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David Marshall Chan David Marshall Chan is the author of Goblin Fruit: Stories, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist. He grew up in Los Angeles and is a graduate of Yale University and the MFA Creative Writing Program at the University of California, Irvine. David’s fiction has appeared in such publications as Conjunctions, BOMB Magazine, and Columbia and he has received writing fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo. He has taught writing at Syracuse University. Writing in the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Rick Moody called Goblin Fruit: Stories “probably the most stunning debut of the year, one that gives much promise of great things to come,” and in the New York Review of Books, Joyce Carol Oates wrote: “Goblin Fruit is a fascinating cri de couer by a young writer of promise and substance.” David is currently completing a novel combining prose with illustrations. Selected Publications: Goblin Fruit: Stories (Context Books, New York, NY, 2003) Teaching Philosophy: Every serious writer I know is also a passionate reader, and I strongly believe that reading widely and reading well is key to developing your writing skills. I would like students to take apart the novels and short stories they read to find the craft beneath the artistry and begin asking questions: How is the work constructed? What narrative strategies are employed and for what effect? What works best and what doesn’t work as well? Your thoughtful responses to suggested readings, whether in the form of critical or creative responses, will hopefully lead you to begin applying the same questions to your own creative work. In working with students, I would like to receive packets by mail so that I can mark pages by hand. Accompanying the line markings of manuscripts will be extensive typed comments, where I will note what works well and more importantly what needs improvement. I will identify the quirks that stand out in your writing and offer criticism that I hope will help you to revise your book for the better. Is the voice unique and compelling? Is the point-of-view appropriate for the story? Is the dialogue realistic? Is the setting well executed? Are the characters original? Is the overall structure of the book compelling and logical? What areas are unclear to a careful reader? While there are no set rules for good fiction, I can be a knowledgeable guide and a compassionate reader but one who will hold you to high standards. I’ve published a story collection and can especially help students in structuring a collection, but I am open to all forms of fiction. I find first books incredibly exciting, no matter what the style or form. Both Eudora Welty’s elegant first collection A Curtain of Green and Kathy Acker’s audacious first novel Blood and Guts in High School, while on completely different ends of the spectrum in style, are both first books that announced bold new voices; the passions and obsessions explored by the writers in later work are fully evident in these first books. In recent years the writers I’ve found most exciting are ones such as Anne Carson, Roberto Bolano, and W.G. Sebald who cross boundaries with form, and I’m interested in how non-fiction techniques can be applied to fiction and vice versa. I’m also very interested in graphic literature—book projects that combine writing with visual art, ranging from graphic novels to works such as Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and House of Leaves. I am passionate about all forms of print culture—all genres of literature including fiction, poetry, and non-fiction; art publications; children’s books; graphic novels; zines—and I believe writing that is bold and complex will incorporate a wide range of influences and inspirations. I lived in New York City and worked in publishing for several years, and I still work part-time as a freelance editorial consultant. Working in publishing takes away some of the mystery from writing and makes you see writing as a process: from unpublished manuscript to galleys to finished book, the process requires time and revision. As a teacher I am known for having high expectations and forcing students to take their writing to the next level; while first drafts will not be perfect, I expect each subsequent draft of your work to show marked improvement. While artistic inspiration cannot be taught, other qualities like smart revision skills, professional presentation, dedication to and respect for the writer’s craft, timeliness, and good work habits all matter and can be practiced and refined. I look forward to working with Stonecoast students and helping them meet their potential. Links:
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