Types of Creative Writing

This is a course on attending to the world around us. We begin with a meditative walk, do attention exercises, and learn to slow down, put away our phones for a while. The course begins with non-fiction essay. We read Horowitz’s book, On Looking, which chronicles her walks around New York City with experts on geology, rodents, anatomy, and other experts like her toddler and her dog. Then we shift to poetry, paying close attention to the ways poets see the world by way of language and form. Students will do weekly attention exercises, write a 10 page essay about a walk, seen through someone else’s eyes, and compose poems inspired by our readings of haiku, free verse epic, and documentary poetry. The final project will consist of a chapbook of work composed over the course of the course.

Donovan Kuhio Colleps, Proposed Additions, Tinfish Press

Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation, Scribner

Harryette Mullen, Recylopedia, Graywolf

The Classic Book of Haiku, Dover

Bernadette Mayer, Midwinter Day, New Directions