Creative Nonfiction and the Art of the Essay

Welcome to ENG-W 311!

Creative Nonfiction and the Art of the Essay / TR 11:30 to 12:45pm / Dr. Paul Cook

At first glance, “creative nonfiction” almost seems like an oxymoron, or a paradox, at any rate. Actually, the genre of creative nonfiction does complicate the boundaries of what we normally think of as imaginative writing (e.g., fantasy novels, contemporary short fiction, romance, most “Literature”) and writing about real people, places, things, and events (e.g., journalism or documentary writing). In fact, it combines elements of both fiction and nonfiction in a sometimes highly-self conscious fashion, which is certainly part of creative nonfiction’s appeal. So, while it’s fair to say that creative nonfiction is rooted in “reality” or things that have actually happened,  it also plays fast-and-loose with what we might think of as “truth” and gleefully incorporates figures of speech, rich imagery, and other stylistic elements that we might normally associate with literary texts.

This course will be equal parts (1) writing workshop, (2) overview of both classical and contemporary examples of creative nonfiction, and (3) extended course on the nonfiction essay. Students will read some of the finest examples of creative nonfiction writing available; read, internalize, and imitate these models; practice the kind of discipline a good writing habit demands; and have their work read, critiqued, and interpreted by a small group of smart, sophisticated readers.

Required texts: 

In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)

Blue Highways: A Journey into America (William Least Heat Moon)

Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Hunter S. Thompson)

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (James Agee)