ENG318-3 – Advanced Fiction Writing Through the Artist’s Lens 10:00 – 12:30 PM & 1:30 – 3:00 PM, Block 3 Instructor: Matthew B. Kelley (he/him/his) Location: Thomas Commons, Atkinson Email: [email protected] Office Hours: By appointment Course Delivery: Hybrid/Web, Zoom, OWL, Moodle Zoom Url: https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/96266354357?pwd=TWU0Nkx3dHRPQy9ST2JMSzl3YWg3Zz09 password: cornellco
Course description and course goals While the craft of writing seems a mystery to those who are new at trying to make literature, we do know that many writers are often at their best when openly influenced by other artists. Richard Wright’s Uncle Tom’s Children and Michael Cunningham’s The Hours are both proof of this knowledge. This course, “Through the Artist’s Lens: How the Artist Teaches Us to See in Fiction,” establishes a forum for a discussion of craft elements fiction writers derive from their conversations with other art forms. Going back as far as 1819 to examine the appearance of visual art, dance, music and other disciplines in novels, short stories, and poems, students deepen their understanding of character, point of view, plot, setting, and dialogue while also interrogating the human condition through the peculiar lens of the artist.
Required text (available at Cornell book store)
• Free Within Ourselves : Fiction Lessons For Black Authors by Jewell Parker Rhodes (ISBN: 9780385491754) • If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin (ISBN: 9780307275936)
Available on Moodle: • Additional required/recommended readings as appropriate
Required Assignments and Expectations
Online discussion posts: You are required to write an entry for at least one of the day’s readings in the designated Moodle discussion post. Pick the reading that most spoke to you, with which you were most intrigued, or about which you were most confused. You can talk about formal elements you notice or even how the different readings relate. There are no right or wrong answers here – these are opportunities for you to reflect on your readings and practice some of the skills you’ll be using in the craft paper in a low stakes way.
Workshop story: You will be up for workshop once. Your story should be 6-10 pp maximum. Your story will be due on the Monday the week before your workshop, posted to Moodle by 11:59 PM.
Your short story should have the following formatting: typed, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, a header on every page (right-aligned, with your last name and page number, in that order). It should also have your name and pertinent class info at the top left of the first page one (MLA style), like so:
Jimothy Smithereens
Professor Matthew Kelley
ENG318 – Fiction
August 26, 2020
*Note: The date on the paper should be the date of your workshop, not the day you submit the paper. You can even add “TO BE WORKSHOPPED” before the date if you want to avoid confusion. More MLA formatting information at: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/ml a_general_format.html
After your story has been workshopped, you must make an appointment with me to discuss revision during office hours.
• Late Manuscripts: A minimum of 20% is deducted. More points will be deducted the later the story submission is. • Critique letters: Should be 1-2 full pages, same formatting rules: typed, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman. Submit one copy to student AND one copy to me (both submitted through Moodle). I may give you feedback on your letters if it seems appropriate. Good rule of thumb: read a short story twice before writing your letter. On first read, put the pen down and just read. On second read, pick up your pen, mark up the manuscript with line edits and marginalia, then write your letter. Here’s a checklist for letters: 1. Identify the story’s project (with examples from text to substantiate your reading); 2. Identity where it is and isn’t succeeding (with examples); 3. Suggest general revision strategies; 4. Polite sign-off.
Writing exercises/assignments: We’ll have them, and they will be formalized according to the craft studies we take on.
Craft Paper: At end of semester with your Final Portfolio, you’ll submit a paper analyzing 2-3 published stories we read. Using elements from the stories/novel that deal with art or artists, you will analyze how those elements inform any of the craft elements (character, plot, POV, setting, and dialogue) we discuss in class. It should be 6-8 pages, quote the texts substantially, and make an argument. You will be asked to cite your sources.
Quizzes: We’ll have them periodically on Moodle. They should not be difficult if you do the reading.
Revision Portfolio: You will submit a revision of the story you workshopped with a paragraph indicating what drove your decisions as you revised.
Grading Policy
o 30 Points: Class participation, classroom citizenship, attendance record, workshop letters, online discussion posts (1 pt/workshop letter + holistic classroom participation) o 20 Points: Quizzes on course readings o 10 points: Writing Exercises/Assignments o 10 Points: Short story (graded on completion, timeliness, etc.) o 20 points: Craft paper o 10 points: Revision portfolio
Note: I will be using +/- in grades. A+ grades are only given in extraordinary circumstances.
A 94-100 B+ 87-89 C+ 77-79 D+ 67-69 F Below 60 A- 90-93 B 84-86 C 74-76 D 64-66 B- 80-83 C- 70-73 D- 60-63
Course Schedule Note: The assigned readings may be changed with notice. Texts will be on Moodle unless otherwise noted. Day 1
• Introductions, syllabus review, workshop sign-ups • Readings: o “The Art of Fiction interview with James Baldwin.” The Paris Review – James Baldwin o “The Creative Process” – James Baldwin Day 2 • Reading: o “Ode on a Grecian Urn” – John Keats o “Ekphrasis and Representation” – James A.W. Heffernan • Readings: o The Idiot. Part III, Chapter VI – Fyodor Dostoevsky Day 3
• Readings: o “The Hunter in the Snow” – William Carlos Williams o “Ode on a Grecian Urn” – John Keats o “Repentance” – Natasha Trethewey Day 4
• Readings: o Tableaux vivants: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio – Ludovica Rambelli Teatro o The House of Mirth. Part 1, Chapter 12 – Edith Wharton • Readings: o Chapter 5: Creating Character. Free Within Ourselves (FWO) – Jewell Parker Rhodes o “New York Day Women” – Edwidge Danticat (FWO) Day 5
• Readings: o Chapter 6: Creating Plot. FWO o “Sweat” – Zora Neale Hurston (FWO) • Readings: o “Nineteen Fifty-Five” – Alice Walker (FWO) Day 6
• Readings: o Chapter 7: Point of View. FWO o “Ma’Dear” – Terry McMillan (FWO) • Readings: o “Pat + Sam” – Lisa Ko o “The Blues I’m Playing” – Langston Hughes • Due: ASSIGNMENT 1 Day 7
• Readings: o Chapter 8: Description, Setting, and Atmosphere. FWO o “A Visitation of Spirits” – Randall Keenan (FWO) • Readings: o “Who Will Greet You at Home” – Lesley Nneka Arimah o “Problems of Art” – James Alan McPherson Day 8
• Readings: o Chapter 9: Dialogue, Dialect, and Narrative Voice. FWO o “Kiswana Browne” – Gloria Naylor (FWO) • Readings: o If Beale Street Could Talk – James Baldwin • Due: ASSIGNMENT 2 Day 9
• Readings: o If Beale Street Could Talk – James Baldwin • Readings: o IBSCT Day 10
• Readings: o IBSCT • Readings: o IBSCT • Due: ASSIGNMENT 3 Day 11
• Readings o Workshop 1 – o Workshop 2 – • Readings: o Workshop 3 – o Workshop 4 – Day 12
• Readings: o Workshop 5 – o Workshop 6 – • Readings: o Workshop 7 – o Workshop 8 – Day 13
• Readings: o Workshop 9 – o Workshop 10 – • Readings: o Workshop 11 – o Workshop 12 – Day 15
• Readings: o Workshop 13 – o Workshop 14 – • Readings: o Workshop 15 – o Workshop 16 – Day 16
• Readings: o Workshop 17 – o Workshop 18 – Day 17
• FINAL PORTFOLIO DUE