Sidelines: The World of the Cross-Genre Writer

Semester and Year	FA 2012
Course Number	WRTNG-UG1534
Section	001
Instructor	Lizzie Skurnick
Days	Thu
Time	6:20 PM - 9:00 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement

Description

There’s the work writers actually do over their careers, and then the work for which they’re remembered. What’s the difference between a cookbook author and a Pulitzer-Prize nominated novelist? A video-game reviewer and a literary icon? An anthropologist and a cultural satirist? Less than you’d think, if you examine the work of writers whose brilliance spans these genres and more over the course of their careers. In Sidelines, we’ll look at Patricia Highsmith’s first novel, The Price of Sal t, a lesbian coming-of-age work; Martin Amis’s video game reviews; Ernest J. Gaines’ children’s novel, A Long Day in November ; Nora Ephron’s searing GQ cultural criticism; Shirley Jackson’s comedic essays on parenting, and other forgotten works in order to gain valuable understanding about the writing life and the use of mastering many media. Students will also take a crack at writing in the standard and nonstandard forms of the writers of our age, such as blogging, Tumblring, and tweeting, and then write their own cross-genre works, anything from straightforward fiction to narrative recipes for nutmeg cake.

Course Type

Advanced Writing Courses (WRTNG-UG)