Beyond Literary Landscapes—The Craft of Writing

From my early beginnings as a young introvert, the public library has always been a bit of a refuge. Years later, not much has changed, albeit with an additional affinity for endless hours spent scouring second-hand bookstores to add to my ever-growing “to-read” pile.

From one bookworm to another, this column will be underscoring and outlining various literary genres, authors, and recent reads and can serve as an introduction for those unfamiliar with these works, as a refresher for long-time aficionados, and maybe as an inspiration for readers to share their own suggested topics. Do you have a topic that you would like covered in this column?  Feel free to contact me for an interview and a feature in an upcoming column.

Who

Let’s do something a little different this week. Instead of focusing on a particular author, genre, or theme, let’s consider the craft of writing in general.

Various successful authors have written books on this type of craft, such as Stephen King, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ursula Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, and Mary Karr, while many others have built successful careers on helping writers achieve their writing goals, such as William Strunk Jr.

What

Some well-known works related to the craft of writing include On Writing by Stephen King, The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr, In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri (please note that Lahiri’s work focuses more on translation), and The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr (which focuses on editing and style).

Other books include Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin and Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.

Where

Most of these works mention a variety of geographical locations, including the United States, Italy, and England.

When

These works are fairly recent, published in the 21st century.

Why

The works may be of interest to AU students who would like to improve their fiction and non-fiction writing, improve their editing skills and style choices, and even consider the craft of translation.

How

AU’s wide range of diverse courses make it easy to study this topic in depth. Courses related to the craft of writing are available in a variety of disciplines, including some that may fit into your Degree Works. (Always check with an AU counsellor to see if these particular courses fulfill your personal graduation requirements!)

AU students interested in learning more about this topic may enroll in ENGL 381: Creative Writing in Prose, a senior-level, three-credit course, which focuses on “your work and its development.”  Students are encouraged “to have a sound background in literature and proven essay-writing ability.”  (Please note that this course requires ENGL 211: Prose Forms and ENGL 212: Poetry and Plays, a “B” grade in ENGL 353: Intermediate Composition, and the permission of the course coordinator as prerequisites.)

As mentioned above, students may also be interested in  ENGL 353: Intermediate Composition, a senior-level, three-credit course, which “takes a practical approach to the art of essay writing by having students apply the major principles of composition in five essay assignments.”  (Please note that this course requires ENGL 255: Introductory Composition and  ENGL 211: Prose Forms as prerequisites.)  Happy reading!