Syllabus for English 295-01
Blurring Boundaries:
A Cross-Genre Course in Creative Writing
July, 2001 / VZN 297 9-11

The Course

Instructor: Dr. Joel Bishop Peckham, Jr.

Office: Lubbers 312 Office Hours: 11-12, Tuesdays (Lubbers 312); check on me around the department if you drop in and can't find me in my office. I'll probably be in the hallway or running up and down the stairs. If you want to be certain I'll be in my office, give me a call ahead of time to let me know you're coming or make an appointment and I will be sure to stick around. Phone: 395-7613 (Office) 738-5899 (Home), or send an email to [email protected] (be warned that I may not check my email daily; it's better to call me at home if you need me--feel free to call between 10am and 10pm).

Course Objectives

This course is designed as an exploration of the differences and similarities inherent in various genres of creative writing, including, free verse poetry, prose poetry, short-shorts, sudden or flash fiction, and hybrid form. Many writers and critics have begun to note the erosion of time-honored distinctions that once clearly defined and delineated various writing forms. We seem to live now in an age of hybridization where the quality of works is often defined by how they challenge the borders of genre. This is all to the good. Thecreation of less rigid forms has both kept alive the neccessary discussions regarding genre definitions AND subverted those discussions--forcing us to ask the more important and harder question--not "what is it?," but "what is good?" Of course a multi-genre course such as this offers us many challenges. It will be impossible in 4 weeks to cover and master 5 genres. My hope is that this exploration will introduce students to the many modes of expression available to them at this exciting moment in American literature.

Requirements

1)You will read the many powerful works representative of 20th century poetry, prose poetry, short-short, sudden fiction and hybrid form available to you through handouts.
2)You will use these readings as the basis for you own 1 page genre studies.
3)You will write, revise, and turn in at least two original attempts at each genre (only one hybrid form). 4)You will offer at least 1 attempt at each genre for workshops .
5)You will collect all your materials, including the literary paper, all of your, aesthetic analyses and active learning responses , and a learning letter and bind them in a portfolio notebook. These you will turn in for my evaluation on the last day of finals week.

Required Texts

Course handout packets 1-5

Course Requirements in Detail

Genre Studies (1 single-space page)

a genre study is simply an informal effort on the part of the student to answer the question "what is a good poem, prose-poem, short-short, sudden fiction, or hybrid." These should refer to the readings in the packet and help stimulate class discussion. They are graded with a check or check-plus and affect only the class-participation portion of your grade.

Short Form Assignments

Except for the hybrid form due at the end of the course, all assignments are to be no longer than two single-spaced pages in length and will be graded in accordance with contemporary literary standards. I will do everything I can to indicate what those are through class discussion and individual appts.

Hybrid Assignment

In the final week of the course, students will be asked to turn in a 5-8 page (double spaced if prose, single spaced if poetry with lines) assignment in which they attempt to write a cross-genre piece--something that clearly borrows from the conventions of at least two genres. This could mean a long narrative poem, a fictional piece with poetic elements, a piece in which prose and poetic lines alternate, etc. etc.

Author's Letters

Every piece of writing should be accompanied by an author's letter in which the student attempt to explain his or her goals in writing each particular assignment. An author's letter may address issues of genre, form, reception, technique, etc. No author's letter should be longer than 250 words.

Learning Letter

At the end of the semester, I will ask that you turn in a letter addressed to me. The letter should be 3 pages in length (double-spaced). In the first two pages you will attempt to articulate what you consider to be the most important thing you have learned from the course. I expect that you will also indicate what elements of the course specifically helped you in coming to this conclusion. In the last page, I expect to find an evaluation of the course itself, focusing primarily on course elements and whether or not they were effective in aiding your learning process.

Final Portfolio

The final portfolio at the end of the semester should contain your polished and edited writings plus a learning letter.

Grading

Class Participation                             10 points


Portfolio					90 points 

The portfolio grade breaks down as follows:



Short Form Pieces                                       70 points

Hybrid                                             	15 points  

Learning Letter                                          5 points 

Attendance 5 point loss for every unexcused absence over 2. Attendance in a writing workshop is an absolute requirement. I am severe about it because skipping classes lessens the quality and quantity of response available to you and your peers. As a result, an irresponsible student can affect the learning process of every member of the class.

Final Thoughts about Proper Approach to this Course

I assume everyone here likes writing and reading (why else would you want to take the course) but nonetheless, I'll give out this gentle warning: if you don't enjoy reading or writing, if you find either one chore rather than a pleasure, this class might not be what you would fully enjoy. I hope that you will enjoy reading each selection--maybe even think of each one as brilliant in its own way--but I don't expect that that will be the case. We are all individuals. We all have different tastes. If you find that you are reading a selection and don't like it, remember that different works of art have different aesthetics. Give the work a second chance, or even a third. If you still don't like it, find an element of the text that relates to something you care about, or try to think about why this work has proved important to other readers. I am interested in your opinion, especially if it is phrased intelligently and with an eye for contributing to the class.

Much of our class time will be spent discussing questions both of genre, value, style, and rhetorical strategy. I do not take these discussions lightly. Creative Writing, at its best, participates in the creation of art, which is always an expression and exploration of the deepest longings collectively and individually--it strikes at the core of the most profound existential questions. I expect you to come to this class invested in your own work and the works of others--to respect the seriousness of our endeavor.

The importance of this undertaking requires a commitment on the part of the students. In our discussions I will expect to see evidence that students have carefully read the material and have put some thinking into not only what the text means, but 1) how the author's stylistic and formal choices create that meaning, 2) how the author is trying to affect the reader through specific rhetorical decisions 3) and finally, to make suggestions on how the piece might work better. This will often tax your diplomatic skills. I don't ever want to mute a student's intensity, but do try to be respectful (though never fawning), and critical (though never cruel).

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