Chasing the Chantable: 3-hour Intensive on Sonic Impact in Syntax

In this half-class/half-workshop we'll study the sentence as a site of sound aesthetics; we'll practice techniques for increasing our syntax's sonic impact.

Details

This class is for folks who hear “kill your darlings,” and think: but they’re all darlings! For people who see the sentence as its own aesthetic terrain, with tension and energy and momentum within and between each syllabic synapse. When we choose a word we choose a range of meanings along with a sonic and physical structural profile that interacts with and relates to the profiles of the words around it. We can use sounds to select for subsequent sounds, so meaning becomes a function of sound as our sentences establish their own sonic logic.
We’ll read and discuss the work of writers who do this—who write with and make us read with a tuned ear. Then we’ll practice the techniques in a workshop format.

What you will learn

Students will explore the relationship between sound and sense, diction's syllabic accents and durations and "architectural" qualities. Students will generate and/or revise existing sentences with an ear and eye toward reimagining their syntax's impact through close attention to the physical and sonic bonds within and between their word choices.

Workshop takeaways

Read and write with an ear for how sound functions in sentences.

What you will be reading

Readings will include Garielle Lutz's "The Sentence is a Lonely Place," and segments of Hempel, Morrison, Cusk, DeLillo, Lucia Berlin, and Maggie Nelson. We will use the readings to derive a shared aesthetic terminology for the workshop.