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All writers are first of all readers and all readers are writers, for without the active participation of readers a book is never fully realized. The BA Literature and Creative Writing offers a unique approach to the practice of reading and writing, combining more familiar British and American perspectives and readings with other influential schools of writing, from the study of tradition and myth to the innovative practice of the Workshop of Potential Literature or Oulipo in France. Students deepen their knowledge of literary tradition across a variety of genres in order to develop their practical skills of understanding, expression and invention. Students are encouraged to pursue their love of reading and explore some of the most important novels, poems, and plays from the United States, the Caribbean and Europe while developing their own writing through a variety of planned readings and writing exercises. Students will be taught to be their own editor; critically judging their own and others’ work is invaluable in transforming their work from something good to something great. At the beginning of the course, students receive a highly focused introduction to the study of literature alongside intensive modules in creative writing, covering myth, innovation and tradition, prose, and poetry. A module on writing for radio allows them to go into a studio and record a radio play. They then progress to look at a range of specialist topics such as: experimental writing and surrealism myth and fairytale translating novels for the screen American literature Shakespeare science fiction The course develops students’ abilities as readers and writers while allowing them to take options from the other courses within the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies including filmmaking, journalism and drama. Essex has nurtured a long tradition of distinguished writers whose work has shaped literature as we know it today, from past giants such as the American poets Robert Lowell and Ted Berrigan, to contemporary writers such as mythographer and novelist Dame Marina Warner, and Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri.
