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I think of the novella as an unruly and liminal prose form. Durationally, it emerges between the short story and novel, though it doesn’t simply overrun the former and fail to meet the expectations of the latter; it has pleasures and possibilities all its own.
A novella may concern itself with something that has already happened, even if that something is unknown, or totally bewildering. Its temporality, then, is often digressive; it purposely thwarts linear development in favor of cycles, shifting velocities, disorder, and plain temporal weirdness. It may challenge our notions of genre by enfolding letters, journal entries, government documents, philosophical treatises, dream journeys, and other forms within its form. It, in fact, may be more concerned with decomposition, enfolding, and secrecy rather than neat composition, unfolding, and revelation. It invites us—for the space of an afternoon, or a train ride, or a snowy evening—to press our ear to its form, less to decipher its secrets, and more to be enfolded in them.
Quite simply, I love the novella. I hope you’ll join me as we read through a few classic and contemporary novellas by Kate Chopin, Nella Larsen, Cristina Rivera Garza, and others. (Note: these will be different selections if you took this class with me last winter.) Overall, we’ll find new ways to read and write through our own complex enfoldings.
I’ve always found the best way to sink my teeth into a form I’m trying to write is to closely read and observe how some other people did it well. This will be mostly a reading & discussion class, though I’ll provide writing exercises each week for folks who want to play around with the moves we observe.
• In-Class Writing Lift: Light
• Homework: Required
• Workshopping Drafts: None
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Leah Nieboer is a poet, Deep Listener, graduate of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers, and PhD Candidate in English at the University of Denver. Her debut book, SOFT APOCALYPSE, the winner of the 2021 Georgia Poetry Prize (UGA Press, 2023), was named a best debut collection of 2023 by Poets & Writers Magazine, and her work has appeared in the Brooklyn Rail, Oversound, Poetry Daily, HERE, and elsewhere. A former resident of Nashville, she is the winner of the 2022 Mountain West Writers’ Contest in Poetry and the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Center for Deep Listening at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Denver, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts at Mt. San Angelo and the Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus in Schwandorf, Germany. She currently lives in Denver, where she co-hosts The Ritter, a new literary and cultural podcast. Find more online at www.leahnieboer.com or via social media (@mznieboer).
Leah Nieboer grew up in rural Iowa. She is a poet, Deep Listener, graduate of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers, and recent PhD graduate in English & Literary Arts at the University of Denver. Her first collection of poetry, SOFT APOCALYPSE, was selected by Andrew Zawacki for the 2021 Georgia Poetry Prize (UGA Press, 2023) and named one of the top ten debut collections of 2023 by Poets & Writers Magazine. She is the winner of the 2022 Mountain West Writers’ Contest in Poetry, and the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Center for Deep Listening at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Denver, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts at Mt. San Angelo and the Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus in Schwandorf, Germany. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Mercury Firs, the Brooklyn Rail, Western Humanities Review, Poetry Daily, HERE, and elsewhere. She lives in Denver, where she writes, teaches, and co-hosts The Ritter, a new arts & culture podcast.
"Leah has an uncanny ability to create a space that is both deeply thoughtful and refreshingly playful - these sacred little pockets of time that seem to operate outside of daily life. She approaches creative practices with equal seriousness and silliness, and she gives her students permission to do the same! I signed up expecting a standard writing workshop, but I walked away with a holistic reset for mind, body, and spirit. Very grateful for the care and intention Leah put into every session!"
