Ian Randall Wilson

Instructor Biography:

M.F.A., M.A., fiction writer and poet whose work has appeared in North American Review, The Gettysburg Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and The Boston Literary Review, among many others. Mr. Wilson’s story collection, Hunger and Other Stories, and his novella Great Things Are Coming, were published by Hollyridge Press.

Instructor Statement: “I can’t tell more than I know,” William Carlos Williams said. “I have lived, somehow, from day to day; and so I describe it, from day to day, as I have struggled to get a meaning from my failures and successes.” I write for that understanding; to figure out who I am; to create something I can order and arrange in what’s often a world of discrete and unrelated fragments. Sometimes those stories come out as realistic fiction, sometimes as postmodern narratives. Sometimes in a comic play of language. Those are the threads of literary fiction that engage me, an interest I hope to pass on to my students. I believe strongly that writers should read not just other fiction but great works in many discourses: poetry, memoir, history, philosophy, writing from cultures not your own. Give me a thousand good influences. They intensify the mind and have the best effect on your characters. In my teaching, I also use the terminology of narrative theory to develop a common language for writers. I want to offer students a means of engaging in a critical dialogue. Rather than struggle to invent terms, there’s a whole critical lexicon available to us and it’s a great way to wow your friends.

Our Students Say it Best!

“Terrific instructor! Covered the material in the text, provided his own valuable insights into the writing process. But most important, his deadpan style was genuinely inspiring. No nonsense. He genuinely believes in writing and imparts a quiet intense love of the work to his students.”  — Writers’ Program Student