Title: ENGL 493 - Writing Creative Nonfiction II

PRQ: PRQ: ENGL 303

Aldous Huxley: “Like the novel, the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything.”  493 is the advanced workshop in writing creative nonfiction, continuing the work of 303, the reading and writing of personal and autobiographical essays.  The emphasis will be on formal and thematic experimentation, revision, and thinking essayistically.  We’ll discuss the implications of the self as subject, and perhaps focus on the long essay form and linked essays.  (We might also consider some sub-genres such as the lyric essay, the segmented/list essay, and the prose poem.)  Crucial to your success in the course is a commitment to thorough and reflective reading and active participation in a generous and serious workshop environment.

Regular class attendance; full preparation for workshops (careful reading and marking of all student drafts); three personal essays (approx. 25-30 pages total); weekly formal reading responses; one critical/interpretive essay (approx. 5-7 pgs.)

 Cold Snap As Yearning, Robert Vivian; Truth In Nonfiction, David Lazar, ed.; Various essaying.