Writing through Music

“Not all that’s heard is music … Remember the little / lovely notes”—Lorine Niedecker   This writing workshop will focus on the provocative interchanges between music and creative writing. We will consider music of all kinds, all genres (jazz, classical, hip-hop, ambient, folk, electronic, experimental, etc.), as a springboard for the imagination, as a counterpoint to forms of language, and as a tool for cultivating creative writing practices; we will also explore a range of poets and prose writers whose engagement with music reveals new ways of understanding the relationship between sound and the written word. Students will craft their own original pieces in this community-based classroom, where we will read and comment on each other’s work as well as on outside readings and recordings; students will also be encouraged to explore the live music scenes where they live, and to create their own music if so inclined. Through regular weekly writing assignments in a range of genres, including poetry, essay, and fiction, we will push the boundaries of our ideas and discover and expand our own listening and reading practices. Course requirements include thoughtful and committed class participation, regular writing assignments, and a final portfolio as well as statement of creative practice.