Master Class: A Discussion of Time in Fiction

The most important, vital element of fiction might be one that we don’t think or talk much about: time, its passage, its measurement, its subversion. We’ll talk about how to use time in fiction—clocks and frames and shelves—but we’ll also talk about that equally important, inexorable passage of time—on the poor writer. Suggested reading prior to class: “Pet Milk” by Stuart Dybek, “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olson, “Going for a Beer” by Robert Coover, and “My Documents” by Alejandro Zambra.