E 315P and 318L (Topic 2: Poetry) may not both be counted.
Course Description: An introduction to creative writing, fiction and poetry. The course focuses on reading and writing both poetry and short stories. The students will experiment with different techniques through an assigned exercise. As well, we will read examples of fiction and poetry. Students will be expected to participate in discussions of the stories. Each week, the students will write and rewrite an exercise in fiction or poetry. The students will also write one short story (4-5 pages) and a rewrite of that story, as well as a group of six poems, written and rewritten. At each TA section, the students will discuss student work or the assigned reading. Most of the student writing will be critiqued in a workshop setting with TAs—Creative Writing graduate students—leading the discussion. The small-group discussions include peer reviews of student work. Once in the semester, each must meet during office hours with his or her TA. During the twice-weekly meetings of the entire class, students will write in class in response to topics presented by the professors and must be prepared to share that work by reading aloud. The work handed in to TAs must be double-spaced in type no smaller than 11 point, with reasonable margins for TA comments. Student work must be presented in multiple copies and retained by the student in a folder to be handed in at the end of the semester for final grading.
Texts: David Lodge, The Art of Fiction: Illustrated from Classic and Modern Text (Penguin); Laura Furman, ed., The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2010. David Mason and John Frederick Nims, Western Wind, 5th ed.
Grading: Exercises, 20%; First-draft short story, 10%; Rewritten short story, 20%; First-draft poems, 10%, Rewritten Poems, 20%; Critiques (peer reviews), 10%; Class Participation, 10%. Steady attendance is required. Students may not miss more than two classes without lowering the final grade.
Prerequisites: E 603A, RHE 306, 306Q, or T C 603A.
