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Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash. ~Leonard Cohen |
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Ink runs from the corners of my mouth
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.
~Mark Strand, "Eating Poetry," Reasons for Moving, 1968
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Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't..
~
Mark Twain
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Fiction was invented the day Jonas arrived home and told his wife that he was three days late because he had been swallowed by a whale.
~
Gabrielle Garcia Marquez
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Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.
~
Simone Weil
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 Course
Description
This course
is designed to give you an opportunity to explore and improve your creative writing skills and help you develop a deeper
understanding of the role that creative writing plays
in our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. As we move into a world that places more and more emphasis on the volumes of data now available at our fingertips, it is important for us to be able to take that stream of information and translate it into the rich language of knowledge that we can only sometimes get from the creative writing process.
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Course Goals
This course is designed to help you discover, uncover, respond
to and evaluate your abilities as a writer. We will study
many forms of the creative writing process, including: invention, using images, metaphor and simile, developing voice, character, setting and more. The
course is designed to give you the hands-on practical experience
and preparation for moving into your genre of expertise.
- To
think critically about news various creative writing genres
- To
develop the basic elements and skills in multiple genre areas
- To
develop a working understanding of creative writing in a variety of genres (poetry, fiction, playwriting)
- To
develop a working portfolio of polished work for initial submission for publication
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Course Outcomes
- To sharpen creative writing skills in three genres
(poetry, fiction, playwriting)
- To
enhance awareness of the importance of purpose, audience,
and tone in writing
- To become acquainted with the various levels of print and online
professional resources
- To refine editing/writing skills through varied sentence construction
and appropriate word choice.
- To
gain self-confidence in various creative writing modes
- To develop an understanding of the value of the computer as
an aid in composing, particularly the use of, word processor,
spell check and electronic thesauruses
- To
introduce basic research and documentation
skills
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Course
Requirements
1) Attendance is required and necessary. More than four absences
are grounds for failure. There will be times in the semester
when you really need the days off, so don’t miss meetings
without good reason. If
you know you are going to miss a meeting, let me know. Missed
assignments will not be excused because of absences. Athletes:
any special arrangements for athletes must be made with the
professor at least two weeks prior to the event. Do
not come late to meetings. If you arrive more than 10 minutes
late, for any reason, you will be marked as absent. Likewise
for leaving meetings early. You will be credited with an absent if you are tardy three times. Late attendance and absences will affect your
participation grade. If you miss more than three meetings, you
will not receive an "A" for your participation
grade.
2) Portfolio and Daily Journal.
3) Participation in workshop sessions.
4 ) Thoughtful, active and responsible participation in the process,
including contact with writing resources.You
are expected to be prepared for every meeting. This means
completing all reading and writing assignments on time. Failure
to do so will greatly affect your participation grade.
Late
articles or drafts are not acceptable and you will receive
zero credit for them without prior permission, and even then
under only extreme circumstances or emergency conditions.
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