This is an archive. See the current website at www.extension.harvard.edu.

  

Skip to nav

Creative Writing

Also see courses listed under Writing Program.

Courselist

CREA E-20 Introduction to Memoir (21234)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Sanford Kaye, MA, Professor of English, Curry College.
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825. Limited enrollment.
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 205. Spring term

An introductory course for those interested in autobiographical writing. We explore the possibilities of form, the uses of narration and reflection, the changing shape of memory, and the distinction between the private and the personal. There is assigned writing for each class meeting, and students submit a final portfolio of their revised work.
Top of page

CREA E-25 Introduction to Fiction Writing
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (11693) (Syllabus) (Print View): Christopher S. Gleason, PhD, Assistant Professor of English, Wentworth Institute of Technology. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 302.

Fall term, section 2 (11133) (Syllabus) (Print View): Philip Gambone, MA, Head of Humanities Division, Boston University Academy. Wednesday, Sept. 21, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 112.

Fall term, section 3 (11965) (Syllabus) (Print View): Julie Anne McNary, EdM, Director of Development, Office of Resource Development, Harvard Medical School. Thursday, Sept. 22, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 112.

Spring term, section 1 (21414) (Print View): Paul L. Harding, MFA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University. Monday, Jan. 30, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 112.

Spring term, section 2 (21775) (Syllabus) (Print View): Eliezra H. Schaffzin, MFA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University. Thursday, Feb. 2, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 205.

Spring term, section 3 (22218) (Syllabus) (Print View): Julie Anne McNary, EdM, Director of Development, Office of Resource Development, Harvard Medical School. Thursday, Feb. 2, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 104.

Spring term, section 4 (22507) (Syllabus) (Print View): Christopher S. Gleason, PhD, Assistant Professor of English, Wentworth Institute of Technology. Thursday, Feb. 2, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 211.

A workshop for writers with little or no experience in writing fiction. The class focuses on the elements of fiction: dialogue, voice, image, character, point of view, and structure. Students are asked to read and discuss fiction by major writers, to critique each other's work, and to write and revise at least one short story. Requirements also include several short writing exercises.
Top of page

CREA E-30 Introduction to Poetry Writing
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (12600) (Syllabus) (Print View): Don Share, PhD, Curator of Poetry, George Edward Woodberry Poetry Room, Lamont Library, Harvard University. Monday, Sept. 19, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 305.

Fall term, section 2 (12109) (Syllabus) (Print View): Eric LeMay, PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University. Wednesday, Sept. 21, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 104.

Spring term (22188) (Syllabus) (Print View): Susan E. Carlisle, MFA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University. Thursday, Feb. 2, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 204.

In this class students both analyze and practice a range of poetic forms. Weekly readings include works by John Donne, Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Issa, Hafiz, Rainer Maria Rilke, Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, Walt Whitman, and Rita Dove. Each student chooses one contemporary poet to study in depth. In workshop sessions, we discuss poems written by members of the class, paying careful attention to how they work in terms of language, image, rhyme, and meter.
Top of page

CREA E-45 Beginning Screenwriting
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (10771) (Syllabus) (Print View): Susan Steinberg, PhD, Filmmaker. Monday, Sept. 19, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 112.

Fall term, section 2 (12639) (Print View): Susan Steinberg, PhD, Filmmaker. Monday, Sept. 19, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 112.

An introduction to the craft of writing a script for an original motion-picture screenplay with emphasis on story structure, character, and the language of film. Students study produced screenplays; write exercises in character development, scene construction, dialogue, and description; and are expected to complete a treatment and the first act of an original screenplay.
Top of page

CREA E-50 Intermediate Fiction Writing
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (11837) (Syllabus) (Print View): Wayne Wilson, MFA, Author. Monday, Sept. 19, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 111.

Fall term, section 2 (10780) (Syllabus) (Print View): Debbie Danielpour Chapel, MFA, Screenwriter, Author. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 7:35-9:35 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 219.

Spring term, section 1 (21951) (Syllabus) (Print View): Joan Leegant, MFA, JD, Author. Monday, Jan. 30, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 105.

Spring term, section 2 (21630) (Syllabus) (Print View): Robin Lippincott, MFA, Author. Wednesday, Feb. 1, 5:30-7:30 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 321.

Spring term, section 3 (22056) (Syllabus) (Print View):

*** CREA E-50 (Spring term, section 3) has been CANCELLED.***

A workshop for writers with experience in writing fiction. Students learn techniques of the form by discussing their work, as well as the assigned readings, in a small group setting. The course assumes some familiarity with major fiction writers. Prerequisite: a college-level creative writing course or permission of the instructor. Students should bring a sample of their own fiction (ten pages or fewer) to the first class.
Top of page

CREA E-57 Intermediate Poetry Writing
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825. Limited enrollment.

Fall term (12247) (Syllabus) (Print View): John Canaday, PhD, Author. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 7:35-9:35 pm, Emerson Hall, Room 307.

Spring term (21998) (Syllabus) (Print View): Don Share, PhD, Curator of Poetry, George Edward Woodberry Poetry Room, Lamont Library, Harvard University. Monday, Jan. 30, 5:30-7:30 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 121.

This is a class for those who want to continue their practice of writing in both free verse and poetic forms. During the second half of the semester, students compose a short sequence of poems inspired by a myth or historical event. In workshop sessions, our focus is on revision with attention to line, language, and sonic elements. Weekly readings include works by major poets. In addition, students choose a poet from a previous century to study in depth and write an imitation and analysis of that poet's verse. Prerequisite: CREA E-30 or permission of instructor.
Top of page

CREA E-100r Advanced Fiction Writing
Workshop. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (11670) (Syllabus) (Print View): Paul L. Harding, MFA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University. Wednesday, Sept. 21, 5:30-7:30 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 121. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825, graduate credit $1,450.

Fall term, section 2 (11998) (Syllabus) (Print View): Gregory A. Harris, MFA, MA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University. Thursday, Sept. 22, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 104. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825, graduate credit $1,450.

Spring term, section 1 (21451) (Website) (Print View): Grace Dane Mazur, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University. Wednesday, Feb. 1, 5:30-7:30 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 121. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825, graduate credit $1,450.

Spring term, section 2 (21815) (Syllabus) (Print View): Karen L. Heath, MFA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University. Thursday, Feb. 2, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 112. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825, graduate credit $1,450.

This is an intensive workshop in the craft of writing short fiction for students who have read widely among past and contemporary masters of short fiction and who are accomplished in the elements of prose composition (mechanics, syntax, and structure). Students are expected to produce two new short stories (ten to 20 pages each) and to revise them during the term. Prerequisite: an intermediate-level writing workshop. Students should bring a ten-page sample of their work to the first class.
Top of page

CREA E-105r Writing the Novel (12297)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
William J. Holinger, MA, Director, Secondary School Program, Harvard Summer School.
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825, graduate credit $1,450. Limited enrollment.
Thursday, Sept. 22, 5:30-7:30 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 321. Fall term

This is a course for novelists. We discuss process, form, and structure, as well as techniques of fiction, such as narration and description, as they relate specifically to the novel. The class runs mainly as a workshop; students read each other's work and respond to it. Prerequisites: students should have completed other fiction writing courses, and a novel should be underway when the semester begins. Students should bring an outline or a synopsis of their novel-in-progress to the first class.
Top of page

CREA E-110r Advanced Poetry Writing (20737)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Eric LeMay, PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University.
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825, graduate credit $1,450. Limited enrollment.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 104. Spring term

In this intensive poetry workshop, advanced poets write new work and refine their craft through exercises, revisions, and critiques. Students also read canonical poets such as Milton, Whitman, Dickinson, and Langston Hughes, with the aim of learning how to use their work to foster student's own poetry. Prerequisite: registered students must submit a writing sample of five pages of poetry to the instructor by e-mail at lemay@fas.harvard.edu one week before classes begin. Admission to the course is based on this submission.
Top of page

CREA E-120r Advanced Screenwriting (21810)
(Syllabus) (Print View)
Debbie Danielpour Chapel, MFA, Screenwriter, Author.
Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825, graduate credit $1,450. Limited enrollment.
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7:35-9:35 pm, 51 Brattle Street, Room 121. Spring term

This course is designed for experienced writers who wish to develop or complete a full-length screenplay. Part of each class is dedicated to discussing student work, with some time reserved for topic studies to address student needs--character, dialogue, structure, rewriting, and entering the commercial market. Feature scripts and films are analyzed to illustrate various topics. Prerequisites: an introductory or intermediate screenwriting course or permission of instructor.
Top of page

CREA E-125r Playwriting (22353)
(Print View)

Workshop. 4 units. Undergraduate credit $825, graduate credit $1,450.
Spring term

*** CREA E-125r has been CANCELLED.***

Using space and time, the actors' physical movement, and spoken language, the playwright's script aims to encode a world that comes alive onstage and unites actors and audience in its revealed significance. We read a wide range of plays and scenes; writing exercises include a one-act play by each student.
Top of page