CREATIVE WRITING DEPARTMENT

CREATIVE WRITING DEPARTMENT

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FALL 2009

www.sfsu.edu/~cwriting/09FaCDWeb.htm

Class schedule online at wwww.sfsu.edu/online/clssch.htm

UNDERGRADUATE CLASSES:

301.01 Fundamentals of Creative Writing Mon 410-655pm Evy Pine

301.02 Fundamentals of Creative Writing Thurs 1235-320pm Chris Pedler

Prerequisite: English 114, or equivalent. Priority given to Creative Writing majors. Instruction and extensive practice in writing poetry, fiction, and plays, with selected readings of exemplary stories, poems, and plays. This course is the prerequisite to Short Story Writing, Poetry Writing, and Playwriting. Teachers’ names will be published in July. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

NOTE: The prerequisite for all the undergraduate craft, creative process and writing workshops (CW 510, 511, 512, 513, 600, 602, 603, 604 and 605) is CW 301, Fundamentals of Creative Writing, with a grade of "C" or above. Enrollment in undergraduate writing workshops is limited to undergraduate majors in English: Creative Writing. Non-majors are admitted only with consent of instructor.

302.01 Fundamentals of Creative Reading Mon 1210-255pm Brian Thorstenson

302.02 Fundamentals of Creative Reading Thurs 7-945pm Rose Haynes

This course will emphasize developing methods and habits of reading, by focusing on exemplary writings in poetry, narrative prose, and drama (with possible forays into its extension cinema). A course in basic elements: time, space, sound, rhythm, silence, texture, color, movement, shape, weight, etc. Poetry (as poesis = making) is intrinsic to all modes of written art, whether narrative prose with its modes of telling, or drama that incorporates action, “the play.” Students will get exposed to writings historical and contemporary, come to cultivate a habit of active reading and interpretation, build one’s desire for reading, and learn ways to talk and write about another’s writing (key to reading one’s own). Writing assignments will be in response to the assigned readings. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

465.01 Modern Greek Poetry in Comparative Perspective

Thurs 410-655pm Martha Klironomos

Prerequisite: ENG 214 or equivalent. Survey of Greece’s prominent modern poets in comparison with major Anglo-American and European poets. Poets to be studied include Cavafy, Seferis, Elytis, Mastoraki, Yeats, Eliot, Pound and Carson. Also offered as CWL/MGS 497.

506.01 The Business of Creative Writing Wed 7-945pm Stacy Doris

This class focuses on the ways some people with creative writing degrees earn a living in the areas of writing, publishing, journalism, and so forth. The aim is to help you find strategies to become one of them or in any case to get a better sense of the possibilities out there. The course will consist primarily of presentations by writing professionals in the varied domains (literary agents, book, magazine and online editors, grant writers, technical writers, travel writers and reporters, etc.). In the second half of each session we break into small groups to discuss our weekly assignments and impressions. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

510.02 American Poetics Tues 1235-320pm Paul Hoover

This process course will help students recognize and articulate the concerns of their own writing as well as reading. Beginning with Emerson, Whitman, and Dickinson, the course will survey the development of an American aesthetic in the letters, statements, and poems of Pound and Eliot; Williams and Ginsberg; Bishop and Moore; Olson and Creeley; Zukofsky and Stein; Hughes, Brooks, and Baraka; and Stevens and Ashbery, among others. After examining these and other diverse approaches, students will make their own exploratory statements.

511.01 Craft of Poetry Tues 410-655pm Camille Dungy

In this course we will explore some of the fundamental craft elements of poetry including imagery, rhythm, figurative language, voice, and form. Specifically, this semester we will look at questions of origin and inspiration. Where do poets come from? Where do poems come from? How can we tap into these origins for inspiration? Through close eadings of published poetry as well as critical and creative assignments, you will access tools that will prove useful for your own work.

513.01 Craft of Playwriting Tues 1235-320 pm Michelle Carter

Prerequisite: CW 301 or 101 with a grade of C or better, or consent of instructor. Enrollment limited to Creative Writing majors. Non-majors admitted with consent of instructor. This course focuses on the basic craft elements of playwriting: scene, story, dialogue, character, and conflict. Lectures supplemented by discussions of student and professional writing.

520.01 Writers on Writing Mon 7-945pm Bob Glück

Enrollment open to all! No prerequisites. Faculty and visiting writers representing a wide range of styles and subjects will visit the class to read and discuss their writing. Students will respond to the readings and visits on an ongoing basis through critical essays and creative writing exercises. Paired with CW 820. Note: this course can be used to fulfill 3 units of the “creative process” requirement. It can only be taken once for credit. Students who have completed CW 820 may not take CW 520 for credit. Cross genre course.

550.01 Poetry Center Workshop Thurs 335-620pm Steve Dickison

The course is organized around the Poetry Center reading series, with students writing in response to the work of visiting poets throughout the semester, and each student’s final project devoted to the work of a selected writer. In addition, we’ll make use of the Poetry Center Archives, auditing and viewing recorded work from the Poetry Center’s 50+ year history.

601.01 Work in Progress Tues 1235-320pm Truong Tran

Prerequisite: Senior standing in Creative Writing. Enrollment limited to Creative Writing majors. This is an advanced class that offers graduating senior Creative Writing students the opportunity to take a creative project of their own design through various stages of development, extension, and revision. The course objectives are to help students 1) identify their deepest aims and interests as writers; 2) learn how to formulate extended projects arising from these powerful impulses; and 3) practice the development and revision techniques and methods with which to patiently nurture these projects over time. Through the semester we will investigate the creative process which has at its heart the art and craft of re-visioning. In the first weeks of class each student will look through drafts of past work to discover the seeds of an extended, long term project that he or she will design, develop (though not necessarily finish) and re-enter (repeatedly), over the course of the semester and beyond. Cross genre course.

601.02 Work in Progress Weds 410-655pm Steve Dickison

Prerequisite: Senior standing in Creative Writing. Enrollment limited to Creative Writing majors. In Work In Progress students will identify, investigate and work to revise and re-see a creative project of their choice. Students will spend the semester working on this particular body of work, not to bring it to completion per se, but to help the work illuminate itself. Students will participate in large group discussions and small group investigations and should possess a sincere commitment to reading and writing. The course will help students establish both a rigorous and creative revision practice. Cross genre course.

602.01 Playwriting Wed 7-945pm Roy Conboy

Prerequisite: CW 301 and CW 513. Enrollment limited to Creative Writing majors. The study of act design and character analysis in selected contemporary classic plays. Writing exercises will explore voice, character development, structure and dialogue. Students will write a one act play.

603.02 Short Story Writing Wed 410-655pm Barbara Tomash

Prerequisite: CW 301 and CW 512. Enrollment limited to Creative Writing majors. The course includes the writing and analysis of short fiction in a workshop setting, with emphasis on developing character and voice.

604.01 Poetry Writing Mon 310-555pm Dan Langton

Prerequisite: CW 301 and CW 511. Enrollment limited to Creative Writing majors. The aim of this poetry writing workshop is to foster your growth as a working poet. Class meetings will be spent engaging in the development of the poetic craft. It will also be a time devoted to experimentation as we enter or re-enter your work and that of your classmates. We will examine the effectiveness of voice, form and the word as it relates to the page. The workshop will hone your craft as both writer and reader, poet and editor through the process of discussions and feedback. Through a series of process oriented exercises, the workshop will enable you to generate new works.

609.03 -11 Directed Writing: B.A. Student ARR

CW 609 Directed Writing BA Student: Permission of the instructor is required to take this course; you will be dropped without prior consent of the instructor. The semester before you plan to enroll in Directed Writing, submit a sample of your writing in the instructor’s mailbox along with a note explaining that you want to take their Directed Writing class. Be sure you include your name, address, phone number and e-mail. If the instructor is off campus, the Creative Writing Office will mail your writing sample for you.

609.03 Directed Writing: B.A. Student ARR Fiction Maxine Chernoff

609.05 Directed Writing: B.A. Student ARR Poetry Stacy Doris

609.06 Directed Writing: B.A. Student ARR Poetry Camille Dungy

609.08 Directed Writing: B.A. Student ARR Poetry Paul Hoover

609.10 Directed Writing: B.A. Student ARR Poetry Toni Mirosevich

609.11 Directed Writing: B.A. Student ARR Fiction Peter Orner

640.01 Transfer Literary Magazine Thurs 410-655pm Nona Caspers

Prerequisite: CW 301 and either CW 602, 603, 405 or consent of instructor. "The important thing to do is to commit to writing as much as possible . . . Make a commitment to an independent magazine or publication . . . We're all connected to this large community and we all need to take an active part in it. If writers can make those kinds of commitments, they'll feel connected" (Jewelle Gomez). Join the staff of Transfer, the literary magazine of the Creative Writing Department. The course is designed to give you a working taste of what it takes to put out a literary magazine (including critical analysis and discussion of short-listed submissions, proofreading, solicitation and distribution) and to make you think about the world of literary magazines and your own beliefs in literature. Come prepared to analyze and discuss text and investigate your own literary aesthetics. This is a process course (not a lab) and can be used to fulfill 3 units of the Creative Process requirement. Cross genre course.

675.01 Community Projects in Literature Tues 7-945pm Michelle Carter

CW 101 or 301 with a grade of C or better. Enrollment limited to Creative Writing majors. Non-majors admitted with consent of instructor. Take this course if you want to do an internship. Students are placed in work positions in community literary organizations such as Intersection for the Arts, City Arts and Lectures, Mercury House, and other centers so that they acquire practical knowledge of writing in the larger social context. May be taken twice for up to 6 units of credit. Cross genre course.

685 Projects in Teaching Creative Writing ARR

Prerequisites: Advanced undergraduate standing, grade of B+ or better in the course in which the student will be an aide, and approval of the department Chair. Students are placed with a creative writing faculty member in a supervised practicum/internship experience, in which they explore the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching creative writing. This is the course to sign up for if you want to be an instructional aid, (I.A.) in a specific undergraduate class for 3 units of credit. Email the Creative Writing Department the first two weeks of the semester in which you wish to be enrolled in Projects Teaching Creative Writing. Please include all of the following information in your email: your first and last name, your enrollment status (major; undergraduate or graduate), the instructor’s name and class. You will receive an email response with the schedule and permit numbers to use to enroll in this class. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

699 Independent Study ARR

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and a 3.0 GPA. Upper division students may enroll in a course of Independent Study under the supervision of a member of the Creative Writing department, with whom the course is planned, developed, and completed. This course may be taken for one, two, or three units. Enrollment is by petition, and a copy of your SFSU transcript. Petition For Individual Study forms are available in the Creative Writing department office, and online http://www.sfsu.edu/~admisrec/reg/formstoc.html#general under the section titled Registration. This form must be signed by the instructor you will be working with, an advisor, and the department chair. After you submit the form to HUM 380, your instructor will give you the schedule and permit numbers to add the course. (You will not be able to enroll in this course before the semester starts, through either online or Touch-tone Registration; the schedule numbers are unpublished.) Cross genre course.

GRADUATE CLASSES:

Note: Preference in all Creative Writing graduate courses will be given to students admitted to either the M.A. or the M.F.A. programs in Creative Writing. Preference in M.F.A. level courses will be given to students admitted to the M.F.A. program. Priority in M.A. and M.F.A. writing workshops and creative process courses will be given to students admitted in the genre of the course. Other students may enroll in these courses only with the permission of the instructor.

785 Graduate Projects in the Teaching of Creative Writing Times By Arrangement

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. Consent of Instructor; Grade of B or better in the course or its equivalent in which the student will be an aide. This course is an application of previously acquired knowledge through assisting instruction and learning pedagogical strategies--in other words, you will be a graduate instructional aid (GIA) in the course for 3 units of credit. Email the Creative Writing Department the first two weeks of the semester in which you wish to be enrolled in Projects Teaching Creative Writing. Please include all of the following information in your email: your first and last name, your enrollment status (major and graduate program), the instructor’s name and class. You will receive an email response with the schedule and permit numbers to use to enroll in this class. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

803.01 Advanced Short Story Writing Thurs 7-945pm Alice La Plante

Immersion in the processes of writing, reading, discussion & critique is essential to learning to write fiction. This class combines a short story workshop with selected readings and class discussion about the structure and elements of short fiction. The primary focus will be student work, which we will discuss in an atmosphere of respect, trust, and reciprocity. Our workshop goal is fundamentally constructive: helping the author realize his or her intent, by sharing our thoughts and reactions to their work. We will also be open to supportive discussion of the blocks, failures, and moments of confusion we often encounter in the writing process. All students must be prepared to discuss the work of their fellow students, and will be required to give typed comments to the authors. Priority enrollment given to graduate Creative Writing fiction students; open to Creative Writing students in other genres only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

804.01 Advanced Poetry Writing Tues 335-620pm Dan Langton

Intensive reading of the poets’ work to fellow poets. General discussion of the reading, with remarks by the instructor on issues in prosody raised. Each poet will receive a detailed letter after each reading. Regular attendance is a basic requirement. Priority enrollment given to graduate Creative Writing poetry students; open to Creative Writing students in other genres only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

806.01 The Business of Creative Writing Wed 7-945pm Stacy Doris

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. This class focuses on the ways some people with creative writing degrees earn a living in the areas of writing, publishing, journalism, and so forth. The aim is to help you find strategies to become one of them or in any case to get a better sense of the possibilities out there. The course will consist primarily of presentations by writing professionals in the varied domains (literary agents, book, magazine and online editors, grant writers, technical writers, travel writers and reporters, etc.). In the second half of each session we break into small groups to discuss our weekly assignments and impressions. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

807.01 Developing the Novel Mon 410-655pm Dodie Bellamy

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. This class is a workshop geared toward the early phases of developing a novel. We will approach the novel as an open form with a wide range of possibilities. Though we will work against any set definition of what a novel is or should be, we will look at standard definitions of the novel and at characteristics we expect to see in a novel. We will read a variety of essays and interviews about novel writing and will examine how a range of authors set up their novels. Through writing exercises we will further explore some of these characteristics and other issues of style. Students will write 30 to 40 pages of a novel, and we will critique that work in class. In addition to writing, this course requires a sizeable amount of reading and critiquing. Priority enrollment given to graduate Creative Writing fiction students; open to Creative Writing students in other genres only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

809.03-11 Directed Writing for Graduate Students X ARR

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. Permission of the instructor is required to take this course; you will be dropped without prior consent of the instructor. The semester before you plan to enroll in Directed Writing, submit a sample of your writing in the instructor’s mailbox along with a note explaining that you want to take their Directed Writing class. Be sure you include your name, address, phone number and e-mail. If the instructor is off campus, the Creative Writing Office will mail your writing sample for you.

809.03 Directed Writing Graduate Students ARR Fiction Maxine Chernoff

809.05 Directed Writing Graduate Students ARR Poetry Stacy Doris

809.06 Directed Writing Graduate Students ARR Poetry Camille Dungy

809.08 Directed Writing Graduate Students ARR Poetry Paul Hoover

809.10 Directed Writing Graduate Students ARR Poetry Toni Mirosevich

809.11 Directed Writing Graduate Students ARR Fiction Peter Orner

810.01 The Mask: Persona Poem Mon 410-655pm Camille Dungy

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing.What might a persona poem be? What are the ways that personae can allow or hinder different modes of discourse? How does a poet create and maintain an appropriated voice? Persona poetry, like any masquerade, offers opportunities for excitement, revelry, subterfuge, and chaos. Reading and reflecting upon individual poems and personae-driven collections and writing our own poems, we will investigate some of the strategies involved in employing this device. Books read in this class will include Herbert Morris, What Was Lost; Louise Glück, The Wild Iris; Ed Pavlic, The Winners Have Yet to be Announced; and M. NourbeSe Philip, Zong. Priority enrollment given to graduate Creative Writing poetry students; open to Creative Writing students in other genres only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

810.02 Seminar-Art of Narrative Tues 410-655pm Nona Caspers

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. Narrate, v. (from narrare, to relate, make known). 1. To tell (a story) in writing or speech. 2. To give an account of (happenings, etc) Narrative, n. a story; account; tale. The art or practice of relating stories or accounts; narration. This is a process course for graduate students to investigate the art of narration. In the course we will investigate how a range of mostly contemporary writers relate their non-fictive and fictive stories/human experiences (prose poems, creative nonfiction, memoir, novel, short story). We will closely read for how the texts are orchestrated with the intent of feeding ourselves narrative strategies and methods (possibilities) and inspiring our own individual voices and material. The course is designed to focus on the following kinds of questions: how is the narrator approaching or holding the event and dramatic urgency? How does the storyteller function as camera and consciousness? How does the dramatic structure and language of each piece evoke a distinct experience of time? Every narrative offers an individual experience of time? E.g., time collapsing around a particular dislocated event a la David Foster Wallace; historical collective memory woven into narrative present ala Toni Morrison; reminiscent, circular time ala Alice Munroe; slowed internal time ala Lydia Davis. How does the dramatic structure, including the juxtaposition of times and events, serve the ideas of the piece and/or embody the emotional landscapes of the characters? Be prepared for sustained concentration and triggers to generate material. Priority enrollment given to graduate Creative Writing fiction students; open to Creative Writing students in other genres only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

810.03 Prose Poem Tues 410-655pm Bob Gluck

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. An investigation of metaphorical writing in non-verse forms, and of the theories of composition relating to this kind of writing. Priority enrollment given to graduate Creative Writing poetry students; open to Creative Writing students in other genres only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

810.02 Plays: Read and View Wed 410-1030pm Michelle Carter

Class meets first 10 weeks only. Prerequisite: classified graduate status in Creative Writing. "Still another suggestion: go to the theatre now and then and watch the stage." Anton Chekov to A.P. Chekov, May 8, 1889. Taking our cue from Chekov we'll go "watch the stage" in this process seminar. Our first step will be to study the text looking at plot, story, structure, theatrical syntax, character, spectacle and the world of the play; then move on to attend a local production or view a performance video. We'll look at the implications of production choices (how they illuminate or obscure the text), discuss the "event" driven nature of the theatre, and expand our own theatrical "memories." We'll use these discussions and outings as triggers for our own creative writing.

820.01 Writers on Writing Mon 7-945pm Bob Glück

Faculty and visiting writers representing a wide range of styles and subjects will visit the class to read and discuss their writing. Students will respond to the readings and visits on an ongoing basis through critical essays and creative writing exercises. Paired with CW 520. Note: this course can be used to fulfill 3 units of the CW 810 (creative process) requirement. It can only be taken once for credit. Students who have completed CW 520 may not take CW 820 for credit. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

840.01 FOURTEEN HILLS Literary Magazine Wed 7-945pm Matthew Davison

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. Through assigned reading on different aspects of American literary magazines, students will get an insider's view of the life of the magazine editor, and the particular challenges the job of editor entails. In addition, students will learn how to read and discuss work for the magazine (as differs from discussing work in a workshop), and learn the very marketable skills of double-proofing, copyediting, and proofreading. The students will then apply on a practical level the skills they have learned to the production of Fourteen Hills, taking part in discussions of material to be published, editing the text of the magazine, and constituting the on-campus sales force. It is hoped that by the end of the semester the students of the class will have gained a new understanding--as people applying for jobs in the field of publishing, as writers submitting their work to magazine editors, and as appreciative (and informed) readers of the literary magazine. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

850.01 Poetry Center Workshop Thurs 335-620pm Steve Dickison

853.01 M.F.A. Workshop in Fiction Tues 1235-320pm Maxine Chernoff

853.02 M.F.A. Workshop in Fiction Mon 7-945pm Bob Glück

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. A writing workshop in which students will be expected to concentrate on revision of fiction, on bringing work to a finished, publishable state. The course will emphasize the short story. M.F.A. course, priority enrollment given to M.F.A. fiction students; open to other M.F.A. genre and M.A. fiction students only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

854.01 M.F.A. Workshop in Poetry Thurs 1235-320pm Paul Hoover

Students will be expected to concentrate on revision of poetry, on bringing work to a finished, publishable state. M.F.A. course, priority enrollment given to M.F.A. poetry students; open to other M.F.A. genre and M.A. poetry students only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

856.01 MFA Workshop in Short Plays Thurs 210-455pm Roy Conboy

In this course we’ll explore plays and playwriting as an active form of theater. We’ll shrink the distance between the written word and the acted word by putting the work we create directly on its feet. In this way we’ll be able to turn our attention not only to the solitary wiring experience, but also to the writer’s experience in the artistic interactions that bring plays to theatrical life. We’ll concentrate on short plays and scenes in order to focus our attention on the fundamental building blocks of plays and the theatrical experience; and we’ll work in an improvisational and free-wheeling atmosphere that is conducive to risk-taking and stylistic experimentation. While more of our work will be created and presented in the privacy of the workshop, we’ll also look for opportunities to present showcases of our work in public. M.F.A. course, priority enrollment given to M.F.A. playwriting students; open to other M.F.A. genre and M.A. playwriting students only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

860.02 Teaching Creative Writing Tues 1235-320pm Toni Mirosevich

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. This course introduces advanced graduate students to the art and practice of teaching creative writing. Creative Writing 301 will serve as our prototype. We’ll be reading essays and interviews, discussing aspects of creative writing pedagogy, and performing a variety of rigorous teaching activities. We’ll discuss giving useful feedback for student writers; designing effective writing assignments; use of texts and craft models; strategies for leading discussions of literary works and student works-in-progress. Students will also prepare and execute mini-lectures on a range of craft and process topics, and develop a detailed syllabus for an introductory creative writing course. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

875.01 Community Projects in Literature Tues 7-945pm Michelle Carter

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in Creative Writing. Take this course if you want to do an internship. Students are placed in work positions in community literary organizations such as Intersection for the Arts, City Arts and Lectures, Mercury House, and other centers so that they acquire practical knowledge of writing in the larger social context. May be repeated once for up to 6 units of credit. CROSS GENRE COURSE.

880.01 Indiv. Vision: Fiction Tues 7-945pm Anne Galjour

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in MFA Creative Writing. M.F.A. course, priority enrollment given to M.F.A. fiction students; open to other M.F.A. genre and M.A. fiction students only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting. Initially we will examine first person short stories and solo performance texts. We will explore works that are propelled from myth, personal experience and social commentary. Writers include Randall Keenan, Haruki Murakami, Flannery O’Connor, David Cale, John O’Keefe, and Doug Wright. We will discuss the convergences and the differences between the spoken word and what is read. Then we will set our imaginations to work based on texts covered. We will read, write, rewrite, and share work aloud. The blend of reading and writing exercises will strengthen critical skills, improve their ability to execute different strategies in developing work, and bring clarity to the writer’s voice and style.

880.02 Discovery and Development:Works in Progress Wed 7-945pm Nona Caspers

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in MFA Creative Writing. M.F.A. course, priority enrollment given to M.F.A. fiction students; open to other M.F.A. genres and M.A. fiction students only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting. This is a process course in fiction writing for students in the MFA program. Students must attend the first two classes to ensure enrollment in the course. Through close reading to absorb craft possibilities and writing assignments we will explore some of the ways writers approach language, fictive personalities in motion, condensed forms, movement, structure and the implementation of narrative strategies, discovering ways to create and develop their own work. Students will generate new material and develop works-in-progress over the course of the semester, applying the strategies learned from their reading, critical writing assignments, and discussions. Readings will vary wildly in form, style, voice etc and will be mostly contemporary and partly chosen based on the class participants. But here are some examples: Lydia Davis, Tove Jansson, Eileen Myles, Lyn Tilman, Charles Baxter, Yiyun Li, Grace Paley, Edward P. Jones, Ha Jin, Tobias Wolff. Be prepared for classroom discussion and one-on-one discussion toward the development of your works-in-progress.

881.01 Individual Vision: Poetics of Imitation/Translation and Recitation

Tues 7-945pm Stacy Doris

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in MFA Creative Writing. This course will look into the making of outstanding poems from all times and places via in-depth examinations of prosodic elements and models, memorization, recitation and imitations. Memorization is an avenue into the core of a poem’s structure that allows one to experience it from the inside. Imitations (or, if you like, translations, parodies) iterate and intensify close reading and understanding. Technical prosodic analysis allows us to locate a poem’s crucial deviations from the norm into something remarkable. Recitation and recording will play a role in our gatherings. M.F.A. course, priority enrollment given to M.F.A. poetry students; open to other M.F.A. genre and M.A. poetry students only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

881.02 Indiv. Vision: The Lyric Documentary Wed 410-655pm Toni Mirosevich

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in MFA Creative Writing. “…the real thing that I’m talking about has purity and a certain severity, rigor, simplicity, directness, clarity, and it is without artistic pretension in a self-conscious sense of the word.” (“Lyric Documentary,” Walker Evans, Yale University, March 11, 1964.) Using essays and excerpts from books by Walker Evans (Walker Evans and The Postcard Collection, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men), James Agee (A Death In The Family), WG Sebald (various), photography by Todd Hido, Richard Misrach, and Hiroshi Sugimoto, charts and maps from The Atlantic Neptune, and film clips from home movies, we will examine how each writer/photographer/filmmaker’s creative project (and use of personal collections) resulted in shining ‘lyric documentaries.’ We’ll then turn our focus to selected poets and their poetry collections which exemplify the lyric documentary in verse. Poets under consideration will include Frank O’Hara, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, Roxane Beth Johnson, Davis McCombs, Truong Tran, and others. Presentations, collaborative ‘findings’ sessions, and spanking new exercises will be the modes of participation in this course. M.F.A. course, priority enrollment given to M.F.A. poetry students; open to other M.F.A. genre and M.A.poetry students only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

882.01 Adapting for the Stage Mon 7-945pm Brian Thorstenson

Prerequisite: Classified graduate standing in MFA Creative Writing. Process class to study the ways playwrights have used existing material, from poems to short stories, novels to other plays, as the basis for the creation of new plays. M.F.A. course, priority enrollment given to M.F.A. playwriting students; open to other M.F.A. genre and M.A. playwriting students only on a space available basis, to be determined at the first class meeting.

893 Written M.A. Creative Project (3 units)

This is not a course as such, it is the 3 units you sign up for when you are working on your thesis, which may be a collection of short stories, a group of poems, a novel or a play. Prerequisite: advancement to M.A. candidacy in English: Creative Writing. Your Graduate Approved Program (GAP) must be on file in the Graduate Division Office the semester before registration, along with a Culminating Experience Proposal form signed by the first and second readers you select to work with you on your thesis. Registration is with a Permit and a schedule Number you get from your first reader, which you use to add online or via touchtone, during the first two weeks of the semester or by Add Form, signed by your first reader, which form you submit to the Registrar’s. You must add this course or your will not receive credit for your thesis.

893 Written M.F.A. Creative Work (6 units)

M.F.A. students get 6 units for working on their thesis, which is expected to be a book length collection of short stories, or poems, or a novel or play of publishable quality. Prerequisite: advancement to M.F.A. candidacy in Creative Writing. Your Graduate Approved Program (GAP) must be on file in the Graduate Division Office the semester before registration, along with a Culminating Experience Proposal form signed by the first and second readers you select to work with you on your thesis. Registration is with a Permit and a schedule Number you get from your first reader, which you use to add online or via touchtone, during the first two weeks of the semester or by Add Form, signed by your first reader, which form you submit to the Registrar’s. You must add this course or your will not receive credit for your thesis.

899 Special Study

Prerequisite: consent of instructor and a 3.25 GPA. A special study is planned, developed, and completed under the direction of a faculty member. The course may be taken for one, two, or three units. Enrollment is done through the Creative Writing Department office using an Individual Study Petition, and a copy of your SFSU transcript. Individual Study Petitions are available in the Creative Writing department office, and must be signed by the instructor you will be working with, an advisor, and the department chair. After you submit the form, your instructor will give you the schedule and permit numbers to add the course.