Introduction to Creative Writing 2017

Workshop Dates: 
Mondays (7pm to 9pm) – 15 May, 22 May, 29 May, 5 June 
Thursdays (7pm to 9pm) – 18 May, 25 May, 1 June, 8 June 
Saturdays (9am to 11am) – 20 May, 27 May, 3 June, 10 June

In this introductory creative writing course, we will immerse ourselves in the art of the short story. We will discuss the different elements involved in writing within this genre—plot, characterization, point of view, setting, theme, style, as well as more abstract notions: what is a writer and why does he or she write? What is the moral responsibility of art? Who are we in relation to the spaces we inhabit? We will read the works of writers from all over the world and use these works as a foundation to cultivate our own literary visions. We will study the texts for lessons in technique and craft, investigating the decisions that we (as writers and readers of literature) must make to develop a finished piece.

This course is an invitation to inquire deep within yourself and to own your identity as a writer in your world. Our hope is that each one of you, through the reading, writing, and sharing of one another’s work, will begin to experience this world as yours. What is unique about this course is that through the selection of literature we will also have the opportunity to look beyond the mechanics of creative writing in order to examine the ongoing legacies of economic and free trade policies, such as NAFTA and IMS, the Indonesia–Malaysia–Singapore Growth Triangle, and their effects on migrant, immigrant, and local marginalized populations.