Tuesdays, September 29 to November 3rd, 7-9pm Eastern Time
online; 15 students max
$300
Enroll in this class.
Strange and surreal stories are deeply connected to narratives of migration, local folklore, belief systems, and emotional landscapes that reflect what each society brings to our histories and storytelling. Strange and surreal elements can take the forms of stories, poetry, hybrid, graphic novels, and more—they are not merely metaphors but ways of creating imaginative landscapes that allow darkness, possibility, reimagination, and hope to continue living.
In this six-week generative writing workshop, we’ll explore strange and surreal writing across genres, including novels, short stories, poetry, graphic novels, and more, and we’ll be reading from works brought into English from different languages, including writing from Iran, Taiwan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and various countries in Latin America. We’ll also include readings from works originally written in English. Moreover, we’ll discuss themes that most frequently appear in contemporary strange and surreal narratives, including the ways storytelling connects to the strange qualities of nature, houses, and everyday objects; ghost stories; psychological landscapes, and more.
Possible readings include short stories or excerpts by Bora Chung, Norman Erikson Pasaribu, Thuận, Mariana Enriquez, Amparo Dávila, Carmen Maria Machado, Mary South, Emil Ferris, Nick Drnaso and more. We’ll also include film references throughout the course.
The goal of this workshop is to help participants generate new ideas for your writing, regardless of the genre you’re working on. Each week, we’ll discuss craft elements and themes from the readings, spend 15-20 minutes on writing exercises together, and explore ways to research relevant sources and materials for your own projects. Participants will also have the option to submit a short piece of writing to the instructor for a 30-minute consultation, but it is entirely optional. You’re also welcome to join the workshop simply to discuss, learn, and engage with the craft.
Week 1 Strange and Surreal—How Do We Build Our Own Stories?
Week 2 Haunted Houses—On Places, Histories, and Under-Discovered Narratives
Week 3 Folklore, Religions, Legends, and Ghost Stories
Week 4 Nature, Plants, and Other Things Out in the Wild
Week 5 Breaking Out of the Body: Emotional Landscape, Body Autonomy, and Monsters
Week 6 Care and Home: Connecting Personal Journeys to What We Know and the Meaning of Return
Enroll in this class.
About the Instructor
Jenna Tang is a Taiwanese writer and a translator who translates between Mandarin, French, Spanish, and English. Her translations and essays are published in The Paris Review, Lit Hub, Restless Books, Latin American Literature Today, AAWW, McSweeney’s, Catapult, Fare Magazine, and elsewhere. Her translations include works from Taiwanese feminist authors, Lin Yi-Han (Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise), Lâu Tsí-û (“Not Your Child”), Leah Yang, and more. She is currently working on books written in her disappearing dialect. She is a board-member at the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA). She has given talks about translation, languages, and gender movements across 22 universities in the States, Canada, China, and Taiwan.
Student Testimonials
“Jenna Tang is an incredible instructor. As an academic, I can tell just how much preparation and forethought goes into her classes. The readings are fascinating, well selected, and helpful. There is a real sense of having learned about aspects of translation theory and contemporary approaches to translation. The workshops are incredibly helpful as well and Jenna makes herself available for an out-of-class consultation as well.” — previous Crossing, On Translated Literature student
“I came to this class simply curious about translation on my own language journey as I navigate an intense career change, and learned so much from Jenna and our cohort about the industry and how translation is an art form. It’s really opened up my perspective on how I wish to continue my creative pursuits. The readings are spectacular, I had to find hard copies to finish them!” — previous Crossing—On Translated Literature student
“Jenna is a brilliant instructor whose classes always push me to engage more deeply with literature. She is generous with her time and attention to every class, sharing literature from across the world and giving her students new perspectives and techniques to explore in their own writing. Her passion for language and narrative is contagious, I could talk about literature with Jenna all day.”
“Jenna's classes awaken me and allow me to voice silent questions about the rapidly changing world and myself. I will definitely take another class of hers.”
"Jenna Tang is doing incredible and important work as a translator and writer. She is so generous and always opens the door for others. Her work challenges the status quo and creates a space for resonant stories and writers to find many audiences and communities across languages and borders. She helps us see what is possible in the literary world and how to find our way toward it. I can't think of anyone I'd rather learn from more!" — K-Ming Chang, writer
“Jenna Tang works tirelessly and generously to promote literature in translation and to build community within the translation sphere. As a translator from Taiwan now based in the US, she moves fluidly between the cultures she translates from and to, probing the bounds of the English language and seeking out voices who have hitherto not received sufficient attention.” — Jeremy Tiang, translator
“Jenna is a thoughtful translator and creative spirit who works from multiple lineages and myriad inspirations, toggling between the minutest of details and big-picture issues in a text with ease. Warm and inquisitive, she's committed to community in all senses and brings passion and energy to every one of her endeavors.” — Mike Fu, Literary Translator of Sanmao’s Stories of the Sahara
“Jenna made each one of us feel valued and comfortable during class. She was a fantastic teacher, genuinely enthusiastic about the subject. Her thoughtfully-prepared class discussions were directly applicable to my translation practice, and I am now a better translator because of it.” — Former Student