Dispatches from the Classroom

With emphasis on practical classroom application, this up-to-date and refreshingly honest collection of essays is a wonderful resource for teaching creative writing. "Dispatches from the Classroom" is a collection of pedagogical essays written by graduate students, with an emphasis on practical classroom application. Divided into four sections - "Laying the Ground Rules", "What is 'Appropriate' for the Workshop?", "Teaching 'Technique'", and "The Hybrid TA", it explores issues of daily concern to creative writing instructors from many viewpoints. Although these essays draw on recent theoretical scholarship, the emphasis remains on ways in which theory can be applied to course structure, student interaction, and other practical concerns. Also examined is the unusual blend of teaching assignments that Teaching Assistants face, addressing ways that the creative writer can apply her skills to composition instruction and even writing center tutoring. These essays have been selected from the work of current graduate students in creative writing, all of whom have very recent experience of dealing with these specific issues in the classroom. This anthology will not only provide Teaching Assistants with an introduction to current issues in creative writing pedagogy, but also with a much-needed teaching resource for their introductory courses.