Reedy River Writers' Retreat 2008

A Creative Writing Intensive for MS/HS English Teachers

Term: June 8 through June 13, 2008 (pre/post-session assignments TBA)

Class Meeting: Daily writing exercises and prompts/daily in-class critiques/daily reading discussions, 9:00am-5:30pm. Faculty and student readings in the evenings, as scheduled. Individual conferences with faculty as scheduled. Final exit conference with faculty member. Through the daily group critique sessions, the course provides adequate time for class member to learn and work together to accomplish the objectives of the course.

Course Credit: This class will meet for 45 hours, constituting 3 graduate and/or recertification credit.

Goals and Objectives: The goal of this course is to provide middle and high school teachers who work daily with language and literature the opportunity to live and work as creative writers for a week, to step out from behind the textbook and into the creative process. Using a workshop format, extensive contemporary readings and an intensive mentoring process, these teachers will explore their individual styles in either fiction or poetry, under the guidance of professional, published writers. The objective? To create well-written, well-crafted pieces of writing. In addition, these teachers will experience a new awareness of what it means to be a working writer, an awareness that becomes valuable in their classrooms as they discuss poems and stories with their own students, maximizing the learning experience within their classrooms.

Ultimately, the hope is to foster a new community of writer/teachers in South Carolina, a need that was determined through teacher surveys, informal questionnaires from the State Department and Governor's School outreach projects across the state.

Course Description: A working writer does two things above all others: read and write. So the two areas of focus will be 1) an exposure to contemporary poetry and fiction from a writer's point of view, and 2) daily critique experiences, during which student work will be read and critiqued in a supportive, constructive atmosphere. In addition, each student writer will have numerous opportunities to receive feedback from the writers on faculty, as poems and stories are created and revised. Students will also be given time to work on poems and stories during the instructional day.

How to Apply: Click here to view/print the registration form. Fill it out and send it to:

Anne Tromsness, 15 University Street, Greenville, SC 29601 or outreach@scgsah.state.sc.us.

Space is limited! Please register by April 7, 2008. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. Priority will be given to teachers who have not previously taken the course.