In this course, we focus on different types of texts, e.g. personal diary, essay, non-fiction forms, fictional short stories, literary critics, etc. We explore the relationships between fact and writing, work on various texts, and read different kinds of texts, etc. We read diaries of Dostoyevsky and Gogol, essays of Shklovsky and Merezhkovsky, short stories by Babel, Chekhov, and Tolstaya, scholarly articles by Gumilev, Soloviov, and Rozanov.

Every week is devoted to certain literary genres. During class meetings students participate in improvisation and write their texts on a randomly chosen topic. They prepare written assignments and produce written works in different genres.

Once a week students are invited to practice their skills in a certain genre by participating in a literary salon and in a forum where they discuss and criticize fictional, scholarly and their own writings.