1 LARSON FRITZ – INTRO TO CNF – SPRING 2023
Introduction to Creative Nonfiction: The Everyday as Extraordinary
Instructor: Larson Fritz
MWF 10:30am – 11:20am
Spring 2023
Course Description
This course is an introduction to reading and writing creative nonfiction essays, broadly construed. We will consider how craft elements like description, scene, prose style, research, point of view, metaphor, humor, etc. can make any topic or idea or observation from everyday existence come to life and crackle with electricity on the page. We will read all kinds of creative nonfiction, some canonical and not-so canonical works, with an eye to how nonfiction writers go about rendering the reality of everyday life as extraordinary art. You will be required to: discuss each essay you read, complete four writing exercises that are intended to goad you into some formal risk-taking, and complete two longer essays, one of which will be revised by the end of the term. This course does not require that you have much experience writing creatively, or that you aspire toward writing as a vocation, but it does require that you’re willing to leave the 5-paragraph grade-school essay far behind. No essay will begin with the clause: “Webster’s Dictionary defines…” No conclusion will begin: “In conclusion.” The questions we’re after: What distinguishes “nonfiction” from “creative nonfiction”? What can the essay do as a literary genre? And how can we, as nonfiction writers, create art that blows our readers’ minds?
Course Objectives
- Read nonfiction like nonfiction writers
- Write regularly and broadly
- Learn to give and receive constructive feedback
- Develop craft vocabulary around creative nonfiction
- Revise work and build a sustainable writing practice
- Establish a community of nonfiction writers that you can lean on, this semester and beyond
Required Materials
(1) The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata (Available at Prairie Lights and HawkShop)
(2) A notebook and pen, to be brought to each class
Readings
All readings besides The Lifespan of a Fact (which we will read in the second half of the semester) will be posted on ICON in PDF form. You are required to print each reading and bring it to class.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Workshop
During about 1/3 of our class meetings, we will be discussing each other’s work. Each writer in the course will be workshopped once. Workshop dates will be assigned the second week of class. If you’d like to be workshopped on a different date than originally planned, you may talk to your classmates and see if anyone is willing to switch with you; notify me if you’ve swapped with someone.
Please post your essay to the appropriate discussion board on ICON 48 hours before your scheduled workshop (by Saturday at noon for Monday workshops; by Monday at noon for Wednesday workshops, Wednesday at noon for Friday workshops.)
When workshopping other people’s work, please prepare by: printing out the essay, reading it at least twice, marking it up for discussion, and bringing the marked-up copy to class to hand to the author. You will submit a workshop letter to each of your peers after they’re up for workshop. Those letters are due as a Discussion Board comment no later than 11:59PM following the workshop. Failure to submit a workshop letter will result in a 0.
All this is a lot. Don’t worry—we’ll get the hang of it quick and talk all this over in class.
Grading
Class Participation: 20%
Creative Writing Exercises: 20%
Reading Responses: 15%
Introducing Discussion: 10%
Essays 1 & 2: 20%
Revision Portfolio: 15%
20 percent — Participation
Your participation grade primarily consists of your engagement in class discussions. These discussions will be focused on published writing that we will use as models and as inspiration for our own writing throughout the semester. To prepare, closely read the assigned work and come to class with notes/thoughts/questions, ready to discuss what we can learn from the reading, and what surprised/confused/disturbed/delighted you about it. Mark up pages—highlight, underline, star, circle, draw doodles and write notes in the margins. Be ready to point to specific moments/lines/phrases from the reading during our discussions.
Participation does not necessarily mean gabbing a lot, of course. You can participate by making a brief comment or asking a question in class, but you can also participate by listening closely, concentrating, being awake, taking notes, etc. Keep in mind that while you will like/love/not like certain of the essays we read in class, what matters for the purpose of discussion is that each one has something to teach us about craft and technique.
I understand that classroom participation can be difficult for more reserved students. Keep in mind that you don’t need to speak up repeatedly to get adequate marks here. I’m looking more for the quality of contribution than quantity. Fret not.
20 percent — Creative Writing Exercises
Writing exercises are an opportunity to experiment with different forms and craft tools you might employ in a full-length essay, except in an abbreviated form. Any of these brief exercises might be expanded into one of your full-length essays, though you aren’t required to select from them. In these exercises, I want you to balance experimentation with exploration of the kind of writing that most interests you.
20 percent — Essays 1 & 2
You will write two full-length essays (roughly 5 pages, double spaced, 12-point font) over the course of the semester, one of which will be read and discussed by your peers in workshop.
15 percent — Reading Responses
Four reading responses will be given throughout the semester. These will be straightforward question-and-answer affairs designed to assess your familiarity with the readings and to allow you to demonstrate your critical perspective on a given essay. The intention here is simply to encourage an active and attentive reading practice and to get you thinking about a given essay before we discuss it in class.
10 percent — Introducing Discussion
Each student will introduce our class discussion on one of our assigned texts, alongside a partner. Together you will introduce the author, provide some context for the reading, and provide some incisive, specific discussion questions tailored to our given topic for the week. Trust me: this will be more fun than listening to me talk for four months straight. It’s an opportunity to entertain and engage your peers while showing me that you know whereof you speak. You’ll also turn in a super brief 500 word analysis of the essay you introduce, due on ICON before class.
Introducing discussion may include:
- A very brief biographical overview of the writer, which may involve:
○ Subjects and themes they often write about
○ Innovative aspects of their work
○ How critics receive their work
○ Anything else you find interesting or that might be useful for our discussion of their writing
- Some of your own thoughts on how their work fits into our course, the unit we’re working through, or other readings.
- An analysis of a passage or passages from the text that ties into our discussions on craft.
- Thoughtful questions about the work that might guide our discussion of it. Note that open-ended questions about craft and theme are usually the most useful.
Draw on the board. Make a PowerPoint or a printout. Get creative. Depth is preferable to breadth. What exactly from the reading most interests you and why? What do you most clearly remember from it? What eludes you about it? Start there.
15 percent — Revision Portfolio:
Your revision portfolio is the final assignment for this course. It will include:
- One of your creative writing exercises, revised, with all relevant drafts included
- One of your full-length essays, in heavily revised form, with all relevant drafts included
- A separate reflection paper (1-2 double-spaced pages each; 12pt font) on each of these pieces, considering how your work responds to issues explored over the course of the term. This reflection is a chance to think critically about the works you read all semester, and display your writerly engagement with them. Please refer specifically to the works we read, with quotations. As part of your reflection papers, please include thoughtful comments on the revision process of each final piece, including points regarding what was discussed during workshop, office hours, and peer meetings, as relevant, and what you did to strengthen or intensify each piece, especially as regards the deepening of your engagement with the course reading.
COURSE POLICIES
Technology Stuff
I’m not a huge fan of tablets or laptops in class but understand their utility. I’d radically prefer that you print the readings (you can print at the library for .03 cents a page) and bring hard copies to class; it makes annotation easier and limits the potential for distractions in class. That said, if you are using a computer/tablet in class and seem to be busy doing anything other than looking at the reading, I’ll ask you to put the device away. If at any point during the semester I ask a question and look up to see everyone having a staring contest with their computers, crickets chirping, we’ll go full caveman mode. Additionally: no cell phones in class, ever. If I see a phone out during class time, I will begin to weep uncontrollably; it’ll be embarrassing for everyone.
Citizenship
For this class to succeed it is essential that we hold ourselves to the highest standards of respect. I will not allow behavior that makes anyone else in the class feel unsafe or the subject of ridicule. Take care to remember your classmates’ pronouns and how to pronounce their names. Do not repeat slurs or hate speech even if they appear in the texts we are discussing. Pour boundary-pushing impulses into your art; edgelord hijinks will not be tolerated in class.
What I expect, grade-wise, put simply:
A (A: 95-100, A-: 90-94) Excellent work that shows initiative and sophistication that goes beyond general expectations. The writing is well crafted and reflects a commitment to the creative process. The writer is capable of analyzing, reflecting and revising. The writer takes risks in service to the work. The writer is an active, thoughtful participant in class.
B (B+: 87-89, B: 83-86, B-: 80-82) Strong work. The writing is well crafted and demonstrates that the writer is engaged with the creative process in ways that are above average. The writer demonstrates attempts to reflect and analyze their writing and can make some choices about revision. Risks are taken (some may be more successful and resonant than others) but all show an attempt to serve the work. The writer is an active participant in class.
C (C+: 77-79, C: 73-76, C-: 70-72) Adequate work that meets the basic requirements.
The writer’s work could be stronger with more engagement re: the creative process. There is some revision, but it’s superficial. Some risks might be taken, but they may not be in service to the work. The writer sometimes participates.
D (D+: 67-69, D: 63-66, D-: 60-6) Weak work that falls below the basic requirements. The writing produced is brief or not fully developed. The writing does not show an engagement with the creative process and does not reflect the writer’s potential. Infrequent participation.
F (F: 0-59) Unacceptable work. It exhibits fundamental problems which consistently go unaddressed or ignored. The work is frequently incomplete. Misses class regularly, fails to participate. All plagiarized work receives an automatic F and student will be subject to CLAS disciplinary proceedings.
Course Itinerary
Heads up: this schedule is subject to change. The most accurate, up-to-date schedule will always be on the homepage of our ICON site.
Week 1: Groundwork
Monday, January 16:
- No class: MLK Day
Wednesday, January 18:
- Introductions and course overview
Friday, January 20:
- Read: “Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits” by Lydia Davis
- Syllabus Q&A
Week 2: What is an Essay?
Monday, January 23:
- Read: Excerpt from Lost Origins of the Essay by John D’Agata
- Read: “Red” by Jericho Parms
Wednesday, January 25:
- Bring to class a piece of writing that you find extraordinary
Friday, January 27:
- Reading Response 1 Due
- Read: “The Fine Art of Sighing” by Bernard Cooper + “Shadow Memory” by Susan Orlean
Week 3: Observation & Detail
Monday, January 30:
- Read: “Details, Details” from Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante
Wednesday, February 1:
- Read: Excerpt from Prompt Book by Barbara Denning
Friday, February 3:
- Read: “Fables” by Bennett Sims
- Discussion Introducers:
Week 4: Investigation
Monday, February 6:
- Creative Writing Exercise #1 Due
- Read: “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace
- Discussion Introducers:
Wednesday, February 8:
- In class exercise
Friday, February 10:
- Read: “Fourth State of Matter” by Jo Anne Beard
- Discussion Introducers:
Week 5: Thinking on the Page
Monday, February 13:
- Reading Response 2 Due
- Read: “Pain Scale” by Eula Biss
- Discussion Introducers:
Wednesday, February 15:
- Library Scavenger Hunt
Friday, February 17:
- Read: “Driving as Metaphor” by Rachel Cusk
- Discussion Introducers:
WEEK 6: Imagination
Monday, February 20:
- Read: “Where to Begin” by Bernard Cooper + “What Didn’t Happen” by Anika Fajardo
Wednesday, February 22:
- Read: “The Splendid Gift of Not Knowing” from Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante
Friday, February 24:
- Read: “Alas Poor Fhoul!” by Gyasi Hall
- Discussion Introducers:
WEEK 7: Voice & Narration
Monday, February 27:
- Creative Writing Exercise #2 Due
Wednesday, March 1:
- Reading Response 3 Due
- Read: From Penguin Anthology of the Prose Poem: Bird, “Children are the Orgasm of the World”; Boyer, “A Woman Shopping”; Kapil, “Notes Towards a Race Riot Scene”; Lerner, “from Angle of Yaw”; Dinh, “A Hardworking Peasant from the Idyllic Countryside”
Friday, March 3:
- Read: “If You Knew Then What I Know Now” by Ryan van Meter
- Discussion Introducers:
WEEK 8: Humor
Monday, March 6:
- Read: “The Communal Mind” by Patricia Lockwood
- Discussion Introducers:
Wednesday, March 8:
- Bring to class a piece of writing that makes you laugh
- Read: “A Personal Essay by a Personal Essay” by Christy Vannoy
- Read: “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamont
Friday, March 10:
- Essay 1 Due
WEEK 9: Spring Break
WEEK 10: Workshops
Monday, March 20:
- Workshop: Nolan & Marcus
Wednesday, March 22:
- Workshop: Reed & Tristan
Friday, March 24:
- Workshop: Ella & Joe
- Creative Writing Exercise #3 Due
WEEK 11: Process & Revision
Monday, March 27:
- Read: “Performing Surgery Without Anesthesia” by Chris Offutt
- Discussion Introducers:
Wednesday, March 29:
- Revision Exercise
Friday, March 31:
- Read: Excerpts from Wretched Writing by K. Petras
WEEK 12: Workshops
Monday, April 3:
- Workshop: Isa & Will
Wednesday, April 5:
- Workshop: Kate & Miki
Friday, April 7:
- Workshop: Rachael & Natalie
- Creative Writing Exercise #4 Due
WEEK 13: Truth and Nonfiction
Monday, April 10:
- Read: The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata (Chapters 1-4)
- Reading Response 4 Due
Wednesday, April 12:
- Read: The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata (Chapters 5-9)
Friday, April 14:
- Small group workshop
WEEK 14: Workshops
Monday, April 17:
- Workshop: Ted & Chase
Wednesday, April 19:
- Workshop: John & Trevor
Friday, April 21:
- Workshop: Khristian & Christian
- Essay 2 Due
WEEK 15: Book Club
Monday, April 24:
- Book Club
Wednesday, April 26:
- Book Club
Friday, April 28:
- Book Club
WEEK 16: Adieu
Monday, May 1:
- Excerpt from “Works” by Edouard Leve
Wednesday, May 3:
- In Class Reading
Friday, May 5:
- In Class Reading
Week 17: Final Portfolio Due