[Cwgrad-announcements] (no subject)

[Robin Russin]

Hi all--

I completely agree with Mary on this. Great writers read deeply, and  
come to have a deep knowledge of their material. Many have been great  
scholars in their own right.

Forgive me for butting in on this discussion, but as I'll be co- 
teaching the Writers Life class next fall, I might as well get a jump  
on it with my usual mantra about these things:

Do not approach term papers as academic exercises. Approach them as  
research articles that you might actually try to get published. If  
you adjust your sights in this way, it may make the material more  
compelling to begin with, and the result more satisfying, since  
you're writing not just for a grade, but for something that may help  
advance your careers as professional writers.

Do not be intimidated by the scholastic lingo you may encounter. I  
can tell you that editors I know actually breathe a sigh of relief  
when they read something that not only is intelligent, but is written  
in plain English, without a dozen "isms" and "izations" per page. So  
feel free to write "use" instead of "utilize," and so forth.

Mainly, take seminars about material for which you care, and write  
about it with care. The rest will take care of itself.

Best,

Robin


On May 10, 2007, at 12:13 PM, Mary Copeland wrote:

> I thought I would share my thoughts regarding courses we are  
> required to take outside the Creative Writing Dept., i.e. English  
> Seminars – I know some of you are working on an intro for new MFA’s  
> for next year.
>
>
> While it is true some English professors will allow you to write a  
> “creative” piece instead of an academic paper for English seminars,  
> I would like to suggest that some of you might consider taking up  
> the challenge of writing an academic piece for whatever English  
> seminar you choose.  I believe we are required to take these  
> classes for a reason—to stretch our range, and hopefully be more  
> prepared should we enter the teaching field.  After all, many of us  
> are going to need some sort of income while we continue to write.
>
>
> That said, I’m sure there are some professors that are more helpful  
> in this area than others.  Speaking from experience, I took Dr.  
> Steven Axelrod’s English Seminar on “The Poetry of Grief and  
> Sadness in the Cold War Era.”  It was informative, and opened my  
> eyes to new works and new ways of thinking about poetry.  He was  
> also very helpful and supportive and gave a lot of input into my  
> academic paper and put me at ease, even though I was in a class  
> with several Ph.D. candidates (who often seemed to speak in a  
> different language J  ).  If you feel you simply can’t do it, then  
> of course, approach your professor about writing a creative work –  
> but we certainly get a lot of that in our workshops and other  
> classes, don’t we?  I encourage everyone to challenge themselves  
> and make the most of your time here at UCR.  It goes by all too fast.
>
>
> Mary Copeland
>
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Robin Russin
Assistant Professor
Department of Theatre
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
(951) 827-2707
(213) 949-1061 cel
robin.russin at ucr.edu



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