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WRIT.382.101

THE WRITER AS READER

NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester.

Course Description & Objectives:

This course approaches the practice of reading as an important part of the writer's study of craft. The premise of the course is that writers tend to read in ways that are different from the ways in which others read. The aim of the course is to help you gain a deeper and more useful understanding of how writers work with words. Through reading and writing assignments, you will develop the ability to analyze and appreciate the choices that writers make in their use of language, thus enriching and expanding the possibilities for your own writing. At the same time, you will develop habits of attention and an increased sensitivity to language that will enrich and expand the possibilities for your own writing.

Texts:

Molly Peacock, How to Read a Poem

Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard (eds.), You've Got to Read This

Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginning

Requirements:

Regular attendance and participation in class discussions

Exercises and (if necessary) quizzes related to various aspects and topics of the course

Three essays (approximately 3 pages each) due Mar 8, Apr 12, May 10

Grading:

Exercises and Quizzes: 1/4

Essays: 1/4 each =3/4

More than one absence can lower your grade by at least half a letter. An "A" will become an "A-". Lateness counts as half an absence.

Snow Plan:

Check the UB web site or call the school (410-837-4201) to find out about closings. If school is closed because of weather, I will send you an email about any adjustments in the syllabus. Make sure you sign up on astro.ubalt.edu.

Schedule of Assignments

(subject to weather changes!)

Feb 2 Course Introduction: The practice of reading and the role of the reader

Feb 9 Molly Peacock, How to Read a Poem, chapters 1-3

Word Exercise

Reading a poem gives you an almost physical experience of mental activity. While we sit seemingly still in our chairs, a whole muscular, mental, and emotional life is secretly charging. . . the oh! of getting it and the long exhalation." --Molly Peacock

Feb 16 Molly Peacock, chapters 4-5

Line Exercise

Feb 23 Molly Peacock, chapters 7-9

Memorization Due

Mar 1 Molly Peacock, chapters 11-13

Poem due

Mar 8 Essay #1 due

You've Got to Read This

"Girl" Jamaica Kincaid; In-class writing

I'd been working very hard, writing at least twelve hours a day (my hero was at the time boarding the train to Sing Sing prison), I badly needed a couple of stories to cool off, and there on the top of my stack was Angela Carter's Fireworks, published that year in England. I lay back, expecting nothing, hoping in fact to be lulled to sleep, but as soon sat up, astonished, riveted, filled with delight." --Robert Coover

Mar 15 You've Got to Read This

"Cathedral" Raymond Carver; "The Flowers" Alice Walker

Mar 22 SPRING BREAK

Mar 29 You've Got to Read This

"The Things They Carried" Tim O'Brien; "Sonny's Blues" James Baldwin

Apr 5 "I Stand Here Ironing" Tillie Olson

Apr 12 Essay #2 due

"Why I Write" Joan Didion

"Once More to the Lake" EB White

"Death of a Moth" Virginia Woolf

Apr 19 Edward Hoagland "The Courage of Turtles"

Alice Walker "Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self"

"It took me some years to discover what I was—a writer—not a "good" writer or a "bad" writer, but simply a person whose most absorbed and passionate hours are spent arranging words on a piece of paper. —Joan Didion

Apr 26 ROUGH DRAFT DUE

May 3 Last Class

May 10 ESSAY #3 due




			WRIT.382.101 THE WRITER AS READER NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester. Course Description & Objectives: This course approaches the practice of reading as an important part of the writer's study of craft. The premise of the course is that writers tend to read in ways that are different from the ways in which others read. The aim of the course is to help you gain a deeper and more useful understanding of how writers work with words. Through reading and writing assignments, you will develop the ability to analyze and appreciate the choices that writers make in their use of language, thus enriching and expanding the possibilities for your own writing. At the same time, you will develop habits of attention and an increased sensitivity to language that will enrich and expand the possibilities for your own writing. Texts: Molly Peacock, How to Read a Poem Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard (eds.), You've Got to Read This Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginning Requirements: Regular attendance and participation in class discussions Exercises and (if necessary) quizzes related to various aspects and topics of the course Three essays (approximately 3 pages each) due Mar 8, Apr 12, May 10 Grading: Exercises and Quizzes: 1/4 Essays: 1/4 each =3/4 More than one absence can lower your grade by at least half a letter. An "A" will become an "A-". Lateness counts as half an absence. Snow Plan: Check the UB web site or call the school (410-837-4201) to find out about closings. If school is closed because of weather, I will send you an email about any adjustments in the syllabus. Make sure you sign up on astro.ubalt.edu. Schedule of Assignments (subject to weather changes!) Feb 2 Course Introduction: The practice of reading and the role of the reader Feb 9 Molly Peacock, How to Read a Poem, chapters 1-3 Word Exercise Reading a poem gives you an almost physical experience of mental activity. While we sit seemingly still in our chairs, a whole muscular, mental, and emotional life is secretly charging. . . the oh! of getting it and the long exhalation." --Molly Peacock Feb 16 Molly Peacock, chapters 4-5 Line Exercise Feb 23 Molly Peacock, chapters 7-9 Memorization Due Mar 1 Molly Peacock, chapters 11-13 Poem due Mar 8 Essay #1 due You've Got to Read This "Girl" Jamaica Kincaid; In-class writing I'd been working very hard, writing at least twelve hours a day (my hero was at the time boarding the train to Sing Sing prison), I badly needed a couple of stories to cool off, and there on the top of my stack was Angela Carter's Fireworks, published that year in England. I lay back, expecting nothing, hoping in fact to be lulled to sleep, but as soon sat up, astonished, riveted, filled with delight." --Robert Coover Mar 15 You've Got to Read This "Cathedral" Raymond Carver; "The Flowers" Alice Walker Mar 22 SPRING BREAK Mar 29 You've Got to Read This "The Things They Carried" Tim O'Brien; "Sonny's Blues" James Baldwin Apr 5 "I Stand Here Ironing" Tillie Olson Apr 12 Essay #2 due "Why I Write" Joan Didion "Once More to the Lake" EB White "Death of a Moth" Virginia Woolf Apr 19 Edward Hoagland "The Courage of Turtles" Alice Walker "Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self" "It took me some years to discover what I was—a writer—not a "good" writer or a "bad" writer, but simply a person whose most absorbed and passionate hours are spent arranging words on a piece of paper. —Joan Didion Apr 26 ROUGH DRAFT DUE May 3 Last Class May 10 ESSAY #3 due home \| bs, corporate communication \| ba, english \| ma, publications design \| mfa, integrated design \| mfa, creative writing & publishing arts \| people \| portfolio \| facilities \| classes \| undergraduate applications \| graduate applications \| contact \| site index \| university of baltimore