English 623
Nonfiction Workshop
Michael Parker /
Fall 2014
This is a course in the writing of nonfiction. As my colleague Lee Zacharias, who designed and for many years taught this course, (and to whose tutelage and guidance I owe full credit in organizing this course) said, “Nonfiction is the only genre that is named for what it is not, which means that its scope is incredibly broad. It might include anything from a cookbook to a brief factual report to a lyrical book-length meditation.” Part of our charge here is to define the type of literary nonfiction writing currently referred to as “Creative Nonfiction.” Our emphasis will likely be on the personal essay. Though this is a workshop, with an emphasis on student work, we will also read examples of various forms and types of nonfiction to expand our knowledge of the nearly limitless boundaries of the genre.
The texts areLee Zacharias’ The Only Sounds We Make and Andrew Meredith’s The Removers,as well as handouts(which I will either post on blackboard or email to you) and, of course, your own work. You are also responsible for making copies of your essays.
Written Requirements for the course are one short essay (2-3 pages), two longer essays (6-10 pages) and a revision of one of your longer essays to be turned in with your portfolio on the date specified in the syllabus. You are also responsible for written critiques of the two longer student essays discussed in class. (Your critiques for the shorter essays may be handwritten on the manuscript, since we’ll be discussing five per class period.) Please make two copies of your critiques of the longer essays only---one to turn in to the author on the date of the discussion, the other to be included in your portfolio.
Grades will be based on the quality and improvement of your essays as well as the quality of your critical work (both class discussion and written critiques.) We are aware, as always, that workshops traffic in first drafts, and that the purpose of any workshop discussion is to give constructive and critical suggestions toward refinement and precision. There will be no grades given until the final grade; if you wish to discuss your progress at any time, please see me. If you are unsure about your critiques, you may show me a copy of an early critique for suggestions. If for some reason you must miss class, I would like to know about it in advance.
The first short essay will be a personal essay based in memory. Examples of similar essays will be handed out in class. The longer essaysare completely open as far as subject matter and form. You may write a longer personal essay based on memory, a piece of cultural criticism or literary journalism, an essay based on travel or place, etc, so long as you avoid reportage, a formal or academic paper, or a piece of pamphleteering or propaganda. Above all, you should avoid turning in a piece of fiction. (We shall spend some time distinguishing between fiction and nonfiction, as the difference is not as obvious as it seems.) The essays we will read in class will suggest a full range of exemplary possibilities, both formal and thematic, but if you have any questions about whether or not your longer essays qualify as nonfiction, please see before the turn-in date.
My office hours this semester are from 1:30-3 T-Th, but you can also email me to schedule another time if necessary. My office is in 3308 MHRA. The best way to get in touch with me is by email: parkermfp@gmail or . (Both go into the same account, so if I write you back from a different account, that’s why.)
CALENDAR AND READING/WRITING ASSIGNMENTS. Note: I reserve the right to drop, add, amend reading assignments --except for the Zacharias and Meredith books-- as the needs of the class dictate. I am a dictator.
AUGUST
19—Class Introduction. Assignment: Read “Literal Truth vs. Invented Truth” (bb.) Write short (memory-based) essay.
26—Discuss handouts. Workshop short essay. Read Bengal “Second Place” (bb) and Duras “Alcohol.” (bb)
SEPTEMBER
2—Workshop short essay. Read “The Death of the Moth” Virginia Wolff (bb).and “Final: Comprehensive, Roughly,” D. Matherly. (bb) Work on Long Essay #1
9—Discuss Reading Assignment. Long Essay #1 Due. Read Zacharias, The Only Sounds We make.(Required: “In the Garden of the Word,” “A House in Florida,” “The End of Counterculture” and “Buzzards.”)
16-Visit from Lee Zacharias.. Workshop. Read Meredith, The Removers
23-Workshop.Read Meredith, The Removers.
30-Visit from Andrew Meredith.Workshop. Read Dubus, “Tracks and Ties,” and Daum, “Music is myBag.”
.OCTOBER
7-Workshop. Read James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son.”
14—FALL BREAK
21-Workshop. Long Essay #2 Due. No Reading Assignment.
28-Visit from Jonathon Harr. Workshop. Read Potts, “The Art of Writing a Story….” and Beard, “The Fourth State of Matter.” (Both on bb)
NOVEMBER
4-Workshop. Read Marilynne Robinson, “When I Was a Child” (bb) “The Undertaking,” Thomas Lynch (bb)
11-Workshop. Read Sara Suleri, “Salad Days.”
18-Workshop. .. FINAL PORTFOLIO DUE. Read “Shipping Out,” David Foster Wallace.
25-Workshop.