Samson Raphaelson
In 1948, Samson Raphaelson taught a master class in â€œcreative writing with an emphasis on the dramaâ€ at the University of Illinois. He recorded the experience in a book, "The Human Nature of Playwriting". The introduction expresses Raphaelsonâ€™s deep regard for language so visible in his writing:, "This course does not aim directly to teach writing. Whether you write or not after you finish school means nothing to me as a teacher. In fact, I donâ€™t think it is important from any viewpoint. But whether you live or not is important; and how you live. You may become businessmen or women, office workers, farmers, or wives, and as such you will be, whether you know it or not, deeply related to the culture of your age. That culture is largely expressed by creative writers through the written word. And if from this course you get a notion of how that written word comes into being, of the connection between a writer and his own life and between his life and all lives, then this course will be successful indeed.","The Human Nature of Playwriting" offers a "case history" method as a means of exploring human experience, and explains the means by which such experience may be adapted to the dramatists' craft.
Language,Writing,Nonfiction,Drama
The Human Nature of Playwriting