WRIT54101 - Playing in Parody

Course Description

This course is a rare opportunity for the general public to study and write with University of Chicago Professor of English and Creative Writing Srikanth (Chicu) Reddy. Playing in Parody is a noncredit abbreviation and adaptation of his Fundamentals of Creative Writing: Parody course offered in Winter 2020 to UChicago college and graduate students. Seats are limited.

Course Description

Beginning writers are often told to “imitate” the work of “great authors” in order to discover their own voices. One way to reconcile imitation with originality is to copy masterpieces from literary history with great care, but with a comic touch, too. Imitation with a difference—think Pride and Prejudice and Zombies—is the soul of parody, and in this course, we’ll make mockeries of literary masterpieces in order to learn how art "works." 

Instructor

Srikanth Reddy is the author of Voyager, named one of the best books of poetry in 2011 by The New Yorker, The Believer, and National Public Radio. His previous collection, Facts for Visitors, won the 2005 Asian American Literary Award for Poetry. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Creative Capital Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts; his poetry and criticism has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Poetry, The Guardian (UK), and numerous other venues.ment for the Arts; his poetry and criticism has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Poetry, The Guardian (UK), and numerous other venues.