Creative Writing:  CRW 2000

Summer 2003

Gregory Byrd
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:30-5:00  And by appointment.
Office:  LA 154
Phone:  791-2695                          
Email:  byrdg@spcollege.edu

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Calendar of Assignments

Required Texts: 

Knorr and Schell.  Mooring Against the Tide:  Writing Fiction and Poetry.
Kelly, Joseph.  The Seagull Reader:  Poems.
Kelly, Joseph.  The Seagull Reader:  Stories.

 

Suggested Texts:

A. Poulin Jr. and Michael Waters, eds.  Contemporary American Poetry, 7th ed.
Dave Smith and David Bottoms, eds.  The Morrow Anthology of Younger American Poets.
Jay Parini, An Invitation to Poetry.  Prentice Hall, 1987.
Philip Dacey and David Jauss.  Strong Measures:  Contemporary American Poetry in Traditional Forms
Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction                Donald Murray, The Craft of Revision

AWP Chronicle                        Poets and Writers

The Writing Life.  For the next ten weeks, you will be immersed in what is sometimes called "The Writing Life."  By this, I mean that you should endeavor to immerse yourself in reading, writing, revising, workshopping and in going through your days with a certain amount of attention to moments in your life that are "literary."  Regardless of if you are a beginner or a seasoned writer, you should attempt to see yourself as a writer for the next ten weeks.

Craft. This writing course is supposed to give you a greater ability to write and a greater insight into your own process. It’s also a course that teaches craft and requires you to learn about what other writers have done. So, like any other artist, you must know how to use your tools and you must know how others who have come before you have learned them. So, I will require you to try new things and to show me that you have mastered certain techniques. This does not mean that you must always use those techniques, but you must have the ability to use them. If you consider Salvador Dali, one of visual arts wildest artists, you’ll find that his early works were well-executed but very standard landscapes and seascapes. He had to perfect his abilities to render good likenesses of real things before he began painting his dreamscapes of melting clocks and such. And so, I will ask you here to learn how to describe a thing, write a scene, write in rhyme or free verse. At home or after the assignment, you may, of course, write whatever you wish.

Reading. There will be a good deal of reading in here along with the writing. Reading is often the best way to figure out how best to write. In addition to our short texts, I will ask you to read a short book of short stories or poems and a short biography or autobiography about a writer’s writing life. My hope here is that, while reading all of this, you will find an insight into your own writing and your own writing methods. And, if you’re like myself and other writers, you’ll find that the poems and stories you read will fill you with energy and inspiration to do your own writing, which is what all this is really about.

Workshopping. In this class, we will be reading one another’s work and constructively criticizing it. Through the process of drafting and workshopping, we will not only help others to improve their own work but we will learn what works for us and how we may improve our own work. Workshopping is not a "slam" situation, but a comfortable situation where colleagues help one another to make the meanings of their work come across most clearly.

Presentations.  You will give a short presentation on the biography or instructional book you’ve read and provide a handout for each student in the class.  The idea here is for you to share whatever you’ve found in these books so that others may either read them or avoid them.  At the end of the semester, then, we should all have about 15 biographies of writers or instructional books on our craft reviewed which we may choose to read for ourselves.  See "Library's Creative Writing Holdings" below for some choices.  Books on the writers craft are also available from Amazon.com.

Midterm Exam.  The midterm exam will be mostly on terminology, theory and craft.  This exam is not designed to make you sweat (your writing will do that) but to help you internalize the terms and concepts of the course so that you may use them in the future as you see fit.

Portfolios.  You will turn in a portfolio of your work at midterm and then again at the end of the semester.

Midterm Portfolio consists of a four page story, a creative nonfiction essay, four poems, and a self-evaluation of your work.

Final Portfolios

                There are three versions of the final portfolio.  Choose one.

                        1.       General portfolio.  One eight page story, six strong poems (at least two in form) and a self 
                                    evaluation.

2.      Prose-weighted portfolio.  One 12-15 page story (or nonfiction essay) or two six-page stories (or essays), three poems (at least one in form) and a self-evaluation.

3.       Poetry-weighted portfolio.  One six-page story (or essay) and ten strong poems, at least three in form, and a self-evaluation.

These short collections of your work will reflect improvement and understanding of the skills we’ve been working on during the semester. 

Attendance. You’re responsible for everything that happens in every class this semester. If you miss a class, call or email someone else in the class and ask what we did and what the assignments are for next class. As a last resort, call or email me (but why remind the prof you missed class?) "But I wasn’t here" is no excuse for not having assignments completed. This is an elective and you’ve chosen to be here, so I leave it up to you: what you miss will hurt you if you don’t find out what it was and catch up on it. What you gain from coming to class will only help you to gain what you’re after. One last note, though. If you disappear from class without asking me to drop you, I will give you whatever grade you’ve earned for the course. So if you want to be dropped, please drop a line and say so.

Etiquette. Etiquette? Well, yes. Sort of, but no Laetitia Baldridge here. Please turn off cell phones and beepers during class. They are extremely distracting. Come to class on time and, if you must come late or leave early, let me know as far ahead of time as possible. Be kind and courteous to me and the other students and this should be a wonderful experience.

Grading.  Yes, that ugly word, but it’s necessary since you must receive a grade for the class.

Final Portfolio                 50%

Midterm Portfolio            25%

Midterm exam                   10%

Presentation                       5%

Participation                     10%

Disability Statement:

            If you wish to receive special accommodations as a student with documented disability,   please, contact Linda Giar, Learning Specialist, AD 122, 791-2710. If you have a documented hearing loss, please contact the program for the deaf/hard of hearing, SS 101, 791-2628.  If you will need assistance during an emergency evacuation, please contact your campus  Learning Specialist immediately about arrangements for your safety.   (Office of Services for Students with Disabilities 791-2628, 791-2710)

Cultural Diversity:

            In order to prepare students to be informed and active members of their communities, the Communications Program values and promotes the study of cultural diversity – an awareness and affirmation of the importance of similarities and differences among people.  This study may  include multi-cultural readings, class and small group discussions, and oral and written assignments.

Emergency Procedures:

Fire alarms and extinguishers are located at building exit doors.  If an emergency alarm sounds, students and faculty should leave the classroom immediately, taking personal belongings with them.  Students should assist handicapped students getting out.  The last person out should shut the door.  Everyone should exit the building by the nearest exit and move at least 100 feet away from the building into the south parking lot.  No one is to re-enter the building until the all-clear alarm (three short blasts) sounds.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement:

 Federal and State law requires a person designated as a "sexual predator or offender" to register with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The FDLE then is required to notify the local law enforcement agency where the registrant resides, attends or is employed by an institution of higher learning. Information regarding sexual predators or offenders attending or employed by an institution of higher learning may be obtained from the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction for the particular campus, by calling the FDLE hotline (1-888-FL-PREDATOR) or (1-888-357-7332), or by visiting the FDLE website at www.fdle.state.fl.us/sexual_predators . If there are questions or concerns regarding personal safety, please contact the Provost, Associate Provost, Campus Security Officer or Site Administrator on your campus.

 

Helpful Links

SPC-Clearwater Creative Writing Homepage          

SPC Virtual Library              Library's Creative Writing Holdings