120009 SE Writing Life - Autofiction as a Feminist Practice? (2024S)

When it comes to autofiction, in particular autofiction written by women, the writer Roxane Gay, known for her memoir Hunger as well as her essay collection Bad Feminist has come to a daunting conclusion: "I suppose that’s the price you pay when you write personally as a woman. […] that people focus on the personal, and they completely ignore the professional. Like … that it’s a book. That you used craft to write the book […]." (Roxane Gay as quoted in Olivia Sudjic, Exposure, 90) This slippery thing called craft, however, is precisely what we shall focus on in this class. How can we write professionally about the personal? Which parameters and principles should we keep in mind if we want to make public what was created in the privacy of your mind? Do these parameters even exist and how can we utilize them for our own very personal texts?
In preparation for the class you will need to make yourselves familiar with the texts listed below, as all of these writers either theoretically reflect on the nature of autofiction this is particularly true of Olivia Sudjic's Exposure or have become household names of autofiction, either being praised for breaking new ground or being criticised for dragging out into the open that which according to some should remain private. The reception of Rachel Cusk's work is particularly interesting (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/07/rachel-cusk-gut-renovates-the-novel), as she was heavily criticised for writing about marriage, divorce and motherhood. Sigrid Nunez, the final and third author whose work will be relevant for our discussions, reflects in a more general manner on the pitfalls of the literary practice known as autofiction.
While you will be expected to read, more importantly you will also be expected to write. Please note that everyone who participates in this class will have to share some of their writing and be willing to listen to feedback and criticism given by the other participants. It should be one of our main goals to create an atmosphere of constructive criticism in which we feel safe to share our texts, by acting respectful and professional as "editors" for your fellow students.

Your first task will be to write and submit a short text about a meaningful experience. A broad term which might refer to a conflict or simply a memory, an uncomfortable or deeply rewarding experience. (Please do consider that strangers will be reading and criticizing your text). You are welcome to use all kinds of strategies you wish to employ for the purpose of creating some distance between the text and yourself. You might, for example, write about someone else's experience as if it were your own, you may change the perspective, gender, age etc of the protagonist, experiment with different tenses, styles and so forth. The truth content of your text will neither be relevant nor questioned. However, remember that this is a class on autofiction and you will profit the most by adhering to the topic, rather than completely inventing a story. The text has to be prose and should. After you have completed the class you will be asked to submit a revised version of your text.
Participants are expected to hand in this fictional text (must be prose) four weeks before the actual class takes place.