Marilyn Sides
Associate Teaching Professor in English
Teaching focuses on creative writing, mainly fiction and travel writing.
My teaching ranges from creative writing (fiction and travel writing) to the study of and critical writing about literature, both poetry and fiction. My first published story, "The Island of the Mapmaker's Wife," appeared in the 1990 O. Henry Prize Stories collection. A collection of stories, The Island of the Mapmaker's Wife and Other Tales, appeared in 1996 (Harmony) and my first novel, The Genius of Affection (Harmony) was published in August 1999.
Education
- B.A., University of Utah
- M.A., University of Utah
- Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
Current and upcoming courses
Contemporary Historical Fiction in English and in Translation
ENG354
In the 21st century, the historical novel has moved globally into literary fiction--novels characterized by complex narrative structures, richer use of language, and more wide-ranging questions about history, time, identity. What makes a novel precisely historical? Why do recent literary historical fictions often toggle between the past and present, as characters in the present look to the past for their own histories? How do historical novels embrace genre hybridity by incorporating science fiction or the gothic? How do these novels not only use history as their setting, but seek to question our notions of history? Texts range from the Ugandan epic Kintu (Jennifer Nansuguba Makumbi), to You Dreamed of Empires A (Álvaro Enrique)--a mashup of the encounter of Cortés and Moctezuma in Tenochtitlan, to Han Kang''s Human Acts--the visceral account of the 1980 democratic uprising in South Korea. All texts will be read in English.
(CPLT 354 and ENG 354 are cross-listed courses.)-
Non-Fiction Writing Tpc: Non-Fiction Essay
ENG206
Topic for Fall 2026: Non-Fiction Essay. This creative writing workshop encourages students to explore the genre of creative non-fiction. We will look at examples of the rich variety of non-fiction essays, which includes travel writing, personal essay, memoir, humor essay, lyric essay, food writing, and the hermit crab essay. And, of course, draft and revise our own essays. Of particular importance in this course is working on basic strong writing and research skills.