Autobiographical Writing:
Telling Our Stories
How do we write the stories of our lives? To what extent is autobiography history? When we write creative nonfiction, do we have to consider the ethical boundaries of telling and not telling? What is the nature of identity, and how do culture and language influence our perceptions life? In this course, we will work to answer these questions while we investigate different modes of creative nonfiction/autobiography. In our discussions, postings, and writing, we will consider how personal, social, economic, and cultural influences impact the narratives we write. As a class, we will read work that is evocative and compelling—this includes work that is innovative in form. Additionally, we will begin to look at the scholarship surrounding creative nonfiction/autobiography.
The class will experiment with writing autobiography as a craft. Which means we will experiment with writing techniques: setting, scene, characterization, description, voice, and more. In-class discussions will be lively, thoughtful, and considerate. However, we will also experiment from with writing forms of creative nonfiction that trouble the boundaries of the genre.
Required Texts:
- Bechtel, Allison Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
- Biss, Eula On Immunity
- Harjo, Joy Crazy Brave
- Jefferson, Margo Negroland
Additional PDFs will be uploaded to Laulima
Assignments:
- 4 Response posts on Laulima
- Lit Review (1000- 1200 words)
- Weekly creative writing draft pages
- Midterm Reflection (100-1200 words)
- Portfolio
Please contact Rain Wright via email at rwright7@hawaii.edu for further information on this exciting course!