Growing Pains: The Coming of Age Story [Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum]
Everyone agrees that growing up is hard to do, but the familiar pains of young adulthood make for some of the best fiction. In this class, we’ll look at the coming-of-age story, exploring what defines and distinguishes this genre and discussing a number of contemporary stories as models of the form (among them stories by David Long, Gina Berriault, Junot Diaz, Jodi Angel, and Aryn Kyle). We’ll also work to develop and polish our own coming-of-age narratives through weekly writing exercises and short-fiction workshop.