My Creative Writing Workshop - Fall 2009

Of course we all agree that writing is its own reward. But what does that mean? Allow me to suggest that writing is a “hero’s journey,” something not for the meek. If it’s working, it provokes the writer’s bewilderment, confusion, grandiosity, frustration, glee, and, above all else, a commitment to the mysterious alchemy at hand. If you, the writer, are bold enough - and perhaps a little masochistic - you’ll keep writing after you’ve run out of ideas. You’ll keep writing during stretches of writer’s block. You’ll keep writing even when the only thing you seem to be producing is horrible prose, derivative poetry, or some lukewarm memoir that you know is a pack of lies. You’ll keep writing because, yeah, of course you love it - but also because you know that writing is about as sacred an act as anything else. And if you bring the right kind of attention to it, keep sacrificing the many layers of conceit and deceit, it will lead you to some new, worthwhile discoveries.

Language is at the heart of this particular writing course, which will center around prose, poetry, and non-fiction modes of writing (though our explorations will also extend to those places where such distinctions meld, overlap, disintegrate, and/or fail to arrive at a meaningful description of the work at hand.) We will meet bright and early every Thursday morning, so think of it as a kind of seminary of the written (& spoken) word. Our Good Book? The dictionary. Together, we’ll explore the life and works of many, many patron saints – devotees of the written word. You will complete written assignments with great frequency, both in and outside of class, exploring what it means to be a linguistic being. You will write for an audience (myself and your classmates), allowing our responses to shape your work, lead to new discoveries, and generate meaningful discussions. Be advised that active participation is a central aspect of this class.

Required texts (avail at Prairie Lights Books):

The Triggering Town, by Richard Hugo
Good Poems For Hard Times, by Garrison Keillor
The Outlaw Bible of American Literature, by Alan Kaufman