This is an introductory course for those interested in autobiographical writing. We explore the possibilities of the medium, the uses of narration and reflection, the changing shape of memories, and the distinctions between the private, personal, and public from the standpoints of material and audience. There is assigned writing for each class meeting, and students submit a final portfolio of their revised work. (4 credits)
CREA E-22 Introduction to Creative Nonfiction
Spring term (23627)
Gregory A. Harris, MFA, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.
How can nonfiction also be creative? In this course, we look at writing that is inventive rather than invented, examining and imitating the tactics writers use and the risks they take to convey what happened, what is happening, and what they hope or fear will happen. Writing and rewriting (reportage, cultural critique, literary response, opinion, memoir) form a key part of the course. (4 credits)
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. (4 credits)
CREA E-30 Introduction to Poetry Writing
Fall term (12600)
Zachary C. Sifuentes, MFA, Preceptor in Expository Writing and Visiting Lecturer on Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University.
In this introductory workshop, students write a series of poems in response to the kinds of aesthetic problems and issues that contemporary writers face: defining the poetic in an age of interdisciplinarity, asserting authenticity in an era of sampling and recycling, and working our way out of the constraint inherent in "free verse." We spend part of the semester writing in response to works of art, to events in history, and to pedestrian observation. We workshop our poetry by paying attention to close reading, and by reading published work by contemporary writers big and small. Regularly reading poems outside the workshop helps us develop not just an ear for poetry, but a feel for it as well. (4 credits)
In this course, students learn the structure and format of a three-act motion picture screenplay. We discuss films that students watch out of class, read scripts, and watch films and film excerpts. Students are assigned exercises with the goal of generating ideas for a final project—a script for a short (20- to 30-minute) film. Later in the semester, each student presents a draft of his or her script to the class for group discussion, and submits a complete, revised screenplay on the last day of class. (4 credits)
CREA E-50 Intermediate Fiction Writing
Spring term (23286)
Christopher S. Gleason, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Wentworth Institute of Technology.
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 familiarity with major fiction writers and fundamental craft concepts. Prerequisite: a college-level creative writing course or permission of the instructor. Students should bring a sample of their own fiction (10 pages or fewer) to the first class. (4 credits)
CREA E-100r Advanced Fiction Writing
Fall term (13708)
Maxine Rodburg, MFA, Director of the Crimson Summer Academy, Harvard University.
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 (10 to 20 pages each) and to revise them during the term. Prerequisite: an intermediate-level writing workshop. Students should bring a 10-page sample of their work to the first class. (4 credits)
CREA E-105r Writing the Novel
Spring term (22894)
William J. Holinger, MA, Director, Secondary School Program, Harvard Summer School.
This is an advanced fiction-writing course for novelists. We discuss process, form, and structure, as well as techniques of fiction, such as narration and characterization, as they relate specifically to the novel. Class meetings run mainly as workshops: students respond to one another's work. Prerequisites: students should have completed other fiction writing courses, and a novel should be under way when the semester begins. Students should bring a brief outline or synopsis of their novel-in-progress to the first class. (4 credits)
CREA E-118r Advanced Creative Nonfiction
Fall term (13798)
Christina Thompson, PhD, Editor, Harvard Review, Harvard College Library.
In this advanced course we read and write in a variety of creative nonfiction genres, from memoir to essay to travelogue. Through exercises, discussion, and revision we learn how to develop narratives using fictional techniques, factual information, and observed reality. We also study the work of writers such as Vivian Gornick, Atul Gawande, and Joan Didion. Registered students should bring a 1,000-word writing sample, which serves as a basis for admission, to the first class meeting. (4 credits)
This is an advanced workshop for students who have a screenplay ready for discussion. During the course students present two excerpts from a three-act feature film (90 to 100 pages). Each class consists of two 45-minute or three 30-minute workshops. The final project is a revision of one of the two workshop submissions. Prerequisite: CREA E-45 or permission of the instructor. Students should bring a sample of their writing (ten pages or fewer) to the first class. (4 credits)