My experiences in academic and community workshops have taught me that the best creative writing classes use literature as a trigger for writing. As such, in my classes, I use a number of short stories, essays, and poetry to serve as models of good (and bad) writing and as launching pads for student writing. I pull from a diverse range of texts: everything from Julian of Norwich to Martin Espada to Li Po. The point is to expose all students to new writing and to make them a part of the conversation of literature. To support these goals, I prefer to have an online discussion board for students to post questions to readings and respond to one another before class. This ensures that students critically read texts before they arrive, spurring deeper conversations in the classroom.
To explore form, I draw on my experiences in translation. Some of the readings I include are competing translations ranging from Dante to Pablo Neruda to Rumi. These ensure that students get much needed exposure to international writing and that they see how small shifts in language and form change meaning and effect. Moreover, these texts will inevitably bring up questions of power, interpretation, and representation in translation and make students more aware of biases they have when they interpret—and write—texts. In one translation-inspired writing prompt, I ask students to bring in an unpolished piece to translate into three different forms. This can be as simple as translating a poem written in couplets into a poem written in tercets or as drastic as translating a short story into a Wikipedia article or a hip-hop song. Students learn how to approach subject matter from different angles and realize that even minor changes in form can change meaning and effect.
To maintain a respectful workshop environment, I assign “(Wo)manifesto – Talking to a Victim/Survivor, Dismantling Rape Culture, Apology Etiquette and More!” by Megan Falley, a poet and survivor of relationship abuse. As the best workshops often push writers to take risks and be vulnerable, I find that leading with a text that discusses abuse and oppression early-on prevents awkward and triggering interactions later and prompts discussions that make students more sensitive to one another’s experiences. I ask students to apply what they learn in these discussions to their writing. In one assignment, I ask students to change the gender or the race of a character in a short story, prompting students to ask questions like “how would this impact the story, if at all?” or “How do I represent this character without resorting to stereotype?”
Lastly, I require at least two one-on-one conferences with me throughout the semester. I’m trained as a writing center consultant and have whetted my skills with one-on-one poetry consultations with fledgling poets in the Westminster Slam Poetry Club. I have an easier time breaking through people’s shields and having supportive conversations one-on-one. These conferences help me know a writer’s goals, processes, and personality, and I then tailor my feedback.