Advanced Fiction: Reading and Writing Short Novels

Ian MacEwan once said that very few novels earn their length. In this course we will read short works by Denis Johnson, Toni Morrison, Zadie Smith, Karen Russell, Julian Barnes, and Ocean Vuong to explore the power of short novels and take a close look at prose, style, and economic character development. We will examine the constraints of space, and the freedom to experiment with form. Students will generate and workshop the beginnings of their own novellas, and class discussion will be based on our reading and creative work. (Any 100 level CRWR course) (Formerly ENAM 0370) (This course is not a college writing course) Approval required: please email a writing sample to cohen@middlebury.edu. 3 hrs. sem.