Calder Classics Online - Creative Writing
A unique Classics-inspired Writing Workshop designed for high school students to hone their Creative Writing skills. In conversation with classical myths and poems as well as contemporary adaptations, students write stories and compose poetry in a supportive and intellectual environment.
Creative Writing Workshop
Classical myths have long inspired poetry, prose, tragedy, comedy, music, dance and the visual arts. Calder Classics invites students to explore the classical foundation stories and their influence on our culture in our Online Creative Writing Workshop.
Through our writing workshops, and readings of ancient and modern literature, our students are sure to hear the modern Muses. Under the guidance of Alyssa Northrop, an experienced writing mentor, participants spend time drafting their own work as well as giving constructive feedback to their peers. Students complete the program with new drafts as well as several polished pieces.
Workshop
Readings
Students read classical works in translation by ancient writers including Homer, Vergil, and Ovid as well as contemporary fiction and poetry by such authors as Jamaica Kincaid, Terrence Hayes, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Classical and contemporary readings are paired to reveal thematic similarities and inspire students to interrogate ancient ideas with fresh eyes.
Writing
Each session, students have the chance to “free write” in response to a particular prompt. These exercises correspond to our readings and provide the launching pad for workshop drafts. Then we focus on student drafts, discussing what is working and what can be improved. In workshop sessions students get individual feedback and the group as a whole discusses when and how writing is strongest. Our time together culminates in a virtual reading of polished final work.
Faculty
Alyssa Northrop received her BA in English and Creative Writing at Williams College and her MFA in fiction writing at Brooklyn College. Alyssa has taught English as a second language on a Princeton in Asia Fellowship and undergraduate composition and literature courses at Brooklyn College. She is a life-long student of the Classics, having studied Latin and Greek in high school at Saint Ann's and modern adaptations of classical literature at Williams. Alyssa has fiction and non-fiction forthcoming in the Colorado Review, the South Carolina Review, and Epiphany Magazine, and she is working on her first novel. When she is not writing, Alyssa works as a writing and humanities tutor for kids of all ages. Alyssa spent a summer chaperoning for Calder Classics in 2014 and returned in 2017 and 2019 to teach a Creative Writing Workshop in Florence and online in 2020.
Alyssa Northrop
Dates & Fees
Creative Writing is a one-week program offered June 21-25, 2021. The course meets Mon. - Fri. from 10:30 am to 1 pm and again from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm EDT. Students may attend online or in-person in Brooklyn Heights (address will be sent separately) if they are fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to the start of class. Course Fee: $1200
Where do our High School students come from? Check out this list of schools
Where do our alums go on to college? Check out this list of colleges
Testimonials - Calder Classics Online
The Calder Classics Creative Writing Workshop was an incredibly valuable experience for me. Readings provided by our amazing teacher of both classical and contemporary nature were relevant and inspired thought-provoking prompts. I learned through our workshops how to edit and revise my work, questioning and reworking elements of my pieces that I never would have before. Overall this class has provided me with the tools to continue with and expand my creative writing, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to further their understanding and development of this topic.
Calder Classics shaped my perspective on my writing style, introduced new techniques that are hard to learn in traditional English classes, and enhanced my view on literature and literacy.
Calder Classics was one of the most enjoyable online programs that I’ve done. Will definitely do it again!
I really loved this course! It will truly help me in the long run as a Rising Junior. I have learned so much about becoming a better writer and valuing the little details, which makes a good piece, a good piece.
Despite all the pandemic obstacles in the way, Calder Classics was able to adapt and deliver an incredible online program that taught me so much!.