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The Writing Workshops in San Miguel 2010
Course Offerings
Click on a course, or scroll down, for a detailed description. Please email with any questions!
Note: There are two class sessions, mornings, 9:30 am-12:30pm, and afternoons,
2pm - 5 pm.
The Mexican History and Culture Lecture Series is
the only class that takes place outside of these two times.
See the calendar for the complete schedule.
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Course: ENGL 2398/4390 or SPAN 4202:
Mexican Literature and Culture lecture series
Instructor: Staff
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This special series features lectures on Mexican literature, art,
history, film, bullfighting, and more. The series offers students
the opportunity to use the field trips, lectures, and excursions
offered in the general program for credit. The course can be adjusted
to meet lower level, upper level, or graduate requirements, in
Spanish or English. Note that the lecture series is open to all
participants; enrollment is only required to obtain academic credit
for participation.
Students wishing to take this course for credit will be required
to read a minimum number of books from the lists below, attend
all the lectures, excursions, and readings, and keep a journal
of the readings, lectures and activities. A ten page paper on a topic selected in consultation with the faculty is also required.
Mexican Literature and Culture
Lecture Series Reading Lists
List for ENGL 2398 and 4390 (Grad students must
read 6 books, at least one from each column; undergrads must
read one book from each column. Students wishing to take the course in Spanish [ie SPAN 4202] should contact Julie Jones for consultation on the reading list.)
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Literature
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Art |
Gilbert M. Joseph,
The Mexico Reader: History, Culture, Politics
Alma Guillermoprieto
Looking for History: Dispatches from Latin America (pp.178-286 only)
Octavio Paz
The Labyrinth of Solitude
Alan Riding,
Distant Neighbor
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Katherine E. Bliss,
Compromised Positions: Prostitution, Public Health, and General Politics in Revolutionary Mexico City
Anita Brenner,
The Wind that Swept Mexico
Lynn V. Foster,
A Brief History of Mexico
Martín Luis Guzmán
The Eagle and the Serpent
Carlos Monsivais (ed)
Sex in Revolution: Gender, Politics and Power in Modern Mexico
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Mariano Azuela,
The Underdogs
Carlos Fuentes,
The Death of Artemio Cruz
Angeles Mastretta,
Tear This Heart Out
Juan Rulfo,
The Burning Plain and Other Stories |
Marcus Burke,
Mexican Art Masterpieces
Justino Fernández,
A Guide to Mexican Art: From Its Beginnings to the Present
Hayden Herrera,
Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo
Elizabeth Lewis,
Mexican Art and Culture
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Search for
books online.
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Top | Writing Classes
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Course: ENGL 4391-Special Topics - Food & Creative Nonfiction
Instructor: Matt Roberts
Food has long proven to be a notably rich subject for literary exploration. From the golden apple that started the Trojan War to Hemingway’s description of Paris as a moveable feast, be it the so cold and so delicious plums that W.C. Williams greedily ate from the icebox or Ginsberg stalking Whitman’s ghost through a supermarket in California, whether it is our obsession with the trenchermen who perform seemingly superhuman feats of consumption or the unveiling of enormous lies in the quest to discover what the label on a package of French fries means when it uses the term “natural flavor,” food can be found at the heart of work being produced across all genres from the beginning of writing to the present day. This course will offer students the opportunity to explore contemporary food writing and compose their own original material. Students will examine culinary journalism, food memoir, science and travel writing, history, fiction, and poetry in order to discover what is possible when you consider food as an ingredient critical to good writing. While Hemingway said, “Hunger is good discipline,” students may also have the opportunity to utilize cooking classes and culinary tourism around San Miguel as material for the discussion and production of both assigned texts and their own.
Ingredients (Or, A Selection of Possible Texts):
Almond, Steve. Candyfreak.
Opincar, Abe. Fried Butter.
Nguyen, Bich Minh. Stealing Buddha’s Dinner.
Kurlansky, Mark. Cod.
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate.
Church, Steven. The Guinness Book of Me (excerpts)
Roach, Mary. “Eat Me: Medicinal cannibalism and the strange case of the human dumplings.” (chapter from Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers)
Ullman, Ellen. “Dining with Robots.” (essay)
Gadsby, Patricia. “Cooking for Eggheads.” (essay)
Wallace, David Foster. “Consider the Lobster.” (essay)
About Matt Roberts
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Course: ENGL 6390 Contemporary New Orleans Literature
Instructor: Nancy Dixon
This course is designed to make you more familiar with the literature that is being written and read in New Orleans today. Many students in the Creative Writing Low Residency program are not from New Orleans, so this is a way for these students to read the works of many of their instructors. The syllabus will include works by writers/instructors such as Rick Barton, Amanda Boyden, Joseph Boyden, Bill Lavender, Kay Murphy, and John Gery, many of whom will be able to come to the classroom to discuss their work. And we will also read works by such writers as Dave Brinks, Brett Evans, Tom Piazza, Chris Rose, nolafugees, Tim Gautreux, and more.
Top | Writing Classes
Course: Studies in 20th Century Literature: The Beats
Instructor: Alan J Gravano
This course is a study of contemporary (postmodernist) poetry. We will cover postmodernism that influenced much of the experimental poetry of today such as the Beats, the Black Mountain Poets, and the New York School of Poetry. Within these schools, we will look at the influence that women and minorities, formalism and free verse, music and painting have had on these poets. As a concluding point, we will examine several of the prose poems that represent work that places itself inside and outside of some of these traditions.
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Course:
FTCA 6020–Form
& Idea in Media
Instructor: Bill Lavender
Syllabus (sample only, from last year)
(version 4 browsers
click here)
FTCA 6020 Form and Idea in Media (description from last year)
An exploration of the relationship between the creative idea,
the form of its expression and the medium for its presentation.
Focusing on the philosophy of creativity and exploring potential
creative processes of various arts related fields, the course
pursues an understanding of the creative process and its
effect on the finished product.
Topics for discussion will include: art versus craft, aestheticism,
collaboration, interpretation and criticism, art and politics,
etc.
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Writing Classes
In addition to the excellent faculty listed, writing classes will
be visited by special guests, new ones each week, who will participate
in the discussions and also in the Tuesday night reading series.
Students in the writing classes will also be asked to participate
in the student reading series, every Wednesday night.
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Top | Poetry Writing | Fiction
Writing | Nonfiction Writing | Screenwriting | Translation
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ENGL 2161: The Study of Craft: An Introduction
to Fiction Writing
Instructor: Joseph and Amanda Boyden
Designed for students with limited creative writing experience
but plenty of writing desire, this course will focus on the craft
of fiction. The class will incorporate theory, reading, specific
writing exercises, and the actual workshopping of student pieces.
We will examine and practice both classic and experimental forms
and their elements, develop solid techniques, and focus on each
new writer’s individual voice. A brief exploration of the
creative aspects of contemporary nonfiction will also be included.
An intensive study of process, the course aims to improve skills
and provide a solid base for upper-level creative writing classes.
Recommended texts:
The Truth About Fiction, S. Schoen
Top | Writing Classes
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Course: ENGL 6171 - Intensive Fiction Writing
Instructor: Joseph and Amanda Boyden
Syllabus
(version 4 browsers
click here)
This course will utilize the "classic" workshop environment.
We focus specifically on student writing, discussing student work
through constructive criticism. Stories due for a specific class
will always be handed out to each student a few days in advance.
Classes will consist of thorough discussion and commentary on the
stories assigned for that day. Generally, two stories will be discussed
in a three hour session. Each student will have a minimum of two
stories workshopped, possibly three. As well as writing two-three
stories, the student is expected to fully participate in discussion
of other students' stories and offer a written response to each
story workshopped. The goup will also meet regularly in more informal
settings (cafes/bars) to discuss any and all aspects of writing,
publishing and literature as they pertain to ourselves and our
environment.
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Course: ENGL 6173 - Intensive Poetry Writing-
Instructor: Kay Murphy
Reading List and Course Description:
The poetry workshop in San Miguel for the summer of 2010 will focus on poets from Mexico. We will create our own anthology. You will find requirements below. The first week or so we will discuss poems you have already written (bring copies for all of us) and students will give a presentation on their poet. The rest of the workshop will focus on the poems generated from the presentations. I will introduce a Spanish form, the Decima, and we will try our hand at that.
Requirement before you arrive: The presentation is due when you arrive in San Miguel. It is 25% of your grade. Bring enough copies for all of us. They will be distributed on the first day of workshop. The length should be at least 12 pages. The first 3 or four pages should be devoted to background on the poet, and commentaries you have found on him or her, excerpts from reviews, etc. Then you should include at least ten poems; for some of these you should offer two translations for us to compare. Add your own commentaries to the poems on techniques the poet uses to structure the poem. End the presentation with a writing exercise taken from some technique of the poet. Be clear. During the first week you will be scheduled to discuss your presentation in the workshop.
Readings:
TBA
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About Kay Murphy
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Course: ENGL 6174 - Intensive Nonfiction Writing
Instructor: Kristin Iversen and Steven Church
Reading List and Course Description:
This year we will be offering two creative non-fiction workshops, one with Steven Church, and one with Kristen Iversen. More info on the course descriptions and readings coming soon!
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Top | Writing Classes
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Course: FTCA 6257 – Intensive
Screenwriting
FTCA 2250 - Intro to Screenwriting
Instructor: Henry Griffin
An intensive workshop in screenwriting.
Henry Griffin teaches screenwriting at UNO.
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Course:
FTCA 6207 – Intensive Playwriting
Instructor: TBA
The instructor will provide basic material on the basics of
playwriting, including focus on the stage and its elements. Students
will be divided into groups and assigned dates on which their
work will be read and discussed. All students should bring enough
copies of their work to distribute to the class; each student
will be expected to read parts in the plays being written by
their peers. The workshops will focus on thinking within the
process; writers will be asked to view all works prepared for
the class as works-in-progress and to question and improve them
accordingly. No text is required.
About Steven Bogart
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A Literary Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop in Fiction, Playwriting, and Screenwriting
Instructor: Jim Grimsley
A workshop in the development of quality science fiction of strong literary value with the genres of fiction, screenwriting, and playwriting. Students will focus on the unique requirements of the science fiction and fantasy genres, including the construction of realistic worlds and the incorporation of the element of speculation or otherness necessary to these genres. The class will focus on the different forms of narrative required by prose, film, and drama, and will expose participants to rigorous thinking about the nature of storytelling. Some reading will be assigned PRIOR to arrival in San Miguel; students will be expected to arrive with the reading assignments completed.
Sample Reading List:
Joanna Russ - The Female Man
Ursula K. LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness
Monkey - Wu Ch'eng-en
About Jim Grimsley
Top| Writing Classes
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Course:
ENGL 4390–(Comparative Studies)
Workshop in Translation (Poetry, Prose, Drama)
Instructor: Peter Thompson
Supported by a poet and experienced translator, students will
workshop the creation of strong effective writing using the guiding
hands of fine poets in languages other than English. We will translate
into English, the common language of the class; this should be
the native language of the participant, in order to benefit from
workshop support, and to arrive at work that stands beautifully
on its own. The teacher will help with Italian, Spanish and French,
and will highlight some grammar, culture, vocabulary and style
issues with those languages. He can offer some help in Old French,
Latin and Provencal as well. He will also share some more general
tricks of the trade. Students will gain in their appreciation of
the strengths and limitations of English.
Each participant will need to bring a long work or a series of
works to be translated, and a dictionary in that language. We will
benefit from brief looks at Rabassa, Manheim, Eshleman, Mitchell,
Pound, Lowell and other master translators. The instructor will
also provide some tips on getting translations published.
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Course: ENGL 7000 - Thesis Research
Instructor: Staff
To be repeated for credit until thesis is accepted. Section number
will correspond with credit to be earned. This course is reserved
for Low Residency MFA students in their final or semi-final semester.
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UNO's Low-Residency MFA program
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