From Olivia: Guidelines for CR1

Creative Response #1

An "epistolary essay" is an essay in the form of a letter. (Epistle=letter.) This letter is an "open letter," meaning that it is NOT private; it is meant to be made public. Your letter is meant to discuss ideas, by focusing on an individual. Your letter should be addressed to any name or face that has come up in our Social Justice Documentation texts (the song, the poem, ST, DL, Miss America, Faces of the Dead). It is NOT addressed to Terkel or to Gordon/Okihiro/Lange or to Bob Dylan, etc.

Make the addressee someone whose face/name/story (from our texts) you have been a witness to. We are re-structuring the power relationships between writing and history and individuals.

Your goal is to "zoom in" on an individual in order to 1) discuss our ideas from class and your own reflections on these ideas, and 2) make connections. This is formal writing, but it is creative and thoughtful.

Your thesis, unlike in an analysis, might not be in one, clear statement. More likely, it will be a main idea that you build throughout your letter. What do you want the reader to feel?
10 points

Your thesis should be supported with interesting connections and new, unique ideas.
5 points

Grammar/Mechanics
5 points

The Creative Response does NOT get turned in; it gets posted on the blog. Follow the syllabus schedule for deadlines.

An exciting thing: after everyone posts, we will have a library of about twenty-five letters--all trying to use writing as a force for understanding and progress! It will be our class theme in action.