Well known on campus and around the world as a site of important historical documents of all kinds, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript is also a regional and national center of the living arts of American literature. In addition to collecting significant contemporary books and archives and hosting the Yale Collection of American Literature Reading Series, a dynamic series of readings and related events on campus, the Beinecke’s Yale Collection of American Literature is co-sponsoring the Fall 2020 sections of the Introduction to Creative Writing with the Creative Writing Program of the Department of English: ENGL 123: Introduction to Creative Writing.

Course description: Introduction to the writing of fiction, poetry, and drama. Development of the basic skills used to create imaginative literature. Fundamentals of craft and composition; the distinct but related techniques used in the three genres. Story, scene, and character in fiction; sound, line, image, and voice in poetry; monologue, dialogue, and action in drama. Prominent contemporary writers in each genre will visit the class: novelist Caryl Phillips, poet Nicole Sealey; playwright Young Jean Lee.

Completed student projects associated with the Beinecke Collections will be published on the Beinecke Library website.

Some relevant Beeincke library resources can be found online here: Work in Progress: Notes, Drafts, Revision, Publication.

For more information about ENGL 123: Introduction to Creative Writing, contact Richard Deming, Director of Creative Writing or Nancy Kuhl, Curator of Poetry, Yale Collection of American Literature.

Pictured: Work in Progress Case Study: Harlem by Langston Hughes