Readings and Responsibilities                                                      

Week 1       

 

8/26

Syllabus.  Introductions. 

Discuss Treadmill Journal & Jeremy Collins's "Shadow Boxing" Early, Middle & Published Draft in The Georgia Review

1-2 distribute

 

 

Week 2

 

9/2

Read: Laura Matter's "Pursuing the Great Bad Novelist" & "Franz Schubert Dreamt of Indians" Early, Middle & Published Drafts in The Georgia Review

 

Laura Matter visits

 

Read:  "Essayists on the Essay"

Read: Gornick's "The Situation & The Story"

Read:  Workshops  (website handout)

Read:  Peer Response  (website handout)

Read: Notes on Craft (website handout)

Write: Peer Responses

Workshop 1-2

3-5 distribute

 

 

Week 3     

 

9/9

Read Melody Gee's "Back Home" Early, Middle and Published Drafts in North Dakota Quarterly

Read: Patricia Hampl's "Memory & Imagination"

Read:  Philip Lopate's "Writing Personal Essays:  On the Necessity of Turning Oneself into a Character"

Workshop 3-5

6-9 distribute

 

     

 

Week 4

 

9/16

Read: Paul Bogard's "Crash" Early and Published Draft in River Teeth

Read:  Philip Lopate's "Reflection & Retrospection"

Workshop 6-9

1-3 distribute second draft, first essay

 

 

 

Week 5

 

9/23

Read: Molly Cooney's "Missing Pieces" Early, Middle & Published Draft in The Gettsyburg Review

 

Read:  An Interview with Jane Smiley 

Read:  Jane Smiley:  What Stories Teach Their Writers:  The Purpose and Practice of Revision

Workshop 1-3

4-6 distribute second draft, first essay

 

 

Week 6      

 

9/30

Read: Daryl Farmer's "Bicycling the Cowboy State" Early and Published Draft in The Laurel Review

 

Read: Offutt's "The Eleventh Draft"

Read:  Revising for the Middle Draft (website handout)

Workshop 4-6

7-9 distribute second draft, first essay

 

 

 

Week 7

 

10/7

Martin in Spain, Class Cancelled

 

Week 8

 

10/14 Fall Break  

                                    

 

Week 9

 

10/21

READ: Frank Huyler's "The Cook's Son" Early and Published Draft in The American Scholar

Frank Huyler visits

Read:  Susan Sontag's "Read, Write, Rewrite"

Workshop 7-9

BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS REFLECTION DUE

1-3 distribute 1st draft, 2nd essay

 

                                                                          

Week 10

 

10/28

Read: Rachel Pratt's "Broken Waters" Early, Middle & Published Draft in Fourth Genre

Read: Madison Smartt Bell's "Modular Design" & "Linear Design"
Read:  Barth's "Incremental Perturbation"

Workshop 1-3

4-6 distribute 1st draft, 2nd essay

 

                                                                                           

Week 11

 

11/4

Read: Gregory Martin's "Cutting the Snow" Early and Published Drafts in Creative Nonfiction

Gregory Martin visits

Read: Tim O'Brien's "The Magic Show"

Workshop 4-6

7-9 distribute 1st draft, 2nd essay

 

 

Week 12

 

11/11

Read: Charles Baxter's "Dysfunctional Narratives"

Workshop 7-9

1-3 distribute 2nd draft, 2nd essay

 

 

Week 13

 

11/18

Workshop 1-3

4-6 distribute 2nd draft, 2nd essay

 

 

Week 14

 

11/25 Thanksgiving  

 

 

 

Week 15

 

12/2

Workshop 4-6

7-9 distribute 2nd draft, 2nd essay

 

 

 

Week 16

 

12/9

Workshop 7-9

 

 

 

Week 17

 

12/16
  • Party at My House 5:30  Potluck & Bookswap

  • Treadmill Journal Due (Bring to party & show it to me.)

  • Your Choice of Best Essay from Literary Magazine Due (11 copies)

  • 6 envelopes with Essay Submission Due