WOC190 — Austin Woerner's Memory Palace

Class Notes and Homework Assignments

WOC190 Spring 2023 Session 4

May 8, 2023

Day 13

May 8, 2023

Mon. May 8

Talk about endings
Share “I Remembers”

Homework

Work on final project
Fill out course evaluation
Read classmates’ poems
Be ready to share “I Remembers” (if you want)
Think about the question: How to keep writing without deadlines?

May 8, 2023

Apr 26, 2023

Day 12

Apr 26, 2023

Wed. Apr. 26

A word of advice about revising
Share “postcards from the present”
Share observations on “I Remember”

Homework

Work on final project
Write “I Remembers”
Look at endings
Turn your “postcard from the present” into a poem

Apr 26, 2023

Apr 24, 2023

Day 11

Apr 24, 2023

Mon. Apr. 24

Improving aphorisms
Capturing a moment

Homework

Decide which essay to revise for final
Write “postcard from the present”
Read and observe “I Remember”

Apr 24, 2023

Apr 19, 2023

Day 10

Apr 19, 2023

Wed. Apr. 19

Share details from “Mazie” and “The Man Who Eats”
Share favorite aphorisms

Homework

Essay 3 (Character in Context) due next class
Improve an aphorism
Write aphorisms for your character

Apr 19, 2023

Apr 17, 2023

Day 9

Apr 17, 2023

Mon. Apr. 17

Share details from Uncle Pat
Share details from “Mazie” and “The Man Who Eats”

Homework

Read “Mazie” or “The Man Who Eats”
Read classmates’ aphorisms, pick a favorite
Improve an aphorism
Start writing your essay!

Apr 17, 2023

Apr 12, 2023

Day 8

Apr 12, 2023

Wed. Apr. 8

Share “postcards from the past”
Share characters based on “Proverbs of Hell”
Write new aphorisms based on “Proverbs of Hell”

Homework

Be ready to talk about “Uncle Pat”
Write three new aphorisms
Read “The Man Who Eats” and/or “Mazie”
Think of a character to write about, be ready to share

Apr 12, 2023

Apr 10, 2023

Day 7

Apr 10, 2023

Mon. Apr. 10

Observations on Sheng Keyi
Introduction to form
Intro to character essay and “Proverbs of Hell”

Homework

Write a “postcard from the past”
Read instructions for Essay 3
Read “Uncle Pat”
Read “The Proverbs of Hell,” pick one and imagine a character
(Optional) start reading “Mazie” or “The Man Who Eats”

Apr 10, 2023

Apr 6, 2023

Day 6

Apr 6, 2023

Thurs. Apr. 6

Discuss “The Mwiko”; share new endings
Lesson: symbolism
Share micro-poem titles

Homework

Object essay due next class
Read 《怀乡书》(“The Book of Homesickness”) excerpts

Apr 6, 2023

Apr 3, 2023

Day 5

Apr 3, 2023

Mon. Apr. 3

Poem titles: abstract vs. concrete
Creating tension: “Orange Crush” and “Southern Summers”
Looking ahead

Homework

Start working on Object essay, come ready to tell us about your object
Read “The Mwiko,” write a new ending
Read classmates’ poem titles
Read handouts on grading and Literary Atlas

Apr 3, 2023

Mar 29, 2023

Day 4

Mar 29, 2023

Wed. Mar. 29

Share scenes from Short Cuts and Here Is New York
Share observations of lists of 3 details
Intro to concrete & abstract

Homework

Write a scene based on a “micro-poem”
Read “Orange Crush” and “Savoring a Sweet Taste of Southern Summers”
Give titles to “micro-poems”
Think of an object

Mar 29, 2023

Mar 27, 2023

Day 3

Mar 27, 2023

Mon. Mar. 27

Practice observation on a Place essay
Practice observations on excerpts of Home definitions
“The Game of Details”

Homework

Write 10 observations on a classmate’s Place essay
Read lists of 3 details, pick a favorite, come ready to share
Reread Orlean and White excerpts
Sign up to read out loud

Mar 27, 2023

Mar 22, 2023

Day 2

Mar 22, 2023

Wed. Mar. 22

Share favorite details from McSorley’s
Intro to Essay 1: Portrait of a Place
Share Home definitions

Homework

Write Essay 1: Portrait of a Place
Read excerpts from “Here is New York” and “Short Cuts”

Mar 22, 2023

Mar 20, 2023

Day 1

Mar 20, 2023

Mon. Mar. 20

Intro to the course, self-introductions
Literary writing and concrete details
Definitions of home

Homework

Write definition of home as a list of concrete details
Read “The Old House at Home”
Read course handbook, skim syllabus
Plan time for an outing this coming weekend

Mar 20, 2023

Course Documents

WOC190 - Final project

Due at midnight (11:59pm) on Sunday May 14 (China time)

Choose one of your three essays—the one you’re proudest of, or most interested in improving—and revise it into a complete, polished work that you could imagine being published in the Literary Atlas of DKU, or elsewhere.

Essay 3: Character in Context

due before class on Mon. Apr. 24

Write a short essay, either memoir or journalism, about a character with a significant relationship to a place.

WOC190 - Going Forward

A brief guide to how the rest of class will work, including how you’ll be graded.

Essay 2: Essay on an Object

due Monday Apr. 10

Write a brief essay, either memoir or journalism, about an object related to your home or home culture, however you choose to define it.

Essay 1: Portrait of a Place

due Mon. Mar. 27

Visit an interesting place in Kunshan (or your current location) and write a short essay that attempts to capture its essence.

WOC190 - Course Handbook

Everything you need to know about how this class works.

WOC190 Syllabus

The official syllabus for WOC190, with a general description of the course and relevant school policies.

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Reading order

Readings

➤ Click here to download all readings as a pdf

Featured

Poems that capture moments

A collection of poems that vividly capture moments in time.

Joe Brainard, "I Remember" (excerpts)

Excerpts from the book I Remember, in which painter and poet Joe Brainard recalls his childhood in a series of brief vignettes, each of which begins with the words “I Remember.”

Joseph Mitchell, "The Old House at Home"

Joseph Mitchell’s classic piece of literary journalism, published in 1940, paints a vivid portrait of a neighborhood saloon in New York’s Lower East Side.

盛可以，《怀乡书》

A book of illustrated miniature essays, each about an object or practice related to life in a rural village.

Susan Orlean, "Shortcuts"

Journalist Susan Orlean paints a portrait of her neighborhood hair salon.

E. B. White, "Here is New York"

E. B. White’s classic essay published in 1948, one of the most famous literary essays about New York City.

张爱玲，《公寓生活记趣》

Eileen Chang on the pleasures of apartment living. A lesser-known personal essay by the famous author, set during wartime Shanghai.

William Blake, "The Proverbs of Hell" (excerpts)

English Romantic poet William Blake imagines: What if Hell were not a place of evil and punishment, but a country like any other? These proverbs, collected by an imaginary traveler journeying through the land of Hell, are imagined to reflect the culture and values of the people of Hell — though their meaning is cryptic and ambiguous.