English CHW. Haunted: Writing the Supernatural: Workshop

Instructor: Laura van den Berg
Thursdays, 3:00-5:45 pm | Location: Barker 222
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Enrollment: Limited to 12 students

The supernatural has long been fertile terrain for writers, canonical and contemporary alike. The supernatural is a means to explore the material that cannot be contained by corporal life: the unsayable secrets, the unexamined truths, the unreconciled historical traumas. Through the study of “haunted” fiction, generative exercises, and workshop critique, this course will explore the vital dimensions the supernatural can bring to the page and what your own “haunted” material might look like. The initial weeks will focus on craft study—readings will include works by Daphne du Maurier, Edith Wharton, Julio Cortázar, Helen Oyeyemi, Kelly Link, and Marina Enriquez, among others—and exercises designed to expand your imaginative horizons. Later in the term, your own fiction will serve as the primary text as the focus shifts to workshop critique. 

Supplemental Application Information: Please submit the first 3-5 pages of a short story or novel, along with a 2-3 page letter that discusses your interest in studying fiction generally and in writing the supernatural specifically. Optional: tell me your favorite ghost story, real or invented.

Apply via Submittable (by 11:59pm on 9/3, no exceptions)