ENC 5317 Fall 2021 Howard

At a symposium on his work in 2000, John Edgar Wideman was asked about his nonfiction approach, and his approach was, to paraphrase, certain things have happened to me, and this is my version of it. I want the workshop to focus on the connection between “certain things” and the “version” you build through structure. In my nonfiction and fiction teaching, I’ve used Jane Alison’s Meander, Spiral, Explode to narrative structure. She names different forms—waves, cycles, etc.— that we create in individual narratives and connected manuscripts. We’ll consider her examples as we read about your essays, memoir chapters, chunks, vignettes, or any other unit of measurement you’re using to build your non-fiction. Workshop members have the option of submitting fiction, and we'll discuss the techniques that connect prose forms and those that highlight the distinctions. Since we will have a mix of prose writers and poets in the class, we’ll consider works by poets and writers such as Natasha Trethewey’s Memorial Drive and Marilynne Nelson’s What Are We Doing Here? I want to dedicate some time to writing the autobiographical craft essay and craft essays in general. We will have an opportunity to explore writers like Matthew Salesses, Edwidge Danticat, Maud Casey, and others.