This course in creative writing focuses on the craft of reading and writing creative nonfiction. The course provides an introduction to craft: how creative nonfiction is generated, what its elements are, and how finished pieces work. Students will explore these aspects of craft through careful study of models by published writers, and through writing and revising their own short pieces.

In this course we will first begin by defining what exactly “creative nonfiction” means, and that can and will include many different sub-genres of writing. But what all of it has in common is that it is based in telling true stories. We’ll use Jack Hart’s handy and pragmatic book Storycraft as our craft guide through style, structure, point of view, voice and other tools useful to every nonfiction writer. We’ll also read James Baldwin’s essential book-length essay The Fire Next Time as well as shorter essays by writers from the past and present including Joan Didion, Hua Hsu, Hanif Abdurraqib, George Orwell, Audre Lorde, Carmen Maria Machado, Cathy Park Hong, Leslie Jamison, Ocean Vuong and many more. These essays will help us get a feel for what creative nonfiction can do and how wide open it can be in terms of the topics a writer can pursue. You’ll write three essays over the course of the semester, learn the tools of drafting, revising, working with editors, understanding your audience, and pitching and platform building.This course is suitable for students from all majors and for everyone from beginners to more experienced writers. Required books: Storycraft, Jack Hart, and The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin. All other readings will be available via Bcourses.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.