Comments on: Week One Response: NASA-Worthy Communication: Versatility and Humanism in English 101 http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/2012/08/26/week-one-response-nasa-worthy-communication-versatility-and-humanism-in-english-101/ ENGL 605, WVU, Fall 2012 Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:44:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: cseymour http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/2012/08/26/week-one-response-nasa-worthy-communication-versatility-and-humanism-in-english-101/#comment-15 cseymour Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:29:19 +0000 http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/?p=210#comment-15 Hi Eric. Thanks for asking me to think about my creative writing teaching! I think the answer is almost a no. Creative writers need the space and time alone to examine how they respond to the world in unique ways. If they are considering what the "opposition" or critics will say, they won't be able to boil down their ideas and images to something both strange and beautiful. Of course, creative writers should consider that an audience will read their work, but their audience may not be one they see everyday--it's an ideal audience, one who gets them, not one who dissents. I suppose the solution to your second question is workshop. In workshops, creative writers are encouraged to share what they like and don't like about pieces but to never disregard a poem because it doesn't fit with our specific aesthetic. We need to ask ourselves, what is the poem trying to accomplish, and how can we help it become more receptive to us if we aren't getting it? I think those who participate in workshops who aren't taught that everyone needs space for their own aesthetic to flourish are criticized as generating the "workshop poem" or the "MFA poem" that are SO clearly stated and accessible to so many people that it becomes boring. Creative writers just have to be smart about what comments to listen to and which ones to toss. Mostly here, I'm talking about poetry. Fiction may be a different story--since there's a market for fiction, they are more often forced into guidelines that will sell their work. Poets, I believe, are given more artistic license when it comes to publishing. As for the professional landscape where poetry is shared--readings--it might be great practice for students to read their works and to have other students question choices with the purpose to defend and define their aesthetic style. In that sense, the answer to your first question is yes: creative writers take risks and make choices that they must back up, but considering the opposition in the drafting stages would be working from the top-down, not a great approach to elicit discovery and mystery. Hi Eric. Thanks for asking me to think about my creative writing teaching! I think the answer is almost a no. Creative writers need the space and time alone to examine how they respond to the world in unique ways. If they are considering what the “opposition” or critics will say, they won’t be able to boil down their ideas and images to something both strange and beautiful. Of course, creative writers should consider that an audience will read their work, but their audience may not be one they see everyday–it’s an ideal audience, one who gets them, not one who dissents.

I suppose the solution to your second question is workshop. In workshops, creative writers are encouraged to share what they like and don’t like about pieces but to never disregard a poem because it doesn’t fit with our specific aesthetic. We need to ask ourselves, what is the poem trying to accomplish, and how can we help it become more receptive to us if we aren’t getting it? I think those who participate in workshops who aren’t taught that everyone needs space for their own aesthetic to flourish are criticized as generating the “workshop poem” or the “MFA poem” that are SO clearly stated and accessible to so many people that it becomes boring. Creative writers just have to be smart about what comments to listen to and which ones to toss.

Mostly here, I’m talking about poetry. Fiction may be a different story–since there’s a market for fiction, they are more often forced into guidelines that will sell their work. Poets, I believe, are given more artistic license when it comes to publishing.

As for the professional landscape where poetry is shared–readings–it might be great practice for students to read their works and to have other students question choices with the purpose to defend and define their aesthetic style. In that sense, the answer to your first question is yes: creative writers take risks and make choices that they must back up, but considering the opposition in the drafting stages would be working from the top-down, not a great approach to elicit discovery and mystery.

]]> By: ewardell http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/2012/08/26/week-one-response-nasa-worthy-communication-versatility-and-humanism-in-english-101/#comment-4 ewardell Mon, 27 Aug 2012 01:31:58 +0000 http://courses.johnmjones.org/ENGL605/?p=210#comment-4 Christina, I had some of the same reaction after reading some of the articles: although their debate was focused on what to teach in technical writing, a lot of it could be applied to more introductory courses, or maybe even the English department in general. The exercise you've created for your students I think has a lot of value since it seems to not only give the students the perspective that there are stakeholders involved in their communication (and stakeholders are real living, breathing, people) as it also emphasizes an ethic of empathy centered around human interaction that reduces/removes the technological medium and barrier we often use to safeguard our sometimes irresponsible or disrespectful actions. My questions for you then, considering you've thought of ways to apply and teach professionalism and ethics in classes outside of just technical writing are these: should creative writing classes employ the same strategies you've employed in your ENGL 101 classroom? And do you think professional creative writers should give the same consideration to audience that technical writers do, or would that be selling out to the masses? Looking forward to your response. Christina, I had some of the same reaction after reading some of the articles: although their debate was focused on what to teach in technical writing, a lot of it could be applied to more introductory courses, or maybe even the English department in general.

The exercise you’ve created for your students I think has a lot of value since it seems to not only give the students the perspective that there are stakeholders involved in their communication (and stakeholders are real living, breathing, people) as it also emphasizes an ethic of empathy centered around human interaction that reduces/removes the technological medium and barrier we often use to safeguard our sometimes irresponsible or disrespectful actions.

My questions for you then, considering you’ve thought of ways to apply and teach professionalism and ethics in classes outside of just technical writing are these: should creative writing classes employ the same strategies you’ve employed in your ENGL 101 classroom? And do you think professional creative writers should give the same consideration to audience that technical writers do, or would that be selling out to the masses? Looking forward to your response.

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