English 201C: Methods and Materials of Literary Production Prof. Alan Soldofsky

Fall 2006 T, 7:00 – 9:45 PM, FO 104

Phone: 924-4432 Office: FO 106

E- Mail: soldofsk@email.sjsu.edu Hours: T, Th 3:15 – 4:30 PM, or by appointment

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Description:

This course introduces Creative Writing graduate students to the resources, traditions, techniques, and culture associated with professional creative writing both inside and outside academia. The class will study the role of the individual writer within the literary and academic communities, and explore various forms of literary activity that commonly support “the literary life.” Students will learn to find and evaluate dominant and alternative literary magazines and publishers, book review indexes, academic journals, and online and other electronic resources. By means of this course, they will find ways to apply their knowledge of these resources that are useful in their own writing, in their other courses, and in fulfilling other requirements for the MFA.

Overview of Course Objectives:

A creative writer’s work is both a personal journey toward increasingly masterful artistic expression as well as an increasing understanding of what the literary world requires of a writer as a professional. In order to succeed, a Creative Writing MFA student needs to understand how the interlocking networks within the literary, academic, and publishing communities function. To gain such an understanding, students will accomplish the following objectives in this course:

· Explore the traditions, conventions, sub-genres, and schools, associated with contemporary poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

· Explore the literary tradition as it has evolved in Northern and Central California.

· Examine the role of the creative writer within academia.

· Become familiar with a wide range of literary journals, publishers, and electronic resources for creative writers.

· Examine evolving genres and new literary forms and forums.

· Gain a familiarity with some common professional forums and networks for creative writers within academe.

· Gain familiarity with various avenues for publication and other professional activity.

Course Methods and Activities:

At the start of this course, each class member will select a contemporary poet or prose writer whose career will become the subject of study. Many of the assignments and activities in the course will be based upon what students can find out about the careers of the writers they have chosen. Students are urged to get in touch with the writer they’ve chosen through email or snail mail, and to establish a correspondence through which the students can ask the writer questions relevant to the course assignments. The writers whose careers the students will want to study are those who have established a publishing track record in both periodical publication and book publishing. Writers who publish in more than one genre would be most exemplary for the class.

Visits from Writers, Editors, and Publishers:

Throughout the semester, the class will host Bay Area literary professionals who will make brief presentations and take part in Q & A about matters pertinent to the course material. Some presentations will be made by writing faculty from SJSU as well as writers teaching in other academic departments. A calendar of guest visits is attached and will be updated should there be changes made in the schedule.

Reading List:

REQUIRED:

Charles Baxter, Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction.

James Harner, Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English, 3^rd edition. (To be used as a reference book.)

Robert Hass, Twentieth Century Pleasures.

Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran.

Poets and Writers Magazine. (July – Aug., Sept.-Oct., Nov.-Dec. issues)

Reed Magazine (latest issue).

The Writer’s Chronicle (Sept. – Oct., Nov. – Dec. issues – distributed through the department).

RECOMMENDED:

The CLMP Director of Literary Magazines and Presses.

ON-LINE RESOURCES:

Academy of American Poets http://www.poets.org

Associated Writers Programs http://www.awpwriter.org

Poets and Writers On-Line http://pw.org

Final Portfolio:

Students are to turn in final revisions of all assigned writing in a final portfolio. The material should be prepared in standard manuscript form acceptable for submitting for publication. The final portfolio must contain the following pieces of writing:

ü Annotated bibliography (including periodical and book publications)

ü Short survey of a magazine or periodical’s history (1,000 to 1,500 words)

ü Book review (1,000 to 1,500 words)

ü Personal essay (1,250 to 2,000 words)

ü Academic conference paper (1,750 to 2,500 words and list of works cited)

ü Pitch letter and book proposal (can be used to generate your proposed MFA thesis proposal) plus sample chapter(s) or poems)

Grading:

Bibliography 10%

Magazine Survey 10%

Book Review 10%

Personal Essay 10%

Academic Conference Paper & Class Presentation 20%

Book proposal to a publisher an abstract for your MFA thesis 20%

Class participation 20%
TOTAL 100%

Final versions of the bibliographies, magazine survey, book review, personal essay, academic conference paper, and book proposal will comprise the student’s writing portfolio for the course. Portfolios are due at the end of the semester.

Added to the formal graded assignments will be “informal” group and classroom activities that will be considered a portion of the class participation grade. These may include (but are not limited to) other oral presentations such as of book reviews, etc, summarizing the policy and interests of a journal, Web zine, or book publisher, leading a discussion about particularly academic or literary networks or associations.

A NOTE ON GRADES: In English Department courses, instructors will comment on and grade the quality of student writing as well as the quality of the ideas being conveyed. All student writing should be distinguished by correct grammar and punctuation, appropriate diction and syntax, and well-organized paragraphs (stanzas).

Grades given conform to the English Department and university grading policy. The Department of English is committed to the differential grading scale as defined in the official SJSU Catalog (“The Grading System”). Grades issued must represent a full range of student performance: A = excellent; B = above average; C = average; D = below average; F = failure.

A note on plagiarism: Any case of suspected plagiarism or academic dishonesty will be reported to the office of Graduate Studies for further investigation.

Course Calendar:

Aug. 29: INTRODUCTION: Class overview. What creative writers need to know about writing professionally. Learning literary survival skills. Researching and creating an annotated bibliography. Using the bibliography as a research tool to help complete other writing projects required in the course. Selecting an author you will write about during the semester. Making annotations—writing for a particular audience and use. Sample bibliographies.

ASSIGNMENTS: You are to compile an annotated bibliography of books and/or magazine publications of a single author. The bibliography is intended to chronicle and help the reader understand the career of the author you have chosen to research. Select an author whose career is of interest to you, or select from a list of SJSU Lurie Chair holders in Creative Writing. READING ASSIGNED: From Twentieth Century Pleasures: “Reading Milosz.” From AWP Writer’s Chronicle, TBA.”

Sept. 5: FIELD TRIP: Class will meet at the campus entrance to the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, then go in to meet the Humanities Research Librarian and Special Collections Librarian in King Library 217. The class will have a session in the library and be briefed on using electronic research tools available through the library. We will finish the evening with a trip to the Special Collections Room on the fifth floor, meeting with special collections staff. DISUCSSION: The uses and purposes for bibliographies. Doing a bibliography of a single writer. The importance of tracking down an author’s major publications in periodicals. Finding periodicals and journals.

DUE: Bring in a short list of authors who you would consider for whom you would consider making an annotated bibliography.

SMALL GROUPS: Begin bibliographical research. Work together to find resources to use on and off line.

ASSIGNMENTS: 1) Finish draft of annotated bibliography. Bring fair copy of bibliography to class next week. 2) Find at least two examples of different sorts of literary magazines—if you can find magazines you would like to publish in. Bring the issues you’ve found (or photocopy of the cover, masthead, and table of contents) to class next week. Bring your magazines (or photocopies) to class next week. Be prepared to make a short presentation about the magazine. 3) Select a magazine or literary journal whose history you will research. Begin compiling information about the magazine’s history, interests, editorial policy, editorial staff, financing, and writers most frequently published. READING ASSIGNED: In AWP Writer’s Chronicle and Poets & Writers.

Sept. 12: SMALL GROUPS: Share bibliographic research results and working drafts. SHOW AND TELL: Show sample magazines and journals you found during the week in class. CLASS DISCUSSION: Culture and tradition of little magazines and reviews. What is an academic quarterly? What are the “slicks”? The tradition of alternative and independent publishing. How are little magazines started and financed? Discovering zines and web-based journals.

ASSIGNMENTS: 1) Complete annotated bibliography; fair copy due next week. 2) Choose a literary magazine or academic quarterly about which you will complete a short (3 to 5 page) survey. Organize your material so as to enable the reader to understand the information easily. Describe the publication’s history, interests, submission policy, editorial staff, editorial policy, source of funds (if possible), and writers (or types of writing) most frequently published. Bring draft of survey to class next week. READING ASSIGNED: Alan Golding’s chapter “ “Little Magazines and Alternative Canons: The Example of Origin” (handout).

Sept. 19: SHOW AND TELL: Presentations of magazine surveys (in-progress). CLASS DISCUSSION: Evaluating Reed magazine’s most recent issue. Book Reviews: Styles and purposes of book reviews in various types of small magazines, academic journals, the mainstream press, and online. SMALL GROUPS: Compare types of book reviews and books reviewed found in the magazines and journals surveyed.

DUE: Annotated bibliography (final draft). Bibliographies of Lurie Chair holders and CLA speakers will be edited for posting on the MFA website. Select a book to review by the author you’re working on or by a different author of related interest. Bring a working draft of the review to share in small groups next week.

Assignments: 1) Bring copies to class two reviews of at least one book listed in your bibliography. Also bring in a review of Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran. It would be best if you could find one positive and one negative review. 2) Select a book to review by the author you’re working on or by a different author of related interest. Write a working draft of the review (500 – 1,500 words) to share in small groups next week. READING ASSIGNED: In Twentieth Century Pleasures, “Four Reviews.” Assortment of book reviews on Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men (handout). Book reviews on Charles Bukowski and William S. Burroughs (handout).

Sept. 26: DISCUSSION: Purposes and types of books reviews; the politics of book reviewing within the literary, academic, and publishing communities. Who writes the reviews, getting reviews published. Positive reviews, negative reviews, “state-of-the art reviews. SMALL GROUPS: 1) Share copies of the book reviews you found. 2) Read and edit book review drafts.

DUE: Magazine survey (final draft). Most complete surveys will be edited for use on the MFA website.

WRITING ASSIGNED: Continue work on your book review. READING ASSIGNED: In Twentieth Century Pleasures, “Some Notes on the San Francisco Bay Area as a Culture Region: A Memoir.” In Burning Down the House, “Dysfunctional Narratives, Or: ‘Mistakes Were Made. RESEARCH ASSIGNED: Bring an examples a personal essay to class next week.

Oct. 3: GUEST SPEAKER: Joyce Jenkins, publisher of Poetry Flash. WORKSHOP: Book reviews (selected from small groups last week and emailed in advance). DISCUSSION: The use and purposes of the personal essay. Examples of types. How writers read; personal “takes” on writing and the life of writers. Poets’ prose. Hass and Baxter essays; also Merwin essay. SMALL GROUPS: Read and edit personal essay drafts.

WRITING ASSIGNED: Finish personal essay drafts, due in class next week. READING ASSIGNED: In Twentieth Century Pleasures, “Images.” In Burning Down the House, “Rhyming Action.” Essays selected from Poets & Writers magazine.

Oct. 10: SMALL GROUPS: Read and edit personal essays. Each group selects an essay to copy for the whole class. DISCUCSSION: Hass and Baxter essays.

WORKSHOP: Selected personal essay drafts.

DUE: Book reviews.

READING ASSIGNED: In Twentieth Century Pleasures, “Listening and Making.” In Burning Down the House, “Stillness.” RESEARCH ASSIGNED: Explore the World Wide Web, literary periodicals such as The Writer’s Chronicle, or other library resources to find conference announcements and/or calls for papers in the fields of Literature, Creative Writing, or Popular Culture Studies. WRITING ASSIGNMENT: 1) Revise personal essay draft. 2) Bring two calls for papers to class. Write a conference paper abstract for one of the conferences you found.

Oct. 17: SMALL GROUPS: Personal essays drafts edited. Each group selects a member to copy his/her essay for the whole class. DISCUSSION: 1) Writing abstracts for conference papers. 2) Hass and Baxter essays.

READING ASSIGNED: In Twentieth Century Pleasures, “Listening and Making.” In Burning Down the House, “Stillness.” RESEARCH ASSIGNED: Explore the World Wide Web, literary periodicals such as The Writer’s Chronicle, or other library resources to find conference announcements and/or calls for papers in the fields of Creative Writing, Literature, or Popular Culture Studies. Bring two samples of calls for papers to class. Also read the Soldofsky conference paper handout and other model conference papers. WRITING ASSIGNED: Write a one- to two-paragraph abstract for a conference paper. (A suggestion: use the same topic as your personal essay.) You will then write a conference paper (1,250 to 2,000) words, based on your revised abstract. (Instructor must approve the project before you begin—email the abstract to me by Oct. 24.)

Oct. 24: DISCUSSION: What kinds of conferences do creative writers attend and kinds of papers do they give? Calendar of annual academic and literary conferences attended by creative writers. How do you organize and moderate a conference panel? Online conferences and forums. Examples of recent papers and conference talks. SHOW AND TELL: Conference paper abstracts for comments and revisions. PRESENTATION: Using MLA Style Sheet; documenting sources.

WORKSHOP: Selected personal essay, emailed out to class members in advance of this meeting.

WRITING ASSIGNED: Write a conference paper (1,250 to 2,000) words, based on your revised abstract. (Instructor must approve the project before you begin.) Attach list of works cited. READING ASSIGNED: Soldofsky conference paper handout. Other model conference papers. Readings from Poets and Writers Magazine and The Writer’s Chronicle.

Oct. 31: DISCUSSION: How to make an interesting conference presentation. Soldofsky paper and other models. Varieties of literary conferences from the scholarly to the writerly. Politics and trends; review of articles recently assigned from Poets & Writers and other journals. Response to Reading Lolita in Tehran. SMALL GROUPS: Read and edit drafts of conference papers. Small groups will choose a moderator and panel title.

DUE: Personal essay (final draft).

WRITING ASSIGNED: Revise the text of your paper for in-class presentation. Determine what material you will use for a handout (if any). Request A-V equipment if necessary. READING ASSIGNED: Handouts/Web sites of selected conference papers. Selections from Poets and Writers and/or The Writers’ Chronicle.

Nov. 7: PRESENTATIONS: First group presents their conference papers, followed by limited Q & A. Discussion of papers.

WRITING ASSIGNED: Those still to present continue revising text of conference papers. READING ASSIGNED: Selected readings from Poets & Writers Magazine and The Writer’s Chronicle. RESEARCH ASSIGNED: Bring in the names of at least two literary agents and two independent publishers and information about their agency and publishing hosue. Bring in information you’ve found online and in the library (or on hard copy) regarding how to format a book proposal. Draft query letters and book proposal.

Nov. 14: PRESENTATIONS: Second group presents their conference papers, followed by Q & A. Discussion of papers. GUEST SPEAKER: TBA.

DISCUSSION: How to pitch an agent or a publisher. What goes into a book proposal. How to write query letters. How to submit a proposal and/or manuscript of poetry, fiction or nonfiction. SHOW AND TELL: Presentations about literary agents and publishers. DISCUSSION: Periodical articles assigned.

READING ASSIGNED: Sample book proposals (handout). Selected readings from Poets & Writers Magazine and The Writer’s Chronicle; selected readings from Poets & Writers Web site.

Nov. 21: PRESENTATIONS: Third group presents their conference papers, followed by Q & A. Discussion of papers. DISCUSSION: Sample book proposal. Methods and formats for preparing book proposals to publishers and agents. The book proposal and the thesis abstract. Getting first books published. SMALL GROUPS: Share book abstracts and rough outlines. Share research regarding publishing experiences of published authors. Share writing samples to be included in proposed book.

READING ASSIGNED: Selected readings from Poets & Writers magazine. Publisher’s submission policies (handouts). WRITING ASSIGNED: Revise material for the book proposal. Add detail to outline. Work on sample chapter(s), stories, poems.

Nov. 28: PRESENTATIONS: Fourth group presents their conference papers, followed by Q & A. Discussion of papers. SMALL GROUPS: Review and critique of pitch letter drafts and draft book proposals. DISCUSSION: Pitch letter and cover letter re-writes. Book proposal re-writes.

DUE: Draft pitch letter and book proposal to be edited in small groups.

WRITING ASSIGNED: Finish final draft of book proposal cover letter; fair copy of book synopsis (or outline) and sample text.

Dec. 5: PRESENTATIONS: Make-up conference paper presentations. SMALL GROUPS: Review book proposals drafts. Share project outlines and writing samples. WORKSHOP: Selected pitch letters and book proposals. FINAL CRITIQUE: Schedule an appointment for individual conference time with the instructor during finals week (see appointment sheet).

Dec. 12: FINAL PORTFOLIOS DUE: Students turn in portfolios. You can submit a disk in lieu of hard copy. CRITIQUE: You may schedule an appointment to meet with the instructor during finals week. END OF SEMESTER CELEBRATION.