English 296: Writing Short Stories
Douglas Bauer
M 7:30-9:30 p.m.

This course meets weekly to discuss stories written by the class participants. As well, published stories of writers ranging from Chekhov to Sherwood Anderson to Cheever to Alice Munro will be regularly discussed. There is a strong emphasis on close reading, with an eye to how and why fictional narratives succeed in persuading readers that the world they describe is the world. Class members are expected to contribute two works of their own fiction through the semester and also, every week, to offer brief readings both of their works in progress and from the writers' notebooks they'll be keeping through the term. A sample of the applicant's fiction writing, approximately 5 to 8 pages, is required for admission, which is by permission of the instructor.