The Place and the Writer

Book excerpt: The combined experience of authors throughout the ages offers a wealth of valuable information about the practice of creative writing. However, such lore can also be problematic for students and practitioners as it can be inherently additive, making it difficult to abandon processes that do not work. This adherence to lore also tends to be a US-centric endeavor. In order to take a nuanced approach to the uses and limitations of lore, The Place and the Writer offers a global perspective on creative writing pedagogy that has yet to be fully explored. Featuring a diverse array of cultural viewpoints from Brazil to Hong Kong, Finland to South Africa, this book explores the ongoing international debate about the best approaches for teaching and practicing creative writing. Marshall Moore and Sam Meekings challenge areas of perceived wisdom that persist in the field of creative writing, including aesthetics and politics in institutionalized creative writing; the process of workshopping; tuition and talent; anxiety in the classroom; unifying theory and lore; and teaching creative writing in languages other than English.