Practical Guide to Teaching Creative Writing

Bronwen Tate is Assistant Professor of Teaching and Undergraduate Chair in School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, Canada, where she teaches poetry, creative nonfiction, and creative writing pedagogy. She is the author of the poetry collection The Silk the Moths Ignore, and her essays have appeared in venues including Contemporary Literature and Journal of Modern Literature. Bronwen has taught courses in literature, composition, interdisciplinary critical thinking, and creative writing across genres at institutions ranging from community colleges and a scrappy liberal arts college to large private and public R1 universities.John Vigna is Associate Professor of Teaching and Teaching & Learning Chair in the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia Creative Writing program, Canada, where he teaches fiction. His focus is on pedagogical and curricular strategies for 5000 Creative Writing students across the MFA, BFA Major, and Undergrad Minor programs, including online edX innovations. His first book of fiction, Bull Head, was received with critical acclaim in Canada and the US in 2012 and was also published in France in 2017. It was selected by Quill & Quire as an editor’s pick of the year and was a finalist for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award. John was named one of 10 writers to watch by CBC Books. His novel, No Man’s Land, was published in Fall 2021.

This is a useful and inspiring book. The authors, Bronwen Tate and John Vigna, draw on their years of experience researching and teaching creative writing to discuss approaches to designing and teaching creative writing courses. These two authors are not afraid to expose the complexities involved with teaching creative writing and throughout the book question who we are as teachers and the purpose of teaching creative writing and provide us with tools to succeed. This book will be an invaluable companion for teachers and researchers of creative writing.

• InterviewsSample AssignmentsAcknowledgmentsChapter 1: The Narrative of Your CourseChapter 2: Assignment DesignChapter 3: Structured Experiments and Generative WritingChapter 4: In-class Activities and Active LearningChapter 5: Craft, Culture, ContextChapter 6: Working with Models and Mentor TextsChapter 7: Workshop Approaches and AlternativesChapter 8: Revision and Iterative PracticeChapter 9: Inquiry and ResearchChapter 10: Assessment and GradingChapter 11: Supporting Thesis and Capstone WorkChapter 12: Navigating Classroom ChallengesWorks CitedIndex