The Irish virtuoso of the short story William Trevor famously said “I think all writing is experimental…. I experiment all the time but the experiments are hidden.” In this class, we’ll look at writing that bends reality–and occasionally breaks it–and plays with language, structure, form, and narrative in a wide variety of ways. But this course isn’t only for writers who think of themselves as “experimental.” Rather, we’ll explore how innovative and subversive strategies can open up writing of all types, and how all writers benefit from stretching the boundaries of convention. Students will read short pieces and excerpts each week at home, try out exercises, and share the exercises in class. Whether you want to generate writing that is ostentatiously experimental or hide your experiments in plain sight, this class will give you an array of techniques and opportunities to set them loose.

Some writers we might look at are Georges Perec, Anne F. Garréta, Cristina Rivera Garza, Sofia Samatar, Lance Olsen, Adam Haslett, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Can Xue, Toni Morrison, Garielle Lutz, Karen Russell, and the Best Experimental Writing 2020, ed. by Carmen Maria Machado and Joyelle McSweeney.

https://grubstreet.org/findaclass/class/unruly-fictions-surreal-experimental-and-unclassifiable-narratives-remote/