the thinking thus far

My reading thus far is helping me reevaluate where I stand on this project. Rethinking what I want to do, as always.

Seems that "creative writing theory" is part of a larger category: "creative writing studies."

The basic question of creative writing studies is this: "What sorts of academic work are appropriate to this discipline?" It's a question that is of much concern in the present conversation, and theory is one possible answer.

But CW theory is new. So it's unsure how to go about theorizing. Should it draw on comp theory? Or literary theory? Or chart its own course? There are voices representing each of these directions. Seems to me CW theory can, and should, do all of these. It would be silly not to draw on comp theory, since they've been asking the relevant questions for some time now. But do we start over and do "process" like they did 30 or 40 years ago? Or do we catch up and do the sort of identity-politics influenced social critique stuff? Or both? Probably both. And it would be silly not to draw on literary theory, even if it is "interpretive" instead of "productive," since lit theory has been asking relevant questions for a long, long time. But what to take from lit theory? Only formalism? Post-structuralism, too? Both again? And it seems important that we chart our own course, too, since we are productive rather than interpretive, and there must be some important distinctions between us and comp folk...or are there? We can at least bring an extra emphasis on creativity and investigation questions of inspiration, etc.

So in short, CW theory has got way too much to do. It has to draw on two existing academic traditions and find its own voice and interests. This is a lot to accomplish all at once.

And more than I can handle in a semester. Or even in a Masters Thesis...

Things have been broadening, and now I need to narrow them down. I want to do something with comp theory, with literacy, with formalism and with post-structuralism, but not all this semester. My final project will need an extensive literature review, so maybe that's what I'm working on this semester. This is my chance to read all this stuff, so... I guess that's it. A big lit review, and if I get a chance, I'll address New Criticism and why it doesn't work for the workshop, and then if I really have loads of extra time, I'll do the other formalisms and why some of them might have something to offer.

That the thinking thus far.