26 DARIUS STEWART: FALL 2019 POLITICS

The Art & Craft of Writing about Politics

Instructor: Darius Stewart, M.F.A.

Tuesdays / Thursdays 9:30am-10:45am

Fall 2019

COURSE OVERVIEW

The inimitable Toni Morrison once asked, “What could be so bad about being socially astute, politically aware in literature?” We will consider this question often as we craft our own literature: nonfiction essays that negotiate personal experiences to demonstrate how we are never merely observers of a political system but are most certainly participants within it. However, we must be mindful to strike a balance between aesthetics and agendas while immersing ourselves within a political realm that is as relevant to writers of partisan politics as it is to those who write on a variety of identity politics, and all those subjects in between. Furthermore, we will be careful not to restrict our understanding of the essay to mean writing that is primarily prosaic, but rather we will accept that there exists a range of formal and experimental narrative possibilities for us to practice. Finally, in addition to crafting our own essays, it is incumbent upon us to engage authors renowned for their demonstrated artistry in political writing, and discussion of works by James Baldwin, Gloria Naylor, Kiese Laymon, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Danez Smith, Kendra Allen, and Alexander Chee, among others, will be our guides during our time together.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• We will define and refine our sensibilities as writers and members of the larger literary community.
• We will receive hands-on exposure to the workshop method and how we can use it to develop into more thoughtful and empathetic editors of our peers’ work, as well as our own.
• We will be presented with and practice writing in a variety of styles about a subject (or subjects) of our choosing.
• We will employ considerable practice as active readers who are able to identify and articulate what a writer is attempting in a particular text and why (or why not) it works.
• We will take risks to push our writing toward new forms and ideas.

TEXTS

Books for this course are available at Iowa Hawk Shop located in the IMU basement, although you may have luck finding used copies of many of these texts online or elsewhere around town. Other readings, which are listed below, will be posted to the course page on icon.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. We Should All Be Feminists. Penguin Random House. ISBN: 9781101911761.

Kendra Allen. When You Learn the Alphabet. University of Iowa Press. ISBN: 9781609386290.

Alexander Chee. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. Mariner Books. ISBN: 9781328764522.

Kiese Laymon. Heavy: An American Memoir. Scribner. ISBN: 9781501125669.

Gloria Naylor. The Women of Brewster Place. Penguin Random House. ISBN: 9780140066906.

Danez Smith. Don’t Call Us Dead. Graywolf. ISBN: 9781555977856.

The following texts are available on icon:

James Baldwin, “The Creative Process”; “Freaks and the American Ideal of Manhood”; “Notes of a Native Son”;

“Stranger in the Village”

Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Letter to My Son”

Tyrese L. Coleman, “Why I Let Him Touch My Hair”

Andrea Long Chu, “On Liking Women”

Charlie Duff, “What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones?”

Essex Hemphill, “If Freud Had Been a Neurotic Colored Woman: Reading Dr. Frances Cress Welsing”; “Loyal”

Ijeoma Oluo, “The Heart of Whiteness”

Tressie McMillan Cottom, “Brown Body, White Wonderland”

Darnell L. Moore & Kai M. Green, “Conversation in Black”

Deesha Philyaw, “A Pop Quiz for White Women Who Think Black Women Should Be Nicer to Them in

Conversations about Race”

Claudia Rankine, “The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning”

Justin Phillip Reed, “Killing Like They Do in the Movies”

Marlon Riggs, “Black macho revisited: Reflections of a Snap! queen”

Nafissa Thompson-Spires, “Belles Lettres”

Jenny Zhang, “They Pretend to Be Us While Pretending We Don’t Exist”

For each class I expect that you will come prepared with all texts we will be discussing that day, as well as a dedicated notebook for extensive note taking or any in-class writing assignments.

A NOTE ON READING

The best writers, in addition to devoting time to their own work, read exhaustively. They read to be inspired, to be shocked, amazed, or even enraged. But most of all, they read to figure out other writers’ tricks. The best way to practice your writing is through reading. Therefore, we’ll be doing a fair bit of that. You will be required to bring your readings to every class, and they should be marked up (but perhaps not the longform texts that you have rented) with notes, questions, moments that inspire you, moments that  confuse you, moments that make you angry, etc. You’ll especially need to be mentally present, prepared to engage in thoughtful discussions about what you’ve read that goes beyond how I like this or I don’t like that. I have chosen each of these texts to help broaden your understanding of political writing and literary nonfiction in general, and many of your assignments will be directly linked to the weekly readings.

Because I would like for you to engage with the writing community outside of our classroom, you will also be required to attend two readings in any genre over the course of the semester. I will provide you with a general overview of readings happening during the semester (and almost all of them are free), but please don’t be afraid to get creative in seeking out literary events—perhaps your friend is hosting a house party that includes an open mic, maybe you’re part of a literary-themed club on campus that highlights undergraduate work, or there’s another type of literary event I haven’t mentioned.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

Unless otherwise noted, you will upload all assignments to icon on the day that they are due, and I ask that you generally use standard formatting for all written work (12 pt. Times New Roman or equivalent font, double spaced, 1” margins). You are welcome to experiment with alternate formatting if it best suits the piece, but please don’t use wacky fonts like Papyrus and wacky margins just for the sake of doing so.

+ Generative Exercises (8): Beginning in week 2, each of you will submit a 1-2 page (or, flexibly, 300-600 words) piece that is inspired in some way by the texts we’ve been reading, using some element of craft. You will submit your exercises as an attachment to the Generative Essays folder on icon each Sunday beginning on 9/8.

I would encourage you, but it is not required of you, to work with the same (or a series of linked) subjects throughout the semester, but you are more than welcome to switch things up from week to week. Furthermore, remember the main objective of these exercises is for you to take something from what we’ve read and run with it in your own work. Perhaps Baldwin has a particular syntax that you admire, or after reading Gloria Naylor you’re inspired to incorporate the fictive imagination in your work, or maybe there’s a particular structure or genre or voice that you’d like to try. These exercises are to be exploratory and take risks to find new forms rather than strive to be polished/finished work. The overall goal is to not only add a variety of new tools to your writing kit, but also to generate material for a full-length essay by the end of the term.

If you prefer, you may also submit an exercise or mini-essay that thinks through one of our texts in critical yet formally interesting ways. In other words, instead of writing an essay utilizing a Baldwinian syntax, for example, you may wish to write a mini-essay about Baldwin’s use of syntax and why or how you respond to it. You’re welcome to do this as long as you’re still taking stylistic and formal risks to produce a work of literary merit (as opposed to compiling a book report).

Finally, at the end of your generative exercises, if they are utilizing a particular craft element, I would also like for you to include a few sentences (basically a short paragraph) explaining the choices you made in crafting your piece and reflecting on what you did—which “tool” did you borrow from which author from the reading? What surprised you while writing? What did you feel “worked” and what didn’t?

+ Final Essay (1): Beginning in week 11, you will each turn in a longer essay to be formally (read: traditionally) workshopped by our class. This piece should be between 6-12 pages long (or approximately 1800-3600 words, should you choose to work with unconventional formatting) and may arise out of one (or more) of your generative exercises. When it’s your turn to be workshopped, you will distribute one copy of the essay to each of your classmates and one copy to me, and you will be asked to turn in your essay a week before your scheduled workshop to give everyone a chance to read it carefully and compose a response. Your essays should always be double spaced (unless unconventional formatting dictates otherwise) with each page numbered.

+ Community Engagement: During the semester, you will attend two public readings of creative writing, and whatever you decide to attend, please submit within one week of the readings a 1-2 page/300-600 word response to the events to the appropriate dropbox on icon. Include the following in your response: 1.) the name of the author reading, 2.) what the author read, 3.) where the venue of the reading was held, 4.) your general impressions of both the text itself and the ways in which the performance added (or detracted) from your understanding of that text, and finally, 5.) a reflection about what, if anything, this reading gave you permission to do in your own work. You will also write a 1-2 page/300-600 word review of an essay of your choice. More details about this assignment will be provided at a later date.

+ Workshop Responses: Once we begin our formal workshops, everyone will be expected to provide feedback on each essay in the form of a one-page (single spaced) letter to the author. These responses (or letters) will form the basis of our conversations during workshop and will offer the writer something concrete to refer to when she sits down to develop her essay further. Please bring two copies of your responses with you to class on the day of our discussion—one for the writer and one for me.

+ Revision (1): By the end of the course you will have substantially revised one piece (and we will talk in class about what constitutes a substantial revision). After your workshop, you will be responsible for finding a time to meet with me—either during my office hours or at another time that better suits both our schedules—and we will discuss both your essay and the suggestions your classmates provided in writing and during the day of the workshop. This revision will be due during Finals week, to be submitted with your final portfolio. With this revision, you will attach a one-page, single spaced detail of what substantial revisions you made and an explanation of why you made your choices.

+ Portfolio: During Finals week on Wednesday, 12/18 by 5:00 pm, you must upload the following items to the appropriate icon dropbox: 1.) your eight generative exercises, 2.) your two public reading responses, 3.) the original final essay with my comments written on it, 4.) a revision of your final essay,  with a one-page, single spaced detail of your revision choices attached, and 5.) a one-page, single spaced reflection on your growth as a writer over the course of the semester. I will use the portfolio to review your performance for the entire semester and assign your final grades accordingly.

GRADING

This class is meant to push your work toward new forms and ideas (regardless of your subject matter). How much effort have you put into truly exploring this genre and working on your capabilities as a reader, writer, and member of the literary community? What risks have you taken, creatively and otherwise? You will find that genuine and earnest effort will be rewarded in this class. On the other hand, this is not an easy A, and anyone who is a good writer but simply wants to coast, or dash things off at the very last minute without thought, care, or reflection is likely to be frustrated.

For your generative exercises, I will mark each of them on a scale of 1 to 10, using the following rubric: work that feels rushed, written without much thought, or completely divorced from the weekly reading will receive a score of 0-4. Work that incorporates recognizable stylistic elements from the assigned reading and shows promise toward a larger project or idea will receive a score of 5-7. Work that integrates its formal/stylistic innovations and inspirations in such a way that feels absolutely essential to the overall piece and shows great promise towards a larger project or idea will receive a score of 8-10. With this said, consistent scores of 8 to 10 indicate you are succeeding very well; consistent scores of 5-7 may require you to meet with me at some point to discuss your writing performance; of course, scores of 0-4 on any assignment should compel you to meet with me immediately.

For your workshop submissions, I will provide both written and oral feedback. Furthermore, you will be required to schedule an appointment to discuss how you might revise your essay using both your own intuition as well as what you found helpful from the workshop.

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS

• Participation (including written and verbal workshop comments)—30%
• Final Essay—25%
• (8) Generative Essays—20%
• Writing Portfolio—15%
• Community Engagement—10%

To give you a more concrete idea of what I’ll be looking for when I review your portfolios and your efforts for the semester:

A: Exceptional work that demonstrates sophistication and effort that goes beyond the general expectations of the class. The writing is well-crafted and reflects a commitment to the creative process. The writer is capable of analyzing, reflecting, and revising both her own work and the work of her peers. The writer pushes herself in interesting ways that ultimately benefits the work.

B: Strong work that demonstrates writing that is well-crafted and is evidence that the writer’s abilities and efforts are above average. The writer makes more than a mere attempt to reflect and analyze his writing (and the writing of his peers) and has clearly incorporated new ideas into the revised piece. The writer has taken risks in his essays that may be more successful and resonant than others.

C: Adequate work that meets the basic requirements. The writer’s work could be stronger with more engagement with the creative process. The writer has composed essays that reflect varying levels of success. There is some revision, but it’s superficial. This writer has clearly read and provided some thoughtful comments on their peers’ work but may not be consistently engaged with the discussion. This writer may have taken some risks in their work, but ultimately, they may not be in service to the overall project.

D: Weak work that falls below the basic requirements. The writing produced is brief or not fully developed. This writing does not show an engagement with the creative process and does not reflect the writer’s potential. This writer does not seem to engage fully with their peers’ work.

F: Unacceptable work. The pieces exhibit fundamental problems that consistently go unaddressed or ignored. The work is frequently incomplete or submitted late. This writer has clearly not read their classmates’ work and fails to participate in workshop. Writing that does not represent the writer’s original work will get an F.

LATE WORK AND TIME SPENT OUT OF CLASS

Assignments submitted late will receive a grade deduction at my discretion for each day it is late. If you know in advance that you will be missing a class and an assignment is due, you must turn it in (either in person or in my mailbox in 308 EPB) before the start of class. That said, life happens, so if you anticipate having difficulties meeting a deadline or experience an emergency, contact me as soon as possible (i.e. not the night before) and we may be able to work out an extension.

This is a three semester-hour class, which means that you should expect to spend at least six hours per week preparing outside of class (as defined by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences). This workload may fluctuate over the course of the semester, so look ahead on the course schedule and prepare accordingly.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

You can’t participate in class if you’re not present and the bulk of this class will involve serious and thoughtful consideration of our literary guides and your classmates’ writing. This class can only be as strong as the community of writers that make it up so I will expect you to be consistently engaged and invested in each reading we discuss.

That said, occasionally everyone needs to miss class, either because of illness, family or personal emergency, or something else entirely, and therefore, you are allowed two absences over the course of the semester for these reasons. It is not necessary for you to email me in case of an absence. However, if you do have documentation that excuses your absence (as sanctioned by the university) you must present this to me as soon as possible. For information regarding student attendance and absences, please visit the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences website (https://clas.uiowa.edu/students/handbook/attendance-absences).

Please note that you will still be responsible for any work that you miss, and it will be your responsibility to check in with classmates to familiarize yourself with what was covered in class. However, the exception to this rule is that you are not allowed to miss your workshop date; if you fail to show up on that date or fail to turn in your essay when it is due, there will be negative consequences to your grade.

Any more than two unexcused absences will result in a reduction of your grade for the entire course. For example, for each absence beyond two, your final grade will be lowered by one-third (i.e., a final grade of B+ after two absences will result in a B- for your final grade).

I understand that some of you may not feel comfortable with speaking in front of a group—first of all, you’re not alone! I’m sure that many of your classmates feel the same way or have felt that way at some point. While your class participation will make up a significant portion of your final grade, I also recognize that “participation” comes in many forms. I am most concerned with the quality of the contributions you make over the course of the semester, not the quantity. Please keep in mind that showing up late, being unprepared (such as failing to bring your reading to class) or acting obviously unengaged will negatively affect your participation grade. Always feel free to come speak with me in office hours if you have any concerns about participating, particularly around sensitive topics that may emerge from our reading and writing.

RESPECT AND CONFIDENTIALITY

In order for us to nurture an environment that supports artistic experimentation and risks, as well as make space for the variety of experiences and identities that we bring into the classroom, it is important to remember that the texts that we read and write are fundamentally grounded in the lived experiences of real people and as such we must treat them with respect. This means that any potentially sensitive information revealed in your essays should not be discussed outside of class and that I expect each of you to respond to the readings and workshop submissions with maturity, an open mind, and most importantly a willingness to be uncomfortable. I encourage you to think of your classmates less as adversaries to take down in a debate and more as collaborators working toward increasingly high levels of critical and artistic reading, writing, and thinking.

OFFICE HOURS, CONFERENCES, AND COMMUNICATION

I will hold office hours after class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:45am-12:15pm in EPB 407. If you cannot make those hours, send me an email with your availability and we can figure out an alternate time to meet. Office hours are a great opportunity to get more in-depth feedback on your assignments, hash out ideas toward new drafts or revisions, and get clarification on certain texts and projects. Please Note: Should you start composing an email to me and realize you’re typing multiple paragraphs, that’s a good indicator that you should come to office hours. I will not address questions about your grades over email.

Check your @uiowa.edu address and icon regularly, and please note that I am unable to answer emails that are sent from addresses outside the University (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.). For the most part I’ll reply to your messages within 48 hours although it may take me longer on weekends. I encourage you to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have about the course. That being said, before emailing me about a course policy or assignment deadline, please refer to this syllabus first—likely your question has already been addressed here. Finally, please practice good email etiquette—complete sentences, professional tone, etc.

Within a few days after your first workshop you will be expected to schedule a conference with me to discuss the piece, your classmates’ comments, and your general experience of the workshop itself. These meetings should be a half-hour to an hour long, and please send me an email in advance of the meeting even if it is during my normal office hours.

FALL 2019 COURSE SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS

Please be advised: Because this course is structured on the writing workshop model, the course is designed to accommodate 16-18 students. However, should the size of the class decrease, negating the necessity for the allotted number of weeks for workshop, this calendar will be subject to change. This means, too, that reading assignments may be added to accommodate the lower enrollment number. Therefore, this calendar is tentative, and any updates will be posted to icon and shared in class. Students are responsible for tracking course activities, readings, and assignments. Note midterm dates and significant deadlines, such as the last day to drop. The master calendar can be found here: https://registrar.uiowa.edu/academic-calendar