First Books, Inside and Out

3 units

Literary publishing is in a period of rapid change. It's hard to say where the future of the book itself-much less your own first book-lies. And first books do present a unique set of challenges. In this class, we'll read recent first books-of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction-talking not only about what each is doing, but also, via an interview with its author, the book's journey from inception through publication. To complement the authors' perspectives, we'll also have several visits or interviews with different literary editors. This is not a class on how to get published per se; we will be as interested in the publisher's challenges as the writer's. To that end, we'll ask why books get written and published the way they do; we'll attend to the diversity of interests and priorities each writer, book, and publishing alternative presents. In talking about different literary communities and the idea of community in general, we will also consider the state of book reviewing; each of you will write short reviews of the books we read and, then, a final review of an additional recent first book of your choosing (the hope being that you might submit this review for publication). You'll also be asked to give a presentation on a publisher (or aspect of publishing) and, in the final weeks, to present your own writing to the class. We'll discuss your work in terms of what's there on the page and also where it might go, how it might grow, how and why it might become your own first book.