Creative Writing Courses
Creative Writing involves the study and production of literary and non-literary texts through focused experimentation with languages. Creative Writing courses at Capilano University give students the opportunity to develop their own fiction or poetry in a workshop led by an instructor who is also a practising writer. Two first-year courses are offered, English 190 (Creative Writing I) and English 191 (Creative Writing II).
The second-year Creative Writing courses are English 290 (Poetry) and English 291 (Fiction), and English 292 (Children's Literature). Students in these courses gain knowledge of the state of current poetry or fiction as well as developing their own work in the genre and trying out various techniques. To enrol, students need credit for English 190 and 191 or the instructor's permission.
Students who want to explore Creative Writing further may consider pursuing the Creative Writing Associate of Arts Degree.
Creative Writing Courses for SPRING 2012
English 190-01 – Creative Writing I – Kim Minkus
In this course we will experiment with writing forms in order to push and extend our relationship with language. There will be in-class writing experiments, impromptu story generating, readings, performances and discussions. We will look at a variety of genres, with a focus on the experimental, including young adult fiction, fiction, poetry and criticism. A variety of workshop methods will also be employed so that we can as a group, engage effectively with each other’s writing. Reading is a must for this course. The best writers are the best readers. Be prepared to do both. We will be reading materials from current issues of literary journals that are produced in the Vancouver area so that as writers, we can become active members of local literary communities.
Required Texts:
• Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. New York: Harper-Trophy, 2002. Print.
• Course-pack of materials available at the bookstore.
English 190-02 – Creative Writing I – Roger Farr
This mixed-mode section of ENGL 190 meets on alternating Monday afternoons: in-person one week, on-line the next. This is an intensive course designed to assist students in developing their writing, and their thinking about writing, through guided experimentation with language. We will work in a variety of modes and genres, including short stories, very very short stories (“micro-fiction”), poems, serial poems, and writing for performance. As for reading, we will consider each other’s work, as well as work appearing in current literary journals and magazines, to see what other writers are up to. By the end of the course, you will have a decent portfolio of original writing of which you will feel proud, and which may or may not impress your friends and family.
Required Texts:
• Cabri, Louis. Poetryworld. North Vancouver, BC: CUE, 2010.
• Stern, Jerome, ed. Micro Fiction. New York, NY: Norton, 1996.
• Other readings available on-line.
English 190-71 – Creative Writing I – Roger Farr
This mixed-mode section of ENGL 190 meets on alternating Thursday afternoons: in-person one week, on-line the next. This is an intensive course designed to assist students in developing their writing, and their thinking about writing, through guided experimentation with language. We will work in a variety of modes and genres, including short stories, very very short stories (“micro-fiction”), poems, serial poems, and writing for performance. As for reading, we will consider each other’s work, as well as work appearing in current literary journals and magazines, to see what other writers are up to. By the end of the course, you will have a decent portfolio of original writing of which you will feel proud, and which may or may not impress your friends and family.
Required Texts:
• Cabri, Louis. Poetryworld. North Vancouver, BC: CUE, 2010.
• Stern, Jerome, ed. Micro Fiction. New York, NY: Norton, 1996.
• Other readings available on-line.
English 191-01 – Creative Writing II – Reg Johanson
This course focuses on poetry and fiction. We read as much as we write. The objective is to learn from other writers and from each other. The course imagines writing as a fine art, similar to music, sculpture, or dance. One of the things this implies is that practice and learning is required to write well.
Required Texts:
• TBA
English 191-02 – Creative Writing II – Anne Stone
In this open and supportive environment, you will be encouraged to experiment with new techniques and take risks with form and content in a variety of genres (yours to determine). We’ll mine texts and films, examining unconventional works with a writer’s eye.
Required Text:
• TBA
English 290-01 – Creative Writing: Letter & Line – Crystal Hurdle
This is an intensive workshop in the writing of poetry, concentrating on an understanding of form, an awareness of voice, and an individual poetics. Students will have the opportunity to try a variety of forms: the short lyric, the serial poem, narrative verse, prose poetry, and whatever else warms the cockles of our collective heart.
Required Texts:
• Bishop, Wendy. Thirteen ways of Looking for a Poem: a Guide to Writing Poetry. Don Mills, Ontario: Longman, 2000.
• Print Pack with additional readings.
English 293-01 – Creative Non Fiction – Ryan Knighton
In this course we will discuss and workshop strategies in service of three popular creative non-fiction genres: memoir, travelogue and immersion journalism. Models will be drawn from sources including The Moth podcasts, popular feature articles in Outside and Afar, and two books similar in name, but oh so dissimilar in substance: Susan Orlean’s My Kind of Place and Michael Pollan’s A Place of My Own. Industry practices will be discussed, such as pitch and proposal writing, as well as other nuts and bolts we may trip over.
Required Text:
• TBA
English 296-1A – Writing for the Stage – Dawn Moore and Desmond Price
ENGL 296 is a course designed for students who are interested in adding experience in the writing and production of plays to their current field of study. Students will develop familiarity with effective playwrighting skills, working through initial drafts with an established playwright and a director. They will develop and draft their works multiple times, ultimately seeing these works fully mounted at the end of the course, and performed before a public audience.
Required Text:
• TBA
English 296-1B – Writing for the Stage – Hiro Kanagawa
ENGL 296 is a course designed for students who are interested in adding experience in the writing and production of plays to their current field of study. Students will develop familiarity with effective playwrighting skills, working through initial drafts with an established playwright and a director. They will develop and draft their works multiple times, ultimately seeing these works fully mounted at the end of the course, and performed before a public audience.
Required Text:
• TBA