Writing 101/201 Course Outline
January 13 – April 7, 2026
Senior Manager: Paul Woodhouse
Writing Coordinator: Heidi Rennert
Programme Manager: Reuben Jentink
CLASS DAY/TIME:
Tuesdays, January 13 to April 7, 2026, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
WRITING TUTORIALS (optional): 5:00–6:00 p.m.
Drop-in tutorials are facilitated by Heidi Rennert and volunteers for students who want additional feedback on their class writing. Students are welcome to drop in or make arrangements ahead of time.
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays 1:00–6:00 p.m., Buchanan E270
EMAIL: h.u.m@ubc.ca | PHONE: 604-822-0028
| CLASS OVERVIEW |
Tuesday, January 13
COURSE ORIENTATION: “MUTUAL FLOURISHING,” with Heidi Rennert, Paul Woodhouse, Reuben Jentink, and Logan Medrano
Tuesday, January 20
BLESS YOUR WRITTEN MESS, with Dina Del Bucchia, Creative Writing, UBC, author of It’s a Big Deal! (2019) and You’re Gonna Love This (2024)
Tuesday, January 27
PERSONAL ESSAYS, with Mandy Len Catron, Creative Writing, UBC, author of How to Fall in Love with Anyone: A Memoir in Essays (2017)
Tuesday, February 3
INTRODUCTION TO POETRY, with Claire Matthews, UBC MFA alum, editor, poet, and writer
Tuesday, February 10
EKPHRASIS AND OBJECT WRITING, with Fiona Tinwei Lam, 2022-2024 Vancouver Poet Laureate, author of Intimate Distances (2002), Enter the Chrysanthemum (2009), and Odes & Laments (2019).
| Thursday, February 12. 2:30-4:00 p.m.
INTRODUCTION TO IRVING K. BARBER LIBRARY with Allan Cho, Community Librarian UNSPOKEN TRUTHS: A POETRY WORKSHOP with Evelyn Lau, UBC Library Writer-in-Residence On Thursday, we will be organizing a group trip to Irving K. Barber Library for a poetry workshop with Writer-In-Residence, Evelyn Lau. At 2:30 p.m., we will have an introduction to the library space with Community Librarian Allan Cho. From 3:00–4:00 p.m., Evelyn Lau will lead a workshop on generative writing. Please note that this workshop is open to UBC faculty, staff, students, and community members. |
Tuesday, February 17
NO CLASS: UBC READING BREAK
| Tuesday, February 24. 6:15–8:30 p.m.
TOUR OF VANCOUVER ART GALLERY As part of this tour, you’ll be able to reflect further on the relationship between writing and art. |
Tuesday, March 3
THE PAPER, THE FOLD AND THE POETRY: A CHAPBOOK MAKING WORKSHOP, with Kevin Spenst, author of A Bouquet Brought Back from Space (2024), Hearts Amok: A Memoir in Verse (2022), Ignite (2016), and Jabbering with Bing Bong (2015)
Tuesday, March 10
KNOWN GENRE, NEW STORY: WRITING SPECULATIVE FICTION, with Whitney French, Creative Writing, UBC, editor of Black Writers Matter (2019) and Griot: Six Writers Sojourn into the Dark (2022), and author of Syncopation (2025).
Tuesday, March 17
WRITING FOR THE PUBLIC, with Michelle Cyca, journalist and Asper Visiting Professor at School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, UBC
Tuesday, March 24
COLLAGE MAKING, with Sheryda Warrener, Creative Writing, UBC, author of Test Piece (2022), Floating is Everything (2016), and Hard Feelings (2010)
Tuesday, March 31
COMICS AND LIFEWRITING: MAKE A MICRO MEMOIR IN COMICS, with Sarah Leavitt, Creative Writing, UBC, author of Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love (2024) and Tangles: A Story of Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me (2010)
Tuesday, April 7
MAKING RESEARCH CREATIVE, with Heidi Rennert, Writing Coordinator, Hum, UBC
| HOW WRITING 101 & WRITING 201 ARE ORGANIZED |
Pre-class tutorials: If you would like individual feedback on your in-class writing, staff and volunteers are available from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.
What a typical class looks like:
- 6:30 p.m.: Class starts. At the door, you’ll find a table with readings for next class and optional groundwork assignments.
- 6:30–7:00 p.m.: We’ll begin the first 30 minutes of class with writing exercises to warm ourselves up for the class. You’ll have the option to share your writing with the class for peer feedback.
- 7:00–8:30 p.m.: The guest teacher arrives and will present on the topic of the evening. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about a new genre, practice writing through exercises, and share your writing with the class. There’s a short break around 7:45 p.m.
- 8:30 p.m.: The lecture ends at 8:30 p.m. To respect our many volunteer guest teachers, we ask that you give them your full attention until that time. The next week’s bus and meal tickets are given out at the end of class. (Stick around to the end for the book draw!)
| LEARNING NEW KINDS OF WRITING |
In Writing 101 and Writing 201, we learn about and practice writing in many different forms, styles, and genres. Some of these forms will be familiar and others may be new. There will be many opportunities throughout the semester for you to pick up your pens and try that kind of writing for yourselves. Overall, by practicing these new genres and styles, you’ll learn that “how” you write something affects the meaning of “what” you say. Some techniques or forms may not work for you, which is okay. Part of our classes will involve discovering which kinds of writing resonate with you.
| LOVING SENTENCES, WITH GILLES CYRENNE |
If you’re interested in learning more about, improving, or just having a refresher in English grammar, Hum alumnus Gilles Cyrenne leads an 8-part grammar mini-series that takes place on Tuesdays at the Carnegie Centre Learning Centre in the third floor (401 Main St.). The series is optional and is focused on the nuts and bolts—and hammers!—of English grammar.
| FEEDBACK AND SUPPORT |
There will be multiple ways for you to receive support in your writing and classroom learning, from feedback during class and group activities to 1:1 tutorial sessions. You will also receive written feedback on your writing, including constructive comments, from Hum staff. You can submit your writing either handwritten or typed, or email it to h.u.m@ubc.ca if you would like us to print it out for you. Just come by the office before class to pick it up.
TUTORIALS: These optional sessions will give you one-on-one feedback with a staff member or volunteer on your writing. These sessions are a great opportunity to ask specific questions about what you learned in class or about a specific piece of writing you’re currently working on. The writing you share during these tutorials should be relevant to the course.
GROUNDWORK: Every evening, you’ll get the chance to review the genre and concepts introduced in class through “groundwork” exercises. You can take these optional exercises home with you and reflect on them over the week. You can share your responses by handing in your writing in-person or by email.
PUBLICATION: We encourage you to submit pieces throughout the term. You’ll also be able to choose and revise one piece of writing to be included in Hum’s annual publication, which will be published in Spring 2026. We’ll share more details later in the term.
| REQUIREMENTS |
In order to graduate from the course, you need to submit at least three pieces of class writing. These pieces can be something that began from a writing exercise, class activity, groundwork, or any other kind of class-related writing (that is, you should not submit writing developed outside the course). You’ll receive feedback on the pieces that you turn in.
You need to attend at least nine out of twelve classes to graduate from this course.
| GRADUATION CEREMONY |
This year’s graduation ceremony will take place at the end of April 2026. Details about the ceremony will be shared mid-way during the course. Guests are most welcome! Please let us know how many you’ll be bringing.
