Final Short Essay

Congratulations, you have almost made it to the end of the semester and the end of this course. We have two weeks to go.

Your final short essay is due Monday, December 9, at the start of class. Like our other one-pagers, it should be typed single-spaced and fit on a single sheet of people. If you need to use two sheets, it's not a problem. Get started early. You have precisely two weeks, but the end of the semester is very busy. Putting it off to the last minute would be a bad idea.

You are choosing your own author for this paper. It could be an author we've never heard of or it could be JK Rowling or Stephen King. It could be a YA author like the famous John Green or it could be an obscure YA author that nobody knows. Maybe the work of your chosen "writer" is only or primarily available online. That's OK.
For this paper you are free to choose a non-traditional creator of "literature". Maybe your author is primarily a musician, coder, cartoonist, influencer, other. If you choose work that wouldn't typically be considered "literature," make an argument why it should be. Everything in culture changes, but maybe certain things stay roughly the same?

Your job is to convey to your reader why the work of your chosen author is worthy of study and consideration. Give examples. Avoid obvious arguments. Say something original. Take a chance, or rather, take chances. Have fun. Why should we devote our limited amount of time on this earth to read (or experience) the author you chose? Be specific. Don't forget to include in your essay the rationale for your choice. 

You are free to use secondary sources, but you are not required to. If you are having difficulty choosing, take a look at this list of seven young poets, all slightly older than you. If you like science fiction, try Cory Doctorow (all of his books are free pdfs available on his site Craphound.com). If you are looking for something a little bit edgy, try Dennis Cooper and his bizarre gif lit (don't research him if you're offended by sex and nudity). Eileen Myles is amazing, So is Claudia Rankine. Check out the wild stuff on ubu.com. 

Send me an email message if you're struggling or if you're not sure if your chosen "author" is "literary" enough: csmith@dcad.edu.

Each student will make a brief (5 min) informal presentation (seated, no slides unless you need them) on December 4.