The Writer's Life

This course serves two purposes: 1. To give you the tools, time, and space you need to begin work on your honors thesis and 2. To have you reflect on a topic vital to all English majors soon to graduate: The Writer’s Life. It’s a rich, complex topic that we find in a stunning variety of novels, memoirs, essays, and films. We’ll look at some of the best examples. Possibilities include Amit Chaudhuri’s Friend of My Youth, Joao Golberto Noll’s Lord, Amy Tan’s Where the Past Begins: A Writer’s Memoir, Annie Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys, Philip Roth’s The Ghost Writer, Joan Didion’s Democracy, and Bernard Malamud’s The Tenants.