Dear Readers,
One of our grad students is writing a paper about the intersection of creative writing and academic writing. We have been scouring the internet, and my bookshelves, and are having a really tough time finding sources.
Her thesis is still malleable, so this might go in a variety of directions. Are there any books or essays that come to mind? It's such a search-word-unfriendly topic, but it fascinates me.
Sincerely,
Mary B.
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16 comments:
Hi Mary --
This intersection fascinates me because I teach a variety of English classes -- I have to two books that may be helpful. First, The Elephants Teach: Creative Writing Since 1880 which offers a lot of history of creative writing and composition in the "academy" and Colors of a Different Horse edited by Wendy Bishop and Hans Ostrom. (Lots of good essays here!)
Tell your grad student good luck!
Oops! Perhaps I should take a class in spelling. I mean two books...not "to two." (Sigh -- it's a Tuesday, but feels like a Monday)
Thanks so much, Karen!
I'm feeling Mondayish today, too.
If you haven't already, check the Teachers & Writers Collaborative. They've got a pretty good resources page.
Don't know if this is relevant but it might be worth checking out and/or posting at this Facebook group [UK-oriented, I think], Creative Writing: Teaching Theory and Practice: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25256672014
Would AS Byatt's Possession fall into a useful category for your student?
You guys are awesome. Thank you!
Juliana Spahr's "spiderwasp or literary criticism" is great.
And my book has a section in it that pairs a critical essay on Vertigo with a lyric meditation--a big chunk of it first appeared in Copper Nickel. :)
I sent you an e-mail with a really long link because I am an html retard.
I, too, find this fascinating, as I feel I have many writer selves, which aren't always integrated or intersecting well.
When I first read your post, the person who came to mind is Sandra Gilbert, an excellent poet and scholarly critic. I seem to recall a preface to a later edition of "The Madwoman in the Attic," where she briefly talks about being both a poet and an academic, a woman in two worlds, neither of which was welcoming to women.
In her book of essays "Married to the Icepick Killer," Carol Muske-Dukes explores the intersections of poetry and film and poetry and the military--not exactly what your student has in mind, but an interesting viewpoint of straddling two worlds that don't always go together.
I really enjoyed Carson's Eros the Bittersweet. I don't know if that fits for a thesis, but it's still fascinating as an example of a hybrid text. Maybe Plainwater would be an even better example. Or maybe the two together as examples of texts approaching the line from either side. ?
Here's an excellent book for your student: Genre by Example: Writing What We Teach, by David Starkey.
T H A N K Y O U ! ! !
Now the MLA has to come up with a way to document advice from all the brilliant scholars of the blogosphere...
This isn't an area I dip into frequently, however what come to mind are the prose writings of several of the "Black Mountain" poets of the mid-20th century. For instance:
Robert Duncan, "Fictive Certainties" (book of essays)
Charles Olson, "Mayan Letters" (included in the "Selected Writings" published by New Directions many years ago)
Denise Levertov, "New and Selected Essays" (most recent selection of her essays, published sometime in the 1990's)
Robert Creeley -- not sure what prose of his might be available, but he also comes to mind
All of the above, not necessarily as sources about the intersection of of creative and academic writing, but as *examples* of a fusion or mingling of the two.
Out of curiosity, how malleable is your grad student's interpretation OF that intersection? Is she looking for work that is "lyrical" in its discussions of pedagogy?
I'm betting there's a Barbara Kingsolver essay or two that might discuss the topic. Encourage your student to peruse "High Tide in Tucson" or "Small Wonder."
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