`Rolling Stone' editor to teach new writing workshop at Penn

He has interviewed U2, Jerry Garcia, Sting, the Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Garth Brooks and Billy Joel.

And next year, Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor at Rolling Stone, will teach Penn students how to do what he loves to do every day.

DeCurtis will arrive on campus this fall to teach a new addition to the English curriculum -- a workshop entitled "Writing About the Arts."

The three-hour class in the Kelly Writers House will require a great deal of writing about popular culture and fine arts. Students will learn how to write reviews of art, music, theater and dance. They will learn how to critique and be critiqued by peers.

And DeCurtis will use his connections for his student's benefits, bringing in other "real-live" writers, editors, journalists and critics.

"What I have to offer here is a lot of professional experience," DeCurtis said. "I want to make it so that it's less like a class where people write papers and more like some sort of combination of reporting, journalism and critical thinking which is sort of what I feel like I do."

English Department Chairman David Wallace said he realizes how unusual the idea of a pop music critic teaching a class at Penn is.

"We are interested in developing courses that form a bridge from the traditional English major into the world of professional writing," Wallace said in an e-mail statement.

He added that DeCurtis' career profile is suited to that purpose, since the Rolling Stone editor is not only a popular music expert, but has an academic background as well.

DeCurtis holds a Ph.D. in American Literature and has taught at Indiana University for four years, as well as at Emory University.

DeCurtis has asked prospective students to submit writing samples, although he did say that he is not looking for particular characteristics in a writer.

"Sometimes you don't know what you're looking for until you see it," he said. "One of the things I hope to instill in my young charges is an open mind."

"You look for things that excite you, that are really fun to read, that make you say 'wow, that person really has a voice,'" he added.

DeCurtis said he believes the class will attract students who want to learn how to write about the subjects they enjoy to read about in magazines, newspapers and on the Internet.

The class will also break with tradition in its style of assignments. Instead of research, DeCurtis will ask students to analyze lyrics of a song and perfect their technique of writing about music.

And instead of a 15-page term paper, the final project will be a 3,000 word article similar to the ones printed in Rolling Stone. Penn students could interview a local band and travel around with them for a few days or track a theater group, interview the director, performers and attend the plays.

Above all, DeCurtis stressed that the vision for the class is ever-changing. He'll arrive in Philadelphia ready to enjoy the class as much as his students.

"I'm not walking in here with some syllabus that I have from 30 years ago," DeCurtis said. "It's going to be pretty improvisational. I'm going to be feeling these kids and seeing where they are. We can go anywhere we want to go."

Students have Wallace to thank for the pop music expert coming arrival at the University. Wallace, who knew DeCurtis through a mutual friend, had invited DeCurtis to speak at Kelly Writers House earlier in the semester.

"I think that was a 'let's get a look at you, let's let you get a look at us,'" DeCurtis said. "I had a great time. After that, [Wallace] concocted this notion of me coming down to teach this writing course."

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