“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.” –Franz Kafka
Though Kafka was referring to the act of reading with this comment, I believe that this idea can be extended to the process of writing. I would like to help each student to use his/her own “axe” to strike against the “frozen sea” of his/her inner self. I am especially interested in guiding students to create works of experimental literature (writing that uses innovative techniques to produce highly unique and expressive material). The course will be conducted as a workshop, with students generating new artistic output in each class. Students will receive extensive feedback on their work, which they will incorporate into the practice of rewriting the piece for homework. We will read poetry and short stories, watch short videos, and view images that induce a literary response. Students will submit an anthology of the best writing they’ve done throughout the course as a final project.