This is an introductory course on the techniques of writing poetry, short prose fiction, and creative non-fiction. It is also an invitation to challenge your conception of “poetry” and “prose.” The class is organized around student work. There will be weekly writing assignments and revisions. We’ll workshop student writing on a regular basis. Vigorous and thoughtful class participation is required. We will examine the work of contemporary poets and writers in order to further understand our own work and the creative process. We will also consider the role of creative writing in contemporary American culture. Welcome to the conversation and a writing community. You may be an experienced writer or perhaps you’ve never written a poem, but you must be willing to consider yourself a writer (and a reader) for the duration of this course. The final for this course is a manuscript of revised work. Throughout the semester you will be asked to carefully consider what it means to create and compose a body of work—a public document that responds not only to your own experience, but also to the culture at large. Texts include Diane Seuss’s Still Life with Two Peacocks and a Girl, Justin Torres’s We the Animals, and Cheryl Strayed’s The Love of My Life. A dedication to craft, aesthetic innovation, and risk-taking is expected of writers in this course.