About

How much does place play a role in what we write and how we write? This creative writing class will not only touch on some of the key concepts of creative writing, but will also take a look at the creative process more closely. We’ll discuss the work of some seminal New York writers to see how they’ve used place as inspiration. We’ll read fiction, poetry and non-fiction from Langston Hughes, Joan Didion, Patti Smith and more. Taking New York City as a base, we’ll explore the city and work on our observational skills. We’ll talk about whether we can use the things we see every day as inspiration through in-class writing prompts and get to create a writing community of our own by sharing our work with our peers. “The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world,” writes F. Scott Fitzgerald about New York City in The Great Gatbsy. Let this class be a place where we too get to see the city with new eyes again, almost like the first time, as we try to write about it. Students will learn to read like a writer through the practice of in-class readings and discussions. Students will develop a keener editorial eye for their own work that will help them better draft their writing. Students will practice the art of editing through giving feedback to their peers work. Students will be able to look at the world like a writer, observing the minute details of their surroundings, through the class field trips we will take. Students will be able to practice forming a creative community by sharing their work with their peers.