CRWR 3008 - Advanced Creative Practice: Form, Theory, Process

This course will allow students to explore current theorizations of creative practice across forms, engage with other writers’ reflections on their own practice, and produce a creative project of original work in their chosen form, as well as a theoretically informed critical essay. Guided by a series of readings, we will consider the ethical imperatives of contemporary creative practice, our responsibility to ourselves and society as creative practitioners, and what it means to develop one’s practice over the course of a writing life. We will explore questions that may include: the establishment, maintenance, and curation of the personal creative archive (notes, drafts, revisions, etc.); processes of publishing in the contemporary market (whether mainstream or alternative approaches); and how to lay the groundwork for a creative practice that is sustainable over a lifetime. We will think about how to negotiate a range of creative problems, which may include: overcoming writer’s block; working through disagreements with collaborators, agents, editors, or other interested parties; establishing a community of trusted readers; and identifying when a project needs to be radically reimagined or put aside until a later date. Students will be required to produce a coherent project of creative work in preparation for further study, alongside a critical essay that demonstrates capacity to engage in original critical argument informed by a body of theory relevant to their chosen form. This course is intended as preparation for future work at Honours level and beyond. Course readings and focus will be determined by the convenor and are likely to change from year to year.