Advanced Creative Cross-Genre Writing (309-0-20)

Instructors

Rachel Webster

Meeting Info

University Library 3722: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

Writers are time travelers. Creative writing allows us to witness our present times, to excavate and make sense of the past, and to call in new stories that the world needs now. We will begin this cross-genre class by thinking about genre-based ways of relating to time--from the lyric poetry's intensified present that always has the end in mind; to fiction's original dependence on forward-moving narrative; to creative non-fiction's way of folding time to revisit the past with present insight. We will think about how we can both use and upend these time-keeping conventions to express non-linearity, circularity, and weirdness in writings that also subvert the usual categories of genre. We will witness the present moment. We will cultivate honest yet compassionate ways of writing about our earlier selves. We will invite our personal memory to extend into ancestral memory. We will approach geological time as we contemplate our place on earth. And finally, we will cultivate our imaginations to envision new futures. All of these exercises will be designed to bring new life to our creative writing. Each day, we will begin with meditative freewriting designed to expand time and activate our faculties for witnessing and remembering. Then we will discuss a reading from our handouts. Finally, we will workshop participants' work in a generative way—by asking questions and making connections that will invite new lines of thought. Writers from all genres are welcome in this class. You can expect to write weekly and to revise 2-4 polished pieces by the end of the course. Together, we will read and discuss books that transcend usual genre categories by authors like Maxine Hong Kingston, Ross Gay, W.S. Merwin, Sophie Strand, Solveij Balle, and Manda Scott. Halfway through the course, we will attend the 2026 Writer's Festival, and will learn from our visiting writers.

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for English students. Prerequisite: ENGLISH 206-0, ENGLISH 207-0, ENGLISH 208-0, or Department consent.