ENGLISH 10: Literature Today

ENGLISH 10: LITERATURE TODAY (ALSO CREATIVE WRITING)

Stephanie Burt

burt@fas.harvard.edu

 

Try writing short stories! And poems. And memoirs. Or film scripts. Or song lyrics!

Designed both as a beginner-friendly English course and as an intro to creative writing, this course looks at kinds of literary creation-- poems, novels, short stories, literary essays, stage plays, and also comics, songs and games-- taking place in our own mixed bag of a century. Everything we read together has been created or published since 2000. Much of comes from the US, other parts likely from Britain, Nigeria, Singapore and around the English-speaking world.

 

We'll see spaceships, and Utopian dreams, and immigrants from other dimensions, and from other continents: this version of English 10 includes many alternatives to realism. We'll get the chance to create, and to share, our own poems, prose fiction, and essays, as well as-- if you like-- other literary forms (no one's going to make you write a song or draw a comic, but you can). We'll learn how to pay close attention to the language and choices in literary works, as well as to their central ideas, emotions, and character arcs-- you'll write two short papers about them, but the rest of the course will depend on your creative energy, and on what you choose to do.

 

This syllabus reflects a course in progress. The structure won't change, but we will add some reading, along with a couple of exciting guests.

 

 

BOOKS AND MUSIC REQUIRED (THIS LIST MAY CHANGE)

Angel Haze, Dirty Gold (R&B/hiphop/pop album)

Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars (novel)

Caryl Churchill, Far Away (stage play)

Jenny Diski, Why Didn't You Just Do What You Were Told? (essays and memoir)

Jason Isbell, Reunions (country-rock music)

Helen Macdonald, H Is for Hawk (memoir)

Seanan McGuire, Every Heart a Doorway (novella)

Allan Peterson, This Luminous (poems)

Danez Smith, Bluff (poems)

Tillie Walden, Spinning (memoir in comics)

Monica Youn, Blackacre (poems)

 

 

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADING

Your grade comes from grades on two critical/analytical essays (20% each), grades on three creative assignments (20% each; we drop the lowest grade), and from class participation, which includes listening, small un-graded assignments, paying attention, speaking up when you can, and just showing up for lecture and section (20%). Each of these components, graded out of 20, comes with a grading rubric available in class.

 

SYLLABUS

 

TUES SEPT 3

Introduction. What's contemporary and what's creative and what are we doing here? Very short poems, one-panel comics, and a song or two.

THURS SEPT 5

Poems online by Terrance Hayes, Laura Kasischke and Ng-Yi Sheng. Angel Haze, Dirty Gold: focus on "Sing about Me," "Deep Sea Diver," "Battle Cry," "Angels & Airwaves"

TUES SEPT 10

McGuire, Every Heart a Doorway

THURS SEPT 12

McGuire, cont'd. In class: create a McGuire character!

TUES SEPT 17

Short stories by Alice Munro, Justin Torres and others.

THURS SEPT 19

Short stories, cont'd. In class: create a short plot!

FRI SEPT 20 Critical or creative assignment due.

TUES SEPT 24

Smith, Bluff. 

THURS SEPT 26

Smith, cont'd. Related poems by Hieu Min Nguyen and others.

DANEZ SMITH IS GONNA VISIT OUR CLASS.

TUES OCT 1

Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars: "February" through "July"

THURS OCT 3

Aoki, "August" through "Beyond Time itself"

TUES OCT 8

Macdonald, H Is for Hawk

THURS OCT 10

Macdonald, cont'd. King Arthur material by T. H. White. In class: what's a seed for a memoir?

FRI OCT 11 Critical or creative assignment due.

TUES OCT 15

Churchill, Far Away

THURS OCT 17

Churchill, cont'd. Selections from Diski, Why Didn't? In class: stage-based exercise (no, you do not have to act: it's an exercise about writing for the stage!)

TUES OCT 22

More selections from Diski, Why Didn't?

THURS OCT 24 In class: "You're wrong about..." exercise!

TUES OCT 29

Walden, Spinning

THURS OCT 31

Shorter comics and visual art by Walden. In class: words and pictures exercise.

FRI NOV 1 Critical or creative assignment due.

TUES NOV 5

Isbell, Reunions: focus on "Dreamsicle," "Only Children," "It Gets Easier," "Running with Our Eyes Closed," "Letting You Go"

THURS NOV 3

TK

TUES NOV 12

Youn, Blackacre and Peterson, This Luminous, poems to be determined

THURS NOV 14

Youn and Peterson, more poems. In class: how to start a poem, and how to know when a poem has started!

Class visit from Monica Youn!!!

TUES NOV 19

TK

THURS NOV 21

TK. Realistic description exercise!

FRI NOV 22 Critical or creative assignment due.

TUES NOV 26

TK

No assigned reading. Chance to share and discuss student work.

THANKSGIVING BREAK

TUES DEC 3

Wrap-up; reading to be determined by class interests during November!

FRI DEC 6 Critical or creative assignment due: at this point you will have written five graded assignments for this course, two critical and three creative-- we drop the lowest grade on the creative assignment, because we want you to experiment! Your grade comes from the remaining two critical and two creative assignments, plus non-graded work and participation in class. See you in September!

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Course goals:

This intro to literary studies and to creative writing gives students a wide variety of literature today (thus the course title), with intellectual tools for appreciating and situating that literature as well as for making our own.

Course format:

Lecture with sections.

Typical enrollees:

Anyone! It's especially awesome for first-years and sophomores considering English concentrations (including dual concentrations) or minors, but juniors and seniors are quite welcome too, whether or not they're already in English.

When is course typically offered?

Annually in fall.

What can students expect from you as an instructor?

Lots of attention to what students want (I hope). High energy. Students' own voices (I know how my own voice sounds; I want to hear yours). Trans people in spaceships. At least a few happy endings. Occasional visits from our big, friendly, soft dog, Toasted Marshmallow a.k.a. Toasty.

Assignments and grading:

See above. Two papers, three creative works, but we drop the lowest grade on the creative work. We'd also like to see you in section. 

Sample reading list:

(optional) Indicate your sample reading list or upload the document to your course files and link to the file in this space.

Stay tuned, and see above for list of required books.

Enrollment cap, selection process, notification:

 

Past syllabus:

If the course will be taught in the same manner it has been, please post an example syllabus; if not, explain how it will be different. To post a syllabus document, upload the file to your course files and link to the file in this space.

Absence and late work policies:

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