for next week

Tue 19
Jennifer K. Dick, Fluorescence; read it and come prepared to discuss in terms of poetry/fiction conversations we've been having all semester.

Thur 21
Goldberg (myemich): Claim your Writing, Trust Yourself, The Samuri, Reading and Rewriting, I Don’t Want to Die

Lamott, Bird By Bird: Part II 95-130

*Portfolio 2 (fiction) Due
*Terms Due

Blog on Fluorescence et al.

story writing assignment

Choose and do one of the following exercises:

a.    Write a description of a rural landscape, a city street, or a room. Use only active verbs to describe inanimate as well as animate tings. Use concrete and sensory details to make the description come alive.

b.    Write about a boring situation. Convince your reader that the situation boring and that your characters are bored or boring or both. Fascinate the reader with your description of this boring situation. Use humor or other strategies. Do not use generalizations or judgments. Be specific and concrete.

c.    Write about one of the following and “Show” the rhythm and functioning of the subject through the language and structure of the prose: a machine of some kind, a vehicle, a piece of music, something that goes in a circle, an avalanche…something else along these lines?

 Use one or all of the results from the above exercises to construct a story. Include one or more characters in a place having some sort of situation. The story can be long or short. It can be in parts or include some kind of form or structure that is not linear. Etc. Type this up.

for 6/12 and 6/14

see syllabus for specific assignments for this week.

Tue.: Bring 2 stories you have written so far to share and workshop in class. Bring 2 copies and turn one copy of each in.

Read the next list of stories from Wreckage of Reason as listed on the syllabus. Come prepared to share/discuss 2-3 of the stories.

For Thur. read p44-94 in Bird By Bird and Fiction Packet 3 (on myemich).

Continue working on the postcards story.
Continue working on the other stories to start thinking about the fiction portfolio.

writing homework: eavesdrop on a conversation and write down the dialogue (either at the same time as you are hearing it, or as you remember it later). Use this dialogue as the start of a story that you write that includes the characters and this dialogue. After you have the original dialogue, you can embellish/fictionalize the characters, their story, the details, whatever. 

Terms: work on filling out the terms list (e-copy posted on myemich so you can just save and type onto the form). Include definitions and examples from specific poems, stories, texts, conversations we used/had in class so far.

This Week

Please see syllabus for assignments and come to class prepared.

Tue 5

Fiction Packet 2 (myemich): Evanson, Field

Burroway (on myemich): Writing Fiction

Thur 7

Renek, Wreckage of Reason, read the stories by the following authors: 

Foos, Reeves, Lillis, Treat, Jackson, Natov, Mazza, DeLuca

Thur: Blog response on any of these readings (Note: if you write about Burroway you also have to write about some of the fiction stories.)

See your blog for my comments on previous posts.

Week of May 29-31

Tue: We will not meet in class. Instead of class, do the required Blog Posting Assignment:

1. Write another response to Roberson. Choose a poem or section from the book that you have not already written about and writing anything and everything you can about it, from the use of language to how it looks visually on the page. Use examples and discuss/explain your ideas. 3-5 paragraphs.

2. Post your "after Ed Roberson" poem on the blog on Tue also.

For Thur: see syllabus for reading assignments, write a blog response on at least 2-3 of the stories from Fiction Packet 1. Come to class prepared to discuss.


Poetry Portfolio Due in Class on Thur.

This Week May 22-24

Tue: bring 2 poems (Typed) that you have written so far. Bring 2 copies to share/workshop and turn in.

Come prepared to discuss the first half of Roberson's City Eclogue


Thur: Come prepared to discuss the second half of Roberson's City Eclogue
Lamott, Bird By Bird: read Introduction - p. 32

For Week of May 15

Please see syllabus for reading. Poetry Packet is available on myemich for this class (under files). Read the first 3 poets (Shakespeare, Mullen, Berrigan) and come prepared to discuss.

Writing exercises, keep working on these from last week:

Make a list of 25 words from the first poetry handout; choose any words from any of the poems. Use this list to write 3 poems; use as many of the words as possible in each poem, so you have 3 versions of poems written from the list.

Write a poem called "13 ways of looking at...." and fill in the blank at the end. Model your poem after W. Stevens "13 ways of looking at a blackbird" though you make write your poem in any form or style.

Also, check and make sure your blog link is working from this blog page. If it isn't, bring the address again to class and let's make sure it works.