English 402 Spring 2004
Advanced Creative Writing: Short
Fiction
Professor Hans Ostrom
Welcome to English 402.
Here is some basic information:
My Office: Wyatt 336. Office-Hours for Spring 2004: Tuesday-Thursday, 11:00-12:50, and by appointment, of course. My door is often open at other times. The English Department’s telephone: x3235 (messages); my telephone: x3434 (voice mail). Electronic mail: ostrom@ups.edu. The English Department’s mailboxes are located in the room next to the Philosophy Department’s main office on the third floor of Wyatt Hall.
Home page: www.ups.edu/faculty/ostrom/. A printable copy of this syllabus is posted on the home page.
The University’s Equal
Opportunity Statement
The University of Puget Sound does not discriminate in education or employment on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, marital or familial status, sexual orientation, Vietnam-era veteran status, gender identity, or any other basis prohibited by local, state, or federal laws. This policy complies with the spirit and the letter of applicable federal, state and local laws, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Questions about the policy may be referred to the University's Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action (253-879-3116) or the Office of Civil Rights, Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202.
Purposes of the Course
In English 202 (the prerequisite for taking English 402), you learned more about how short fiction is very much its own literary form, distinct from novels, poems, and plays but sharing some territory with them. You also learned more about your own writing of short stories. In English 402 one purpose will be to explore the distinctness and the shared territory, and we’ll continue to produce our own short stories, get responses to them and to drafts of them, to experiment with new possibilities, to develop as writers. Another purpose of English 402 is to create a venue in which you may work hard and with satisfaction at understanding the art of short fiction, as both a writer and a reader.
To write much; to read a wide variety of stories and experiment with different critical lenses with which to interpret short fiction; to experiment with different narrative methods; to explore narrative theory; to build on your experience writing stories; to give, take, and use responses to work-in-progress; to ponder the mysteries of "fiction": these are some other purposes of this course.
The Etiquette and Atmosphere of the Course
Here are some guidelines to which all of us should try to adhere. I trust none of them will be surprising or difficult. Indeed, I hope they’ll seem familiar, but sometimes it’s good to reaffirm the familiar. All are aimed at creating a productive, workable environment.
The Workshop
A good chunk of the course will be devoted to the close reading, by your peers, of your work-in-progress. I’ll set out guidelines for how we do this. The workshop method isn’t for everyone, but by staying in the course, you implicitly agree to participate actively and productively in this method of response and revision.
The Portfolio System
You’ll take three stories through the workshop, revising them before, during, and after the presentation to your group. At the end of the term, you will submit two of these in a portfolio, along with at least four one-page "slices" or "micro-stories." (Please note: the number of micro-stories may change because we may, as a class, decide to do more work in this area.) The portfolio is the work I will evaluate formally, though of course I will be reading and commenting on your drafts all along.
As you’ll see from the schedule below, there is a rhythm to this course, with intervals of reading and writing, class discussion and group work, and so on. There is a plan for the whole term, but there is, by design, plenty of room for flexibility. Bring the syllabus to class with you every time so that you may note any changes.
Approximate Breakdown of Elements on Which Your Grade Will Be
Based.
Portfolio: 55 per cent.
Participation (showing up; being productive; doing the reading and writing; contributing to discussions; participating in group work; meeting deadlines for drafts): 20 per cent.
Midterm exam (which will ask you to analyze and synthesize the short fiction we have read and ideas & terms from other material we read): 15 per cent.
Oral presentation about an extra book of short stories: 10 per cent.
The Books
Reni Browne and Dave King. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print. New York: Quill Books, 1993. In this book, two experienced editors of fiction take their readers (that would be us) through the processes of revision and editing.
Bernard Malamud. The Complete Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1997. Paperback. Malamud is widely considered to have been one of the most accomplished, original writers of the “modern” short story.
Italo Calvino. Invisible Cities. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974. Paperback. This book will allow us to explore--among other things--the narratives by one celebrated, inventive writer of "postmodern" fiction.
Robert Shapard and James Thomas, editors. Sudden Fiction International: 60 Short-Short Stories. These stories exemplify the art of the very short narrative; as noted above, we’ll be writing our own "microstories."
And a collection of stories (by one author--that is, not an anthology) of your choice. You’ll select this collection around mid-term, read it, and give an oral report on it toward the end of the term.
The WTDT School of Criticism
About the reading: I
always assume students and I will have interesting things to say about what we
read, even about (especially about?) stories we don’t immediately care for or
understand. You already know
several ways in which to respond to and analyze literature, and we’ll discuss
these and others in class. However,
one reliable way of developing things to say is to ask, as you’re reading a
story, “What’s that doing there?” In this context, the question is not
rhetorical, and you should answer it as best you can.
The “that” can be almost anything from a single word to a whole
scene, a punctuation-mark to a plot-device, a way of beginning to a way of
ending. “What’s that doing
there?” is also a great writer’s question; it’s one of the ways writers
get inside what other writers are doing. As
you read, identify several “thats” which interest you.
If you don’t know what “that” is doing there, make an educated
guess, drawing on your experience as a reader and an English major; if
“that” were in your story, why would it be there, and would you let it stay
there? We’ll call this the WTDT School of Criticism.
Schedule of Class Meetings (Subject to Change)
This schedule is detailed, and the essential plan for the course will
remain constant, but some shifts and refinements in scheduling may occur.
Contact me if you aren’t sure about the schedule.
Tuesday, January 20. Aims & expectations. A look at the syllabus. Some writing. For Thursday, read Chapter One of Self-Editing; Cities & Memory" 1 and 2 in Invisible Cities; in Sudden Fiction (SF), "Blackberries," by Leslie Norris; and in Malamud, “Spring Rain.” This reading will, among other things, let us sample the books.
Thursday, January 22. A half-page (nor more than one page, certainly) revision of task C, pp. 12-13 of Self-Editing is due—word-processed, double-spaced. A review of the history of short fiction. Discuss stories by Calvino, Norris, and Malamud.
Tuesday, January 27. For today, read, in SF, "Las Papas," by Julio Ortega, "Family Album," by Siv Cedering, and "The Other Wife," by Colette. Photocopy of Genette’s essay distributed. Ideas for a micro-story discussed. Three-sentence descriptions of three people due—nine sentences.
Thursday, January 29. For today, read Gerard Genette, "Order, Frequency, Duration." For today, also read R.K. Narayan, "House Opposite," and Margaret Atwood, "Happy Endings," in SF. In Malamud, read “The Prison” and “Naked Nude.” Make a list (and bring it in) of things, memories, images, etc., you associate with the number 50 or the word “fifty.”
Tuesday, February 3. An original and two copies of a micro-story are due. For today, also read Chapter Two of Self-Editing. Three three-sentence descriptions of physical spaces: we’ll do this in or near the classroom.
Thursday, February 5. A partial draft of your first story is due. Get something down on paper—detailed notes, scenes, pages of a draft. Bring in what you have. For today, read Chapter Three of Self-Editing.
Tuesday, February 10. For today, read Chapter Four of Self-Editing. Complete rough draft of your first story due. An exercise in “the masks of revision.” A response to your rough draft.
Thursday, February 12. For today, read Chapter Five of Self-Editing. Also read, in SF, "Disappearing," by Monica Wood, and Patricia Grace, "At the River." In Malamud, read “The Magic Barrel,” “Idiots First,” “The Jewbird,” and “A Confession of Murder.” Guidelines for group-work and for submitting stories discussed.
Tuesday, February 17. Stories due, with copies. Group work.
Thursday, February 19. Group work.
Tuesday, February 24. For today, read Chapter Six of Self-Editing. Also, in SF, read Talat Abbasi, "Facing the Light," and Denis Hirson, "Arrest Me." In Malamud, read “The Death of Me,” “Girl of My Dreams,” and “Still Life.” Crosscurrents deadline? Some options for a micro-story.
Thursday, February 26. An original and two copies of a micro-story, double-spaced and word-processed, due. A second “masks of revision” exercise, in class.
Tuesday, March 2. For today, read Chapter Seven of Self-Editing. Also, in SF, read Richard Brautigan, "The Weather in San Francisco," and Barry Yourgrau, "By the Creek." A (new) original and two copies of a revised micro-story due. You may revise either of the first two that you have written so far.
Thursday, March 4. For today, read Chapter Eight of Self-Editing. Also, in SF, read Stuart Dybek, "Death of the Right Fielder," Fernando Sorrentino, "There’s A Man in the Habit of Hitting Me Over the Head With an Umbrella.” In Malamud, please read “The Bill” and “The Loan.” Meditations on absurdity and money.
Tuesday, March 9. For today, read Chapter Nine of Self-Editing. Also please read Calvino, Invisible Cities, through page 31. Ideas for second story due. Review for test.
Thursday, March 11. Mid-term
test. Between
now and the end of March, please finish reading Invisible Cities and select two stories after page 31 about which
you would like to lead discussion for the class.
March 15-21: Spring Recess. (Meet on the playground near the tether-ball courts).
Tuesday, March 23. An original and two copies of a new micro-story are due. For today, please also read Chapter Ten of Self-Editing.
Thursday, March 25. Professor is presenting a paper at a conference, but he hopes you are working on your second story. No class-meeting.
Tuesday, March 30. Complete rough draft of second story due.
Thursday, April 1. For today, read Chapters Eleven and Twelve of Self-Editing. Also, please bring Invisible Cities and be ready to analyze two stories from it for the class. Have you selected a volume of stories yet?
Tuesday, April 6 Second stories due, with copies. Group work.
Thursday, April 8. Group work.
Tuesday, April 13. For today, in SF, read Clarice Lispector, "The Fifth Story," Paul Theroux, "Acknowledgements," Peter Handke, "Welcoming the Board of Directors," and Donald Barthelme, "The School." Also, an original and two copies of a new micro-story are due.
Thursday, April 15. Ideas, notes, for a third story are due. Also for today, please read, in Malamud, “Life Is Better Than Death,” “God’s Wrath,” “The Letter,” and “A Lost Grave.” (Note: For the third story, we won’t be responding to rough drafts in class, but between now and April 27, feel free to share drafts with classmates outside of class, to discuss the third story with me, and/or to get feedback on it at the Writing Center.)
Tuesday, April 20. Oral reports on the collections of short fiction you chose to read.
Thursday, April 22. (E.) Remaining oral reports. Revise-O-Rama: Bring in all of the micro-stories you have written so far.
Tuesday, April 27. Third stories due, with copies. Group work.
Thursday, April 29. Group work. Would you like to write one more micro-story for May 4?
Tuesday, May 4. One more micro-story? Discuss publishing?
During Finals Week: Portfolio due. Please see page two of the syllabus.