Creative Nonfiction: Slant Fact Meets Wonky Fiction
Creative Nonfiction: Slant Fact Meets Wonky Fiction1ENGL 3890 Section 01 Fall 2012Mon. & Wed. 2:00-3:15 pmClassroom: Thompson 202Instructor: Dr. Elise TakehanaE-mail: etakehan@fitchburgstate.eduOffice Hours: Mon. 11:00-12:15, Thurs. 9:30-10:45, and by appointmentOffice: Miller Hall 206Phone: 978-665-3141Course Description“Morris tried to keep the books in some sort of order, but they always mixed themselves up [ .]The encyclopedias, weary of facts, would relax with the comic books and fiction” William Joyce, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris LessmoreCreative nonfiction as a genre has been a hobbyhorse of many a writer including the critic, the literaryauthor, the journalist, and the historian just to name a few. The genre itself is enigmatic, being both wildlywell published today while holding extraordinary potential for subverting definition and reader expectation. Itstruth, slanted by literary elements, compels readers to consider the between spaces of fact and fiction, toquestion one’s ability to separate objectivity from subjectivity, especially in a retelling. Here we will explorehow creative nonfiction writers create such intrigue in their work and practice our own skills in formingsuch hybrid literary works.1Les Mots et Les Images, a 1929 illustration by René Magritte, demonstrates the artist’s interest in the many potential slipsin language and representation. When humans do not follow the rules of either practice (language or representation), weexpose the arbitrary structures we depend on and our potential to be confused. From left to right and top to bottom, thecaptions read: the acacia (tree), the moon, the snow, the ceiling, the storm, the desert.
This course is an intensive introduction to the genre of creative nonfiction through the reading and analysisof published works, the writing and revision of our own creative nonfiction pieces, and the editing andcritiquing of our peers’ pieces. In our readings we will consider uses of literary devices, and we will writein several subgenres including the short, personal essay, biographical sketch, memoir, place essay, andliterary journal piece. A significant portion of the course is devoted to assisting one another develop strongwriting through workshops, critiques, and editorial reviews.Course Objectives1. Analyze works of creative nonfiction for their literary merits and faults2. Compose works of creative nonfiction in several major and minor subgenres including the short,personal essay, biographical sketch, memoir, place essay, and literary journalism piece3. Demonstrate skillful use of literary devices in your writing4. Show considerable investment in the writing process, including research and revision in particular5. Develop an editorial eye through small group workshops, whole class workshops, and individual indepth reviews of your peers’ piecesTexts and MaterialsRequiredBell, Susan. The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &Company, 2007.ISBN: 978-0-393-33217-9FSU bookstore price: new 14.98, used 11.25Grade BreakdownLonger Piece 115%A 3-5 page (1050-1750 word) personal essay.Longer Piece 220%A 4-6 page (1400-2100 word) piece of memoir.Longer Piece 325%A 5-7 page (1750-2450 word) piece of literary journalism.Short Pieces (3)15%Three 1-3 page (350-1050 word) pieces within the followingthe short, the biographical sketch, and the place essay.Portfolio and Editorial Activities25%After each of the three major assignments I will collect all workincluding three technique critiques, in-class exercises, rough andassignments, crits for whole class workshops, editor’s reviews ofon small group workshop of short assignment.subgenres of creative nonfiction:from the previous nine sessionsfinal drafts of short and longlong assignment, and reflection***ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE COMPLETED TO PASS THIS CLASS***
Point ScaleAAA-/B B BBB-/C 02.72.5C CCC-/D D 31.00.0Course PoliciesCollege Comportment: As an adult and college student, you are responsible for your own progress.You will quickly find that you get out of a class only as much as you put in. Be proactive about youreducation. If you have questions or concerns about course assignments, contact me or come to my officehours. Should you need assistance with research, reach out to a FSU librarian. Campus resources fromprofessors, to counselors, or librarians are all here to help, but you have to want succeed and take theinitiative to do so.Accessing Course Blog: You are responsible for posting final drafts of your long and shortcreative nonfiction pieces (6 in total) on our course blog atslantfactmeetswonkyfiction.wordpress.com. You are welcome to use this blog space to post otherclass activities or related thoughts. In addition, all course readings will be made available on thecourse blog. Instructions on using the site will be provided to you.Peer Assessment: As reflected in the Grade Breakdown, peer assessment is a crucial and frequentelement of the course. I expect full attendance on days involving assessment or presentations. Yourassessment and review of your peers should be done with care and detail. Thorough explication,constructive criticism, and suggestions for revision are expected at all times.Formatting Requirements: All work turned in should follow standard MLA conventions, using TimesNew Roman 12 point font with one-inch margins and double-spaced. There should be no additionalspaces between paragraphs, titles, subtitles, or headings and in-text citations and a Works Cited pageshould be included when necessary. MLA guidelines are available online athttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e ch04 o.html. In addition to hard copies, each assignmentshould be submitted to me as a .doc or .docx file to etakehan@fitchburgstate.edu.Late work: UNLESS prior arrangements have been made with me, late work will be accepted with a25% point penalty if it is less than 48 hours late and a 50% point penalty if it is more than 48 hourslate. I will only accept late work up to one week past the original due date. No extra credit or makeups will be available. NO EXCEPTIONS!Absences: Regular class attendance is critical. Each student is entitled to three absences without penalty(this includes excused absences). Subsequent absences will incur a 5% point penalty from your finalgrade. NO EXCEPTIONS! Prolonged absences, even for medical reasons, will not be excused, asdiscussions of reading and writing assignments are a key part of the course content. Two tardies count asone absence. Student who are not prepared for class discussions or workshops will be asked to leaveand will be marked absent.
Wireless Communication: Turn off all cell phones and electronic devices while in class unlessotherwise instructed. You will be marked absent if you use any electronic devices in class in a manneroutside the goals of the course.Academic Integrity: You are responsible for submitting original work and upholding honest academicpractices. Sanctions can be taken for claiming others’ work as your own, failing to cite sources properly,cheating, or facilitating cheating. Such sanctions can include failure on the assignment, failure of thecourse, or suspension or dismissal from Fitchburg State University. Please familiarize yourself with theAcademic Integrity Policy in your Student Handbook and the Code of Conduct and Discipline ProcessHandbook both available at ion/campus-policies/.Special Needs: To support access and inclusion, Fitchburg State offers reasonable accommodations tostudents who have documented disabilities (e.g. psychical, learning, psychiatric, sensory, etc.). If yourequire accommodations for this class, please provide me with a copy of your Accommodation Agreementas soon as possible so that we can discuss your specific needs. Any information that you share with mewill be held in the strictest confidence, unless you give me permission to do otherwise.If you require academic accommodations but do not have an Accommodation Agreement, please contactDisability Services as soon as possible to establish your eligibility for services. For more information, or toschedule an appointment, please call 978.665.4020 (voice/relay). Disability Services is located in theAcademic Support Center on the third floor of the Hammond building. Their website is t-services/disability-services/.Schedule of AssignmentsThe readings due for each class meeting are listed below. It is important that you have the readings donebefore you come to class so we can have a lively conversation. I reserve the right to amend or makeadditions to the readings schedule.DATETOPICSDUETODAYASSIGNMENTWEEK 1:W Sept. 5Introduction to the courseTruth and ImaginationDinty Moore “True Stories, InnovativeForms”Dinty Moore “What Makes NonfictionCreative?”The short and the personalessayDinty Moore “The Personal Essay”Connie Griffin “The Short”READ: Doyle,WRITE: Short, personalessay, technique critique andanalysisREVIEW: Moore pp. 3-7,8-18, 84-92, Griffin pp.43-44WEEK 2:M Sept. 10FocusBrian Doyle “Being Brians”READ: Moore 42-53,philsproof.com, StantonWRITE: Short, personalessay, technique critique andanalysis
W Sept. 12Voice and dictionDinty Moore “Building Blocks ofCreative Nonfiction: Distinctive Voiceand Intimate Point of View”philsproof.com “Everything That’sWrong with Facebook”Elizabeth Cady Stanton “Declartionof Sentiments and Resolutions”READ: Griffin pp. 191199, Bascom OR CixousWRITE: Short, personalessay, technique critique andanalysisPoint of ViewConnie Griffin “Narrative Persona:Art, Facts, and the ‘I’ of the Story”PICK ONE OF THE BELOW:Tim Bascom “Community College”Hélène Cixous “Savoir”READ: Bell Ch 5 pp. 182215WRITE: Short, PersonalEssayWEEK 3:M Sept. 17W Sept. 19Small group workshops (SGW)History of editingShortREAD: Moore pp. 21-28,Bell Ch. 2 pp. 42-94,RoughWRITE: Short Revisions,Reflection on SGW, techniquecritique and analysisWEEK 4:M Sept. 24Detail and descriptionDinty Moore “Building Blocks ofCreative Nonfiction: Detail andDescription”Bonnie J. Rough “Notes on theSpaces We Take”Prep for editingW Sept. 26Gaining distance from your writingReviews and meeting with editorREAD: Personal Essay forReviewWRITE: Review and editsPersonal EssayREAD: Bell Ch 1 pp. 841, Personal Essays for CritWRITE: Crits, personalessay revisionsWEEK 5:M Oct. 1Whole class workshopCritsW Oct. 3Whole class workshopCritsWEEK 6:M Oct. 8NO CLASSREAD: Personal Essays forCritWRITE: Crits, personalessay revisionsREAD: Moore pp. 65-73,Thiel pp. 99-100, O’ConnorOR BaggottWRITE: personal essayrevisionsREVIEW: Arrange portfolio
W Oct. 10Biographical sketch andmemoirDinty Moore “The Memoir Essay”Diane Thiel “Researching a Life:Biographical Sketch”PICK ONE OF THE BELOW:John O’Connor “Badlands: Portrait ofa Competitive Eater”Julianna Baggott “Literary Murder”PortfolioREAD: Moore pp. 29-38,Griffin pp. 156-163,PalahniukWRITE: Biographical sketch,memoir, technique critique andanalysisWEEK 7:M Oct. 15W Oct. 17CharacterDinty Moore “Building Blocks ofCreative Nonfiction: Characterizationand Scene”Connie Griffin “When Characters AreReal People”Chuck Palahniuk “Reading Yourself”SceneDinty Moore “Building Blocks ofCreative Nonfiction: Characterizationand Scene”PICK ONE OF THE BELOW:Carol Smith “The Cipher in Room214: Who Was Mary Anderson andWhy Did She Die?”Stanley Jenkins “George”READ: Moore pp. 38-41,Smith OR JenkinsWRITE: Biographical sketch,memoir, technique critique andanalysisREAD: Bell Ch. 3 pp. 95145, ConwayWRITE: Biographical sketch,memoir, technique critique andanalysisWEEK 8:M Oct. 22TensionPrep for editingMargaret Conway “Grasshopper”WRITE: Biographical sketch,memoirSmall group workshopsBiographicalSketchM Oct. 29Imagery Connie Griffin “Writing inScenes—Painting Word Pictures”Dawnelle Wilkie “What Comes Out”MemoirsW Oct. 31Reviews and meeting with editorW Oct. 24READ: Griffin pp. 119130, WilkieWRITE: Biographical sketchrevisions, memoir, reflectionon SGW, technique critiqueand analysisWEEK 9:READ: Memoirs for reviewWRITE: Review and editsREAD: Memoirs for CritWRITE: Crits, memoirrevisionsWEEK 10:M Nov. 5Whole class workshopCritsREAD: Memoirs for CritWRITE: Crits, memoirrevisions
W Nov. 7Whole class workshopCritsREAD: Moore pp. 74-83,Thiel pp. 107-8, MillerDavenport, PerecWRITE: memoir revisionsREVIEW: Arrange portfolioWEEK 11:M Nov. 12W Nov. 14NO CLASSPlace essay and literaryjournalismDinty Moore “The Literary JournalismEssay”Diane Thiel “Writing About Place”Sarah Miller-Davenport “Here I Amin Bergdorf Goodman”George Perec “Still Life / StyleLeaf”PortfolioREAD: Griffin pp. 252261, Rosenwald OR LasnWRITE: Place essay, literaryjournalism piece, techniquecritique and analysisWEEK 12:M Nov. 19W Nov.21WEEK 13:M Nov. 26W Nov. 28ResearchConnie Griffin “Bringing Research tothe Process”PICK ONE OF THE BELOW:Michael Rosenwald “What Is theFuture of Diagnostic Medicine?”Kalle Lasn “The Unofficial History ofAmerica”READ: Moore pp. 93-99,Sacks OR MillerWRITE: Place essay, literaryjournalism piece, techniquecritique and analysisNO CLASSPace and sequence ofnarrativeDinty Moore “Revision and NarrativeStructure”PICK ONE OF THE BELOW:Oliver Sacks “Housecalls”Brenda Miller “Table of Figures”SettingConnie Griffin “Writing in Scene—Painting Word Pictures”Prep for editingAnder Monson “Ceremony”READ: Griffin pp. 130132, Bell Ch. 4 pp. 146181, MonsonWRITE: Place essay, literaryjournalism piece, techniquecritique and analysisWRITE: Place essay, literaryjournalism piece,WEEK 14:M Dec. 3Small group workshopsPlace EssayREAD: O’DonnellWRITE: Place essayrevisions, literary journalismpiece, Reflection on SGW,technique critique and analysis
W Dec. 5RhythmSunshine O’Donnell “Consumption”LiteraryJournalismPieceREAD: Literary journalismpiece for ReviewWRITE: Review and editsWEEK 15:M Dec. 10Reviews and meeting with editorW Dec. 12Whole class workshopCritsWhole class workshopCritsPortfolioREAD: Literary journalismpieces for CritWRITE: Crits, literaryjournalism piece revisionsREAD: Literary journalismpieces for CritWRITE: Crits, literaryjournalism piece revisionsREVIEW: Arrange portfolioWEEK 16:M Dec. 17Citations for Course ReadingsThe citations for readings assigned for this course are listed below in the order in which they wereassigned. Please be advised that MLA format dictates that Works Cited pages should list citations inalphabetical order.Textbook materials:Moore, Dinty W. The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction. New York, NY: PearsonLongman, 2007.Griffin, Connie D. To Tell the Truth: Practice and Craft in Narrative Nonfiction. New York, NY: PearsonLongman, 2009.Thiel, Diane. Winding Roads: Exercises in Writing Creative Nonfiction. New York, NY: Pearson Longman,2008.Creative Nonfiction pieces:Doyle, Brian. “Being Brians.” In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. New York, NY:W. W. Norton & Company, 2005. 163-173. Print.philsproof.com. “Everything That’s Wrong with Facebook.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind.Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. 302-304. Print.Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.” The Norton Reader. 13th ed. Eds.Linda H. Peterson, John C. Brereton, Joseph Bizup, Anne E. Fernald, and Melissa A. Goldthwaite. NewYork, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 811-813. Print.Bascom, Tim. “Community College.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 3. New York,NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 177-184. Print.
Cixous, Hélène. “Savoir.” Veils. Trans. Geoffrey Bennington. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,2001. 3-16. Print.Rough, Bonnie J. “Notes on the Spaces We Take.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol.1. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 271-280. Print.O’Connor, John. “Badlands: Portrait of a Competitive Eater.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. LeeGutkind. Vol. 1. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 13-28. Print.Baggott, Julianna. “Literary Murder.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 3. New York,NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 11-20. Print.Palahniuk, Chuck. “Reading Yourself.” Stranger than Fiction: True Stories. New York, NYÆ Doubleday,2004.147-159. Print.Smith, Carol. “The Cipher in Room 214: Who Was Mary Anderson and Why Did She Die?” The BestCreative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 1. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 1-12.Print.Jenkins, Stanley. “George.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W.Norton & Company, 2008. 314-321. Print.Conway, Margaret. “Grasshopper.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 3. New York, NY:W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 151-161. Print.Wilkie, Dawnelle. “What Comes Out” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 3. New York,NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 163-169. Print.Miller-Davenport, Sarah. “Here I Am in Bergdorf Goodman.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. LeeGutkind. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. 21-24. Print.Perec, George. “Still Life /Style Leaf.” Trans. Harry Mathews. Yale French Studies 61 (1981): 299305. JSTOR. Web. 21 July 2012.Rosenwald, Michael. “What Is the Future of Diagnostic Medicine?” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. LeeGutkind. Vol. 1. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 220-232. Print.Lasn, Kalle. “The Unofficial History of America.” Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidalconsumer Binge—and Why We Must. New York, NY: Quill. 1999. 65-71. Print.Sacks, Oliver. “Housecalls.” The Well-Crafted Sentence: A Writer’s Guide to Style. Ed. Nora Bacon.Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 223-230.Miller, Brenda. “Table of Figures.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 3. New York, NY:W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 41-48. Print.Monson, Ander. “Ceremony.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. 279-295. Print.O’Donnell, Sunshine. “Consumption.” The Best Creative Nonfiction. Ed. Lee Gutkind. Vol. 1. New York,NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 57-64. Print.
Creative Nonfiction: Slant Fact Meets Wonky Fiction 1 ENGL 3890 Section 01 Fall 2012 Mon. & Wed. 2:00-3:15 pm Classroom: Thompson 2
scaffolds for nonfiction reading and nonfiction writing into the fabric of daily literacy instruction, making sure that children write for a wide variety of purposes and experience a broad array of nonfiction text types (Hoyt, 2009, 2004; Stead, 2007, 2002; Saunders-Smith, 2010, Glover, 2009). Explorations in Nonfiction Writing When I write, I .
Jess Lair PhD and Jacqueline Carey Lair NonFiction 1973 1 Prayer "If Mr. Clean Calls, Tell Him I'm Not In" Martha Bolton NonFiction 1989 1 Humor 199 Promises of God Barbour Publishing nonfiction 2007 1 bible study A Beacon In the Darkness: Reflecting God's Light in Today's World David Roper NonFiction 1995 1 Lifestyle A Bible Study On Becoming
New York Times bestseller, audio nonfiction, September 2019. Los Angeles Times bestseller, nonfiction, February 2019. Top 10 Amazon Charts bestseller, nonfiction, August 2019. Top 10 Audible.com bestseller, nonfiction, August 2019. Robert H. Ferrell Book Prize, So
performance four-speed manual transmissions with an in-line six in 1965. But, that was in the 60's and the emphasis in the 70's was fuel economy. Again, the slant six was equal to the task. In 1975 the Feather Duster and Dart Light were introduced to demonstrate the economy of the slant six.
are automatically kerned (letter spacing) for a good visual effect. Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Slant and Space: The slant of the monogram and the spacing of the monogram letters are cont rolled with the Slant and Space slider controls (Figure 9). If you use these controls and want to return the monogram to its default settings, simply click the
7 LE 2020 05804220 [Turn over 4 A solid metal cone has radius 1.65 cm and slant height 4.70 cm. (a) Calculate the total surface area of the cone. [The curved surface area, A, of a cone with radius r and slant height l is A rrl.]cm 2 [2] (b) Find the angle the slant height makes with the base of the cone. [2] (c) (i) Calculate the volume
10'x10' Slant Leg - Blue 22591 12'x12' Slant Leg - Blue 22594 10'x10' Slant Leg . DO NOT install near roof lines or other structures that could shed snow, ice or excessive run off onto your shelter. DO NOT hang
Our AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting course is the intermediate level of AAT’s accounting qualifications. You’ll master more complex accountancy skills, including advanced bookkeeping, preparing final accounts, and management costing techniques. You’ll also cover VAT issues in business, and the importance of professional ethics - all without giving up your job, family time or social .
