Instructions for Applying to Creative Writing Courses
Application to the English Department's Creative Writing courses isopen to both graduate and undergraduate students as well as staff andstudents of local universities eligible for cross-registration. Pleasenote that priority is given to Harvard undergraduates. For EACH COURSEto which you are applying, you must submit the following:
1) Application Cover Sheet(Clickhere to download)
Application Cover Sheets are alsoavailable in the English Department at the Barker Center.
2) Writing Sample (Important: review the guidelines of individual instructors below. Generally, applicants are asked to submit 3-5 pages of poems, prose, or dialogue, depending upon the course. However, individual instructors might request specific subjects or styles in your writing samples, so please make sure to submit the APPROPRIATE MATERIALS, based on the instructor's specifications.)
** Please note that writing samples will not be returned.
3) Letter of Application (review the guidelines of the individual instructors following their course descriptions below.)
PLEASE REMEMBER TO SUBMIT A SEPARATE APPLICATION FOR EACH COURSE TOWHICH YOU ARE APPLYING. All submissions for creative writing coursesmust be received in the English Department Office at the Barker Center(12 Quincy St.) no later than 4 p.m. on the first day of classes. NOEXCEPTIONS. No phone calls please! TheDepartment cannot accept applications by e-mail. Hard copies must bedelivered to the Department.
Class lists will be posted in the English Department at 4pm the daybefore Study Cards are due. PLEASE DO NOT QUERY CREATIVE WRITINGINSTRUCTORS. Instructions for study card signatures will also beposted at that time.
Meetthe Creative Writing Faculty
Genres
Creative Writing Courses - Fall Term 2011
FICTION
*English Crr. Fiction Writing
Catalog Number: 1893 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Bret A. Johnston
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). W., 4–7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 9
An introduction to fundamental aspects (technical and conceptual) ofwriting fiction, beginning with short exercises and moving toward thecompletion and revision of original work. Readings include Munro,Welty, Dîaz, Lahiri, and others, and explore how practicing writersnegotiate character, narrative structure, setting, voice,etc. Individual reading assignments are also devised on a per projectbasis. As the term continues, increasing amounts of time are devotedto the discussion of student work.
Application Requirements for English Crr: Pleasesubmit the first few pages of a short story (or novel), and asubstantive letter of introduction. I'd like to know some of theauthors and books you love, and why; your writing experience andambitions; any other kinds of art that influence your writing (music,movies, or visual art that you admire); and because great fiction isoften spawned from the extraordinary knocking up against the ordinary,I'd like for you to write a couple of sentences about the strangestthing you've ever witnessed. I don't want to know about the strangestthing you've ever done, and I don't want you to make something up;rather, just describe the strangest thing you can remember seeing.
*English Cwar. Advanced Fiction Workshop
Catalog Number: 88347 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Amy Hempel
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Th., 4–7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: Fall: 18
Members of the advanced fiction workshop will aim to raise their levels of performance on the page, largely through guided revisions and continued reading to see the ways outstanding writers solved similar problems. Two complete stories with revisions are required during the term, as well as weekly critiques of colleagues’ work.
Application Requirements for English Cwar: Please submit a letter of interest and a short piece of creative work.
*English Cwfr. Introductory Fiction Workshop
Catalog Number: 21718 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Amy Hempel
Half course (fall term; repeated springterm). W., 4–7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: Fall: 9
An introduction tothe short story with emphasis on amplifying the idea of what a storycan be. We will look at a range of contemporary narrative strategiesthat exploit--in the best sense of the word--voice, character, place,logic, and (always) language. Readings will include Barry Hannah,Tillie Olsen, Leonard Michaels, Mark Richard, Mary Robison, YasunariKawabata, and selected poets. Short assignments will aim to strengthenwriting at the sentence level, and suggest personal ways into thelargest concerns. Students should expect to complete and revise twostories, and be prepared to discuss the work of colleagues eachweek.
Application Requirements for English Cwfr: Pleasesubmit a letter of interest and a short piece of creative work.
NONFICTION
*English Cnfr. Introduction to Creative Nonfiction
Catalog Number: 6740 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Darcy Frey
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). W., 4–7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: Fall: 9
Whether in essay, memoir or reportage, creative nonfiction employs many of the same literary techniques as fiction: narrative structure, character development, scene-setting, extended dialogue, emphasis on voice and point of view. In addition to workshopping student writing, we discuss examples of the genre by writers such as Virginia Woolf, William Maxwell, Joan Didion, and John McPhee. Assignments include two 10-15 page narratives, an extensive revision, and typed critiques of classmates’ work.
Application Requirements for Introduction to Creative Nonfiction: Please submit 3-5 pages of creative/literary nonfiction (essay, memoir, narrative journalism, etc, but NOT academic writing) or, if you have not yet written much nonfiction, an equal number of pages of narrative fiction. Also, please write a letter of introduction explaining who you are as writer at the moment and where you hope to take your writing; what experience you may have had with creative/literary nonfiction; which nonfiction writers and books you most admire; what excites you about nonfiction in particular; and what you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
*English Cnnr. Advanced Creative Nonfiction
Catalog Number: 2121 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Darcy Frey
Half course (fall term; repeated springterm). Th., 4–7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 18
In any long-formnonfiction (essay, memoir, travelogue, journalism), there arecountless ways of structuring and telling a true story. In thisworkshop, students examine various techniques for giving nonfictionmaterial dramatic and suspenseful energy: chronology, argument,juxtaposition, retrospection, evolving revelation. In addition toworkshopping student writing, we discuss examples of the genre bywriters such as Julia Blackburn, Truman Capote, Spalding Gray, andJanet Malcolm. Assignments include two 10-15 page narratives, anextensive revision, and typed critiques of classmates’ work.
Application Requirements for The Nonfiction Novella:Same as for “Introduction to Creative Nonfiction.” Also, if youalready have an idea for a longer nonfiction narrative you hope topursue in this workshop, please supply a brief (one-paragraph)description of it.
POETRY
*English Cbbr. Poetry Workshop - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 59646 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Lucie Brock-Broido
Half course (fall term). W., 4–7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 9
Poetry workshop open by application to undergraduates and graduates.Note: Three poems with a letter of introduction
*English Chcr. Poetry Workshop - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 53445 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Henri ColeHalf course (fall term; repeated spring term).
Fall: M., 2–5; Spring: F., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
Poetry workshop open by application to undergraduates and graduates.Note: Three poems with a letter of introduction
PLAYWRITING
*English Casr. Playwriting: Adaptation for the Stage
Catalog Number: 6781 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Christine Mary Evans
Half course (fall term). W., 2–5. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8, 9
This workshop-based course introduces students to art of literary adaptation for the stage. Students will adapt a literary, historical or fact-based work for performance, in the context of wide-ranging reading and discussion of the theory and practice of adaptation and the specific requirements of both literary and dramatic genres.
Application Requirements for English Casr: Please submit the first five to ten pages of a play or a short piece of creative work (5 page maximum) that you feel best introduces you as a writer. Please also include a substantive letter of introduction that includes your background in dramatic writing and/ or performance, gives a sense of your creative passions, influences and questions and sets out your interest in writing for the stage (as distinct from fiction, poetry, or screenwriting. I’d also like you to describe one single moment from a live performance you attended (not a video or film of a performance) that inspired you, and why.
*English Ckr. Introduction to Playwriting
Catalog Number: 6781 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Christine Mary Evans
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Tu., 2–5. EXAM GROUP: Fall: 16, 17, 18
Plays, unusual beasts in the world of writing, are design templates for live performance. This workshop based course introduces students to a range of structural and aesthetic approaches to playwriting always with live performance in mind. It combines intensive weekly writing and discussion of student work with play analysis and dramatic theory. All students will complete a one act play and several shorter pieces.
Application Requirements for English Ckr: Please submit the first five to ten pages of a play--or if you haven't written one yet, a short piece ofcreative work that you feel best introduces you as a writer. Please also include a letter of introduction that gives a sense of your creative passions, influences and questions; what you hope to learn in this course; and what's exciting to you about playwriting in particular (as distinct from fiction, poetry or screenwriting).
SCREENWRITING
*English Clr. Dramatic Screenwriting I
Catalog Number: 6121 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Daniel J. Rubin
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Fall: T., 4-7 p.m.; Or W., 4-7 p.m.; Spring: T., 1-4. EXAM GROUP: 18
This workshop introduces the art, craft, and business of screenwriting. Students will complete short scripts and off-beat writing exercises focused on dramatic structure, character development, dialogue, theme, and tone; students will also analyze films and screenplays. By exploring visual storytelling, personal versus commercial sensibilities, and alternative approaches to script creation through the writing of short screenplays, students will acquire the tools, skills, and confidence to create feature film scripts.
Application Requirements for English Clr: Please submit 3-5 pages ofany dramatic writing you have done, which could be a screenplay, stage play, comedy sketch, or even fiction or poetry as long as it reflects some aspect of storytelling. Additionally, please answer the following questions: 1. What movie would you be most proud to have written (if your answer is “Groundhog Day”, thank you and please choose another)? 2. What movie do you most enjoy watching but would be embarrassed to have written? 3. Have you ever studied film production or film history? 4. If you could ask me one single question about screenwriting, what is it? Finally, briefly explain why you are interested in taking this course.
