CRWR 2013 - The Writer's Voice: Intersections in Writing

This course investigates the idea of the writer's voice (or voices) through reading and writing. 'Voice' is a mysterious concept. Students will explore the usefulness of 'voice' (or voices) as a concept in other writers' work, and student-writers will ask whether they are consciously trying to develop what they might call 'voice', to consider whether it is useful to try to define or pinpoint their own 'voice', or if they should leave that to critics. In so doing, students will be encouraged to identify what attracts them to particular authors and pieces of writing. This course will challenge them to (where applicable) rethink their work after being exposed to a range of writing and to frame it as it relates to competing traditions. The texts we will read together will be selected for the multiplicity of voices they reveal, and will include novels, poetry, memoir and short fiction. Assessment will consist of: two pieces of creative writing (which can include creative non-fiction); an exegetical essay (investigating the research components of their work) and seminar participation.