Poetry & Creative Nonfiction (fall 2026)

Developing craft through creative writing and creative community

Mondays, Wednesdays / 12:00 – 1:15pm / KUY 409

KUMU: Noʻu Revilla EMAIL: nrevilla@hawaii.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION

ENG 313 is an introductory creative writing course dedicated to the basic principles of craft. Our in-person course specifically focuses on the genres of poetry and creative nonfiction, which means students will develop craft knowledge by reading, writing, and workshopping poems and short creative nonfiction projects. In fall 2026, the theme of this course is: “How to Survive in Paradise.” As students of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, you live in one of the most expensive places in the world. Due to the ongoing legacies of colonial structures such as mass corporate tourism and militarization, prices for housing, groceries, utilities, and transportation are significantly higher here. Many Kānaka Maoli can no longer afford to live in their homelands, and other kamaʻāina are forced to leave too. On top of this, we are part of a global struggle against climate change. How do we fall in love, make friends, study, be inspired, and create better worlds without going broke? What do we do when we are broke? How do we balance surviving and thriving? In this course, we’ll explore issues such as survival, hustle, joy, resistance, identity, and belonging. Writers will compose original blackout poems, How To narratives, self portraits, and hybrid forms like lyric essays and a documentary project that blends text and images.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Explore your creative side
Honor your voice in a safe & brave writing community
Build a revision practice that meets your needs
Expand your literary lineage with place-based, multicultural & multimodal course texts
Bring to life stories that matter to you in an original chapbook

$0 TEXTBOOK FEES

Readings will be provided for free as PDFs or hyperlinks via our course Google Drive or circulated in class as printed texts.