One of my favorite teachers and mentors passed away this month. Sam Moon of Knox College was 89. I knew him, when I first came to Knox, as the founder (with Robin Metz) of the creative writing program. He let me in my first poetry workshop (though I didn’t have the prerequisite) and taught meContinue reading “In Memoriam: Sam Moon”
Category Archives: Education
Teaching Creative Writing to Undergraduates
It was nice recently to receive a contributor’s copy of a book that I’m in (briefly). I contributed a 3-page response to questions about Chapter 4, “Facilitating the Writer’s Workshop: Helping Students Become Good Critics (Of Themselves and Others).” I’ll leave it to others to weigh the value of my remarks, but I was intriguedContinue reading “Teaching Creative Writing to Undergraduates”
Dueling Advice on Writing
This is the first semester in a long time that I’ve taught two writing classes at the same time. I have an introductory multi-genre Creative Writing class and an upper-level Poetry Writing Workshop on the same day. It might get a little schizophrenic. Today I was teaching Image to the Creative Writing class, but willContinue reading “Dueling Advice on Writing”
Treasure your Word Hoard
Classes are over, exams are graded, and I finally have time to get back to the blog, which means I have time to write and think about something other than papers and exams! This morning on the walk, as I was processing last semester’s writing class and thinking about what I’d like to be ableContinue reading “Treasure your Word Hoard”
Write about place
I have often given my creative writing students the journal assignment to write about a place they remember from when they were 8-13 years old. This seems to work well, since we all have someplace we used to go that holds a lot of memories. The combination of memory and description can be evocative, chargingContinue reading “Write about place”
A few thoughts on eBooks
A student in one of my classes has started bringing a funny little book to class — her Kindle. She loves it, and I can see the allure (especially given the weight of most students’ backpacks), but we’ve come across a problem. Her Kindle editions don’t include the original page numbers! So how can sheContinue reading “A few thoughts on eBooks”
The Real Point
I’ve been thinking about my last post, and though I’m happy with what I wrote, I do feel I fell into the trap that most educators get caught in when talking about the value of what they do. We tend to think of the future. We educate students so they can go out into theContinue reading “The Real Point”
What’s the point?
At the beginning of the semester, I sometimes stop to wonder what is the point to this education thing, especially for undergraduate creative writers. Often at AWP conferences, panels bemoan the number of writing programs out there (usually MFA programs but it applies to undergrad as well) and lament the prospects for their students. SomeContinue reading “What’s the point?”
Where do we go from here? One faculty member’s perspective
[The following is a column originally printed in the Commercial Dispatch, Columbus, Mississippi, on Sunday, February 7.] I ended a recent letter stating MUW needs to look to the future and be proactive. The issues of changing our name or merging with another university appear to be behind us for now, and no matter whatContinue reading “Where do we go from here? One faculty member’s perspective”
Making Money
Recently, I’ve been designing money — not real money and not Monopoly Money, but W Dollars to help show the economic impact MUW has on its local community and state. The idea is that any time someone from the W spends money, they should give a W Dollar with their payment: that might be aContinue reading “Making Money”
