Wild Thing: Animals as Characters

Stories with animal characters speak broadly to our place in the global ecosystem and intimately to our most primal versions of self. From cuddly kittens to ferocious tigers, animals have a unique capacity to dredge up our most visceral emotions. We’ll consider how different writers approach animal characters, with readings from Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, Rajesh Parameswaran, Sarah Gerard, Jasmine Sawers, and others. As we dive into these contemporary examples, we’ll expand the canon beyond transcendentalist depictions of nature, learning how we can get wilder and more ferocious with our animal characters-and we’ll also touch on how modern animal stories probe issues of overpopulation, climate change, and increasing urbanization. This course features several generative writing prompts where you’ll practice writing animalistic short stories, and you can expect to leave with at least one rough draft and several new ideas for future development. While this course primarily focuses on studying craft and developing new work, participants have the option to share drafts and receive feedback.

Participants in this course will:

Analyze how animals are used as metaphors in classic fables and fairy tales.
Analyze how animals are used as metaphors in contemporary fabulist and realist stories.
Explore the role of climate change and globalization in modern nature-based writing.
Understand how an animal protagonist or antagonist changes audience perception of narrator reliability, suggestibility, and believability.
Identify and critically analyze humanity’s intersection with the natural world in fiction.
Build confidence in analyzing and discussing craft elements in short fiction.
Identify techniques for incorporating animal characters into fiction.
Generate rough drafts of at least one new short story, and brainstorm ideas and story “starts” for future development.
Learn how to critique work through an antiracist framework that invites author participation and centers author identity.

Access Program
We want our writing classes and seminars to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and seminar tuitions at a reduced rate. Most Delves  have at least one access spot available.

Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.

Liaison position
Every in-person class and seminar at Literary Arts has one liaison position. Liaisons perform specific duties for each class meeting. If you are a liaison for a class or seminar, the full amount of your tuition is covered by Literary Arts. Contact Alexa Winik at alexa@literary-arts.org if you have questions about being a liaison.

Apply here for the liaison position.