Summertime : Scenes from Provincial Life
London
:
Harvill Secker
,
2009
Z1596914
2009
single work
novel
(taught in 1 units)
'A young English biographer is working on a book about the late writer, John Coetzee. He plans to focus on the years from 1972 - 1977 when Coetzee, in his thirties, is sharing a run-down cottage in the suburbs of Cape Town with his widowed father. This, the biographer senses, is the period when he was finding his feet as a writer. Never having met Coetzee, he embarks on a series of interviews with people who were important to him: a married woman with whom he had an affair, his favourite cousin Margot, a Brazilian dancer whose daughter had English lessons with him, former friends and colleagues. From their testimony emerges a portrait of the young Coetzee as an awkward, bookish individual with little talent for opening himself to others. Within the family he is regarded as an outsider, someone who tried to flee the tribe and has now returned, chastened. His insistence on doing manual work, his long hair and beard, rumours that he writes poetry evoke nothing but suspicion in the South Africa of the time.
Sometimes heartbreaking, often very funny, Summertime shows us a great writer as he limbers up for his task. It completes the majestic trilogy of fictionalised memoir begun with Boyhood and Youth.' (Provided by the publisher.)
NB: Information in this Unit Outline is subject to change prior to commencement of semester
Novel and memoir are pervasive, complex and culturally important literary forms. This unit is designed to help you examine the theory and practice of novel and memoir writing across various genres; the relationship between imagination and inspiration and the process of planning and research leading to the development of a novel or memoir proposal, including an initial chapter and synopsis. The subject also promotes the acquisition of analytical skills in professional and personal creative fiction and non-fiction writing.
Aims
This unit aims to:
- Familiarise you with the scope, challenges and practices of developing a novel or memoir,
- Familiarise you with the standards, conventions and possibilities of the novel and memoir forms,
- Enable you to produce a synopsis and chapter of an original piece of sustained prose,
- Develop your editorial skills,
- Provide you with peer workshop and mentor feedback over a period of several months in a blended learning environment.
Objectives
On completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Choose a mode of narration for your novel or memoir based on an understanding of a range of approaches to the practice of writing a novel or memoir,
2. Understand, analyse, and historically and socially contextualise a range of novel and memoir forms,
3. Examine and apply a range of writing and reading strategies,
4. Structure and write a piece of sustained prose in accordance with the expectations of the chosen form,
5. Write a novel or memoir proposal suitable for submission to a publisher or agent, including a chapter and synopsis of the proposed novel,
6. Reflect meaningfully on your own process as a writer.
Content
This unit addresses content such as:
* Various approaches to writing a novel or memoir, including writing in various forms or genres,
* Writing a chapter and synopsis for submission to a publisher or agent,
* Understanding the critical frameworks of novel and memoir,
* The research and ethical issues involved in novel and memoir writing,
* Publication options and avenues across a range of genres,
* Participating effectively in writers' groups.
Approaches to Teaching and Learning
This unit will be taught through an interdependent mixture of:
- Formal classroom instruction, as well as writing and reading discussion groups,
- Peer writing workshops in a blended learning (online and face to face) environment,
- Individual student-directed writing,
- Peer assessment and formative feedback.
Description: (Summative & Formative) A 1,500-word piece of memoir
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3 & 4
Weight: 40%
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Mid semester
Assessment name: Creative Work
Description: (Summative) A novel or memoir proposal suitable for submission to a professional agent or publisher, including an opening section (2500-3000 words) of a novel or memoir, a succinct synopsis, and a brief cover letter. Due date: Formative submissions throughout semester, plus a summative submission at the end of semester.
Relates to objectives: 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6
Weight: 60%
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Throughout semester
