Curtis, Abi (2009) Rethinking the unconscious in creative writing pedagogy. New Writing, 6 (2). pp. 105-116. ISSN 1479-0726

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Abstract

The notion of the unconscious pervades creative writing (CW) pedagogy and I examine its prevalence in CW guidebooks written by practitioners in the field, from Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer, which was first published in 1934 and remains a popular ‘inspirational’ book, to those published in the last few years. These books encourage the notion of ‘accessing’ or ‘tapping into’ the unconscious as a method of producing CW. My discussion will critique the conception of the unconscious as an unproblematic ‘container’ or personified entity, and re-examine it in the light of Freud's complex and variously-imagined model. I propose that re-conceiving the unconscious as a site of connectivity opens new possibilities for teaching CW within an intellectually rigorous university setting.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	pedagogy, psychoanalysis, learning models, unconscious, reflexive, guides
Schools and Departments:	University of Sussex Business School > Centre for Community Engagement
Depositing User:	Abigail Curtis
Date Deposited:	18 Jul 2012 13:55
Last Modified:	18 Jul 2012 13:55
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/15246

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