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3 SANJNA SINGH – INTRO TO CNF – Spring 2022

The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction

Instructor: Sanjna Singh

Spring 2022

MWF 10:30Am-11:20pm

 

Course Supervisor: Bonnie Sunstein

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Introduction to Creative Nonfiction

This course is an introduction to reading and writing essays, broadly construed. As a reader you will encounter journalistic essays, lyric essays, critical essays, memoiristic essays, and observational essays, among other forms, and as a writer you will be given room to experiment with each form as we study it. We will discuss characterization, structure, scene, voice, summary, pacing, lyricism, point of view, metaphor, and so on in some canonical and not-so-canonical essays. We will also discuss all of these as they relate to your essays, as a class, in workshop. You will be required to discuss each essay you read, complete five writing exercises intended to goad you into some formal risk-taking, complete two longer essays, and write a book presentation. Texts will include a variety of first-person nonfiction, including the work of Sarah Broom, Pico Iyer, Ted Chiang, Siri Hustvedt, Jesmyn Ward and others.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

In this course, you will learn how to:

Explore the different modes of the essay. Some of you come to this class with some knowledge of essay writing, others less so. Whatever your experience with this particular form, we will look to expand our sense of what it is and what it may contain, both in the types of essay, from the personal, the lyric, the reported, and the perspectives it can wield.

 

Develop your ability to read, perceive, and write as an essayist. As essayists, we will look to hone our approaches to drafting, editing and revising polished pieces of writing. Not only this, but we will seek to develop how we “read” as essaying, in the sense of the reading we are discussing for the week, but also: a situation, a scene, a frame of play, a match.

 

Build a supportive, thoughtful, and generous writing community. Writing is never a solitary act and depends largely on the community we surround ourselves in. Our class should be a generative space for all of us––through feedback, critique, and care, we will push each other to grow. It may be uncomfortable at times (no space can be without discomfort), but it should always be safe.

 

INDIGENOUS LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

The University of Iowa is located on the homelands of the Ojibwe/Anishinaabe (Chippewa), Báxoǰe (Iowa), Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Omāēqnomenēwak (Menominee), Myaamiaki (Miami), Nutachi (Missouri), Umoⁿhoⁿ (Omaha), Wahzhazhe (Osage), Jiwere (Otoe), Odawaa (Ottawa), Póⁿka (Ponca), Bodéwadmi/Neshnabé (Potawatomi), Meskwaki/Nemahahaki/Sakiwaki (Sac and Fox), Sahnish/Nuxbaaga/Nuweta (Three Affiliated Tribes), Dakota/Lakota/Nakoda, and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Nations. The following tribal nations, Umoⁿhoⁿ (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and Iowa), Meskwaki (Sac and Fox of the Mississippi in Iowa), Póⁿka (Ponca Tribe of Nebraska), and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) Nations continue to thrive in the State of Iowa and we continue to acknowledge them. As an academic institution, it is our responsibility to acknowledge the sovereignty and the traditional territories of these tribal nations, the treaties that were used to remove these tribal nations, and the histories of dispossession that have allowed for the growth of this institution since 1847.

 

COURSE EXPECTATIONS:

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 attacked or the subject of ridicule, particularly based on identity. 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. Be willing, most of all, to learn from each other. In short: in this class we will treat others not as we wish to be treated, but as they wish to be treated. If at any point you feel the class is not living up to this promise––and especially if I am not living up to this promise––I ask that you please write me directly so that we can repair the harm together.

 

COURSE MODALITY:

Your class will be in person unless otherwise noted. For any discussions that we conduct virtually, we will be using the ICON Discussion Board. More on this in Course Requirements below.

 

WORKLOAD:

For each semester hour of credit that an English Department course carries, students should expect to spend approximately two hours per week preparing for the course outside of class.  You can expect to be working for six hours each week outside of this class.

 

COMMUNICATION:

Communication: I’ll email the class via “Announcements” in ICON about course changes, cancellations, assignments and so on outside of class hours. Email anytime but please do not save important questions for last minute emails. I check email between 9am – 5pm Monday-Friday. I will do my best to return your email within one business day.

I will post a module every week with the reading assignment, the writing assignment etc. If you miss a class, please refer to the weekly module for the most updated schedule. The most updated syllabus will also always be on ICON, I may modify it there from time to time. All readings (unless linked in the week’s module) can be found under the FILES tab on ICON.

 

REQUIRED TEXTS: I will post readings on ICON, or link them in that week’s Module, with one exception: you will select a nonfiction book to read on your own and present on. More on this assignment below in Course Requirements.

 

OTHER REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • A notebook that you will keep exclusively for this course. Think of it like your artist’s sketchbook. Use it for reading notes, reporting notes, brainstorming sessions, and journal entries. Try to write in it every day.
  • ICON. All readings and course documents will be on our course ICON site. The most up-to-date version of our schedule will always be on our ICON site, too. You will also be submitting all your assignments on ICON.

 

GRADING:

  • Participation 25% This includes:
    • Comments on the readings
    • Letters to your classmates on their workshop essays
    • Being a good citizen of the class
    • Making at least one appointment with me over zoom to discuss your writing
  • Discussion leading 5%
  • Book Report Presentations 15%
  • Mini Essays (5 total) 25%
  • Workshop Essay #1 10%
  • Workshop Essay #2 20%

 

I grade based on the university’s A-F grading scale (see below). Grading creative writing is hard but I am most interested in effort and growth. I want you participate regularly and thoughtfully, come to my office when you need help, and put real effort into your drafts and revision and my grading will reflect that.

  • A: 93-100%       A-: 90-92% B+: 87-89% B: 83-86%   B-: 80-82% C+: 77-79%
  • C: 73-76% C-: 70-72% D+: 67-69% D: 63-66%  D-: 60-62% F: 0-59%

 

An A may be earned by consistently doing work that shows sophisticated critical thought and creativity. A-level work shows effort far beyond any given assignment’s minimum requirements.

A B may be earned by consistently doing work that shows critical thought and creativity. B-level work shows effort that exceeds the minimum requirements.

A C may be earned by adequately meeting the minimum requirements of the course without exceeding them.

A D may be earned by doing work that does not meet the minimum requirements and shows a lack of critical thought with an inadequate level of creative effort.

An F may be earned by consistently doing work that makes no attempt to satisfy the minimum requirements of the course.

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  • Participation—25%
  • Discussion: Your participation grade consists primarily of an assessment of your engagement in the weekly discussions in person or on ICON and the letters of feedback you write to your peers on their workshop essays.

To prepare, you should take notes on the day’s reading(s) to share, and carefully read and respond to your classmates’ posts. I’m looking more for the quality of your contribution to the discussion over a quantity of comments.

Your class will occur in person (unless otherwise noted), however all assignments will be submitted online on ICON. Every due date is clearly marked on our syllabus, the most up-to-date version of which will always be on ICON.

  • Letters for Workshop: Each of you will be workshopped twice. Your workshop essays are due to me on Icon one week before your workshop. Timeliness is very important; you need to give your peers enough time to formulate useful and coherent thoughts on your piece. So, failure to send me your piece in time will result in you forfeiting your chance to be workshopped and the loss of participation points unless you’ve made prior arrangements with me.

On workshop days, you will write a letter of a minimum of two paragraphs, no less than 400 words, of thoughtful commentary and feedback on your classmate’s essay, and bring a printed copy to give to your classmate.

 

Try to understand what the writer wants to accomplish and focus your notes on how they could do that better, not what you would do or change if it were your piece.

 

Conferences: I will meet with each of you individually on zoom to discuss your writing at least once, after your first workshop. These conferences will last approximately 20 minutes and are meant to be more formal and structured than drop-in office hours visits. I will talk to you about scheduling these after your workshop occurs. Please feel free to come to these meetings with specific questions! Note that this is how you will receive feedback from me: I will not be sending you written notes on your workshop drafts, so it is important that you make time for these.

 

Attendance: You may miss two classes without penalty. Points will be deducted from your participation grade for each missed class after that unless prior arrangement is made with me. I will not be docking points per this policy until the very end of the semester, when I’m assessing final grades. Please keep this in mind when keeping track of your participation grade.

Discussion leading – 5%: This is done in pairs. Once during the semester, you and partner will introduce the day’s readings with a brief presentation.

At minimum, these presentations will include:

  • A brief biographical overview of the writer, which might include:
    • Their major works and awards
    • Subjects and themes they often write about
    • Their literary influences (and perhaps other writers we might know who they have influenced, if applicable)
    • How critics receive their work
    • Anything else you find interesting or that might be useful for our discussion of the essay
  • Some of your own thoughts on how their work fits into our course discussions around creative nonfiction writing.
  • A “parallel text” that you feel is in conversation with the essay in some way. This does not have to be a written artifact, though it can be. It could also be a song, film, piece of visual art, YouTube video, etc. It should just be something that you feel is in some way related to the essay at hand; that relation might be subject matter or craft approach or general vibes. You will explain to us how you see these two things relating to each other.
  • 2-4 questions about the essay that might guide our discussion of it.

You’ll be graded based on the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of your discussion leading, and on how well you follow these guidelines.

Book Report Presentation – 15% Though we won’t be reading any together, full essay collections and other book-length works of literary nonfiction are very much worth our reading time, too. So, you will be selecting a book-length work of literary nonfiction to write about (3-5 pages) at the end of the semester. Your book choice will be up to you; I’ll have a large list to give you some ideas in the FILES tab, but don’t feel like you have to use a book on that list. I want you to follow your interest and have some more freedom in choosing.

Mini Essays – 25% of grade: Most of the writing you do in this course will be in the form of short essays—aim for 500-600 words. There are five They will be due Sundays at 11:59PM (CST) on ICON. Topics will be provided ahead of time.

Major Essay 1 + Reflection – 10% of grade: An essay on any topic of your choice. Please make this an essay that is whole in itself, so, not an excerpt or the beginning of a longer piece but a piece that can stand on its own. It should be a minimum of 750 words, maximum 1,500 words, double spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font. Please pay attention to when you are up for workshop; you will submit one week before.

Major Essay 2 + Reflection – 20% of grade: An essay on a topic of your choice. Please make this an essay that is whole in itself, not an excerpt or just the beginning of a longer piece but a piece that can stand on its own. It should be a minimum of 1000 words, maximum 2000 words, double spaced, in 12-point standard font. Please pay attention to when you are up for workshop; you will submit one week before.

 

LATE WORK POLICY: 

I will accept late Mini Essays no later than the following Sunday (one week later). You will still lose half a point for every day it is late beyond the actual due date. In case of an emergency, please make arrangements with me. Extensions will not be granted on the day an assignment is due. I will not accept late Book Report Presentations or Workshop Essays unless you make arrangements with me well in advance.

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY: 

Students are responsible for attending class and for contributing to the learning environment of a course. Students are also responsible for knowing their course absence policies, which will vary by instructor. All absence policies, however, must uphold the UI policy related to student illness, mandatory religious obligations, unavoidable circumstances, or University authorized activities. See the CLAS Academic Policies Handbook. Students may use this absence form to aid communication; the instructor will decide if the absence is excused or unexcused.

You may miss two classes without penalty. One point will be deducted from your participation grade for each unexcused absence and/or missed post after that, unless you are absent because you are ill. If this is the case, please email me.

 

NONDISCRIMINATION:

Hate speech is not an “opinion,” and I will not tolerate hate in any form, in writing or in class discussions. This space is not welcome to racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, classism, ableism, or other hate speech or action that attempts to silence, threaten, or degrade others. This goes for all conversations related to this class, and this also includes the work you submit to me and to workshop.

This policy is not here to silence you, nor to encourage a negative environment where we’re all calling each other names constantly. Just remember to assume the best of each other. We’re all on the same team, and we’re all here to grow.

 

In all the writing you do in this course, I want you to balance experimenting and pushing boundaries with exploring the kind of writing that most interests you. That said, I do have some guidelines to follow in order to be a good citizen of this class:

  • Extremely important: Do not share or discuss your peers’ work with anyone who is not enrolled in this class.
  • In order to foster a supportive classroom environment, I will not accept any work that contains graphic violent images, graphic sex, hateful speech (as defined above), or other content intended to offend me or your peers. I’m not going to put a moratorium on violence or sex as a whole; in fact, we will be reading some examples of this kind of work done particularly well. But when writing scenes or descriptions most readers would consider violent or sexual, ask yourself: Is this vitally important to the purpose of my project (Is my essay fundamentally critiquing violence or sex? Could my essay succeed without it?), or am I just including it to shock my reader? If you answer “yes” to the latter, it is not welcome in this class. This policy is not intended to get you to write about only happy things. I want you to create work that is complicated and that challenges you and your readers. But there is a difference between complicated work and work that intends to shock and/or express hate. The latter will not be tolerated. And note that if I read material that threatens harm to yourself or to others, I am required to report it.
  • Please do not submit work about me, your classmates, or this class.

OFFICE HOURS: M-Th 4-5pm on Zoom by appointment (please make an appointment beforehand)

Please note that the English department does not allow me to comment on writing that you didn’t do for this class.

 

SCHEDULE:

This schedule is subject to change. The most accurate, up-to-date calendar will always be on our ICON site. We will workshop student pieces on the days indicated. I will assign workshop and presentation dates Week 2 to allow for fluctuations in our class list.

***All timings – deadlines etc. are U.S. Central Standard Time (CST)***

 

All readings are in FILES on ICON or linked in that week’s module.

 

WEEK 1 – INTRO TO CREATIVE NONFICTION – 1/19, 1/21

  • Keep a notebook
  • Readings for week –
    • On keeping a notebook, Joan Didion
    • Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits, Lydia Davis
    • Why I write, Terry Tempest Williams
    • The Writing life, Alexander Chee
    • What is Creative Nonfiction, Dinty Moore

 

WEEK 2 – SCIENCE WRITING – 1/24, 1/26, 1/28

  • Go over Syllabus
  • Readings for week –
    • Division by Zero, Ted Chiang
    • Diversity of Life, EO Wilson
    • The Knife, Richard Seltzer
    • My Strange Head, Siri Hustvedt
    • Warbler’s Delight, Amy Leach

https://www.identitytheory.com/warbler-delight/Links to an external site.

 

Writing – Mini Essay 1 : Take one piece of craft/writing advice from any of the readings of Week 1 and focus on that for a 250-300 word personal essay that has something to do with this week’s theme (Science writing). You can use this week’s readings for inspiration on topic and style, but you don’t have to. At the bottom of the essay write what piece of advice from Week 1’s readings you chose and why. (Due Sunday 11:59 pm)

 

WEEK 3 – TRAVEL WRITING 1/31, 2/2, 2/4

 

DISCUSSION LEADING –

Writing – Mini Essay 2: Take one piece of craft/writing advice from any of the readings of Week 1 and focus on that for a 500 word essay about travel in the style of one of the readings from Week 3.

Due – Mini Essay 1

 

WEEK 4 – WRITING FROM MEMORY 2/7, 2/9, 2/11

 

DISCUSSION LEADING –

Writing – Mini Essay 3: Write a personal essay that springs from a memory. It should not ONLY be about a trip you took, or a memory, but why that is important to you, and how that influenced you going forward (positively, negatively, doesn’t matter). Think to use your experience to make a broader point. 300-500 words.

Due – Mini Essay 2

 

WEEK 5 – WRITING OTHERS – 2/14, 2/16, 2/18

  • Readings for week –
    • All about my mother, Brandon Taylor
    • Michaela the Destroyer, E Alex Jung
    • Habitus, Jordan Kisner
    • BFF, Sarah Gerard
    • How to write across difference, Rebecca Makkai

 

DISCUSSION LEADING –

Due – Mini Essay 3, Workshop essay from Group A

 

WEEK 6 – 2/21, 2/23, 2/25 – WORKSHOP GROUP A

Students being workshopped (Submit your essay one week before 2/21): _________

Due: Workshop essay from Group B- Wesley, Allison, Gabe, Devyn

 

WEEK 7 – 2/28, 3/2, 3/4 – WORKSHOP GROUP B

Students being workshopped (Submit your essay one week before 2/28): _______

 Due 3/1/22 – Workshop essay from Group C 

 

WEEK 8 – 3/7, 3/9, 3/11 – WORKSHOP GROUP C

Students being workshopped (Submit your essay BY 3/1) :Sydnee, Carter, Matthew, Will, Eleanor

 

WEEK 9 – SPRING BREAK

 

WEEK 10 – 3/21, 3/23, 3/25  – PROFILE AND REPORTAGE

DUE – DISCUSSION LEADING – 

 

Writing – Mini Essay 4 – Write a profile of someone you know in the style of one of the profiles in the readings this week. DUE 3/25

GROUP A ESSAY 2 DUE 4/05

GROUP B ESSAY 2 DUE 4/12

GROUP C ESSAY 2 DUE 4/19

MINI ESSAY 4 DUE 3/25

MINI ESSAY 5 DUE 4/10

BOOK PRESENTATION OUTLINE DUE 4/29

BOOK PRESENTATION DUE 5/4

 

WEEK 11 – 4/4, 4/6, 4/8 –   SPORTS WRITING

  • Readings for week –
    • Running towards my Father, Devin Kelly
    • I go to Duke. Do I have to care about Basketball?, Elizabeth Anne Brown
    • It Rained in Ohio on the Night Allen Iverson Hit Michael Jordan With a Crossover, Hanif Abdurraqib
    • The meaning of Serena Williams, Claudia Rankine
    • The Cruelest Sport, Joyce Carol Oates

DUE – DISCUSSION LEADING

Writing DUE – Mini Essay 5 –4/10

 

WEEK 12 – 4/11, 4/13, 4/15 – WORKSHOP GROUP A

GROUP B ESSAY 2 DUE 4/12

 

WEEK 13 – 4/18, 4/20, 4/22 – WORKSHOP GROUP B

GROUP C ESSAY 2 DUE 4/19

 

WEEK 14 – 4/25, 4/27, 4/29 – WORKSHOP GROUP C

Students being workshopped (Submit your essay one week before 4/25):

Due: Book Presentation outline 4/29

 

WEEK 15 – 5/2, 5/4, 5/6 –  WRITING HOME AND AWAY

  • Readings for week –
    • A Map of Lost Things, Jamila Osman
    • Upon this Rock, John Jeremiah Sullivan
    • On Writing, Young Lucas Mann
    • Unmapped, Sarah Broom

 

DISCUSSION LEADING – ______

Due: Book presentation 5/4

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