Integration of

Literature Into an
Online Creative
Writing Classroom
A REPORT OF:

APRIL MARIE VINCHELLI A. JUCOY

 PART 1 - INTRODUCTION
Learning is a lifelong pursuit.
A formal education needs to enable a process
that encourages a student to grow and learn for
a lifetime.
A broad literary knowledge base establishes a
foundation to continually refresh the creative
energy a writer needs to develop new
perspectives from additional reading.
FORMAL EDUCATION
INSTITUTION – is a forum where
a student can interact with
instructors and other students to
discuss and refine the insights
developed around these literary
statements.
  The incredibly wide range of literature
that has been developed through history
opens countless doors to develop new
thematic and craft initiatives that can be
developed into a writer’s own work.

The availability of online forums for a writer to

discuss literary insights with other like-minded
writers regardless of physical location provides
opportunities for a writer to further develop
creative concepts.
A writer absorbs thoughts, images and concepts from
the world and translates them into ideas that can
entertain and enlighten readers.

An undergraduate creative writing program should

provide students exposure to literature and literary
analysis to allow them to create new insights and
ignite a desire to continually develop new
perspectives in their own writing.
The IOWA Workshop model was developed in order
to provide a way for student writers to interact regarding
literary concepts and how they apply to their original
work and to provide a forum for writer interaction.
- several scholars argue that moving the instructional
focus back to include more involvement of the critical
analysis of literary works will improve both the creative
writing programs and breathe new life and appreciation to
the literature programs.
The critical reading skills gained from a broad exposure to
literary works will develop improved critical thinking skills
which will add depth to a student’s writing.

The online platform eliminates geographic limitations in

communication with other students.

Knowing how to effectively collaborate with other writers

through virtual connections will allow writers to participate in
online writers’ groups without being in the same geographical
vicinity.
 PART 2 – BIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY

Scholars maintain that instruction in interpreting and

understanding literary works is so vital to the training
of a writer to tap into creativity, that the disciplines of
Creative Writing and Literature need to be integrated.
Collaborative, interpretive opportunities with other
students create learning environments that expose
student writers to new ideas to produce meaningful
writing.
Great writers have always recognized the need to learn
from previously published literature.
Donald Hall argues that “interactions with other creative
writers are vital to the development of a writer.”
Adnot-Haynes and Mellas state that “the workshop
system enables writers already possessing a strong set of
reading and writing skills to enter into a serious
apprenticeship that further hones and challenges those
skills.”
By the early 2000s, scholars noticed a change in the student writing
produced in the creative writing programs. There was a decline in the
diversity of the writing and less creativity in style or theme.

Patrick Bizzaro comments that “much of the writing going on in

workshops explores a limited range of topics and techniques.”

Eric Bennett points out that the fledgling writing programs of the
1940s and 1950s assumed that all writers were already creative
artists and they would benefit from more discipline and a narrower
window of craft options.
 TWO SOLUTIONS IDENTIFIED BY SCHOLARS
TO HELP CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS:

1.They suggest a reintegration of Literature into the

Creative Writing curriculum.
2. They suggest to couple the integration of
Literature with the use of online technology to
refocus student interactions in order to improve
feedback and discussion.
 1. REINTEGRATION OF LITERATURE INTO THE
CREATIVE WRITING CURRICULUM
Rob Pope maintains that all acts of writing should be part of a “critical-
creative process” and that criticism and creative writing as separate discipline
should disappear.
 Donald Hall takes the position that the independence of creative writing
makes no sense if it is coupled with a loss of the influence of literature. He sees
the separation of literature from the writing department as a negative
influence for the poet, the scholar and the student.
Peter Wilson agrees that the migration to separate critical and creative writing
limits the range of understanding of both literature and the process of creative
writing.
David Mcvey advocates that students need to learn to develop their literary
critical skills at the same time they become creative practitioners.
Andrew Melrose argues that Creative Writing students should become better critical
readers and expose themselves to a wide variety of literary craft and thematic styles.

Gavin Goodwin points out that it is important that creative writing students read
poetry because they have so little exposure to it.

Nicole Cooley advocates creative writing classes in which students read other texts to
help model their own work in new and innovative ways.

Elizabeth Mills says that creative writing students and the literature students develop
a sense of collaboration that helps them understand elements of the other discipline
and can be applied to their own learning.
 2. COUPLE THE INTEGRATION OF LITERATURE
WITH THE USE OF ONLINE TECHNOLOGY

Mary Lenard affirms that students are more likely to participate in the online
literature classes she teaches rather than they would have in a traditional
classroom environment.
Graceanne DeCandido that the interactions in her online classes are more
focused rather than the interactions she has in face-to-face classes.
Tyler Schimdt points out that students are both ore comfortable and more
open to providing feedback around controversial topics when using capabilities
of online discussion boards and other electronic forms of interaction.
Joy Bowers-Campbell found that the literature discussions in the online
portions of the course provided a more open forum for students with diverse
ideas.
 COLLABORATION RESULT
• The result of the integration of literature and the adoption of the online format is that
students are exposed to a learning model that can be used to develop their writing after
the course work is completed according to scholars.

• “Teachers function as guides, providing directions and drawing boundaries that students
will set out with less trepidation and with more real chance of success.”

• Courses that integrate literary study and creative writing provide student writers with the
literary foundation they need to continually develop their creativity as their careers
continue.

• With the skills they developed using online technology, they can become part of their own
version of a salon full of writers and artists without ever leaving their living room.