Reminders: April 16, 2013

Just a reminder:  We'll be attending the English Writing Capstone readings on Tuesday, April 16 at 7 p.m. in VH 118. I'll return your humor essays to you and answer any questions you may have about our final portfolio checklist.

Our final class is next Tuesday, April 23. We'll be discussing Stephen Elliott's book Adderall Diaries. There will be a short quiz on the book.

Your final portfolios are due in my office -- 208 FOB -- by 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 25.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Class Updates and Final Portfolio Checklist

Hope you all enjoyed Tony Buba's presentation on using film and digital media to tell true stories, as well as Andrew Brown's essay as an example of creative nonfiction in action.

Remember next week we'll once again meet in VH 118, this time for the English Writing Capstone readings featuring senior creative nonfiction writers and more.

Our final class will be Tuesday, April 23. We'll discuss Stephen Elliott's book THE ADDERALL DIARIES, complete our last in-class writing assignment, and review the requirements for your portfolios. Portfolios are due by 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 25. There will be a drop box outside my office (208 Faculty Office Building).

Your grade in this course will be based on your attendance and participation throughout the term (including bonus points for attendance at Jimmy Cvetic/Bob Ziller's W/S reading); the overall quality of your writing; evidence of effort/revision; evidence of your ability to meet deadlines;  your quiz grades (CNF/Memoir Quiz 1; Terkel Quiz); and your portfolio.

Your portfolio should showcase your best work and should include the following 17 items in this order (first item-- final revision or new piece -- on top and so on). Please label each item.

FINAL PORTFOLIO CHECKLIST

*  One in-depth revision of an earlier piece OR one new piece on a subject of your choice (Note:  you have the option of revising all of your pieces one more time if you'd like. If you choose to do so, be sure to label your revision as REVISION, and staple it to the original copy of your piece.)

*  In-Class Writing/Adderall Diaries, April 23

*  Essay/Assignment #3:  Humor Essay (Sedaris model) 

*  Your five sure-fire interview questions (in-class writing)

*  Essay/Assignment #2:  Terkel-Style Interview (Terkel model)

*  Table of Childhood Tastes (in-class writing based on p. 60 in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORD..)

*  Three Encyclopedia Entries (Krause Rosenthal model)

*  Six-Word Memoir (in-class writing)

*  One True Sentence (in-class writing)

*  Essay #1: (What They Don't Tell You)

*  Prompts 1 and 2, p. 40 (Truth of the Matter)

*  Prompts 1 and 2, p. 28 (Truth of the Matter)

*  Prompt 1, p. 17 (Truth of the Matter)

Sedaris Links

Repeat After Me:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-CJjGPWF3w

David's Way of Seeing:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSjKKK0vc3A

Tonight in Creative Nonfiction

We'll finish workshop on your Terkel pieces. Then we'll move on to a discussion of Sedaris. We'll try a few humor writing prompts, which you'll develop into a short (750-800 word) essay for next Tuesday. Please bring one hard copy of your essay for me when we meet for the Writers Festival next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in VH 118. Our guest that night will be filmmaker Tony Buba, who will discuss a particular kind of creative nonfiction:  documentary filmmaking.

The following Tuesday, April 16, we'll meet again at 7 p.m. in VH 118, this time for the English Writing Capstone readings featuring several of our graduating senior creative nonfiction writers. I'll return your humor essays to you that night, along with a checklist you'll use to compile your final portfolio for our class.

Remember that you're able to revise all of your pieces for your portfolio, though you're required to do only one in-depth revision of one piece. The checklist will provide more details.

We'll meet for our final class on Tuesday, April 23 to wrap a discussion of our last book (we'll choose between Adderall Diaries and Stitches). Your final portfolios will be due at my office, 208 FOB, by 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 25. If you'd like your portfolio returned, please submit a SASE and I'll mail it back to you over the summer.

Tonight in CNF: Workshop, Best Questions, Intro to Sedaris

Tonight in CNF, we'll finish workshop on your Terkel-inspired pieces. I'll return your Terkel quizzes, too. (Good job, everyone!) And I will explain, once and for all, my Terkel obsession.

Then we'll all develop our own lists of sure-to-work interview questions. We'll use James Lipton's Actor's Studio as a model. Here are some links:

 

Questionnaire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0gPwYvHb00

 

Dave Chappelle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84NjYRTHpfU

 

We'll test your lists, then do a quick introduction to David Sedaris.

 

Here are some links:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdY3q14spdw

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoH7X1ZOslc

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSjKKK0vc3A

 

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Assignment:  Read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Make a list of five things you think are key to Sedaris' humor. What makes his work so funny? What makes his work so good? Be ready to discuss next week.

 

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Extra credit:  If you'd like extra credit for our class (a .5 grade boost on the assignment of your choice), please attend tomorrow's Written/Spoken reading with poets Jimmy Cvetic and Bob Ziller at 7 p.m. in VH 118. I'll have a sign-up sheet available at the book table. Bonus if you try your list of sure-to-work questions on Jimmy and Bob.

 

Today in CNF: Tuesday, March 5

Open book quiz questions:

First, choose one of the pieces you read in WORKING.  Choose your favorite and say why it’s your favorite. Remember to identify the piece (name of subject) you’d like to discuss.

Comb the piece for evidence of Terkel’s “bingo moments.” Define the concept of bingo moments and, citing from the piece you’ve chosen, show evidence of these in Terkel’s work.

Discuss what you think makes the piece you’ve chosen effective and what qualifies the moments you’ve chosen as bingo-isms.

Be thorough. There are likely to be many bingo moments in a single piece. If one stands out more than others, point this out, too.

Then, consider your own interview process.

Did you experience any bingo moments with your source?

If so, cite these and discuss why they qualify as bingos. If not, discuss why you weren’t able to get your source to go there.

Discuss what worked best during your interview and what was more challenging. Discuss how pleased you are with the final portrait you’ve produced of your subject and whether or not it would stack up on the Terkel scale.

Worth 20 points                Grammar and style count.

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Over break:
Read through the Terkel-styled pieces handed out in class and come back ready to workshop. Also, have some fun. You deserve it!

Tonight in CNF: Tuesday, Feb. 26

Tonight we'll wrap our discussion of Amy Krause Rosenthal's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORDINARY LIFE by reviewing your own encyclopedia entries. We'll be looking at your work for voice, spark of emotion, and true sentences -- the hallmarks of Amy's best work.

We'll also spread Amy's joy with a quick writing exercise.

Then we'll begin discussing Studs' Terkel's work and why it's important. I have a powerpoint lecture for you, plus some video footage that will help introduce you to Studs the person, the writer, the journalist and oral historian.

Assignment:

Read at least five entries in WORKING and be prepared to write about them in a short essay exam next week.

Find one person to interview and, employing Studs' technique (as covered in class), produce a piece to share in class. Your piece should be no more than 800 words -- not including your introduction. Follow Studs' example in WORKING. Your piece should include not just an account of what your subject does all day, but how he/she feels about what he/she does all day. It's the feeling that really counts.

Tonight in Creative Nonfiction: Amy Krouse Rosenthal's

 

We'll start class by writing a Six Word Memoir over at Smith Magazine.

We'll do a Table of What Your Childhood Tasted Like (p. 60)

These will go into your prompts binder.

 

Then we'll watch some things: 

 

 

 

Amy gives a Ted Talk in 2010.

 

And in 2012.

We'll break into small groups to discuss Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, looking specifically at the following things:

*   Your favorite passages and why they work
*   Overall Structure
*   Concept
*   Themes
*   Focus

We'll also discuss Amy's Stash of Truth, specifically:

"It was intentional that the book begins with Amy and ends with You. My agent, Amy Rennert (fittingly named), suggested the former, and writer pal John Green suggested the latter.

There were five drafts of the book. I wrote the book accordion style, adding and deleting entries as I went along. I wrote what I felt compelled to write, then gave it a title and compiled it accordingly;

I never even thought to write it in alphabetical order or to pay attention to the number of entries under each letter.

The two parts of the book that remained unchanged in the book were the actual bookends of the book, the Foreword and the “You” entry.

The most difficult entry to write was “Tears.” I originally titled it “Crying” but upon cataloging it, realized that the passage would be too jarring placed early in the book. This was one of the few instances where I interfered with leaving the shape of the book to chance; by and large I liked the idea that the alphabetical device created the narrative.

The very last thing I wrote was the entry that appears on the back cover, “Book, standing in the bookstore holding a.” I e-mailed the passage to my editor on October 2, 2004, exactly a year to the day when I found out the book would be published.

There is only one illustration—that of a radish—in the entire “Evolution of this Moment” section. This was my attempt at symbolism. I had written about a radish memory (page 58) that resurfaced in my mind throughout my life. When I later read Montaigne’s passage (as quoted on page 26), a bulb went on (so to speak), and I took it as an important clue in my scavenger hunt/gestation stage when I was starting this project, that it was indeed valid to write about, or to even be focused on, such ordinary matters, and soon thereafter (in book time, one page), arrived at the encyclopedia concept and title.

I tried to chronicle a typical 21st-century life. I like that there is an umbrella on the cover. I think the spine looks really cool."

We'll eat some chocolate. We'll read the encyclopedia entries you posted to the blog and collect the rest for workshop next week.

Assignment:  Read through the packet of entries handed out today and be prepared to workshop next week. Read WORKING and find someone you'd like to interview about his/her job.

Amy Krause Rosenthal -- TED Talk

Tonight in Creative Nonfiction: Tuesday, Feb. 12

Tonight we'll finish workshopping your first essays, then begin talking about Amy Krause Rosenthal's Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life.

Since Amy is a master of compression, luminous detail and insight, we'll practice those techniques by writing a six-word memoir.

Then, for your writing assignment, you'll write three encyclopedia entries modeled after Amy's work.  Post one of your entries -- a short one -- to the comments section below. Then bring hard copies of all three entries to class next week for workshop.

Remember to turn in your revision of Essay #1 for grading, too. Your revision is due the week after your piece has been workshopped. Last week's workshop-ees are due tonight. Tonight's workshop-ees are due next week.


Read Ahead:  Our next book is Working by Studs Terkel.

Tonight in Creative Nonfiction

Please remember to bring copies of your first essay to class to share for workshop. Have your copies ready to distribute at the beginning of class. (No printing and stapling during class, o.k.?)

Before we begin workshop, we'll discuss the week's readings and I'll give a short lecture ("The Building Blocks of Creative Nonfiction"). We'll do one in-class writing exercise, too. Please remember to put any in-class exercises into your Prompts binder for credit.

We should be able to workshop a few pieces tonight. Workshop comments should be designed to help the writer revise his/her work. You'll each have a chance to revise your piece before you submit it to me for a letter grade.

You may choose to focus your comments by discussing some of the concepts we've covered in class so far. These include (but aren't limited to):

*  Voice -- Does the author sound like him/herself? Why or why not?

*  Interest -- Does the author demand the readers' attention right from the first sentence? How interesting is the piece to you? What makes it interesting or what interferes with your interest?

*   Focus -- Is the piece tightly focused on one or two moments? If not, how might the writer sharpen his/her focus here?

*  Character Development -- How well are the characters in the piece developed? How well do you feel you know them? What do the characters (including the writer) want? Consider character development through scene, action and dialogue. How are these techniques working here? Which character do you feel most connected to and why?

*  Scene -- Locate and highlight or underline the scenes in the piece. Are they active and vivid? Why or why not?

*  Dialogue -- How effectively does the writer use dialogue to tell his/her story?

*  Luminous Details -- Locate the nouns/details in the piece. How vivid are they? Do they propel the story forward and add layers of meaning to the narrative? Why or why not?

*  The So-What -- Is the So-What/Artifact of the story clear? If so, locate a moment on the page that reveals this.

*  Self-Discovery -- Locate a moment where the writer seems to have a moment of discovery.

*  Overall Technique -- Is the piece well-written? Does the writer show technical expertise? Are there any basic grammar problems you can point out to help make the piece better?


Assignments for next week:

Please read through and comment on all the other pieces we didn't get to tonight in workshop. That way we can move quickly next week.

Please also read ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORDINARY LIFE. 

Tonight in Creative Nonfiction: Tuesday, Jan. 22

We'll have a brief quiz on the readings from TRUTH OF THE MATTER and last week's memoir lecture.

After the quiz, I'll give a lecture reviewing the concepts from Chapters 1-3/TRUTH OF THE MATTER.

Then we'll spend time reviewing your responses to the prompts (#1 on p. 17; #1 & #2 on p. 28). We'll go around the room and you can choose which prompt to share with the class.

Assignments for next class:

Prompt #1, p. 40 -- recreating scene
Prompt #2, p. 40 -- recreating dialogue
Please put copies of these brief prompts in your prompts binder.

Read Chapter 5/TRUTH OF THE MATTER. Read Philip Gerard's essay "What They Don't Tell You About Hurricanes," p. 151 in TRUTH OF THE MATTER.

ESSAY #1:   Prompt #1 on p. 52 asks you to draft a short essay centered on the theme "What They Don't Tell You About _________________."  Write an essay, 800 words or less, and make copies to share with the class in workshop. (20 copies should do it.) Use Gerard's essay as a model.

Tonight in Creative Nonfiction

Many of you have e-mailed me to say you have not yet gotten our textbook, TRUTH OF THE MATTER. Please be sure to get the book right away and complete the readings and prompts. We'll push the prompt deadline to next week, but only this once. The book is available in our bookstore, on Amazon and elsewhere.

Tonight, in place of our prompts-discussion, I'll give a lecture against navel gazing, one of the common complaints about contemporary nonfiction/memoir.

The lecture includes a discussion of fake memoirs, as well as an introduction to Amy Krouse Rosenthal, whose book, AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORDINARY LIFE, we'll be reading soon.

There will be a short quiz on the lecture next week, so please be present in class tonight and take notes.

Assignment #1

For Tuesday, Jan. 15:

Read Chapters 1-4 in Truth of the Matter

Complete Prompt #1, p. 17 and Prompts #1-2 on p. 28

Type prompts and place in a binder. Please remember to bring your prompts/binder to class for discussion on Tuesday.

Syllabus and Welcome

Introduction to Creative Nonfiction

Spring 2013

 (Course pre-requisites:  Composition II. Composition II must be completed prior to enrolling in this course unless you have submitted a writing sample and received special permission from the instructor.)

Professor Jakiela                             
208 Faculty Office Building
Office Extension:  #7481 (724-836-7481)
Office Hours: T/R 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. 5-7 p.m.; Wednesdays 5-7 p.m. and by appointment
E-Mail:  lljakiela@gmail.com, loj@pitt.edu         
Course Meets:  Tuesdays, 7  p.m.
137 McKenna Hall

Required Texts:

      Truth of the Matter by Dinty Moore ISBN 978-032127761                                                        An Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ISBN 978-1400080465 Working by Studs Terkel ISBN-10: 1565843428;ISBN-13: 978-1565843424                            Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris ISBN-10: 0316010790 ISBN-13: 978-031601079                                                                                                                         Adderall Diaries by Stephen Elliott ISBN 978-1555975388                                                      Stitches: A Memoir by David Small ISBN 978-0-393-33896
 
      Recommended Texts:

Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual

Elements of Style, Strunk & White

Online Resources:
The Creative Nonfiction, Brevity and Hippocampus (see blog roll) sites feature short essays that are similar to what you’ll try to do this semester. Brevity is edited by Dinty Moore, the author of our primary textbook.

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This course will introduce you to several kinds of creative nonfiction – memoir, personal essay, experimental prose forms, and narrative journalism. Through readings and writing prompts, you’ll work toward crafting your own creative nonfiction pieces and will discover your place in this contemporary literary landscape.

The course will be writing intensive and workshop based. Although it’s an introductory course, I expect you to have mastered the basics of grammar and craft via courses like Composition II. I expect that the work you submit to workshop will be coherent and polished, not rough first drafts. Your professionalism and seriousness as writers will be essential to your success in this course.
 
Attendance
Come to class.  Come to class on time.  Extremely late arrivals will be counted as an absence and will adversely affect your grade in this course. If you miss class on the day of a quiz, you won’t be able to make up the quiz without a doctor’s excuse. You may have two unexcused absences without hurting your grade. An unexcused absence is an absence without a doctor’s excuse. After two unexcused absences, you’ll need a doctor’s excuse or your grade will be lowered one full letter grade for each additional absence. In short, there is no way to pass this course if you don’t attend. Be here now. (See below for more on this.)

Deadlines
Discipline is a hallmark of any good writer. So is the ability to work independently. That said, turn in your work on time.  I won’t accept late work. Late work cannot become part of a workshop rotation.  If you miss a deadline, you will receive a 0/F for the assignment. I will accept electronic copies of your work only when I request it.  I will expect you to bring hard copies and e-copies of your work to class for workshop, as scheduled.  If you come to workshop without your work in hand, it counts as a missed deadline.

E-mail
E-mail communication is important. If I e-mail you, please send back a quick response to let me know you’ve received the e-mail. If you e-mail me, I’ll do the same.

Please keep in mind that I will check e-mail during normal business hours. I may not check e-mail late at night or on the weekends or right before class.

 Please be responsible and respectful in your use of e-mail to me and to each other.
Do not mistake e-mail communication as a substitute for either class participation or attendance. If you have a question, please ask it in class. You’re probably not the only person who has that question, so think of asking questions in class as public service.
Also, if you e-mail me, please be sure to sign your name to your e-mail so that I know it’s you who sent it.

 

Cell Phones and Other Tech Things

They’re wonderful. Turn them off in class. Don’t check Facebook in class. Don’t play Words with Friends. As for texting, nothing says “I’m not curious and couldn’t care less about what’s going on around me” like someone who spends his/her time focused on a pair of thumbs. All of our technology is wonderful and fun and useful, but it’s also a distraction from the world. Training to be a writer demands that you be engaged in the world. As the poet Antonio Machado advised:  “Pay attention.” Let’s practice the concept of “Be here now.”

 Technically Speaking

All hard-copy assignments must be typed, 1.5 spaced, single-sided with standard margins.  E-mailed assignments should be Word attachments. Also please copy and paste the assignment into the body of the e-mail. Assignments should be your original compositions.  If you plagiarize, you will fail this course.  I expect you to be serious and professional. Grammar and spelling count.  I will return unread work that has excessive technical errors. You may be familiar with AP Style from either an introductory journalism course or from work you’ve done on student newspapers or websites.  If so, please use AP Style. If not, and if you’re interested in learning AP Style to help prepare for an internship or a career in journalism or public relations, you can purchase a Stylebook in the bookstore.  

On Workshop
This course is workshop-oriented, which means we’ll often be reading and responding to each others’ work. You need to talk. A lot.

All workshop comments should be thoughtful, specific and informed. The comments should focus on the work and be geared toward helping the writer revise his/her piece. Comments about the author are not acceptable.

For some assignments, I’ll ask that you e-mail your work to me ahead of time. I’ll compile a workshop packet. Other times, I’ll ask that you bring in both hard- and e-copies of your work to share. (We’ll get a final headcount for copies after the first week of class.) Your workshop copies may be single-spaced, double-sided to save trees and money. Please provide one 1.5-spaced copy for me, however. Please come to class with your work ready to distribute (collated, stapled as needed).

Class Preparation/Participation

Complete all assigned readings and written work, and come to class ready to show off.  I will also expect you to be well-informed about current events and the world around you.  Your active participation, as well as your critical reading and thinking, will be important in two ways.  First, your grade will greatly depend on your thoughtful contributions to class discussions.  Second, your participation will make the semester much more enjoyable for us all. 

Writing Prompts-Binders
Throughout the first part of the term, you’ll be asked to do a series of Writing Prompts from Truth of the Matter. Please complete each prompt as assigned – typed, 1.5 spaced -- then arrange the prompts in order in a three-ring binder. I’ll collect the binder twice – once at mid-terms and once during finals. I may also collect your binder whenever you are due for workshop. Throughout the term, you’ll be asked to read your prompts and discuss your process in class, so be sure to bring your binder with you for each class meeting.

Grading
Your written work in this course will include the following:

·                     Approximately five pieces. Although lengths will vary, most pieces will be between 700 and 1000 words. Your assignments will be loosely based on our readings and/or writing prompts from our text.

·                     Multiple Prompts and in-class writings (keep these in your binder and turn in at mid-term and during finals)

      ·                     At least one final revision   (Double the length of  -- and deeper than -- your original piece)
      ·                     Exams on readings and concepts
      ·                     Class participation

The exams will be a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, and will be based on both readings and lectures. You cannot make up a quiz without a medical excuse.

Students with Disabilities
Please see Lou Ann Sears in the Learning Resources Center (first floor, faculty office building; 724-836-7098) for registration. 

Assignments

You’ll receive your assignments weekly.  I’ll also post your assignments here on our class blog. I’ll also post bits of creative nonfiction news, extras about the authors and books we'll be reading, fun trivia, and links to publishing opportunities and writing samples on the blog. I hope that you’ll use the blog’s comment site to add your own content and to share your ideas and insights with our class. Please follow the blog and check in regularly.