CRWT 40.06 Uses of Fact: True Source Material in Prose, Poetry, & Film

This class will examine how a diverse group of artists work with factual material. One sometimes hears this sensible phrase: "You aren’t entitled to your own facts." But the truth is artists do frequently work with what one might call their own facts. We’ll look at what certain writers (Anna Deavere Smith, Eudora Welty, Joseph Brodsky), poets (Pedro Pietri, Elizabeth Robinson, Van Jordan) and filmmakers (Sarah Polley, Charles Burnett, and Earl Morris) do with true source material that interests, compels, perhaps repulses, above all, inspires them. Weekly writing exercises and workshops will help you develop our own ideas inspired by the works under discussion. The course will culminate in a final project where students will share own new work in prose, fiction or non-fiction.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:ART

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

Course Group III