28 Jessie Kraemer – The Illustrated Essay – Fall 2019

Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction – Multimedia Writing: The Illustrated Essay

MWF 11:30-12:20

Instructor: Jessie Kraemer

“[An essay is] a loose sally of the mind; an irregular, indigested piece, not a regular, orderly performance.” –Samuel Johnson

 

“…aphorisms, representing a knowledge broken, do invite men to inquire further; whereas methods, carrying the show of a total, do secure men, as if they were at furthest” –Francis Bacon

 

“The essay-writer is a law unto himself. A quick ear and eye, an ability to discern the infinite suggestiveness of common things, a brooding meditative spirit, are all that the essayist requires to start business with” –Alexander Smith

 

“The law of the innermost form of the essay is heresy.” –Theodor Adorno

Course Objectives

• Cultivate a relationship to image
• Cultivate a relationship to written essay
• Become ambidextrous in image + text as a maker and reader
• Become an essayist by seeing the world through the lens of the essay
• Develop ways of seeing the world and organizing through art
• Develop gestures of image, and how image can communicate urgently, through drawing, and other image organizing
• Experience essay as a conscious and curious reader of the form
• Enjoy reading with curiosity, openness, generosity, genuine interest, for pleasure, and with appreciation for what is working in a text

Grading

Participation 30%

Essay 1 20%

Essay 2 25%

Composition book 10%

Leading Discussion 15% Final Portfolio – Required

Attendance

You have 3 excused absences. However, participation cannot be made up. The work we do in class is collaborative and cumulative. If you are not present, you cannot do the work of the class. This is a small group and we require each other.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding attendance, communicate with me. Communicate with me.

COVID

Please don’t come to class sick. Wear a mask so we can remain in person together.

If you must isolate due to exposure, or are sick but feel able to participate over ZOOM, you may be ZOOMED in and participate in our work – to be Zoomed in a student must email me at least two hours before start of class time or ZOOM cannot be guaranteed.

In the case that I am sick or need to isolate due to exposure, class will go digital. This will either mean students meet in the classroom and the teacher is a digital person, or that all members of class are digital and we are all on Zoom. If this occurs, more detailed instruction will be given.

Course Books

Course Texts to buy, available at Prairie Lights and the Hawk Shop:

• Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Author: Scott McCloud

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks: 1994

Purchasing option: required ISBN: 006097625X

• Grass

Author:  Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, Janet Hong (Translator)

Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly, 2019

Purchasing option: required ISBN: 1770463623

• The Little Prince

Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery,

Publisher: Mariner Books 2000

Purchasing option: required ISBN: 0156012197

• Seek You

Author: Kristen Radtke

Publisher: Pantheon

Purchasing option: required

ISBN: 1524748064

Readings will be on ICON. Laptops may be used only to view texts for reference during discussion. Any other use of technology during class will result in a zero for participation for the day.

Course Materials Required, available at BLICK at Old Capitol – Bring to Class Each Day

• Composition book (a gift!) – bring to class every day
• Sketchbook – one that you pick out from Blick, using your own sense and intuition, bring to class every day
• Pens – 5 Pilot Precise Rollerball Pens, 5 Black Papermate Felt Tip Pens
• A box of colored pencils or markers – something to color with for class assignments
• 100 index cards – blank on one side, lined on the other
• A folder to hold workshop pieces and index card materials

Assignments Overview

• Composition Book ○ Daily observations
  • Checked every Friday.
• Leading Discussion on Monday
  • Present a brief 3-5 minute background on the reading and its context
• Have a set of 5 questions to guide peers in discussion
  • Mini Essay due 2/9
  • Essay 1 due Monday 2/21
  • Essay 2 due Monday 4/11