Carolyn Smart
Watson Hall 529
smartc@queensu.ca

You can learn a lot about me on the Canadian Poetry Online site, the website of the Writers’ Union of Canada, or the Queen’s University English Department website.

Message from the Instructor

Learn to trust your own judgement, learn inner independence, learn to trust that time will sort the good from the bad—including your own bad.
—Doris Lessing

One writes to make a home for oneself, on paper, in time, in others' minds.
—Alfred Kazin

Hi everyone:

I will be your instructor this term, and I hope you'll enjoy this class as much as I enjoy overseeing it. Please refer to me as Carolyn when you write emails -- I'm a professional writer, not an academic, and prefer an informal approach.

I hope that you'll try to push your writing into new areas this term: take chances with your forms and language; explore what you can do with words. Be hard on yourself: cut clichés; beware of sentimentality; avoid the easy approach. Take this opportunity to break from essay writing and throw yourself into this with gusto.

Try to respond to your fellow writers with respect, but be tough, too. Go beyond the simple commentary of "I really like this story/poem" to say what exactly you liked about it, or how you think it could be better, with specific examples. You will only learn how to be a better writer through an honest, open response. I've published both prose and poetry, and feel comfortable in both genres. I understand completely if you would prefer to stick with one or the other, but I want you to respond to both with open minds.

See you online!
Carolyn Smart

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More information:

• Computer Requirements and Internet Access
• Moodle, Our Online Learning Environment 
• Academic Integrity
• Evaluation
• Suggested Time Commitment
• Required Material