I just found out last night that I will be teaching my first writing workshop this summer. I traded in my plans to teach the same comp class I'm teaching now the first 6 weeks of summer for 12 weeks of workshop. But now I have to pick books and rustle up a syllabus of sorts really fast, and that sort of freaks me out.
Also, I'm going to be teaching at night. A whole different crowd comes out at night, often older and more serious than the day crowd, I think. I haven't been teaching at night because of my genetic propensity to get up at 5 AM. and my cat's tendency to speed that along by waking me at 4:30 AM... no matter the day of the week.
It is appropriate that since I rediscovered my poems (and by the way, I found the lost ones while I was on break last week, buried in the drawer) I get to help others learn more about their own inner writer. However, I have no illusions, having just helped to judge a writing contest at the college with Lou. Right Lou?
There is a lot of very bad writing going on, but I remember I contributed to that when I was an undergrad also--perhaps not as bad as some of what I saw though.
I think the major problem is that many of those people had never really read a modern poem before. I don't know why they would want to write one when they really don't know what one is.My goal is to spoil the purity of those people's ignorance and introduce them to some poems written in the past century or so. Now I've got to hustle up a syllabus and choose a book right quick, as my mother in law would say. Any suggestions?
4 comments:
I suggest a small anthology of contemporary poems and a small anthology of contemporary short stories. Then, have a really good time. Assign, sure, but tell yourself that this time around, you will encourage, laugh, coach, suggest, and bring in lots of things that will excite your students. That night crowd is rich with experience and hope and commitment. You will find your place easily among them. I am excited for you!!
Thanks Lou. Without Xerox, it will have to be one of those collections from the bookstore.
I think I will assign Speak, Memory because it is such a beautiful book and think of assignments I can base on it. I have always wanted to teach it anyhow.
But I will generally take your advice and have a good time. The textbook is mostly to help me this time through, especially with the fiction. I have never written fiction before, not seriously, though I've made a few tries.
Your duplicating account really is up? What if you loaded a thumb drive with text to show in class? Or, you could use Blackboard and instruct students to download their own copies of poems and stories. Whatever, they need to read models of the forms they are trying to write. When I've taught WR 10, I've wanted to assign a gardening guide, a guide to the night sky, and a field trip to a cemetery and an open market. :)
I will certainly use Blackboard and a thumb drive, and that will help, but to tell you the truth, the idea of rounding up all the poems and short fiction worth reading is rather daunting. I could borrow some from you though... . Lisa has said she has a very nice new textbook I might want to look at. I'll check that out too.
I love the field trip ideas. One time at UCI, we went to the Crystal Cathedral from workshop when no services were happening and checked out the pink marble.
As an undergraduate, we went to a stable where enormous Cleydsdale horses were being kept (sp?). Field trips are a good idea, but I think they are rather complicated and perhaps more so because the class is at night (unless you're checking out constellations or the night sky). I'm not an astronomer, though I can bring in one to discuss what's up there and then have people respond to/describe what they see.
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