Chris Abani
THE ART OF FICTION: GOING BEYOND CONVENTIONAL ANDFORMAL TECHNIQUES
with Visiting Writer in Residence CHRIS ABANI Fall Quarter 2009
A native of Nigeria, Abani is the author of The Virgin of Flames, GraceLand, Masters of the Board and Becoming Abigail, and four collections of poetry. He has received the 2009 Guggenheim in Fiction, PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, aHurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the PEN Hemingway Book Prize.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Fiction (which is essentially story-telling) has addressed many concerns and needs: nation building, entertainment, social commentary and other social and thematic concerns. It has held sway over our self-conceptions since we became self aware; and it has evolved over time to account for cultural, aesthetic and formal differences. Using a variety of exercises, algorithms for reading, and new conceptual approaches that take in architecture, photography and film, psycho-geography and computer programming ideas, this class will attempt to help you identify your voice and furnish you with a variety of possible approaches to writing fiction.
