames,TheTurnoftheScrew(1898)

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GustavMeyrink,TheGolem(1914)FranzKafka,TheMetamorphosis(1915)

Thisisanadvanced-undergraduateseminaropentograduateMFAstudentsandmaybeusedtofulfillLTACseminarcourseworkrequirements.Keri Bertino

The Writer as Teacher (CROSS-GENRE) Wed.,12:05pm-3:05pm Thisisahybridcourse:partseminarandpartpracticum.Wewillcoveranoverviewofresearchintothewritingprocessandtheplaceofthewriterintheclassroom,andaddressthepedagogicalandeditorialskillsutilizedinelicitingandrespondingtocreativewritingincluding:creatingandpresentingwritingassignments;designingworkshops;andpresidingovergroupcritiquesandindividualconferences.Wewilldiscusstheteachingofcreativewritingatalllevels(primaryandsecondaryschools,undergraduateandgraduateprograms),andtherewillbevisitsfromexemplarypractitionersoftheartandcraftofteaching.Inthethirdhour,wewillreplicateclassroomsituationsinsmallgroupsandindividualpresentations.(Onanygivenclassday,wemayusenone,some,orallofthethirdhour.)Awidevarietyofreadingmaterialwillbehandedout.Therewillbeseveralshort,practicalpapers(includinginformalresponsestothereadings).Attendanceandpunctualityareessential,asisactiveparticipationinclassdiscussionsandgroups.Nicholas Christopher Mosaics: Unified Collections of Fiction & Poetry (CROSS-GENRE) Thu.,11am-1pm Wewillexamineassortedvolumesofinterconnectedstoriesandbook-lengthsequencesofpoemsandprose-poems.Thecomplextensioninsuchcollectionsbetweenthediscrete,ofteneclectic,elements—whetherstoriesorpoems—andtheunifiedwholemakethemapotentformthatrivalsthenovelorlongpoeminimaginativeresonance.Byvirtueoftheirverveanduniqueness,thesebookshaveinfluencedmanyothersintheirparticulargenres.Thereadinglistisinternational,andthematicallyvaried:

AUniversalHistoryofIniquity—JorgeLuisBorgesTheBloodyChamber—AngelaCarterMadwomen:The“LocasMujeres”Poems—GabrielaMistralMyEducation:ABookofDreams—WilliamS.Burroughs

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Mr.Cogito—ZbigniewHerbertRedCavalry—IsaacBabelJesus’Son—DenisJohnsonStrangeTalesfromaChineseStudio—PuSonglingTheWorldDoesn’tEnd—CharlesSimicInvisibleCities—ItaloCalvinoInOurTime—ErnestHemingwayTheInkDarkMoon—OnonoKomachi&IzumiShikibu,trans.by

JaneHirshfield&aselectionofSanskritLovePoems,trans.byW.S.Merwin

ConcerningtheAngels—RafaelAlberti(aselection)TheStreetofCrocodiles—BrunoSchulz

Mark Doten

Queer Form (FICTION) Tue.,6:30pm-8:30pm Whatisqueeraboutform?Canwespeakofaqueerform?Howdoweasfictionwriterswritequeerly?Inthisclasswewillreadqueerlitandcriticisminordertoprovideuswithstrategiesforwritingoutside,oragainst,orjustdifferentlyfromwhatI’llcallforthemomentsimplythatwhichisnotqueer.Wewillalsothinkaboutthemeaningofthewordqueer,whichisbynatureslipperyandcontested(Cananovelbyaqueerwriterstillbequeerifitonlyinvolvesstraightcharacters?Canastraightwriterwritequeerforms?Andifweansweryestothesequestions—andpersonallyIthinkthattheanswerisyes—howdoesthatwork,andwhy,andunderwhatcircumstances?)ReadingswillincludeworkbyAristotle,MichelFoucault,HermanMelville,VirginiaWoolf,JudithButler,AudreLorde,AndreGide,HeatherLewis,DennisCooper,DjunaBarnes,EdmundWhite,OctaviaButler,TonyKushner,JohnKeene,JustinTorres,EileenMyles,R.ZamoraLinmark,GarthGreenwell,andLeoBersani.

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Deborah Eisenberg

Studies in Short Fiction (FICTION) Tue.,12:05pm-2:05pm

There’snobetterinstrumentthanfictiontoexplorethecomplexrelationshipsbetweenanindividualandhisorhercontext,andwe’llbereadingoutstandingpiecesoffictionwhosecharactersareenmeshed,forthemostpart,inintenseorunstablesocietalsituations.We’llattemptfirsttotalkabouthowtheessenceofeachpiecemightbedescribed,and,further,whythepieceismorecompellingorvitalthananotherpiecethatcouldbedescribedinasimilarway.Thenwe’lllookcloselyathowthepiecebuildsintosomethingdistinctlyindividualandexcellent.Readingswillincludetwoshortnovelsbutotherwisewillconsistofstories.Iwillexpectstudentstohavereadeachstoryafewtimesbeforetheclassinwhichitistobediscussed,sothatwecanallbeintimatelyfamiliarwithitbeforewetalkaboutit.Muchofthereadingislikelytobefamiliartostudents—forexampleJamesJoyce’s“TheDead,”JamesBaldwin’s“Sonny’sBlues,”andFranzKafka’s“InthePenalColony.”Detaileddiscussionisapriorityandwe’llproceed—sometimesvery—slowly,butIhopewe’llalsobeablelookatstoriesbyGregorvonRezzori,IsaacBabel,KatherineAnnePorter,FelisbertoHernandez,SergioRamirez,MavisGallant,VarlanShalamov,and/orothers.ThetwoshortnovelsarebyIvanTurgenevandDezsoKostolanyi.Shortresponsepaperswillsometimesberequired.Ifyoufindaslowpacefrustratingorifyourobjectiveistoreadagreatdeal,thiscoursewouldprobablybeaverypoorfitforyou.Monica Ferrell

Word and Image: Reading and Writing Contemporary

Poetry for Prose Writers (CROSS-GENRE) Mon.,10am-12pmOpentoFictionandNonfictionstudentsonly.Thisisaworkshop-formatcourseinthereadingandwritingofpoetryforstudentsoffictionandcreativenonfiction.Withafocusoncontemporarypoetry,wewilldiscussvariousapproachestohowtoreadapoem,andexaminearangeofaestheticsincludingmodernism,formalism,confessionalwriting,theNewYorkSchool,andhybridity.Wewillalsodiscussfreeandformalverse,theprosepoem,andthelyricessay.Topicsexploredwillincludemusicandsound,wordchoice,imagery,line-breakandstanza-break,repetition,syntax,silenceandtheunsaid,andpoeticclosure.Wewillattempttowriteanew

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poemeachweek,asweconsiderworkbysuchauthorsasWallaceStevens,JohnBerryman,SylviaPlath,JohnAshbery,ClaudiaRankine,OlenaKalytiakDavis,ShaneMcCrae,CynthiaCruz,andMorganParker.B. K. Fischer

The Comma Sutra: Grammar, Syntax, and Praxis (CROSS-GENRE) Thu.,4:15pm-6:15pm ThiscourseaimstoconvincetheskepticthatevenifGertrudeSteinwasmistakeninsaying“Ireallydonotknowthatanythinghaseverbeenmoreexcitingthandiagrammingsentences,”grammarisatleastthesecondmostfulfillinghumanpursuit.Fundamentaltoourexplorationwillbeastudyofgrammaticalterminologyandlawsasananatomylabforlanguage—amethodforexposingitsinnerworkings,mechanisms,andconnectivetissuestounderstandmorefullyitscapacitiesandeffects.Thistechnicalscrutinywillgiverisetodiscussionofavarietyoftopicsrelevanttocreativepracticesinpoetryandprose,includingpatternsofsyntax,parataxisandhypotaxis,thesubjunctive,deixisandsubjectivity,voice,vernaculars,rhythm,pitch,andtempo.Ouranalysisofgrammarwilldovetailwiththeoreticalperspectivesbeyondsubjectandpredicate,drawinginsightsfromethics,feministlinguistics,gazetheory,racialpoliticsandaesthetics,andmediastudies.WewilldissectandrevelinsentencesbyCorneliusEady,HenryJames,VirginiaWoolf,WilliamFaulkner,MarilynneRobinson,EmilyDickinson,LydiaDavis,WilliamCarlosWilliams,RichardHoward,JorieGraham,ClaudiaRankine,TaiyeSelasi,andVampireWeekendamongotherexamples,andreadessaysbyNietzsche,HélèneCixous,GiorgioAgamben,LynHejinian,andothers.Takingtheformofasutra—textsthreadedtogethertobuildaworkingmanual—thecoursewillfocusineveryclassonhowgrammaticalideasarevitaltowritingpraxis.Participantswillwritesevenone-pageresponsestoextendtheseminar’sconversation,oneofwhichmustincludegraphicorvisualelements,andafinalpaperofapproximatelyfivepages.Thecoursealsoincludeseditorialsupportforyourownsentences—duringclassandinconferences—aswellasongoing“sentencelabs”thatwillhelpyourefineanddevelopthegrammaticalandsyntacticstrategiesinyourownwork.Joshua Furst

The Sum of Its Parts: Short Story Collections (FICTION) Mon.,6:15pm-8:15pm Howcanacollectionofstoriescohereintomorethanthesumofitsparts?Thebeststorycollectionsaremorethansimplycollectionsofstories.

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Everywriterwhohasdedicatedanyportionofhisorherattentiontowritingshortstorieseventuallyarrivesatamomentwhenheorshewonders,isthisabook?Sometimesthisquestionisansweredbythesimplefactthatthewriterhasaccumulatedenoughstoriestojustifylassoingthemtogether.Butthebeststorycollectionsstriveforsomethingmorethanthis.Theybuildrelationshipsandarcsofexperienceforthereaderoutoftheirseeminglyrandomlyconnectedparts.Theycreatealargerunity.Inthiscourse,wewilllookatthevarietyoftacticswritershaveusedtocreateunityintheirstorycollections.We’llstudyexamplesofcollectionsbuiltaroundplace,milieu,character,conceit,idea,theme,andcombinationsofmorethanoneoftheseaspectsoffiction.We’llexplorethewaysthataestheticrelationshipsdevelopfromstorytostorywithinsinglecollectionsandthewaysthatwriterscansometimesusecontrastingstorytellingtechniquestoarriveatbroadandsometimessurprisingconnections.Studentswillwriteoneshortessayanalyzingtheaestheticandformalcomponentsofapublishedcollectionofstoriesoftheirchoosing.Theywillalsoexplore,bothinwritingandclassroomconversation,theirideasforunifiedcollectionsoftheirown.Readingsinclude:

SherwoodAnderson–Winesburg,OhioIsaacBabel–RedCavalryErnestHemmingway–InOurTimeBrunoSchulz–TheStreetofCrocodilesMaryMcCarthy–TheCompanySheKeepsItaloCalvino–InvisibleCitiesShirleyHazzard–PeopleinGlassHousesToniCadeBambara–Gorilla,MyLoveGracePaley–EnormousChangesattheLastMinuteJamesAlanMcPherson–ElbowRoomRohintonMistry–SwimmingLessonsLorrieMoore–Self-HelpDenisJohnson–Jesus’SonJ.M.Coetzee–ElizabethCostelloJenniferEgan–AVisitfromtheGoonSquad

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Rivka Galchen

Mysteries (FICTION) Wed.,10am-12pm Mysteryoncereferredprimarilytoreligiousideas:divinerevelations,unknownrites,orthesecretcounselofGod.Inthe20thcentury,thewordbegantobeusedinreferencetomoreprosaicthings,likewhodunits.Butwhatiscomingtobeknowninastory?Whyandwhatisareadertemptedtotrytoknow,andwhat,today,canshepossiblythinkisgoingtoberevealed?Whendothe‘tricks’ofwithholdinginformationannoy,andwhendotheycompel?Whatareclues?Whataresolutions?Inwhatwayscananddostoriesnotstraightforwardlywrittenasmysteriesusethetropesofmystery?Inthiscoursewewillreadwiththeintentionofnoticinghowwritershaveborrowed,avoided,warped,translated,ordisguisedthestructuresofmystery.Inthisway,wewillthinkaboutwhattechniquesofmysterywemightintegrateintoourownwork.Readinglisttoincludeworksby:SirArthurConanDoyle,MarcelProust,HarukiMurakami,PenelopeFitzgerald,EdgarAllanPoe,MurielSpark,RobertoBolaño,JamesBaldwin,VeraCasparyandKoboAbe.FinalWritingAssignment:ashortmystery!Rebecca Godfrey

The Uses of Violence (FICTION) Thu.,2:10pm-4:10pm Thisseminarexplorestheuseofviolenceinshortstoriesandnovels.Wewillexaminehowviolence,beitemotional,politicalorphysical,canservetodevelopconflictandcharacterinfiction.Howdoesfictionalviolenceservetodisruptandunsettlenotonlythenarrative,butthereaderaswell?Toexplorethis,we’llreadarangeofworks,beginningwithDostoyevsky’sCrimeandPunishmentandendingwithtwonovelsofourtime,OttessaMoshfegh’sEileenandRachelKushner’sTheFlamethrowers.We’lllookattheuseofemotionalviolenceinstoriesbyRalphEllison,MavisGallant,JeanRhys,andMaryGaitskill,andtheformalinnovationsandevasionsofferedbynoiranddetectivenovelsbyPatriciaHighsmithandDenisJohnson.Alongtheway,we’llmeetassassins,prisoners,activists,andgangsters.Howandwhydothesecharactersexciteorrepelus?Howfarcanwepushthecharactersinourownfiction,andhowfarshouldwe?Howcanviolenceilluminatethelargerpoliticalorsocietalforcesthatexistinspecificmomentsofhistory?Howdoesviolenceinfictioncreateanoftenunexpected,yetdeeplysignificant,catharsisandconsequence?

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Lis Harris

Family Matters (NONFICTION) Tue.,10am-12pmAnexplorationofawidespectrumofliteraryapproachestowritingaboutthepeoplewhogaveyoulifeandthenmadeitgloriousoralivinghell—andaboutthosewhohuddledalongsideintheprimalpack.Thecoursewillcloselyexaminesomeoftheaesthetic,ethical,andresearchissuesthatarisefromwritingaboutfamilyaswellasthenovelistic,meditative,andlyricstrategiesthatcanexpandthissubject’sbreadthanddepth.Authors—ofnonfictionandfiction—whoseworkwewillreadincludeMaryMcCarthy(MemoriesofaCatholicGirlhood),JeanRenoir(Renoir,MyFather),PhilipRoth(Patrimony),WilliamMaxwell(SoLong,SeeYouTomorrow),Colette(MyMother’sHouse;Sido),TobiasWolff(ThisBoy’sLife),PaulaFox(BorrowedFinery),PerPetterson(OutStealingHorses),MichaelOndaatje(RunningIntheFamily),VladimirNabokov(Speak,Memory),andAdrianNicoleLeBlanc(RandomFamily).Week1 FirstclassWeek2 JaneAusten PersuasionWeek3 MaryMcCarthy MemoriesofaCatholicGirlhoodWeek4 JeanRenoir Renoir,MyFather(excerpt)Week5 PhilipRoth PatrimonyWeek6 Colette MyMother’sHouse;Sido(excerpts) VladimirNabokov “Mademoiselle,”fromSpeak,MemoryWeek7 WilliamMaxwell SoLong,SeeYouTomorrowWeek8 TobiasWolff ThisBoy’sLifeWeek9 ACADEMICHOLIDAY Week10 EricLiu TheAccidentalAsian(excerpt) DorothyGallagher HowICameIntoMyInheritance(excerpt)Week11 PaulaFox BorrowedFineryWeek12 PerPetterson OutStealingHorses Week13 MichaelOndaatje RunningintheFamilyWeek14 AdrianNicoleLeBlanc RandomFamilyLeslie Jamison

Regarding the Pain of Others (NONFICTION) Mon.,4:10pm-6:10pmWhatdoesitmeantowriteaboutotherpeople’spain?Bearingwitnesstosufferingisoneofthemostimportantthingswritingcando,andalsooneofthemostperilous—aprojectattendedbythedangersofreduction,exploitation,andvoyeurism.Someoneoneaskedmebeforeareading:“Doyoueverfeelguiltyaboutthefactthatyourwork

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profitsoffthepainofotherpeople?”Thiscoursehasitsoriginsinthatquestion,andallthequestionsthatattachtoit.WewilltakeSusanSontag’sRegardingthePainofOthersasourstartingpointinexaminingthepossibilitiesandperilsofevoking,exploring,illuminating,and(inevitably)aestheticizingthelivesofothers.We’llconsidertheethicalquestionsthatattendtheactofnarratingvulnerabilityofallkinds—emotional,physical,political,socioeconomic—astheseethicalquestionsintersectquestionsofcraft:Howcanconsciousnessbeevokedwithcomplicationanddignity?Howcanwerepresentpainwithoutreducinganyonetovictimhood?Howcannarrativeperspectiveshiftbetweenindividualandsocialscales?Howdoyoulinkindividuallivesandbroaderpoliticalstakes,orrelatesubjectiveimpressionstolargersocialcritiques?Whataretheconnectionsbetweenanecdoteandargument?Howcanreportageworkalongsideothermodes—thelyric,thecritical,thepersonal?Whatrolecanafirst-person“I”playinwritingaboutthelivesofotherpeople—whenisitnecessaryandwhendoesitintrude?We’llalsoengagewithotherformsofart—film,photography,sculpture,painting—inordertothinkmorebroadlyaboutthepossibilitiesofwitnessingandrepresentingpain.We’lllookatprosebyJamesAgee,NellieBly,RachelKushner,JamesBaldwin,DenisJohnson,MatthewPower,LucasMann,andEulaBiss;andpoetrybyClaudiaRankine,SolmazSharif,CDWright,andMarkNowak.We’lllookatphotographyandphotojournalismfromWalkerEvans,JacobRiis,andSebastiaoSalgado(inconjuctionwithWimWender’sfilmTheSaltoftheEarth),artbyDorisSalcedoandKerryJamesMarshall,andfilmsincludingAlmaHar’el’sBombayBeach,JoeBerlingerandBruceSinofsky’sParadiseLost,andChrisMarker’sSansSoleil.Margo Jefferson

Cultural Memoir (NONFICTION) Wed.,10:30am-12:30pmThiscoursewilllookatworksthatexplorethespacesbetweenwhatwecallthepersonalandwhatwecalltheculturalandsocial.Howdoweexamineourselvesthroughhistoricalmovementsandartforms,throughlandscapesandartifacts,eventhroughephemera?Howdoweprobetherelationsbetweenourprivateandpublicselves?Thesyllabuswillincludememoirs,essays,experimentalcriticismandevensomefiction.ExamplesofthewriterstobestudiedincludeSeiShonogon,CharlesBaudelaire,OsipMandelstam,MarinaTsvetaeva,RolandBarthes,ClariceLispector,KamauBraithwaite,RebeccaSolnit,AminattaForna,MaggieNelson,FranRoss,andYiyunLin.

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Nalini Jones

Spontaneous Combustion: The Joys of Writing

Beyond Our Experience (FICTION) Thu.,12:05pm-2:05pmTheseminar,whichtakesitsnamefromascenelateinBleakHousewhereCharlesDickensbroughthisfascinationwithspontaneouscombustionintohisnovel,willcelebratetheexpansivenessoffiction.Wewillreadwithacloselookatstoriesandnovelsthatdon’trelyonautobiographicalmaterialforcharacter,plot,orsituation.Readings,fromreimaginedfairytalestofictionsetinadoomedMinoanvillagein1,600B.C.,willopenupconversationsaboutoriginality,inventiveness,writerlypreoccupations,history,research,narrativeauthority(bywhichtheunexpected,fantastical,oroutrageousbecomespersuasiveorplausible),andofcourse,characterandpointofview.Throughexercises,studentswillhavethechancetoexperimentwithnewfictionaldirectionsoftheirown.ReadingswillincludeworksbyAngelaCarter,MaxineHongKingston,PenelopeFitzgerald,JimShepard,CarylPhillips,andPeterCarey,amongothers.Binnie Kirshenbaum

The Excruciating (FICTION) Wed.,1:10pm-3:10pm

Theworstisnotsolongaswecansay,“Thisistheworst.”—KingLear,Shakespeare

Ourimmediateresponsetopainismostoftenexpressednotinlanguagebutinsound:ascream,ahowl,orawhimper.Tobestdescribeandcomprehendphysicalpainwerelyonsharedexperience—atoothache,askinnedknee—andonfamiliaritywithourownnerveendingsandpainreceptors.Butstill,wecan’treallyknowsomeoneelse’spain.Sohow,then,doweevenbegintoconveytheexperienceofapainthathasnolocus?Whentheanswertothequestion,‘Wheredoesithurt?’is,‘Nowhereandeverywhere,’howdowe,aswriters,communicatetheexcruciatingpainsofdespair,failure,loneliness,grief,humiliation,shame,regret,andrage?Inthisseminar,wewillexaminethewaysandmeansinwhichwritersgivevoicetoexcruciationthatislivedasaninfiniteandsilentscream,ahowl,orawhimper.Inadditiontolookingatpsychicpainasitbearsonthetextasawhole,wewillexaminejusthowunarticulatedpainisachievedonthepage.Wewillidentifyanddeconstructthosemomentsinthetextwherethepainbecomesunbearable,whereitisdenied,howitgetsconcealedandwhenandhowitprovokeslaughter.Therewill

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beshortin-classandout-of-classexercisesinwhichwewillattempttoconveyallsortsofanguish(devoidofmelodrama)inourownwriting.Readingwillincludework(shortstoriesandshortnovelsalongwiththeoccasionalessayandpoem)byAntonChekov,SherwoodAnderson,MavisGallant,DelmoreSchwartz,FlanneryO’Connor,NataliaGinzberg,RichardYates,IreneNemirovsky,AliceMunro,HoracioCastellanosMoya,MurielSpark,ClariceLispector,MarinaTsvetaeva,NathanaelWest,andKazuoIshiguro,amongothers.Theselectedreadingwillbedeterminedsolelybythedegreeofexcruciation,andmyriadexamplesofbleedingwithoutevidenceofblood.Inadditiontotheshortassignments,studentswillberequiredtowriteonecreativeworkinfluencedbythereading.Hari Kunzru

The Weight of the World (FICTION) Tue.,10am-12pm Howshouldawriterbe?Howshouldshedealwithquestionsofpowerandpolitics?Whenisitbesttoshutouttheworldandlistentothe‘stillsmallvoice’?We’reusedtothinkingaboutnarrative‘conflict’largelyinpersonalterms.However,individuallivesaremoldedbywidersocialandpoliticalforces.Fictionisoneofthemostsophisticatedtoolswehaveforunderstandingtherelationshipbetweenindividuallivesandthecollectiveexperience,buthowcanacontemporarywritermakeworkthat’salivetotheworldwithoutgettingboggeddownin‘issues’orcrudelypushingapointofview?We’lllookatwritingfromaroundtheworld,mostlyfiction,butwithafewincursionsintopoetry,alwayswithaviewtohowthingsaremadeandhoweffectsareproducedonthepage.ThiswillincludeworkbysuchwritersasNanniBalestrini,RobertoBolano,DonDelillo,MahmoudDarwish,JennyErpenbeck,JulienGracq,PeterHandke,ElfriedeJelinek,UrsulaLeGuin,JavierMarias,HertaMuller,andM.NourbsePhilip.James Lasdun

Style, Form, and Meaning

(FICTION) Thu.,5:15pm-7:15pmWhatistherelationshipbetweenstyle,form,andmeaninginaworkoffiction?Withoutattemptingasystematicinquiry,thisseminarwilllookatsomeofthewaysinwhichwritershaveapproachedthesekeyaspectsofstory-telling.Itwillalsolook

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atrelatedquestionsofplot,voice,pointofview,characterization,metaphor,andinteriority.Withoneexception(AnnaKarenin),thefocuswillbeonclosereadingsofshortnovelsornovellas—classicsaswellascontemporaries—andamongtheauthorswe’llbelookingatwillbeatleastsomeofthefollowing(innoparticularorder):HenryJames,Tolstoy,JeanRhys,PatriciaHighsmith,JosephConrad,Melville,Marquez,Kafka,YukioMishima,D.H.Lawrence,TejuCole,JennyOffil,AdelleWaldman,BenLerner,RachelCusk,SaulBellow.We’llbereadingthesetwobooksslowly,acrossthesemester:

Tolstoy:AnnaKareninPatriciaHighsmith:TheTalentedMrRipley

We’llalsobereading(innoparticularorder)atleastthesebooksandpossiblysomeothers:

PhilipKDick:DoAndroidsDreamofElectricSheep?AdelleWaldman:TheLoveAffairsofNathanielPJenniferOffill:Dept.ofSpeculationKafka:MetamorphosisCormacMcCarthy:TheRoad

Gideon Lewis-Kraus

Reporting Non-News (NONFICTION) Tue.,4:15pm-6:15pmThisseminarlooksatinformation-gatheringforwriters,withparticularemphasisonnon-news—thatis,informationthatcannotreliablyorinterestinglybegatheredinsideone’shouse,viaemail,oroverthetelephone.Itexaminesattitudesaboutandpracticesofreportinginlightoftheassumptionthatwhatpeoplesayanddoexplicitlyisnotnecessarilyofgreaterrelevancethanhowtheysaidordidit,whattheywerewearingwhiletheysaidordidit,whattheweatherwaslikeonthedaytheysaidordidit,andhowthelistenerhappenedtofeelaboutwhatwassaidordone.Theclasswilldwellonactualinformation-gatheringskills—whichapproachestendtoyieldgreaterorlesserquantitiesofthevarietiesofusefulinformation—butwill(forthemostpart)rejectthefollowingideas:thatreportingandwritingaredistinctenterprises;thatreportorialskillsareinnate,oraretradesecrets,orcanbedismissedas‘mere’practicaltechniquesofnousetothepureofheart;thatreportingformemoirorfirst-personruminationorfictionissomehowdifferentinkindfromreportingmoretraditionalmagazinestories.Readingswillinturnbedrawnfromjournalism,sociology,fiction,andpoetry,andmayormaynotincludesuchwritersasHowardBecker,DianneVaughan,NicholsonBaker,JamesMerrill,Elif

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Batuman,SheilaHeti,EllenUllman,KennedyFraser,MarshallFrady,EllenWillis,JamaicaKincaid,andJanetMalcolm.Phillip Lopate

Studies in the Essay (NONFICTION) Tue.,12:05pm-2:05pmWewillbeexaminingthedevelopmentoftheessayform,throughthegreatlineofessayistsintheEnglishlanguage.Startingineighteenth-centuryEngland,withFrancisBacon,SamuelJohnson,JonathanSwift,Addison&Steele,throughthegreatnineteenth-centurypractitioners,WilliamHazlitt,CharlesLamb,R.L.Stevenson,ThomasDeQuincey,andJohnRuskin,andthetwentieth-centurymasters,suchasMaxBeerbohm,G.K.Chesterton,VirginiaWoolf,andGeorgeOrwell,thenhoppingovertheAtlantictoWashingtonIrving,RalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau,H.L.Mencken,JamesThurber,E.B.White,MaryMcCarthy,JamesBaldwin,andM.F.K.Fisher.Wewillbelookingathowthesamewritershandlepersonalandimpersonalessays,memoirpieces,andliterarycriticism,toinvestigatethetechniquesofnarrativestructureandsuspenseinessays,andhowthemysteriousprojectionofauthorialpersonalitytraversesanyandallsituations.Erroll McDonald

Introduction to the Bible as Literature (FICTION) Mon.,4:10pm-6:10pm ThiscourseaimstointroducetheHebrewBibleandtheNewTestament—theHolyBible,ifyouwill—notasnormativerevealedreligioustruthbutasaprodigiouslydiverseyetarguablyunifiedcollectionofliterature,atoncefamiliarandstrange—whichistosaythatwewillbeapproachingtheBibleaswewouldHomer,ShakespeareorTolstoy.BycastingacriticalgazeuponselectedreadingsintheTorah(Genesis,Exodus,Leviticus,NumbersandDeuteronomy),Deuteronomichistory(Samuel1&2andKings1&2),Proto-ApocalypticLiterature(Isaiah,Jeremiah,Ezekiel),WisdomLiterature(Job,Psalms,Proverbs,andEcclesiastes),ApocalypticLiterature(Daniel)andtheNewTestament(theSynopticGospels,John,ActsoftheApostles,thePaulineEpistlesandRevelation),astudentwillcometoappreciatetheawe-inspiringrichnessandcomplexityofbiblicalstorytelling,informedasitisbyastunningmultiplicityofgenres,narrativeprocedures,andliterarytechniques.Forrisingwriterstherelevanceof,andrationalefor,thiscoursearesimple.AstheeminentcriticGeorgeSteinerputsit:theBibleis“themostwidelypublished,disseminatedlanguage-actonthefaceoftheearth….Itisthebookwhich,notonlyin

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Westernhumanity,definestheconceptofatext.Allourotherbooks,however,differentinmatterormethod,relate,beitindirectly,tothisbookofbooks.Theyrelatetothefactsofarticulateaddress,texttoreader,trustinlexical,grammaticalandsemanticmeans,whichtheBibleoriginatesanddeploysatalevelandprodigalityunsurpassedsince.Allotherbooks,betheyhistories,narrationsoftheimaginary,codesoflaw,moraltreatises,lyricpoems,dramaticdialogues,theological-philosophicmeditationsarelikesparks,often,tobesure,distant,tossedbyanincessantbreathfromacentralfire.”StudentswillneedtoownanduseTheNewJerusalemBible(nottheReader’sEdition,whichlacksthenotes)andtheKingJamesBible.Thecourserequirementsarethese:dedicatedclassparticipationandtwo8-10pagepapersonspecificpassageschoseninconsultationwiththeinstructor.Deborah Paredez

Witness, Record, Document: Poetry and Testimony (CROSS-GENRE) Wed.,10:10am-12pmThisseminartakesupthetermswitness,record,anddocumentasnounsandverbs.Whatispoetryofwitness?Documentarypoetry?Poetryas(revisionist)historicalrecord?Whatlaborandwhatethical,political,andaestheticconsiderationsarerequiredofpoetswhoendeavortowitness,record,ordocumenthistoricaleventsormomentsoftrauma?Howisthisapproachtopoetryinformedbyorcontributingtofeministtheories,aestheticinnovation,andrevisionistapproachestoofficialhistories?Coursematerialsinclude:1)essaysthatexplorethepoeticsandpoliticsof“poetryofwitness”or“documentarypoetry”;2)arangeofcontemporaryAmericanpoetrythathasbeenclassifiedasorhasproductivelychallengedthesecategories;3)andaudio,video,andphotographicprojectsonwhichpoetshavecollaborated.Ourencounterswiththisworkwillbeguidedbyandgroundedinconversationsaboutideasof“truth,”“text,”thepowerrelationsof“documentation,”andissuesoflanguageandrepresentationinpoetry.Wewillalsocriticallyexaminetheformal(rhyme,rhythm,diction,form,genre,pointofview,imagery,etc.)andphilosophicalcomponentsandinterventionsoftheworkwestudyandcreate. ThisisanundergraduateseminaropentograduateMFAstudents.

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Camille Rankine

The Poetry of Silence (POETRY) Wed.,4:05pm-6:05pm“IthinkIamprobablyinlovewithsilence,thatotherworld.AndthatIwrite,insomeway,tonegotiateseriouslywithit.”

—JorieGraham,“SomeNotesonSilence”Inthisclasswewillexaminethevariouswaysthatpoetsnegotiatesilence:throughwhitespace,erasure,fragment,narrative,theunsaid.Throughreadingsanddiscussion,wewillinvestigatehowsilencecanoperateasanactive,enrichingpresenceinpoetry,openingupaspaceoftensionandelectricity.Studentswillalsoexploretheirownrelationshiptosilenceintheirworkthroughwritingexercisesinspiredbythevariousapproachestosilencewediscussinclass.ReadingswillincludeworkbyAnneCarson,CynthiaCruz,EmilyDickinson,KateGreenstreet,PhilipMetres,MaryRuefle,Sappho,SolmazSharif,KhadijahQueen,MonicaYoun,andmore.Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

Essay Films and Filmic Essays (NONFICTION) Tue.,10am-12pm Thisseminarwillgotothemoviesinsearchoftoolsforourwritingpractice.Wewillstudytheessayfilm,tracingthearcofitschallengetothebroaderdocumentarytraditionwithparticularinterestinhowcertainworkscomprisingthislooselydefined“quasi-genre”caninformhowwesee,howweargue,andhowwenarrate.ScreeningsandreadingswillincludeHansRichter,AlainResnais,ChrisMarker,MargueriteDuras,theBlackAudioFilmCollective,ArthurJafa,HitoSteyerl,andtheOtolithGroup,amongothers.Elissa Schappell

The Literary Magazine (CROSS-GENRE) Thu.,12:05pm-2:05pm Inthisseminarwewillbelookingatthepast,present,andfutureofliterarymagazinesfromtheperspectiveofboththeeditorandthewriter.We'llexaminethefinestliteraryjournalsandeditorsofthepast—thoseinstrumentalincreatingtheAmericanliterarylandscapeincludingtheEvergreenReview,TheParisReviewand

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GrandStreet—aswellasthemostinfluentialliterarymagazinespublishingtodayincludingZoetrope,Ploughshares,andNoon.Particularattentionwillbepaidtostudyingthefoundationalelementsthatdistinguishamagazine,frompointofview,tophysicallayoutanddesign,tothecriteriaforselectingworktotheeditorialprocessleadingtopublication.Classassignmentswillinclude:researchingliteraryjournals,editingexercises,curatingartwork,andcreatingrunsheets.Inordertosimulatetheexperienceofworkingataliterarymagazine,studentswillbeworkingingroups.Andbecausetheonlymagazinesthatendurearethosewithaclearvision,studentswillneedtodeveloptheirownandproduceamissionstatement.Bytheendofthesemester,studentswillhaveinventedaliterarymagazinethatreflectstheiruniquesensibilities.Classwillincludespecialguestsandafieldtrip.Thisclasswillbecappedat12students.Christine Schutt

In So Few Words: The Worlds of Flash Fiction (CROSS-GENRE) Tue.,10am-12pm Readingsofshort,shortfictionandhowitismadelargeenoughtosignify.Whattoseekandwhattoavoidinthewritingofshort,shortfictionwithconsiderationofmanyofitsbestpractitioners:JayneAnnePhillips,BarryHannah,AmyHempel,EtgarKeret,MunaFadhil,DianeWilliams.ReadingwillincludeessaysbyDebOlinUnferth,StuartDybek,JulioOrtega,andothersontheform’shistoryandoftenaskedquestions:Isitpoetryorproseandhowtobeginandfindfeelingandfreedominunderapage?Classtimewillbegivenovertostudents’short,shortstoriesaswell.Lee Siegel

The Novel of Ideas (FICTION) Fri.,1:05pm-3:05pm “Words,”wroteJamesJoyce,“areapoorchild’sarsenal.”Ideasareevengreaterweaponsofpersonalfreedom.Anidea—anewadditiontotheavailablestockofreality—canempowerthepowerlessandputthemarginalonanintellectualpar—attheveryleast—withtherestofsociety.Ideasarealsodouble-edgedswords:abstractionsthathavenosocialtraction,powerfulreinterpretationsofrealitythatremainburiedinthemind,sometimesdelusionalmentalconstructionsthatisolatethepersonwhoconceivesthem.Ideas

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havechangedthecourseofhistory,restructuredwholesocieties,andtransformedthelivesofpeoplewhoconstructedthem.Dictators,snobs,andbullieshateideasbecausethesefigures’powerisbasedonthepreservationofaspecificsetofmaterialconditions.Thepowerofanideaistoshatterthestatusquo.Ortogonowhereatall.Ortoenableanindividualtoendureanotherwiseunendurableenvironment.Inthisseminarwewillstudyanddiscussthatstrange,almostextinctproductoftheEnlightenment,thenovelofideas.Borninthe18thcentury,thenovelofideasexpressedthedynamicnewmotionoftheEuropeanmiddleclass.Aristocraticbirthrightasunimpeachableentitlementwasbeingreplacedbyromanticfeelingandrigorous,originalthinking.Emotionsandthoughtsbecamenewformsofpedigree.Poetsandpainterscouldfeeltheirwaytosocialpower.“Intellectuals”—abrandnewsocialtype—couldthinktheirwaytopersonalandsocialfreedom.Thenovelofideaswasthequintessentialvehicleofthisnewmobility.InnovelslikeVoltaire’sCandideandDiderot’sJacquestheFatalistandRameau’sNephew,religionwaschallengedbyrationality,questionsoffreewill,goodandevil,andthenatureandroleoftheimaginationweregivenstrenuouslyplayful—andcomic—fictionaltreatment.Forthenexttwohundredyears,asonesocialandpoliticalrevolutionfollowedanother,anddemocracy(whatismoredemocraticthananidea?)andcapitalism(whatismoreideallytransactionalthananidea’sconversionsofreality?)convergedandthencollided,thenovelofideasflourished.Thevariousismsofthe19thand20thcenturiesmaystrikeusasaridandbloodlessnow,butthenovelofideasembodiedtheminthepassionsoftheirtime.Thenovelofideasenactshistory’sinnerlife.StartingwithVoltaireandDiderot,wewillfollowthenovelofideasasitunfoldsthroughtime.AuthorsmayincludeTurgenev,Dostoyevsky,Conrad,Mann,Sartre,Camus,Beauvoir,Koestler,ElsaMorante,IgnazioSilone,IrisMurdoch,DorisLessing,SaulBellow,JeanRhys,Naipaul,MaryMcCarthy,andmore.Wewillstudythevariouswaystheseauthorsdramatizeideas,makethemcometolife,wringtangiblelaughteroutofmereabstraction(laughtermaywellbeboththesoilandthefinalrestingplaceofanidea).Wewilltalkaboutthefinelinebetweenfictionalconstructsandideas—canacharacterbeanideaandacharacteratthesametime?;abouttheimportanceoftheatricaltechniquesinthenovelofideas—dialogueismother’smilktothenovelofideas;andponderthequestionofwhatdistinguishesthenovelofideasfromanovelthathasideas.Ifthereisanydifferenceatall.Wewillbeginwithapieceofwritingthatis,infact,notaworkoffictionatall.TheFrenchphilosopherSimoneWeilwroteafamousessaycalled“TheIliad,orthePoemofForce,”inwhichsheturnsHomer’sepicintosomethinglikeamodernnovelofideas.Theexperienceofreadinganintellectualbuildideasoutofanimaginativeworkmightgiveusawindowintothewayfictionwritersbuildimaginativeworksoutofideas.Onefive-to-tenpagepaperisrequired.Thepapermaybeacriticalresponsetosomeoftheworkswehaveread,oritcouldbeanexampleofthenovelofideasitself—eitheranexcerptfromafuture,orimaginary,novel,oraself-containedpieceofcreativewritinginthestyleofthenovelofideas.

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Lynn Steger Strong

Plotlessness

(FICTION) Thu.,6:20pm-8:20pm Whatmovesabookbeyondwhathappensnext?Plot,definedasthemaineventsdevisedandpresentedbythewriterasaninterrelatedsequence,oftenservesasthescaffoldingofanovel.Itkeepsthereaderreading,butitoftenisn’twhywewrite.Major,clearlyconsequentialconcreteactionoftengarnersinterestandcreatesmystery,butitoftenbeginstolookalotlesslikelife.Yet,manybooksthatfailtodeliverplotandaction,majorconsequence,fallflat.Howdowelookawayfromplotwhilemaintainingintrigueandmovement?Howdowemaintainveracity,andfocus,whilenotbeingdrownedoutinstagnancy?Whatarebooksabout?Inthisclass,wewilllookatbooksthatdefytheneedforBigImportantConcreteAction,bookssometimes(condescendinglyornot)calledquietanddomestic,thatsomehowfeelanythingbut.Wewillreadagoodportionofnovelsintranslationandbooksnotquiteconsiderednovels,orconsideredless-thanupontheirpublications,inordertoalsodiscussthewaysinwhichthesechoicesareculturedandgendered:whoownsstories,andwhodefinesthem,whyandhow?Wewilllookatchoicesthatdestabilizethereader’sexpectationsbothtoengageandtosubvert.Wewilllookatthecraftchoicesthatstandinforplotbutstillcreatemovementandstructure:voice,contrasts,collisions,structure,tone,anunknown,unnameddread.Wewillattempttoidentifyandexplorethesetoolsinorderthatwemightexploitthem,todissecttheiruses,theirstrengthsandfailures,andtodeploytheminourwork.Theassignmentforthisclasswillbeone5-7pageshortstoryinwhich“nothinghappens”,exceptitdoes.Readingsinclude:

GoodMorningMidnight,JeanRhysPond,ClaireLouise-BennettPartyGoing,HenryGreenKaddishforanUnbornChild,ImreKertészThePassionAccordingtoGH,ClariceLispectorTransit,RachelCuskSpeedboat,RenataAdlerChronicleofaDeathForetold,GabrielGarciaMarquezIncidentsintheLifeofaSlaveGirl,HarriettJacobsTheUnconsoled,KazuoIshiguro

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TheEndofDays,JennyErpenbeckTheDoor,MagdaSzabóTheLoser,ThomasBernhard

Lara Vapnyar

Building a Scene

(FICTION) Wed.,10am-12pm Individualscenesareimportantbuildingblocksofanyprosenarrative,yetthecraftofdesigningasceneisoftenneglectedbyaspiringwriters.Inthisclasswewillstudyalltheaspectsofdesigningasuccessfulscene:setting,innerplot,innerstructure,spotlightonthecharacters,POV,choreographyofphysicalmovement,dialogue.Wewillstudyhowtowritesexscenes,deathscenes,partyscenes,battlescenes,naturescenes.ThereadingswillincludeTolstoy,Ferrante,Baldwin,Bolano,Proulx,Munro,Waters,Wallace.(GiganticnovelslikeWarandPeaceorInfiniteJestwillbeassignedinexcerpts.)Wendy Xu

Toward Seeing: Writing into the Image (POETRY) Mon.,3:40pm-5:40pm Modernlifeinundatesuswithvisualinformation—onemightarguethatourhistoricalmomentischaracterizedbyunprecedentedaccesstovisualdocumentsandtheirrapid-firedisseminationacrossplatforms.Thiscoursewillstartattheverybeginningofclassicalekphrasisasatradition(thedynamicandvividdescriptionofaworkofvisualart)withareadingofHomer’streatmentofAchilles’shieldinTheIliad,beforequicklyliftingoffintomoreexperimentalexplorationsofwhatpoetryspecificallyengagedwithsightcando.Wewillbroadenourdefinitionofekphrasticwritingtoinclude,perhaps,writingacteduponbyaparticularvisualstimuli,whileacknowledgingtheextenttowhichcurrenteventsandculturenowcomestousinexactlythisway—acrystallizingphoto,ascreenshot,ameme,anewspaperlead-image.Withthisfertileintersectioninmind,howcanwritingintotheimagesofourdayhelpusunderstandthem,ourselves,andourhistoricalmoment?Wewillfocusontheclosereadingofcollectionsofpoetry(andsomeprose)thatengage,invaryingways,theinterplaybetweenwriterandimageaswellasproducecriticalreadingresponseswithanemphasisontechniqueandeffect.Alongsidethisreadingwillbeopportunitiesforustocollect,examine,share,andrespondcreativelytotheimagesofour“contemporarymoment”throughvisuallyfocusedwritingexercises,in-classactivities,andthekeepingofanimage-journalthroughoutthesemester.Wewilllookatpaintings,drawings,screenshots,photographicjournalism,internetmemes,

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portraits,andmanyotherformsofimagery.Howcanwritingwithavisuallyinfluencedeyebeagenerativeforceforusasculturallyandpoliticallyengagedpoets?How,andwithwhatdifficulty,canourownpoetryengagetheimagesofmodernlifebeyonddescription—towardevaluation,dissent,subversion?Languagewillbeourtoolforinquiry,visualartifactsofthecultureoursubject.Howistheexcavationofourselvesapartofthisprocess?Bysemester’send,studentswillhavecompletedapacketofneworiginalwritinginformedbytheseandotherinquiries.Readingswillinclude:

BoyWithThorn,byRickeyLaurentiisVoyageoftheSableVenus,byRobinCosteLewisOneBigSelf,byC.D.WrightCinemaofthePresent,byLisaRobertsonEmptyChairs,byLiuXiaPartisanofThings,byFrancisPongeFurtherAdventuresinMonochrome,byJohnYauTheRingsofSaturn,W.G.Sebald

WithsupplementarytextsbyHomer,Dante,JohnKeats,AlexanderVonHumboldt,RobertBrowning,W.H.Auden,JenniferTamayo,HenriMichaux,RebeccaWolff,MorganParker,KevinYoung,Mei-MeiBerssenbrugge,andmanyothers.Matvei Yankelevich

Revolt of the Word: Anarchy and Innovation in

Modern & Contemporary Poetry (CROSS-GENRE,TRANSLATION) Wed.,12:05pm-2:05pm

AfewyearsbeforetheRussianRevolutionof1917,theFuturistpoetAlekseiKruchenykhproposedthatnewcontentmayonlycomeaboutfromnewforms.Takingthispropositionasacatalyst,thisseminarsetsouttotracetheconnectionsbetweenformalinnovationandradicalpoliticsofsocialchangein20th-and21st-centurypoetics.If,astheRussianFuturistpoetsproclaimed,“tobeanartist,istobeanaggressor,”thisseminarseekstoidentifythemanner,means,andmotivationsofpoetry’srevolt.OurpathbeginswithStéphaneMallarmé’sexplosionoflinearreadingin“AThrowoftheDice”vis-a-visthedevelopmentoftrans-senselanguage(zaum)andblurringofvisualandtextualelementsinRussianFuturistbooks,suchasKruchenykh’s“Explodity,”abookconceivedasametaphoricalbomb.Wewillexplorehowsuchearly“verbi-voco-visual”experimentsofthehistoricalavant-gardepositionlinguisticinnovationalongsiderevolutionaryorutopianprogramsoftotalpoliticalandsocial

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change.Afterconsideringsomeavant-gardetheoriesandtheoriesoftheavant-garde,aswellasthechallengesoftranslatingformallyinnovativewriting,we’llturntotheexplosionofinternationalneo-avant-gardesaftertheSecondWorldWartodiscernthedisturbanceofthestatusquoinmovementssuchasLettrism,Situationism,Fluxus,Concrete,andlanguage-centricConceptualartgroupingsfromBraziltoMoscow.Thesecondhalfofthecoursewillbelargelydedicatedtothepoliticsoflanguageinpost-colonialexperimentalwriting(withspecialfocusontheCaribbean,fromÉdouardGlissanttoM.NourbeSePhilip)andAfrican-Americanexperimentaltraditions(fromBlackArtstotheBlackTookCollective).Towardtheendofthecoursewe’lltouchuponthemanifestationofleftistpoliticalagendasinUS-basedLanguageSchoolpoetryandthechallengetomonolingualismandromanticnotionsofnationalidentityposedbymultilingualpoetryandcontemporaryexperimentsintranslation.Thewritingrequirementsforthiscoursewillconsistofan8-12pagecriticalpaperandahandfulofshortcreativeresponsestothereadings.Studentswillalsobeaskedtoundertakeonepublicpoeticaction.Becausethisseminarisfocusedoninnovativeformandtheexpansionofwriting’straditionalbounds,the“texts”westudywillnecessarilyincludeaudioandvisualmaterialsaswellasperformanceandartists’booksinadditiontotraditionalreadings.Approximatelyhalfthereadingassignmentswillbeinternationalwritingintranslation.Monica Youn

Race, Identity, and Experimentation (POETRY) Thu..,2:10pm-4:10pmThisseminarexploresthelinkagebetweenracialidentityandpoeticinnovationinworkbycontemporarypoetsofcolor.Practitionersandcriticsofself-designatedexperimentaloravant-gardepoetryinmodernandcontemporaryAmericahaveoftendefinedthesepracticesas“impersonal,”“againstexpression”or“post-identity.”Thisapproachhasoftentendedtoexcludeordownplaypoemsthatengageissuesofracialidentity.Thiscourseexploresworksinwhichpoetsofcolorhavetreatedracialidentityasameanstodestabilizeliteraryidealsofbeauty,masteryandtheautonomyofthepoetictextwhileatthesametimeengagingingroundbreakingpoeticpracticesthatsubvertexternallyorinternallyconstructedconceptionsofidentityorauthenticity.TextwillincludebooksofpoemsbyBhanuKapil,LayliLongSoldier,JohnYau,andHarryetteMullenaswellasexcerptsfromcriticaltexts.Eachstudentwillofferseveralin-classpresentationsthatwillfocusontheinterfacebetweenracialidentityandliterarycrafttechniques,aswellasafive-pagefinalpaper.

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LITERARY TRANSLATION WORKSHOPS

SECTION 1: Susan Bernofsky Thu.,11am-1:30pm

SECTION 2: Natasha Wimmer Mon.,10am-12:30pm

Theseworkshopsareopentostudentstranslatingfromalllanguagesatalllevels,fromnovicetoexperienced,andinallgenres:fiction,nonfiction,andpoetry.Theyaredesignedtogiveyouorhelpyourefinethetoolsnecessarytobeagoodtranslatoraswellasagoodreaderoftranslatedliteraryworks,toimproveyoureditingskillsinEnglish,andtodemonstratehowtheartandcraftofliterarytranslationcanimpactyourownworkasawriter.Participantsmaycomewithaprojectalreadyinmind,ormayworkwiththeinstructortoselectprojectsearlyonthatwillbeworkshoppedoverthecourseoftheterm.Thefocuswillbeonnuancesofstyleandvoice,linguisticplay,andmethodsofrepresentingandproducinglinguisticandliteraryinnovationinEnglishwhileremaining“true”totheoriginal.Wewillhavefascinatingandheateddiscussionsaboutwhatthatmeans!Agoodreadingknowledgeofasecondlanguageisdesirable,butstudentswithbasicsecond-languageskillswhoareinterestedinunderstandingthetranslationprocessandtheimpactitcanhaveontheirownwritingarealsoencouragedtoregister(andtocontinueimprovingtheirsecond-languageskills).Readingsintranslationtheoryandmethodologywillbeassignedthroughoutthetermbasedonthedifferentlanguagesstudentsbringtoclassandontheirpreviousreadings.

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LECTURES Alan Felsenthal Engraving the Infinite

Mon.,6:40pm-8:40pmThissalonwillfocusonsacredtexts,transcendentpoetry,andmoralandspiritualimpulsesinwriting.Eachweek,wewillhostavisitorwhowillpresentasubjectrelatedtothesacredanditsattendanttraditions.Thesevisitors,expertsintheirfields,willincludeFarnooshFathi,MaryGossy,RobertM.Place,ArianaReines,JeromeRothenberg,andotherpoets,translators,andscholarswhoseliveshavebeendedicatedtoquestionsofthesoul,beyondtherangeofmerelyphysicalhumanexistenceandthroughoutthehistoryoflanguage.Sometopicsinclude:booksofthedead,symbolismofthetarot,ethnopoetics,Christianmysticism,Sufipoetry,Kabbalisticverse,andmanyothereffortsandpursuits.Weeklyreadingswillbeprovided.Theobjectiveofthissalonistoemptyourselvesofpreconceivedideasinordertobesurprisedandinspiredbyourguests;andthentoallowthatinspirationintothepracticeofwriting.David Gates

The Quick and the Dead Mon.,4:25pm-6:25pm

AfteraplaybyShakespeare,justtosetthebarhigh,we’lllookcloselyatsomemajorworksoffictionfromtheearly19thcenturythroughtherecentpresent.Youmayhavereadsomeormostofthembefore,butwouldyoulistentoyourfavoritesongonlyonce?Here’sthelist:

Shakespeare,TheTempestDiaz,TheBriefWondrousLifeofOscarWaoAusten,MansfieldParkMorrison,BelovedShelley,FrankensteinBeckett,MolloyWoolf,TotheLighthouseStoriesby:Hawthorne,Melville,Tolstoy,Chekhov,Joyce,Mansfield,Kafka,Hemingway,Cheever,O’Connor,Barthelme,Carver

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I’vechosenthemtorepresentarangeofgenres,fromrealismtosort-of-kind-ofrealismtofabulismtometafiction.AndI’vepairedthemthematically,forreasonsthatwillbecomeobviousiftheyaren’talready:TheTempestwithOscarWao,MansfieldParkwithBeloved,FrankensteinwithMolloy.(TotheLighthousewilljusthavetostandonitsown.)Toallowtimeforcarefulreading,we’lltalkaboutanoveleveryotherweek;ontheweeksinbetween,we’lldiscussvariousshortstories.Andyou’llwriteafive-to-ten-pageresponsetooneormoreoftheseworks.Youdon’tneedtoconsultcriticsorothersecondarysources,unlessyouparticularlywantto.I’llbemoreinterestedinwhatYOUthinkofsomeaspectofagivenwork,andwhatexactlyinthetextmadeyouthinkit.PleasecometothefirstclasshavingreadTheTempest.IrecommendtheSignetClassicedition,sinceit’saffordableandhasgoodnotes—whichyou’llneedtodecipherShakespeare;atleastIdo—andsupplementarymaterial.Richard Locke

Twentieth-Century Literary Nonfiction Thu.,2:10pm-4:10pm

Asurveyofcriticism,reportage,polemics,memoirs,andmeditationsfromthe1920’stothepresentthatexploresthevarietyandflexibilityofnonfictionstylesandgenres.Thereadingwillbedrawnfrom:

TheEdmundWilsonReader,ed.LewisM.Dabney(DaCapo)TheCommonReader:FirstSeries,VirginiaWoolf(Harcourt)ARoomofOne’sOwn,VirginiaWoolf(Harcourt)ACollectionofEssaysbyGeorgeOrwell(Harcourt)HomagetoCatalonia,GeorgeOrwell(Harcourt)GoodbyetoBerlin,ChristopherIsherwood(NewDirections)SurvivalinAuschwitz,PrimoLevi(SimonandSchuster)Speak,Memory,VladimirNabokov(Vintage)EssaysofE.B.White(Harper)UpintheOldHotel,JosephMitchell(Vintage)WeTellOurselvesStoriesinOrdertoLive,JoanDidion(Everyman)TheWomanWarrior,MaxineHongKingston(Vintage)

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Shane McCrae

Toward a Theory of (Poetic) Style Thu.,4:30pm-6:30pm

Styleisaclosestneighbortothinking.Styleissocloseaneighbortothinking,infact,thatsometimesstyleseemsalmostimpossibletothinkabout.Andyetstyleisofprimaryimportancetopoetry,andisoneofthewayspeoplehavetraditionallydistinguishedpoetryfromotherliteraryarts.Inthiscourse,wewillattempttofigureoutwhatstyleisanddoesinpoetry.Wewillaskourselveswhatitmeanstohaveareadilyidentifiablepoeticstyle.Wewillexplorethepossibilitythatstyleistheonlyremainingavenueforsignificantpoeticinnovation.AndwewillreadanddiscusspoetslikeAaseBerg,andVictoriaChang,andHartCrane,andAdamFitzgerald,andLouiseGlück,andJorieGraham,andGeoffreyHill,andCathyParkHong,andKarinLessing,andRobertLowell,andMarianneMoore,andCarlPhillips,andDerekWalcott,andhonestlykindofeverybody.WhatwasitOscarWildesaid?Oh,yeah:“Inmattersofgraveimportance,style,notsincerity,isthevitalthing.”Innoliteraryartisthatmoretruethaninpoetry.Discussiontopicswillinclude,amongothers:“AmericanBaroque:HartCrane’sWhiteBuildings,AdamFitzgerald’sTheLateParade,andOthers”;“MasterhoodandResistingMasterhood:WhatLouiseGlück’sFaithfulandVirtuousNight,JorieGraham’sFast,andDerekWalcott’sWhiteEgretsTellUsAboutLateStyles”;and“TheMind’sBody:MarianneMooreandtheImpossibilityofSuccessfullyCopyingAnotherPoet’sStyle.”Twobriefessays—oneatmidterm,andoneattheendofthesemester,eachaboutfivepageslong—willbeassigned.Christopher Sorrentino

The Unblinking “I”: An Incomplete Survey of

the First Person Fri.,10am-12pm

Thefirstperson:itcanappearhonest,straightforward,andguileless,anappearancethat18th-centurynovelistsand21st-centurymemoiristsalikehaveexploitedinusingittosustainanillusionofauthenticityandtolend“truthiness”totheirwork.Butauthorsandtheirnarratorsaredeviouscreatures,asweshallsee.Thiscourseexploresthevarioususesoffirstpersonnarrationasithasevolvedoverthelastfewcenturies.Ourtexts—includingworkbyAkutagawa,Baldwin,Beckett,Bernhard,Bolaño,E.Brontë,Chandler,Everett,Faulkner,Ford,Gornick,James,Lispector,MachadodeAssis,Slater,Svevo,Swift,andothers—willrevealavoicewell-adaptedtoavarietyofpurposes:tonarrowthereader’sviewintotheworldofthenarrative,tomisleadthereader,togainaccesstotheprotagonist’sstateofmind,tocontrasttheversionsofeventsrelatedbyseveraldifferentnarrators,tobearwitnesstothe

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adventuresofothercharacters,toallowtheauthortodisrupthis/herownnarratives,andsometimesallofthesethingsatonceandmore.Abriefend-of-termpaperisrequired.

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MASTER CLASSES Alex Abramovich

Writing Music 6sessions(1.5points)/Oct.27-Dec.8 Fri.,1:05pm-3:05pm (noclassNov.24)WasitLaurieAndersenwhosaid:“Talkingaboutmusicislikedancingaboutarchitecture?”WasitTheloniousMonk?ElvisCostello?Noneoftheabove?It’sanicelyturnedphrase,butfolksdoseemtokeeptalkingand,especially,writingaboutmusic.Critics,ofcourse.Butalsopoets,novelists,essayists,andmusiciansthemselves.Inthisclass,we’llreadawiderangeofworks—byJamesBaldwin,WillaCather,DonDeLillo,JoanDidion,FrederickDouglass,GeoffDyer,RalphEllison,JennyOffill,andMichaelOndaatje,amongmanyothers—discusstechniquesandstrategies,andtakeahand-onapproachtoourownlisteningandwriting.Joshua Bennett

Black Soundings in Contemporary Poetry 6sessions(1.5points)/Oct.27-Dec.8 Fri.,3:10pm-5:10pm (noclassNov.24)”ItriedtowritepoemslikethesongstheysangonSeventhStreet…”—LangstonHughesAsitstands,blackpopularcultureconstitutessomethingofalinguafrancainourhistoricalmoment.Aspaceofgatheringacrosslinesofperceiveddifference,anintercontinentalcommonsspanningrace,class,ortongue.Buthowmightwereckonwithworkofblackpopularculture,andblackpopularmusicinparticular,incontemporaryU.S.Americanpoetry,afieldwhichissooftenframedinpublicdiscourseasillegible,arcane,theutterantithesisofthepopular?Putdifferently,howmightweworktowardamorerobusttheoryofthepopular—andwhat’smore,atheoryofblackfeeling,atheoryoffeelingblack—viasustainedattentiontothewaysthattheblues,jazz,funk,hip-hopandR&Bmarkourunderstandingsofcontemporarypoetryandtheliterarytraditionsthathavehelpedshapeit?Forthepurposesofthisclass,wewillreadtheworksofGwendolynBrooks,SunRa,TerranceHayes,LaurynHill,ChristopherGilbert,MorganParker,TupacShakur,AmiriBaraka,AracelisGirmay,LangstonHughes,TyehimbaJess,SafiaElhillo,Outkastandotherstowardstheendofnotonlythinkingtogetherabouttheroleofblackpopularculture

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asglobalforce—especiallyasitpertainstoU.S.Americanself-fashioning,andtheveryfabricofthewayweunderstandsomethinglikeafundamentallyU.S.Americanidentity—butalsoproducingworksofexperimentalwritinginensemblethatreflecttheaestheticpracticesthesewritersmakeavailabletous.

Matthew Burgess

Serious Play: Teaching Imaginative Writing to

Young People 6sessions(1.5points)/Sept.27-Nov.1 Wed.,4:05pm-6:05pm

Thismasterclassisdesignedforwritersofallgenreswhoareinterestedinsharingtheirloveofwritingwithyoungpeople.Childrenunderstandthatwritingisamagicalpower,andtheytakepleasureinlearninghowtodoit.Butbythetimetheyturnupinhighschoolorcollege-levelcompositionclasses,manyhavedecidedthatwritingisapainful,ifnecessarychore.Oneoftheaimsofthewriter-teacheristoreversethistrendbycreatingclassroomenvironmentsinwhichstudents(re)discoverthecreative,expressive,andintellectualpotentialoflanguage.Thepointisnottofollowrules,avoidmistakes,andfillpageswithsentencesthatholdlittleornopersonalmeaning.Onthecontrary,writingisanactofthemindandtheimagination,anditcandrawusoutofourselvesinwaysthataresurprising,challenging,evenfun.Inadditiontoexploringpedagogicaltheories,wewillexamineconcretestrategiesfordesigningandleadingimaginativewritingworkshopswithstudents.Playisacentraltheme,onewewillregardasa“serious”pedagogicaltoolandguidingprincipal,andclassmeetingswillinvolvefrequentlow-stakes,in-classwritingexperiments.ReadingswillincludeworksbyKennethKoch,BernadetteMayer,PauloFreire,JoeBrainard,CoritaKent,PabloNeruda,LucilleClifton,FrankO’Hara,GracePaley,DorotheaLasky,andothers.Oneofthegoalsforthissix-weekcourseisthatallparticipantswillfeelequipped—andexcited—toadaptwhatthey’velearnedandapplyitinavarietyofeducationalcontexts.Garnette Cadogan

The Way To See The World: Walking as

Writing Teacher 6sessions(1.5points)/Oct.6-Nov.10 Fri.,3:10pm-5:10pm“Footstepsareourfirstprints,”writessharp-eyedwandererRobertMacfarlane,“andeverywalkisastepawayfromastory."Walkingissignature,andstepbystep,asourfeetinscribeplacesontoourimaginationsandmapourimaginationsontoplaces,we

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tellstoriesandenternewones—or,alas,getshutoutofthem.Nowonder,then,thatthereisalongtraditionofwalkerswhoseethepenasanextensionofthefeet.Humansarepaths-seeking,tracks-leavingbeings,foreverexploringorshuttingdownpossibilities.Wewalktoescape,toencounter,toarrive,andultimatelytorest.So,inthisclass,we'llmeanderontotheroutestraveledbywriterswhoexplorepossibilitiesthroughlegsandlanguage.We’llsaunteruptoVirginiaWoolf,Dr.Seuss,HenryDavidThoreau,EdwardThomas,SherwoodAnderson,ZoraNealeHurston,W.H.Auden,WislawaSzymborska,VivianGornick,RichardWilbur,JamesBaldwin,RebeccaSolnit,SeamusHeaney,ClaudiaRankine,AnnieDillard,TejuCole,RobertMacfarlane,SuketuMehta,RajaShehadeh,andJohnEdgarWideman.Andwe'llwelcometoourconversationsotherstorytellers—WernerHerzog,BarryJenkins,RichardLinklater,RichardPryor,DaveChappelle,JessicaWilliams,LanaDelRay,GilScottHeron,SallyMann,CarolynDrake,RuddyRoye,TejuCole(asphotographer),JillFreedman,JaneJacobs,SamMesser,AaronLandsman,AaronDouglas.“Walkingshareswithmakingandworkingthatcrucialelementofengagementofthebodyandthemindwiththeworld,ofknowingtheworldthroughthebodyandthebodythroughtheworld.”RebeccaSolnit'sobservationwilldirectourdiscussionsandassignments—aseriesofessays,rootedintheexperienceofwalking(anditsaccompanyingobstacles)—asweexploretherelationshipofwalkingtowritingandtrytodobothwithsensesmorealivetothewonderoftheworld.Meghan Daum

What’s Problematic? Reading Fearlessly, Writing

Dangerously 4sessions(1point)/Nov.15-Dec.6 Wed.,10am-12pmThesedays,there’slittleinthewayofpublicexpressionthathasn’tbeendeemed“problematic,”insomesense,bysomeone.Butanythingthatisinterestingandthought-provokingisalsogoingtopushbuttons,challengeassumptionsandevencauseoccasionaldiscomfort,particularlyaroundissuespertainingtorace,gender,sexuality,andsocialpolitics.Inthisfour-weekmasterclass,studentswilltesttheboundariesoftheirownwritingbyreadingavarietyof20th-and21st-centurynonfictiontextsthatrepresentcarefulthoughtonthepartoftheirauthorsyetmightstirdebateorevendistressamongsomecontemporaryaudiences.AuthorswillincludeHiltonAls,MaryGaitskill,ChristopherHitchens,DavidRakoff,andSallieTisdale,amongothers.

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Nicholas Delbanco

Travel Writing 4sessions(1point)/Nov.10-Dec.8 Fri.,1:05pm-3:05pm

(noclassNov.24)Travelwritingis,incentralways,coevalwithwritingitself.Wemoveandremembertheplacethatweleft;fromadistancewesendlettershome.ThosescribeswhofirstkeptlaundrylistsinNinevehorBabylon,thosemeninEgyptnamingnamesbelongtotheonegenre.TheTibetanBookoftheDead,theHinduepicMahabarata,TheTaleofGenjionhiswanderings:alltheserecorddepartureandnewterraintraversed.OnewaytoreadtheBookofGenesisistoconsiderthatexpulsionasajourneyoutofEden;sotooisTheAeneidatraveloguethatstartsinTroyandendshardyearslaterinRome.Althoughwe’renotcertainhowwidelyhetraveled,Avon’sBardsetmanyofhisplaysabroad;itsometimesseemsasthoughalltextsweholdtobeenduringonesevokeaworldofwondersthatatfirstseempassingstrange…Oursisafour-weekjourney,andwewon’tbeginatthebeginningsoftheform.Rather,thetworequiredtextsareTheTaoofTravel,acompendiumoftravelwritingeditedbyPaulTheroux,andTheBestAmericanTravelWriting,2016,editedbyBillBryson.Writtenworkwillconsistof(y)ourowntravelwriting,whetherofthetripyoutooktogettoDodgeHallortookinchildhoodthroughtheGobidesert.We’lltalkaboutthewaysthattravelwritingisintrinsictothegenresofpoetryandprosefiction,andhowitcaninformyourownongoingwork.

Jay Deshpande

“As One Admits the Bayonet”: The Poems of

Denis Johnson 6sessions(1.5points)/Sept.28-Nov.2 Thu.,6:45pm-8:45pm Beforethelandmarkshort-storycollectionJesus’SonandnovelssuchResuscitationofaHangedManandTreeofSmoke,DenisJohnsonwasknownprimarilyasapoet—andonewhosefresh,distinctivevoiceestablishedarichundercurrentinAmericanpoetry.Amasterstylist,Johnson’spoeticsignatureechoesthroughmuchofhisfictionandnonfiction.Inthewakeofhisdeaththisspring,itisespeciallyvaluableforbothpoetsandprosewritersaliketostudyJohnson’spoetry,bothasaseedandsoundinggroundforotherworksandasanoeuvreuntoitself.We’llreadthroughhisfourbooksofpoetry—TheManAmongtheSeals(1969),InnerWeather(1976),TheIncognitoLounge(1982),andTheVeil(1985)—withafocusonspecificnodes(theprophetic,lyricrupture,confession/recrimination,andaboveall,theusesofthe

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sonnet)inordertobetterappreciateJohnson’sachievementsandtoilluminateourreadingofthecontemporarylyric.Ru Freeman

Other Voices, Other Ways 6sessions(1.5points)/Sept.14-Oct.19 Thu.,12:05pm-2:05pmWritersdonotsimplytellastory,theyoftenwritetofillavoidtheyseeinliterature;alackofrepresentation,oramis-representationofacultureoracommunity,particularlywithregardtoraceandclass.Indoingsotheydon’tmerelyimpartthemissingnarrative,theyoftenalsochallengemainstreamnotionsofhowastorymaybetold.Theuseofthevernacular,orality,tellingovershowing,longexposition,epistolatorywriting,mixinggenres,areallusedtoconveythecomplexityofexperiencesthatdon’tfitintoneatnarratives.Wewillreadselectionsfromarangeofwriterswhoseworkaddressesissuesaroundthepoliticsofraceandclass,firstatthegloballevel,andthenwithintheUnitedStates,withtwospecificgoalsinmind.First,tointerrogateourownpreconceptionsaboutwhatmakesforgoodfiction,andsecondly,toexpandthepossibilitiesofourownworkwithregardtobothsubstanceandform.Thisisaclassthatisdividedintotwoparts—partoneinthefallandparttwointhespring.Studentsmayopttotakeoneortheother,orboth.TheFallMasterClassLet’saskourselvessomequestions:Docertainpoliticaleventsbreakpeopleintotheircompositepartsanddismantletheirabilitytobewhole?Iftheimpetusforflightisthesameeverywhere,howdowedefineimmigrationasbeingillegal?Arebordersevernotpermeable?Dowereconcileourselvestothebadthathashappenedbecausetheworsethatcouldbeorwascanbeleftbehind?Whatistheworthoflabor?Canlovebeexpressedbyrefusingtousewhatisknowninfavorofacquiringarudimentaryknowledgeoftheunfamiliar?Thewriterswewillvisitinthisclassposethesequestionsanddemandthatreadersunlearnwhattheyknow,thattheyengageinthedelightfulworkoftranslation(particularlyofcontext),inordertofindtheanswers.Texts:

JavierMarias(ThusBadBegins)LailaLalami(Hope&OtherDangerousPursuits)GoncaloMTavares(Jerusalem)SalmanRushdie(East/West)

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MohsinHamid(ExitWest)DeepakUnnikrishnan(TemporaryPeople)LesleyArimah(TheManWhoFellFromtheSky)JhumpaLahiri(InOtherWords)

Studentswillwriteasingle2-3pagepiecethatisanextensionofoneoftheassignedreadings.Forexample,thiscouldtaketheformofasequeltoastorythathasbeenread,aresponsetoitfromtheperspectiveofaminorcharacter,oranadaptationofathemetoacontextwithwhichthestudentisfamiliar.ThespringmasterclasswillfocusonliteraturefromtheUnitedStates,usingasimilarlens.Richard Howard

The Richard Howard Hours 6sessions(1.5points)/I.Sept.5-Oct.10 Tue.,4:10pm-6:10pm II.Oct.17-Nov.28

(noclassNov.7)Thismasterclasswillbeconductedastwosix-weeksectionsthatcanbeenrolledinindividuallyfor1.5creditsorconsecutivelyfor3credits.Eachsectionwillfocusonreadingsfrommid-19thto20th-centuryAmericanandAnglo-AmericanpoetsincludingDickinson,Eliot,Auden,Moore,andBishopupthroughmorecontemporarywritersincludingClampittandStrand.Eachstudentwill,inadditiontothereadingsandclassdiscussions,undertakewithProf.Howardindividualizedone-on-onetutorialscenteredontheirownpoems.Thecourseislimitedtosixstudentspersection.Studentsarewelcometosignupforeitherofthesections,orforboth,ifthereareseatsavailable.Greg Jackson

Prose and Cons: On the Challenges of Political Fiction 6sessions(1.5points)/Oct.6-Nov.10 Fri.,10:30am-12:30pmThisclasslooksatstories,essays,andnovelexcerptsfromthelastfewdecadesthattakeuppoliticalthemes.Oversixweekswewillreadavarietyofauthors,whodevelopformalandnarrativestrategiestoexplorepoliticalquestionswithoutfallingpreytotendentiousness,preaching,tedium,oranyoftheotherpitfallsthatdogpoliticalart.Insodoingwe’llaskwhatpoliticalfictionis,andwhatdifferentiatesitfromothersortsofliterature;whatrolepoliticsplaysintheworkandsensibilityofwriters,andwhatroleliteratureplaysinthelifeofpolitics;howironyand

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contingencyadvancethegoalspoliticalauthorssetforthemselves;andwhatothercommonstrategiesdefinesuchauthors’work.Fromacraftperspectivewewillexplorehowtowriteaboutideas,beliefs,andideology,andhowtoengagewiththeurgencyoftheculturalmoment,withoutbeingtiresomeorseemingtoadvanceastrictlypersonalpointofview.TheclasswillincludereadingsbyGracePaley,JamesBaldwin,SaulBellow,RobertoBolaño,DeborahEisenberg,GeorgeSaunders,DonDeLillo,andothers.John Keene

The Contemporary Novella in Translation 4sessions(1point)/Oct.18-Nov.8 Wed.,10am-12pmSomeofthemostnoteworthyandinfluentialprosefictionalworksofthelastseveralcenturieshavebeennovellas,butevenareaderfamiliarwithfictionasagenremightask:whatexactlyisanovella?Moreover,aretheystillbeingwrittentoday?Thismasterclasswillexplorethisliteraryformthatisoftendescribedasfallingprimarilyintermsofpagelengthorwordcountbetweentheshortstoryandthenovel.Oneaimoftheclasswillbetounderstandhownovellasdifferfromshorterandlongerforms,andhowliteraryfundamentalssuchascharacterization,temporality,scope,plot,andperspectivearecrucialtoidentifyingandunderstandinghownovellasoperateandsucceedasliteraryworksinthemselves.ThecoursewilllookatfourdifferentanddistinctivenovellasfromtheHispanophone(Bolaño),Francophone(Nothomb,Waberi),andJapanese(Ogawa)literarytraditions,anddiscusswhythisformremainsavitaloptionforcontemporarywriters.Inexploringthesespecificauthors,thecoursewillalsotouchuponotherauthorsacrosstheglobewritingnovellas,andtranslators’keyroleinmakingtheseworksavailabletoEnglish-languagereaders.Othercomponentsofthecoursewillincludecomplementaryreadingsaboutthenovella’sdifficultplaceincontemporaryAmericanliterature,withdiscussionsaboutthechallengeswritersintheU.S.facewhentheywriteandaimtopublishnovella-lengthtexts.Assignmentswillinvolveshortwritingexercisespromptedbythereadings,andwillincludeallparticipantssubmittingpotentialideasfornovellastheywouldliketowritebytheendofthecourse.RequiredTexts:

RobertBolaño,ALittleLumpenNovelita(NewDirections,2014)AmélieNothomb,LovingSabotage(NewDirections,2000)YokoOgawa,TheDivingPool:ThreeNovellas(Picador,2008)AbdourahmanA.Waberi,PassageofTears(Seagull,2012)

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Leonard Schwartz

Eco-Poetics: The Black of the Page 4sessions(1point)/Sept.6-Sept.15 Wed.,10am-12pm

&Fri.,10am-12pmItcanbearguedthatwecanonlywriteaNaturePoetryworthyoftheecologicalimperativewhenwerealizeweareinsidebothnatureandlanguage,vulnerabletotheencounter,abletosurrenderacertaincontrol…inotherwords,notoutsideNature,positionedsoastowriteaboutNature,butspeakingfrominsideit,asifNatureweretheUnconscious.Suchwritingmightnotevenresemble“naturewriting”!Whatdoliterarytextsandecosystemsholdincommon?Theyarebothcomplexsystems,inwhichallelementsareinterrelated.Inlanguage,asinglewordaddedtoorremovedfromatextcanpotentiallyalterthebalanceofrhythm,image,andmeaning.Suchistrueofaneco-systemaswell.Languagesandeco-systemsarebothpolyvalenthybrids,capableofhappeninginmultipledirectionssimultaneously.Inthislight,howdoweworkonourwritingpracticesoastomaximizethestrengthandthegrowthofallthosetendrils?Whatdoesitmeantowritefromtheblackofthepage,asopposedtoacceptingtheillusionofthewhite?Throughwritingexercisesandaseriesofreadings,thisclasswillexplorehowaneco-poeticsmightrespondtoaglobaldilemma.ReadingswillbedrawnfromChileanpoetRaulZurita’sInri,CamilleDungy’santhologyBlackNature:FourCenturiesofAfrican-AmericanNaturePoetry,andCharlesBaudelaire’sTheFlowersofEvil;theoreticalworkslikeBrendaIijima’sTheEcoLanguageReader,JedRasula’sThisCompost:EcologicalImperativesInAmericanPoetry,DavidAbram’sTheSpelloftheSensuousandMauriceMerleau-Ponty’sTheVisibleandTheInvisible;andworksoffictionsuchasS.Yizhar’snovellaKhirbetKhizeh.Theclassisintendedtoaddresstheneedsandinterestsofpoetrystudents,fictionstudents,andcreativenonfictionstudentsaddressingtheconundrumofwritingaboutnature.Susan Shapiro

How to Write and Publish a Personal Essay 4sessions(1point)/Oct.3-Oct.24 Tue.,6:30pm-8:30pmThreepagescanleadtoafirstmajorbylineandinternetfame,orlaunchabookandcareer,changingyourlife.Buthowdoyouknowwhattowriteabout,wheretoaimit,

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howmuchto“show”versus“tell,”whattoeditoutandwheresubmititto,andtowhicheditor?Thispracticalfour-weekmasterclass,taughtbyaseasonedprofessorwhohaspublishedthousandsofessaysandfouracclaimedmemoirs,willanswerallthesequestions.Thegoalistohaveagreatessayandcoverletterreadytosubmitbythelastclass.Jesse Sheidlower

Defining the Dictionary 4sessions(1point)/Nov.14-Dec.5 Tue.,6:30pm-8:30pmWhilepeopleknowthatyouuse“thedictionary”tofindoutwhatwordsmean,ratherfewknowhowdictionariesmaketheirdecisions.Indeed,theveryideaof“thedictionary”—asifthereisasingleone,whichperfectlyreflectstherealityoflanguage—exemplifiesthisproblem.Inthisclass,wewillexplorethehistoryofEnglishdictionaries,fromtheshortglossariesoftheearlyseventeenthcentury,throughSamuelJohnson’smagisterial1755work,whichestablishedtheideaofliteraryexcellenceasthemaincriterionoflanguageuse,totheOxfordEnglishDictionary’sscholarlyandhistoricalapproach,tocurrentdictionaries,whichusecomputationalanalysesofhundredsofbillionsofwordstodeterminehowthelanguageisactuallyused.Wewillalsoexplorehowandwhythemeaningsofwordschangeovertime,andhowdictionariesmonitorthesechanges:whydosomewordsbecomeobsolete,whileotherssuddenlybecomepopular?Howaredecisionsmadeaboutthetreatmentof“problematic”words,e.g.obscenityorracialterms?Whileactualjobsinlexicographyarenowfewandfarbetween,theskillsrequiredtoanalyzetheevidenceofreallanguagearebeneficialforallwriters.Wewillengageinvariouspracticalexercisesforstudyingthemeaningofwords—comparingdefinitionsinexistingdictionaries,writingourowndefinitionsfornewwords,usingbasiccomputationaltechniquestoinformoursuspicionsaboutlanguageuse.Intheendwewillnotonlyhaveabetterideaofhowweourselvesunderstandthelanguage,butalsohowtomakeourownintendedmeaningscleartodifferentaudiences.

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Rachel Sherman

Portraying Adolescence in Contemporary Short

Adult Fiction 6sessions(1.5points)/Oct.26-Dec.7 Thu.,10am-12pm (noclassNov.23) Whatmakesfictionaboutadolescentscontinuallyattractadultreaders?Whyarethemostemotionallyandpsychologicallyvolatileyearsofourlivessoinspiring?Whatisitaboutadolescencethatmakesforsuchgoodprose,andwhyisthebuilt-innarrativeofpubertyitselfonethatissoinspiring,usedtoexpressbothchangeanddisillusioninshortfiction?Inthisclass,wewilllookattheparent/adolescentrelationship,adolescentrelationshipswiththeirpeers,andthejourneytakenthroughadolescenceitselfincontemporaryliterature.Wewillattempttofindpatternsinshortstoriestoexplorethesimilaritiesanddifferencesinvarioustakesonthesubject,andcometoconclusionsabouttheauthors’intentionsandsubsequentoutputthroughanalysisoftheliteratureandwritingexercises.WewilllookatanumberofshortstoriesbyauthorsincludingAnneEnright,StuartDybekandZZPacker.Thisclasswillrequirewritingshortfictionassignments.