Can Writing Be Taught? Part 2

In this week's New Yorker double issue, the veteran writer Louis Menand (who also teaches at Harvard) makes a valuable addition to the endless debate about whether writing can be taught. Given that this is the fiction issue, he focuses his inquiry on "creative writing," which is generally another way of saying fiction, short stories and poetry. While he and the book he's discussing make several nuanced arguments, Menand's piece generally comes down on the side of what we would consider to be sensible territory: the idea that while no one can really teach the inspirational side of writing, the craft of writing certainly can be taught. Anyway, we'd love to hear what you think about this subject and/or this article. Meanwhile, you can review Part 1 of this subject, which we brought you last year, here.