TR 1:45pm-3:14pm
“if robert lowell is a poet i dont want to be a poet if robert frost was a poet i dont want to be a poet if socrates was a poet i’ll consider it.”—David Antin What is the difference between talking and writing? How can looking at literature as a form of talking help us sharpen our own creativity? In this creative writing workshop, we will trace the history, theories, and practices of talking and/as writing—from oral improvisatory traditions to the everyday language of talking as literature—and we will take up David Antin’s question, “If someone came up and started talking / a poem at you, how would you know it / was a poem?” We’ll study the relationship between talking and writing—through authors such as Antin, Linda Rosenkrantz, Stephen Dunn, Joshua Bennett, Sheila Heti, Alice Notley, David Foster Wallace, and Caren Beilin—looking at works that utilize improvisation, recording, interview, performance, or transcription techniques. Writing prompts will invite students to use talk techniques as tools for developing characterization, structure, and dialogue in their fiction, and documentary and voice-driven practices in their poetry. We’ll ask: how can we bring talk into our writing, and what can a close study of speech-driven literature reveal to us as writers, readers, and workshoppers?
To learn more about this course, visit the Creative Writing Program at https://creative.writing.upenn.edu.