This course examines a range of creative nonfiction forms, including biography, memoir, personal essay, and letter writing, with a focus on storytelling. Students will analyse texts from various cultural perspectives, exploring how different authors imbue their narratives with authenticity and emotional depth.
Students will investigate the relationship between factual truth and the creative retelling of stories, while also considering how personal and cultural identities influence nonfiction writing. In addition, students will evaluate how the chosen form of a creative nonfiction narrative can affect its meaning and impact. Through close readings of selected works, students will critically engage with thematic elements, addressing topics such as identity, memory, and the intricacies of lived experience. Classes will include creative writing exercises, discussions, and peer-review workshops. Through these activities, students will develop their narrative skills and produce original works reflective of their unique perspectives and experiences.
Introduction to creative nonfiction forms: examining the forms of biography, memoir, personal essay, and letter writing, particularly how their unique characteristics affect how a story is written and perceived.
Intersection of fact and fiction: analyzing the relationship between factual truth and creative retelling of real-life experiences.
Narrative structure and storytelling techniques: understanding creative nonfiction narrative elements such as plot, structure, scene, reflection, etc.
Memory and reflection: exploring how the writer’s memory and reflection can serve as tools in articulating personal stories.
Ethics in creative nonfiction: navigating the ethical responsibilities of writers in translating real-life into prose.
Writing workshop: engaging in creative writing workshops aimed at developing and refining students' own nonfiction narratives through peer feedback.
Publishing and sharing work: examining avenues for publishing creative nonfiction, including how to prepare work for submission and sharing.
1. Engage with forms of creative nonfiction, such as memoirs, personal essays, biographies, and letters, and analyze how each form’s unique characteristics shape overall narratives.
2. Develop an understanding of the personal, cultural, and social contexts behind creative nonfiction stories along with their impact on the stories themselves.
3. Craft original creative nonfiction stories using storytelling techniques such as scene, reflection, and dialogue, while remaining true to the writer’s own perspectives and experiences.
4. Participate in peer-review workshops and demonstrate the abilities to provide, receive, and implement critiques that improve the quality of one’s creative nonfiction stories.
The course consists of weekly two-hour lectures that integrate class discussions of readings and generative creative writing activities.
Class participation, discussion, in-class writing exercises (20%)
Two creative writing assignments (60%)
Reflection paper (20%)
All readings will be provided on Moodle. Some examples of readings that will be examined:
Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. Random House, 1965
Leung, Carrianne. “The Reach.” Tongues: On Longing and Belonging through Language, Book*hug Press, 2021.
Slater, Lauren. “Three Spheres.” Creative Nonfiction, 1996.
Wong, Lindsay. The Woo-Woo. Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018.
Zhang, Jenny. “25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going: #24: Your Best American Girl by Mitski.” The New York Times, 2017.