Also of interest: Video Essays

video essay introduction: http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v9n1/gallery/ve-bresland_j/ve-origin_page.shtml

http://bresland.com/

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montaigne/

http://claudiarankine.com/

plus: mullen vimeo: http://vimeo.com/18552888

Further reading: a short bibliography of poetry, fiction, creative essays

Jennifer Dick, Circuits.

Lyn Hejinian, My Life

anything by Reginald Shepherd

Bhanu Kapil, various books of poetry and prose

Lisa Jarnot, poems

Harryette Mullen, Sleeping with the Dictionary

Tyrone Williams, On Spec

Patricia Smith, Blood Dazzler

Ed Roberson, City Eclogue

William Carlos Williams, Patterson and Imaginations

Postmodern American Fiction anthology

Groundworks, anthology of Canadian short fiction

Wreckage of Reason, short experimental fiction by women writers

Sebald, Austerlitz

Renee Gladman, various books of poetic fiction

Danielle Dutton, fiction

Pamela Lu, fiction

Aimee Bender, fiction

Thalia field, Point and Line

Brian Evenson, various books of fiction stories

Annie Proulx, Close Range, stories

Sherman Alexie, various short fiction stories and novels

John D’Agata, The Next American Essay anthology

In Short anthology of short creative nonfiction

Diane Ackerman, various books of essays

Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to talk

Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior

Catherine Taylor, Apart

Essay Writing Exercise 2

Creative Essay Writing Exercise

Choose one of the following to focus on:

  A memory from childhood;

  A particular person from childhood or who has been intriguing to you or   important in your life;

  An animal, place, phenomenon that intrigues you and you want to investigate further.

Then, write a detailed description that evokes every sense through the language you use to show this memory/person/phenomenon, without using the pronoun “I”; write at least 1-2 paragraphs.

Next continue or revise or expand what you have to turn it into a whole essay. You can add “I” or other characters and/or bring in other elements that will add to the work.

Important Notes

We are not meeting during class time in June 10. You have your assignments. Follow the syllabus and come prepared on the 12th.

On the 12th we will start with Dillard's"Total Eclipse" and then move into Cooper's book Maps to Anywhere.

Please write your blog response on Maps to Anywhere for the 12th.

Also you should be working on the 2 essay assignments. Begin with the "Word" essay below and then the second assignment will be posted on the 10th.

Bring a typed copy of one of the essays on the 12th to workshop.

Creative Essay Assignment

Writing A Creative Essay Exercise (from: http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/Robert_Root/AWP/cnf.htm)

Kim Barnes: “What is a Word Worth?”

I often speak to my writing students about "bringing their intellect to bear" as they compose their personal essays.  What I mean by this is that the best literary nonfiction should work at a number of different levels, including the level of intellectual stimulation.  The problem we face as writers of nonfiction is how to challenge our individual stories--how to take the narrative itself and expand its breadth and reach to encompass more of the world. 

One exercise that I use to help my students achieve this goal involves building an essay from a single word. First, the students each choose one word--any word--to which they are particularly drawn, a word that resonates for them.  A young man just discharged from the military chose "paratrooper"; a middle-aged woman of Scottish descent chose "bagpipes."  I then require that the students write five sections of nonfiction revolving around this single word: The first, third, and fifth sections must be personal memories triggered by the word, and they must be written in present tense no matter the actual chronology; the second and fourth sections must be more analytical, intellectual, philosophical, and explore the word in a more scholarly way.  I direct the students to study the word's derivation and history. They often find passages in religious texts and mythologies that inform the word's meaning in their own experience.  Some discuss the word's appearance and use in contemporary literature or film.

The goal of this exercise is to weave the word's broader application into the writer's personal experience.  Ideally, the five sections weave together and inform one another and bring to the essay a kind of intellectual unity as well as a greater depth and complexity.

This Week and Next

Follow the syllabus for assignments.

We will begin talking about creative essays/creative nonfiction on Wed. Begin Reading Essay Packet (as assigned in class). Bring this back to class with you on June 12 to finish discussing, as well as the whole of Maps to Anywhere (book).

On Wed we'll talk about what creative essays are and how to start thinking about reading and writing essays.

Next week we have no class on Mon 6/10 so make sure to get all of the reading done for Wed 6/12. Also you should work on your essay assignment and bring this with you (typed) to class on the 12th. And also write your blog on Maps to Anywhere for the 12th.

dialogue

Fiction Writing Assignment: Dialogue

Listen to or listen in on some other folks’ conversation. Write down what they say or remember it to write down later. Record 10-20 lines of the dialogue of a real conversation.

Use this dialogue in a story. You can create the characters around the dialogue or include the dialogue (in a single piece or separate it throughout the story) in a larger story that you construct. The story should include the dialogue as well as other story elements.