Courses

WRI 600e
Literature Seminar: Midnight Angels (3)
This course covers the history of the Beat Generation with special emphasis on the writings the writers this phenomenal era produced. Students use as models Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, William Burroughs, Neal Cassady, Peter Orlovsky, Diane Di Prima, John Wieners, Amiri Baraka, Joanne Kyger, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Lew Welch, Lenore Kandel, Philip Whalen, Bob Kaufman, Michael McClure, Gary Snyder and others. Students come to understand the provocative nature and durability of Beat literature. They write poems and short fiction; complete reading assignments; participate in discussions; write in-class assignments; and critique other students' work.

WRI 632e
Literature Seminar: The Feeling Tone (3)
This course involves reading and writing about the work of exceptional writers: discussing writing, approaches to writing and what the writer is capable of disclosing in the individual mode. We read the work as writers examining other writers in order to understand how they achieve their tone and diction, and to investigate how techniques used in the writing can be brought to our own work. Students write three papers, one on each writer, and also compose “in-class” exercises, participate in threaded discussions, add to the “Webliography” and improve editing skills on their own work as well as that of fellow students. WRI 632e is open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 634e
Literature Seminar: One’s Own Language (3)
We work with the basic elements of language: sound, vowels and consonants, letters, syllables, words and etymologies, symbols, translation, rhyme and meter. We explore issues such as how to locate the self in the poetry of one’s adult life. Through a structured journey, we navigate from A through Z of One’s Own Language. Elements such as dialogue, harmony and myth are included. Also rhetoric, speech and voice. We call upon the collective wisdom of the canon of world poetry. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 637e
Practice of Fiction: Characterization/Monologue (3)
The speaking voice and the telling moment are the basis for the writing that students do in this online class. We work on creating and presenting characters, using the monologue format. Improvisation and exercises are directed toward arriving at text. We read or watch performances on videotape by writers/performers who excel at creating characters on paper. The focus throughout is to move from the voice onto the page. Ultimately, the principle focus is the creation of characters who prove their reality by telling their own story or revealing their true essence through speech. 

WRI 639e
Practice of Poetry: Great Companions (3)
The focus of this workshop is poetic lineage, imitation and influence. We look at specific examples (Allen Ginsberg and William Blake, Frank O’Hara, Bernadette Mayer, etc.), as a starting point for discussions. Our goal for the semester is to focus on student poetry as much as possible. We also introduce the ideas of lineage and influence in poetry, and trace lineages in one's own work, and give students an opportunity to present their own work to the class for discussion. Another objective is to make use of electronic sources as a way of keeping up with current trends in poetry. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 641e
Practice of Fiction: Sculpting Prose (3)
This course explores the demands of narrative writing. We examine the overall structure of the work we create, focusing on beginnings, endings and effective development. Sculpting Prose functions as an online workshop. Work is generated, assessed and revised with the goal of realizing material that has been honed to its most effective degree. The paramount focus is on the writing itself. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 667e
Creative Reading and Writing: Inspired by Inspiration (3)
The focus of this class is to write using the study of the work of five international and five American women poets. The poets included come from extremely divergent situations and geographies and work in styles substantially different from one another. We look at each poet’s bio and discuss how it is reflected in their poetics as a starting point to understanding the poet’s work. The students study the poems and consider how they can expand their own work by using the genre and direction of the poet upon whom we are focused. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 668e
Practice of Fiction: Toward Accumulating a Larger Text (3)
The focus of this class is on accruing, through episodes and exercises, the first draft of a larger text, a novel or novella. The work begins in this class and moves through outlines and specifics toward the first draft of a book length manuscript. Note: we will not be working with novels you may already have in progress. It is essential that everyone in the class be working simultaneously with the same specific underlying principles. Required books will be on the syllabus and announced at the first class.

WRI 669e
Creative Reading and Writing: Collaborations, Crossings and Collisions (3)
What happens when you open up your work to another mind, or two or three? We explore possibilities for collaborations between writer and writer, visual artist, musician, dancer, filmmaker, set-designer; the possibilities are endless. Through examining collaborations by contemporary writers, we explore collaboration theory and practice in order to apply it to our own work. In addition to exploring various forms of collaboration with classmates, each student embarks on a project in their home community. With a member of the community, the student engages in a collaboration of his or her choice, culminating in a public and class presentation during the final two weeks of the semester. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 680e
Mind Moving (3)
Mind Moving explores contemplative practices in prose and poetry. Philip Whalen and Gary Snyder’s experimental verbal collages, montages and mobiles with multiple points of view are investigated along with the compassionate characterization used by prose writers. The Buddhist appropriations and assimilations of Whalen, Kerouac and Snyder’s early artistic processes are primary. Mind Moving covers relevant American Buddhist and cultural history connected to Whalen, Kerouac and Snyder’s art. A critical response essay and artistic portfolio required. Guided meditation is provided. This course serves for contemplative credit. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 688e
Literature Seminar: Kerouac’s Road (3)
In this class, we examine selected, primary texts of Kerouac’s narrative canon (what he called the Vanity of Duluoz), as well as his first novel; plus primary critical and personal biographies and oral history. His letters and journals are also included. Through these varied filters we come to a better understanding of his compositional techniques, spiritual and emotional make-up, and ultimately Kerouac’s place in the context of his time and in the gallery of American letters. We probe beyond the myth of the namesake of the Kerouac School, until he reveals himself through his multidimensional life and work.

WRI 765e
Practice of Fiction: Flash Fiction, Make It New (3)
The spirit of the experiment has been central to American literature. In this workshop on flash fiction, we examine some unusual structures and approaches for writing short-shorts. There are many techniques and approaches from poetry that can be applied to writing micro-fiction. We experiment with some of these.

WRI 785e
Practice of Fiction: Building Blocks (3)
Concentrates on short works/passages from various authors and/or view short video segments for assignments on specific skills: dialogue, characterization, scene work, narration and point of view during the first half of every class. For the second half of each class, students bring their writing for comments and/or critiques. Work by Alice Munro, Quentin Tarrantino, Lorrie Moore, David Mamet, Jhumpa Lahiri and others used. Critique skills are taught. Written critical feedback is required from students and instructor on student writing. Goals: Get past second drafts; 35 pp. or 1/3 of your final ms. Recommended for first semester students. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 788e
Creative Reading and Writing: The Art of Nonfiction (3)
Where does fact meet fiction, reportage meet poetry? In explorations that deepen our understanding of the possibilities for ourselves as nonfiction writers, we come together in workshops to write, read and discuss memoir, travel writing, nature writing, food writing, history, diaries, criticism and hybrid forms. We also consider how to assemble a nonfiction book proposal. Readings may include book-length and shorter works by Diana Athill, Alan Bennett, Truman Capote, Gerald Durrell and Edmund White, as well as selections from John D’Agata’s Next American Essay. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only. 

WRI 790e
Creative Reading and Writing: Investigative Poetics (3)
Some possible investigations include whether one kind of engagement with the world is more authentic than another. What makes a poem “political,” and whether a political poem is determined by one’s level of engagement with the world. Some others involve writing poetry that (according to Amiel Alcalay) “pillages” from sources such as personal diaries, newspapers and official documents. Writing that wavers between overt and oblique states of mind, and between a direct commentary on reality and abstract experiences with language. Open to MFA Creative Writing students only.

WRI 792e
Book Matters: An Introduction to Publishing (3)
This course introduces the student of writing to the world of publishing. Led by an experienced book editor, and using readings, discussions and online appearances from industry propfessionals, it explores different types and genres of publishing; considers the role of literary agents, booksellers and reviewers; and provides an overview of the main publishing processes and functions: editorial, production, design, sales, marketing, publicity and rights. We also develop practical skills in copy-editing and proofreading, write submission letters, compose press releases and plan marketing campaigns. Our aim is a deeper understanding of the culture of publishing.

WRI 793/793e
Special Topics in Writing and Poetics (3)
Study and analysis of selected literary and compositional issues and elements. Topics cover a wide range of subject matter and methods and vary from semester to semester. These may include, but not be limited to: works of literature, forms of composition, literary history, writing practice (including prose, poetry and translation), literary criticism, as well as film and media studies.