Laura Jok teaches creative writing with an emphasis in fiction. A graduate of the Program for Writers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jok also served as a 2021 Luminarts Fellow in Fiction. Her short stories appear in New Ohio Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Sou’wester, The Florida Review, Green Mountains Review, Nimrod International Journal, Chicago Quarterly Review, and Juked. Her literary criticism appears in the James Joyce Quarterly.
Areas of Expertise
Creative writing, contemporary short fiction, experiments in narrative perspective
Education
2022 — Doctor of Philosophy from University of Illinois at Chic
2015 — Master of Fine Arts from University of Houston
2012 — Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University
Courses Recently Taught
This course introduces students to the elements of fiction writing. While each section of the course varies in approach and structure, activities and assignments may include intensive reading, workshops, writing, short and flash fiction, and exercises emphasizing various aspects of fiction such as place, dialogue and character. Students should check the online schedule for specific descriptions of each section. Admission to this course is open, though students may not take it in the first semester of their first year. Seats are reserved for students in each class year. This counts toward the emphasis in creative writing and the creative practice requirement for the major. Offered every year.
This workshop focuses on discussion of participants' fiction as well as on exercises and playful experimentation. Principally, we are concerned with how stories work at every level. As we consider narrative strategies and practical methods for developing individual styles, along with approaches to revising work, we also read, as writers, a variety of outside texts. This counts toward the creative writing emphasis and toward the creative practice requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ENGL 200, 202 or 204 (or an equivalent introductory workshop) and permission of instructor via application. Consult the department for information on the application process and deadlines.