Strange and surreal stories are deeply connected to narratives of migration, local folklore, belief systems, and emotional landscapes that reflect what each society brings to our histories and storytelling. Strange and surreal elements can take the forms of stories, poetry, hybrid, graphic novels, and more—they are not merely metaphors but ways of creating imaginative landscapes that allow darkness, possibility, reimagination, and hope to continue living.

In this six-week generative writing workshop, we’ll explore strange and surreal writing across genres, including novels, short stories, poetry, graphic novels, and more, and we’ll be reading from works brought into English from different languages, including writing from Iran, Taiwan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and various countries in Latin America. We’ll also include readings from works originally written in English. Moreover, we’ll discuss themes that most frequently appear in contemporary strange and surreal narratives, including the ways storytelling connects to the strange qualities of nature, houses, and everyday objects; ghost stories; psychological landscapes, and more.

Possible readings include short stories or excerpts by Bora Chung, Norman Erikson Pasaribu, Thuận, Mariana Enriquez, Amparo Dávila, Carmen Maria Machado, Mary South, Emil Ferris, Nick Drnaso and more. We’ll also include film references throughout the course.

The goal of this workshop is to help participants generate new ideas for your writing, regardless of the genre you’re working on. Each week, we’ll discuss craft elements and themes from the readings, spend 15-20 minutes on writing exercises together, and explore ways to research relevant sources and materials for your own projects. Participants will also have the option to submit a short piece of writing to the instructor for a 30-minute consultation, but it is entirely optional. You’re also welcome to join the workshop simply to discuss, learn, and engage with the craft.

Week 1 Strange and Surreal—How Do We Build Our Own Stories?

Week 2 Haunted Houses—On Places, Histories, and Under-Discovered Narratives

Week 3 Folklore, Religions, Legends, and Ghost Stories

Week 4 Nature, Plants, and Other Things Out in the Wild

Week 5 Breaking Out of the Body: Emotional Landscape, Body Autonomy, and Monsters

Week 6 Care and Home: Connecting Personal Journeys to What We Know and the Meaning of Return

Burning the House— Writing about the Surreal and the Strange: 6 Week Generative Workshop with Jenna Tang