The Poetics of Childhood

Edmond Jabes wrote, “When, as a child, I wrote my name for the first time, I realized I was beginning a book.” Not every child or writer is like Jabes. But we do all have our childhoods to draw from when we sit down to write. In this class, we’ll look at how other writers, such as Marie Howe, Jim Daniels, Stuart Dybek, and Sandra Cisneros, to name but a few, make use of childhood as the source and subjects of their writing. Who knows, maybe you, too, like Jabes, will realize you are about to begin a book.