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Power and Identity in the Creative Writing Classroom

Power and Identity in the Creative Writing Classroom

Dr. Anna Leahy

(2005)

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Book Details

Abstract

Power and Identity In the Creative Writing Classroom remaps theories and practices for teaching creative writing at university and college level. This collection critiques well-established approaches for teaching creative writing in all genres and builds a comprehensive and adaptable pedagogy based on issues of authority, power, and identity. A long-needed reflection, this book shapes creative writing pedagogy for the 21st century.


Anna Leahy is Associate Professor of English, Associate Director of the MFA in Creative Writing, and Director of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity at Chapman University, USA. She has published widely on creative writing pedagogy, as well as creative non-fiction and poetry. She is the editor of TAB: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics.


Power and Identity in the Creative Writing Classroom, edited by Anna Leahy, serves as a fine example of this expanding, improving conversation on the teaching of creative writing. This book is generative, ranging and substantial. It is a book I wish I had read before I taught my first creative writing workshop. This is an impressive collection. Among other issues, The Authority Project addresses power dynamics in the classroom, assumptions about the roles of students and teachers in creative writing, gendering in creative writing, and how best to teach students in this complicated classroom space. To its credit, the collection provides no prescriptions. Authority, as all teachers know, is a central dynamic in the classroom, and this collection should be of use to creative writing teachers and others who want to learn more about it.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Contents v
Acknowledgements vii
Foreword ix
Part 1 Understanding the Larger Influences 1
Chapter 1 Personal Therapeutic Writinf vs. Literary Writing 3
Chapter 2 Who Cares - and How: The Value and Cost of Nurturing 13
Chapter 3 Inspiration, Creativity, and Crisis: The Romantic Myth of the Writer Meets the Contemporary Classroom 26
Chapter 4 Reinventing Writing Classrooms: The Combimation of Creating and Composing 39
Chapter 5 The Double Bind and Stumbling Blocks: A Case Study as an Argument for Authority-conscious Pedagogy 49
Part 2 The Teacher's Place, Voice, and Style 63
Chapter 6 Teaching and Evaluation: Why Bother? 65
Chapter 7Who's the Teacher?: From Student to Mentor 77
Chapter 8 The Pregnant Muse: Assumptions, Authority, and Accessibility 87
Chapter 9 Dismantling Authority: Teaching What We Do Not Know 98
Part 3 Course Design 107
Chapter 10 Contracts, Radical Revision, Portfolios, and the Risks of Writing 109
Chapter 11 'A' for Effort: How Grading Policies Shape Courses 121
Chapter 12 Gender and Authorship: How Assumptions Shape Perceptions and Pedagogies 130
Chapter 13 Writing in the Community: Service Learning in Creative Writing 141
Part 4 In the Classroom 153
Chapter 14 Where Do You Want Me To Sit?: Defining Authorty through Metaphor 155
Chapter 15 Duck, Duck, Turkey: Using Encouragement to Structure Workshop Assignments 167
Chapter 16 How to Avoid Workshop Dilemmas: The Use of Myth to Teach Writerly Concepts 180
Chapter 17 Writing in the Shadows: Topics, Models, and Audiences that Focus on Language 192
Afterword 203
The Reason It Is; the Rhyme It Isn't 205
About the Authors 215