ENGL 394(F) Writers in Their Youth

A lecture and discussion course for discerning students and those who might possibly be interested in becoming writers themselves. To read and discuss, in the main to analyze, works written by major writers when they were in their 20s, which is to say when they were not much older than students themselves. Readings will include works by Dickens, Dreiser, John O'Hara, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Babel, Kipling, Frank O'Connor, de Maupassant, Philip Roth, and others. Few if any of these writers were schooled as such, although some had mentors. A number of them started in journalism, medicine, etc. Biography will be part of the study. Talent together with energy to make use of it are often in evidence early, and one of the important things to be considered here is the level at which these writers made their debuts. Requirements: several short papers and perhaps a final exam. Prerequisite: English 101. Enrollment limited to 20.

Hour:  SALTER