Course Descriptions (GSAS Bulletin)
CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS
Workshop in Poetry I, II
CRWRI-GA 1910, 1911 Prerequisite: admission to the Creative Writing Program. Komunyakaa, Olds, Rohrer, Simic, visiting faculty. 4 points per term. 2011-2012, 2012-2013.
Discussion of students’ own work. Students are expected to bring in a new poem each week. They may be asked to memorize several great poems of their choosing. Regularly scheduled conferences with the instructor.
Workshop in Fiction I, II
CRWRI-GA 1920, 1921 Prerequisite: admission to the Creative Writing Program. Safran Foer, Smith, Strauss, Wachtel, visiting faculty. 4 points per term. 2011-2012, 2012-2013.
Regular submission and discussion and analysis of student work in one or more fictional modes (short story, short novel, novel), with examination of relevant readings illustrating point of view, plot, setting, characterization, dialogue, and aspects of style. Regularly scheduled conferences with the instructor.
CRAFT COURSES
These courses are restricted to creative writing students.
The Craft of Poetry
CRWRI-GA 1950 Carson, Komunyakaa, Rohrer, visiting faculty. 4 points. 2011-2012, 2012-2013.
Poetry from the point of view of the writer. Discussion of ways of producing rhythm in language; formal and free verse; metaphor; the humanizing conventions; syntax; the line; revision; and so on. Students may be asked to memorize poems.
The Craft of Fiction
CRWRI-GA 1960 Doctorow, Safran Foer, Smith, Strauss, visiting faculty. 4 points. 2011-2012, 2012-2013.
Study and analysis of major examples of the novel, novella, and short story to disclose the technical choices confronted by their authors. Consideration of theme and its formulation; choice of protagonists and minor characters; techniques of characterization; point of view; reflexivity and the author’s relation to his or her material; structure of the narrative; deployment of symbol and image clusters; and questions of rhythm, style, tone, and atmosphere. Complemented by the study of critical works.
