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Creative Writing and Literature Master’s Degree Program
Unlock your creative potential and hone your unique voice.
Online Courses
11 out of 12 total courses
On-Campus Experience
One 1- or 3-week residency in summer
$3,220 per course
Program Overview
Through the master’s degree in creative writing and literature, you’ll hone your skills as a storyteller — crafting publishable original scripts, novels, and stories.
In small, workshop-style classes, you’ll master key elements of narrative craft, including characterization, story and plot structure, point of view, dialogue, and description. And you’ll learn to approach literary works as both a writer and scholar by developing skills in critical analysis.
Program Benefits
Instructors who are published authors of drama, fiction, and nonfiction
A community of writers who support your growth in live online classes
Writer's residency with agent & editor networking opportunities
Personalized academic and career advising
Thesis or capstone options that lead to publishable creative work
Harvard Alumni Association membership upon graduation
Customizable Course Curriculum
As you work through the program’s courses, you’ll enhance your creative writing skills and knowledge of literary concepts and strategies. You’ll practice the art of revision to hone your voice as a writer in courses like Writing the Short Personal Essay and Writing Flash Fiction.
Within the creative writing and literature program, you will choose between a thesis or capstone track. You’ll also experience the convenience of online learning and the immersive benefits of learning in person.
11 Online Courses
- Primarily synchronous
- Fall, spring, January, and summer options
Writers’ Residency
A 1- or 3-week summer master class taught by a notable instructor, followed by an agents-and-editors weekend
Thesis or Capstone Track
- Thesis: features a 9-month independent creative project with a faculty advisor
- Capstone: includes crafting a fiction or nonfiction manuscript in a classroom community
The path to your degree begins before you apply to the program.
First, you’ll register for and complete 2 required courses, earning at least a B in each. These foundational courses are investments in your studies and count toward your degree, helping ensure success in the program.
Getting Started
We invite you to explore degree requirements, confirm your initial eligibility, and learn more about our unique “earn your way in” admissions process.
A Faculty of Creative Writing Experts
Studying at Harvard Extension School means learning from the world’s best. Our instructors are renowned academics in literary analysis, storytelling, manuscript writing, and more. They bring a genuine passion for teaching, with students giving our faculty an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.
Bryan Delaney
Playwright and Screenwriter
Talaya Adrienne Delaney
Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University
Elisabeth Sharp McKetta
Our community at a glance.
80% of our creative writing and literature students are enrolled in our master’s degree program for either personal enrichment or to make a career change. Most (74%) are employed full time while pursuing their degree and work across a variety of industries.
Download: Creative Writing & Literature Master's Degree Fact Sheet
Average Age
Course Taken Each Semester
Work Full Time
Would Recommend the Program
Professional Experience in the Field
Pursued for Personal Enrichment
Career Opportunities & Alumni Outcomes
Graduates of our Creative Writing and Literature Master’s Program have writing, research, and communication jobs in the fields of publishing, advertising/marketing, fundraising, secondary and higher education, and more.
Some alumni continue their educational journeys and pursue further studies in other nationally ranked degree programs, including those at Boston University, Brandeis University, University of Pennsylvania, and Cambridge University.
Our alumni hold titles as:
- Marketing Manager
- Director of Publishing
- Senior Research Writer
Our alumni work at a variety of leading organizations, including:
- Little, Brown & Company
- New York University (NYU)
- Bentley Publishers
Career Advising and Mentorship
Whatever your career goals, we’re here to support you. Harvard’s Mignone Center for Career Success offers career advising, employment opportunities, Harvard alumni mentor connections, and career fairs like the annual on-campus Harvard Humanities, Media, Marketing, and Creative Careers Expo.
Your Harvard University Degree
Upon successful completion of the required curriculum, you will earn the Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Extension Studies, Field: Creative Writing and Literature.
Expand Your Connections: the Harvard Alumni Network
As a graduate, you’ll become a member of the worldwide Harvard Alumni Association (400,000+ members) and Harvard Extension Alumni Association (29,000+ members).
Harvard is closer than one might think. You can be anywhere and still be part of this world.
Tuition & Financial Aid
Affordability is core to our mission. When compared to our continuing education peers, it’s a fraction of the cost.
After admission, you may qualify for financial aid . Typically, eligible students receive grant funds to cover a portion of tuition costs each term, in addition to federal financial aid options.
What can you do with a master’s degree in creative writing and literature?
A master’s degree in creative writing and literature prepares you for a variety of career paths in writing, literature, and communication — it’s up to you to decide where your interests will take you.
You could become a professional writer, editor, literary agent, marketing copywriter, or communications specialist.
You could also go the academic route and bring your knowledge to the classroom to teach creative writing or literature courses.
Is a degree in creative writing and literature worth it?
The value you find in our Creative Writing and Literature Master’s Degree Program will depend on your unique goals, interests, and circumstances.
The curriculum provides a range of courses that allow you to graduate with knowledge and skills transferable to various industries and careers.
How long does completing the creative writing and literature graduate program take?
Program length is ordinarily anywhere between 2 and 5 years. It depends on your preferred pace and the number of courses you want to take each semester.
For an accelerated journey, we offer year round study, where you can take courses in fall, January, spring, and summer.
While we don’t require you to register for a certain number of courses each semester, you cannot take longer than 5 years to complete the degree.
What skills do you need prior to applying for the creative writing and literature degree program?
Harvard Extension School does not require any specific skills prior to applying, but in general, it’s helpful to have solid reading, writing, communication, and critical thinking skills if you are considering a creative writing and literature master’s degree.
Initial eligibility requirements can be found on our creative writing and literature master’s degree requirements page .
Harvard Division of Continuing Education
The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.
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Poetry at Harvard
- The Woodberry Poetry Room
Fugitive Sparrows
An Installation by Zachary Sifuentes April 6th - May 3rd The Woodberry Poetry Room, Lamont Library
Poetry@Harvard represents a vital nexus of poetry-related courses, library collections, events, organizations, publications and pedagogy at Harvard University. Poetry@Harvard is a site of collaborative interchange and, like all great poems, it is an ongoing experiment: It relies upon faculty and students to actively share and exchange information and ideas. “So much depends,” therefore, upon you.
Students@Harvard : We invite you to deepen your engagement with the poetic art form both inside the classroom and beyond, through a wide array of poetry readings on and off campus, poetry organizations, literary competitions and fellowships and prizes. We encourage you to inform us about upcoming events, learn about your poetic predecessors at Harvard, and take advantage of the full range of literary resources that Harvard provides.
Faculty@Harvard : We encourage you to explore the Poetry Classroom to discover a range of innovative teaching resources and to create your own cutting-edge modules for your own course iSites. Poetry@Harvard also offers you the opportunity to inform the Harvard community about your upcoming readings, lectures and panels and to share your teaching ideas with your colleagues. We want to partner with you to develop the next set of tools and to enhance our current information.
Visitors@Harvard : We welcome you to the vibrant poetic life of Harvard. This site will offer you a portal to Harvard’s poetry community and to its inimitable literary resources. We invite you to learn about Harvard poetry events and forthcoming Harvard Extension School classes, deadlines for publishing in such publications as the Harvard Review, The Gamut and Tuesday, and library resources that connect you to the vast continuum of poets at Harvard, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, T. S. Eliot, Elizabeth Bishop, Jean Valentine, Robert Creeley, Michael Palmer, Adrienne Rich, Lyn Hejinian, Kevin Young, Dan Chiasson and Thomas Sayers Ellis. The site has been supported by the Dean for Arts and Humanities in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard College Library, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Academic Technology Group , iCommons, and members of the faculty from departments and programs across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
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Harvard College Writing Program
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- Writing Center
- For FAS Instructors
ADMINISTRATION
Thomas Jehn
Sosland Director of the Harvard College Writing Program
Fields: English Literature and Academic Writing
Research and Writing Interests : Secondary school and college writing pedagogy, Institutional histories of literary studies, academic activism, and 60s culture
Tom Jehn is the Sosland Director of the Harvard College Writing Program, where he has taught and administered for more than 20 years. He has served on the Standing Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid, the Committee on Academic Integrity, and the Ad Hoc Committee on Writing and Speaking. He has directed the Harvard Writing Project, a professional development and publications program for faculty members and graduate student instructors across the disciplines at the University. He designed and oversaw Harvard’s first community outreach writing and speaking program at the Harvard Allston Education Portal, where he now serves as a member of its Advisory Board. He has also directed the writing center for Harvard’s Extension School. He has been a contributing author for a series of best-selling composition textbooks published by Bedford/St. Martin’s Press. As the program officer and board member for the Calderwood Writing Initiative at the Boston Athenaeum, an arts and education charity, he designed and led financing for university-partnered writing centers at eight Boston city high schools serving more than 3,000 students. He has taught numerous professional development courses on writing pedagogy for secondary school and college instructors across the country and has collaborated with the National Writing Project. He also advises university writing programs and conducts communications training for companies and non-profits. He holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia.
Karen Heath
Associate Director of the Harvard College Writing Program
Senior Preceptor
Fields: Creative Writing and Literature
Research and Writing Interests : Fiction
Karen Heath received her M.F.A. in fiction from Indiana University and her Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a Senior Preceptor in the Harvard College Writing Program, where she works on issues of program pedagogy and faculty development, as well as the Associate Director of the program. She is the course head for Expos Studio 10. She also teaches fiction writing at the Harvard Extension School.
James Herron
Director, Harvard Writing Project
Fields: Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology
Research and Writing Interests : Pragmatics, linguistics, Latin America, Colombia, political economy, race, class
James is director of the Harvard Writing Project and has taught at Harvard since 2004. He has a Ph.D. in cultural and linguistic anthropology from the University of Michigan. At Harvard he has taught courses on Latin American history and culture, the anthropology of race, social class, capitalism, "the culture of the market," ethnographic and qualitative research methods, and anthropological linguistics. Herron has held research fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, among others.
Jane Rosenzweig
Director, Harvard Writing Center
Field: Creative Writing
Research and Writing Interests : Fiction, cultural criticism
Jane Rosenzweig holds a B.A. from Yale University, an M.Litt. from Oxford, and an M.F.A in fiction writing from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has been a staff editor at the Atlantic Monthly and a member of the fiction staff at the New Yorker . Her work has appeared in Glimmer Train , Seventeen , The May Anthology of Oxford and Cambridge Short Stories , The American Prospect , the Boston Globe , the Boston Phoenix , Utne Reader , and The Chronicle Review . She is the director of the Harvard College Writing Center.
Rebecca Skolnik
Assistant Director of Administration for the Academic Resource Center and the Harvard College Writing Program
Rebecca Skolnik manages all Program budgets and payroll; faculty and staff appointments and re-appointments; technology needs for Program administration and faculty; and Program operations.
Aubrey Everett
Program Coordinator, Harvard College Writing Program
Aubrey Everett provides the Writing Program’s faculty and leadership team with overall support, primarily in the areas of course registration, the Writing Exam, Harvard Writing Project and Writing Center, digital projects, various curricular initiatives, and faculty development events and resources. Her background is in print journalism and she has experience working in both publishing and higher education.
Gregory Collins
Staff Assistant, Harvard College Writing Program
Gregory Collins manages all onsite operations, departmental communications, and hiring processes. His background is in creative writing and communications. He has worked with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, The New School MFA Program, WHYY Public Radio, and the Playwrights' Center.
Fields: Near Eastern Studies, Comparative Literature, Orality, Scripture & Literary Theory
Research and Writing Interests : Comparative Religion, International Law, Linguistics, Fiction, and Children’s Literature
Sheza Alqera holds an honors degree in English and Economics from Brown University (B.A.) graduating Magna cum Laude, and a Masters from Harvard Divinity School (MTS). She is presently completing her PhD in Near Eastern Studies and Civilizations (NELC) from Harvard University. Before joining the Harvard College Writing Program, Sheza worked as a Writing Tutor for the Harvard Extension Writing Program for over three years, and more recently, as a Departmental Writing Fellow and Senior Thesis Advisor for the College. She has been awarded Certificates of Excellence in Teaching by Harvard University's Derek Bok Center and has served as a liaison between faculty, staff, and students in her role as Student Representative and member of the Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) Committee for her program.
Fields: History of Science; Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Research and Writing Interests : Nineteenth-century transatlantic history; Victorian medicine & science; women & gender in science
Katie Baca completed her M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Science at Harvard with a secondary field in WGS. Her research focuses on the intersections of nineteenth century science and studies of women, gender, and sexuality. She has worked for the Darwin and Tyndall Correspondence Projects. Before entering academia, Baca worked in equity research. She received her A.B. from Harvard College in History and Science with a secondary field in Economics.
Doug Bafford
Fields: Anthropology
Research and Writing Interests: Anthropology of religion; evangelical Christianity; epistemology; language and culture; race and multiculturalism; contested authority; creationism; South Africa
Website: https://www.dougbafford.com
Doug Bafford is a cultural anthropologist who studies the intersection of religion, authority, and language in Southern Africa. His recent ethnographic research projects trace changes within evangelical Christianity in post-apartheid South Africa, the semiotics of young-earth creationism in the United States, and the dynamics of conservative responses to racism. This work centers on how Christians produce knowledge and authority amid rapid social transformation and is currently being developed into a monograph examining the ambiguous role of culture in conservative lifeworlds . He has taught undergraduate courses in anthropology, expository writing, and interdisciplinary social sciences at several institutions, most recently at the College of the Holy Cross. Originally from Maryland, he received professional training at Carroll Community College, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and Brandeis University.
Erika Bailey
Fields: Theater, Voice, Public Speaking
Research and Writing Interests: Rhetoric, Teaching and Performance, Dialect and Accent Acquisition
Erika Bailey is the Head of Voice and Speech at American Repertory Theater and is a long-time faculty member of the Theater, Dance, and Media concentration at Harvard. She also serves as a member of the Committee on Commencement Parts, choosing student speakers for commencement, and is a faculty advisor at the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. She has taught voice and speech classes at Princeton University, the Juilliard School, Williams College, and Boston Conservatory among others. She gives workshops across the schools of Harvard University on public speaking and performance. She holds a B.A. from Williams College, an M.F.A. from Brandeis University and an M.A. in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Pat Bellanca
Fields: English and American Literature
Research and Writing Interests : Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century English Literature; Gothic fiction; critical theory; journalism.
Pat Bellanca holds degrees in English from Wellesley College (B A ) and Rutgers University (M A, PhD). In addition to teaching in the Harvard College Writing Program, where she is a Head Preceptor, she directs the master’s degree programs in journalism and in creative writing at Harvard's Division of Continuing Education. She is also co-author of The Short Guide to College Writing , currently in its fifth edition.
Collier Brown
Field: American Studies
Research and Writing Interests: Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century American Literature; Form and Theory of Poetry; Aesthetics of Waste and Wastelands; History of Photography
Website: http://scbrownjr.com
Collier Brown is a poet, photography critic, and literary scholar. He holds a PhD in American Studies from Harvard and an MFA in Poetry from McNeese State University. Brown’s essays on photography have appeared in more than twenty books, including Eyemazing : The New Collectible Art Photography (Thames & Hudson) and Beth Moon’s Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time (Abbeville Press). His latest poetry collection, Scrap Bones , is out now with Texas Review Press.
Vivien Chung
Field: Social Anthropology
Research and Writing Interests: Work and passion; fashion, power, and identities; culture, meaning, and value; contemporary South Korea
Vivien Chung holds a doctoral degree in anthropology from Harvard University. Her dissertation focused on workers' passion for creative work, drawing from her 18 months of fieldwork in South Korea's fashion magazine industry. During her time at Harvard, she taught a range of anthropology courses. This included a writing-intensive seminar specifically designed to assist undergraduate students in developing their thesis projects. She has also been recognized with The Derek C. Bok Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching. Currently, she is working on transforming her doctoral research into a book.
Kate Clarke
Kate has worked in the fields of theater and education for over twenty years. She has taught in the Theater Departments at Salem State University and the Boston Conservatory. She worked for the educational branch of the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and has worked extensively in organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Boston and the Mayor’s Program, developing classes that focus on promoting communication skills in at-risk youth. Overseas, Kate has co-developed and directed theater/writing programs for projects in Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Kate holds an M.F.A in Theater Arts from Brandeis University and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Nick Coburn-Palo
Field: Political Science
Research and Writing Interests: International Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution, Political Rhetoric, and American Political Development
Nick Coburn-Palo earned his M A and PhD from Brown University in Political Science. He has over thirty years of instructional and lecturing experience at independent schools and universities on four continents, including Yale University (as a Program Dean for International Security Studies), the Open University of Catalonia (Barcelona), San Jose State University, and the Taipei American School. He has longstanding professional relationships with the United Nations (UNITAR), including work at the Security Council level, as well as with a leading continental economic think tank, European House – Ambrosetti, where he will be delivering a lecture series in Turin and Milan this fall. His academic interests include celebrity politics, East Asian security studies, and leadership training. He also teaches graduate courses in Management and Government for the Harvard Extension School.
Matthew Cole
Research and Writing Interests: Political Theory, Environmental Politics, Political Fiction
Matthew Cole studied political science at Carleton College and later at Duke University, where he completed his Ph.D. with an emphasis on political theory. His current writing projects include a book manuscript about dystopian political thought and articles about 1984 , climate fiction, and technocratic challenges to democracy. Prior to joining the Harvard College Writing Program, he taught with the Department of Political Science and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. He has also taught courses for the Harvard Summer School, the Duke Talent Identification Program, and the Carleton Summer Writing Program.
Field: American Literature
Research and Writing Interests : Political novels, history and theory of the novel, American studies
Tad Davies received his Ph.D. in English from University of California, Irvine and before coming to Harvard taught an array of literary and cultural studies courses at Bryant University. His academic interests lay in the intersection between literature and politics—particularly as they meet in the U.S. of the 1960s.
Margaret Deli
Research and Writing Interests : 19th- and 20th-century English and American literature, aesthetic expertise, museum studies, celebrity studies
Maggie completed her MA and PhD in English Language and Literature from Yale University. Her research focuses on art, snobs, and expertise. She received her BA from Johns Hopkins University and holds degrees in English and American Studies and the History of Art and Art-World Practice from Oxford and Christie's Education London respectively.
Samuel Garcia
Fields: History
Research and Writing Interests : Early Modern Europe (Spain in particular); Colonial Latin America; Religious History; Protestant and Catholic Reformations; History of Witchcraft and Magic
Samuel García is a historian of early modern Europe and colonial Latin America. He holds a PhD in History from Yale University, a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree from Harvard Divinity School, and a BA from St. John’s College (Annapolis). His research interests include topics such as the Spanish Inquisition, witchcraft and magic, and the development of early modern Catholicism. His current project centers on the definition of superstition in early modern Spain. Prior to Harvard, he taught at Wesleyan University (History Dept. and College of Letters) and, most recently, in the Princeton Writing Program
Terry Gipson
Fields: Public Speaking, Communications, Public Relations, Visual Arts, Political Communication
Research and Writing Interests : Art and Perception, Political Communication
Website: https://www.terrygipsonny.com
Terry Gipson has over 25 years of experience in communications, public relations, government affairs, marketing, mass media, experiential design, and he is a former New York State Senator. He previously served as a Director for MTV Networks where he collaborated with producers to develop live shows and promotional events for MTV and Nickelodeon. Terry is a regular commentator on the WAMC Public Radio Roundtable and teaches public relations and strategic communication for Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education. Before coming to Harvard, he taught public speaking, public relations, political communication, persuasion, and campaign communication as a lecturer at the State University of New York at New Paltz and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His interest in using art as a communication teaching tool has been featured on the Academic Minute and published in Communication Teacher. Terry has an MFA in Theatre Arts from Pennsylvania State University and a BFA in Theatre Arts from Texas Tech University. In addition, he is a member of the National Communication Association and the Public Relations Society of America.
J. Gregory Given
Fields: Study of Religion, Classics
Research and Writing Interests : Early Christianity, late antiquity, Coptic language and literature, ancient letter collections, history of scholarship
Greg Given is a historian of the ancient Mediterranean world, with broad interests in the development of Christian literature and culture from the second to sixth centuries CE. His current book project focuses on the various collections of letters attributed to the second-century martyr-bishop Ignatius of Antioch. He holds a PhD from Harvard in the Study of Religion, a MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and a BA in Classics and Religion from Reed College. Prior to joining the Writing Program, he held a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Virginia and also taught courses at the University of Mary Washington, Stonehill College, Harvard Divinity School, and Yale Divinity School.
Alexandra Gold
Fields: English and American Literature, Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
Research and Writing Interests : post-1945 American poetry and visual art; visual-verbal collaborations; gender studies; popular culture; critical pedagogy
Website : www.alexandrajgold.com
Alexandra Gold eceived her PhD in English from Boston University. She earned a BA in English and Political Science and MA in English from the University of Pennsylvania. Before coming to Harvard, she taught course in writing composition, gender studies, and poetry at Drexel and Boston Universities and worked as a tutor in BU’s Writing Center. Her writing and research focuses on post-45 American poetry and visual art, a subject that also informs her first book, The Collaborative Artists' Book: Evolving Ideas in Contemporary Poetry and Art , which was published by the University of Iowa (Contemporary North American Poetry Series) in 2023. In addition to work her in Expos, she also serves as a first-year academic advisor in the college.
Ethan Goldberg
Fields: Literature, Film, Urban Studies, Creative Writing
Research and Writing Interests : Post-1945 Literature, Film, and Culture; The City; Literature and Psychology; Visual and Media Culture; Continental Philosophy and Theory
Ethan Goldberg completed his PhD in English at the Graduate Center, CUNY. He has taught English and core humanities courses at Queens College, Lehman College, and NYU, as well as English language classes in Madrid. His research focuses on the representation of cities in contemporary literature and film. He has also published English translations of Spanish-language poetry, and is currently working on an urban, autotheoretical work in the style of Walter Benjamin and Olivia Laing.
Field: Cultural Anthropology
Research and Writing Interests : Multispecies relations, care, race, affect, cuteness, wildlife conservation, chimpanzees, postcolonism, Africa
Amy Hanes is a cultural anthropologist whose work focuses on multispecies relationships between humans and great apes and the politics of wildlife conservation in Central and West Africa. Important themes in her work include care, race, affect, and cuteness. She earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology and her dual M.A. in Sustainable International Development and Women’s and Gender Studies from Brandeis University. Apart from academia, she has worked as a development editor and with non-governmental organizations in youth education, wildlife conservation, and gender-based violence prevention in the U.S., Niger, the Central African Republic, and Cameroon. Her research has been supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.
Eliza Holmes
Field: English and American Literature
Research and Writing Interests : the transatlantic nineteenth-century history and literature, ecocriticism, gothic novels, history of agriculture
Eliza Holmes received her PhD in English from Harvard and her BA from Bard College. Her dissertation explores the ways that agricultural labor, and land rights, shaped nineteenth-century British and American literature. She has published on topics ranging from John Clare’s poetry to the TV show PEN15. She also holds a certificate of training in small farming from The Farm School.
Jodi Johnson
Fields: British, Irish, Italian, and American Literature; Creative Writing
Research and Writing Interests : The History of Poetry; Creative Writing; Renaissance and Restoration Literature; Victorian Literature; Risorgimento Literature; American Literature; and Irish Literature.
Jodi Johnson is a poet and literary scholar from Ireland. He was educated at Oxford (BA), the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (MFA), and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (PhD), where his dissertation focused on spectral image formation in Renaissance literature. He is a Poetry Editor at Tampa Review , and his work has appeared in The Nation , Prelude , and elsewhere. Prior to Harvard, he taught in the writing departments of the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Tampa, the University of South Florida, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His research is particularly interested in developmental poetics, creative writing, and phenomenology .
Jonah Johnson
Fields: German Studies and Comparative Literature
Research and Writing Interests : Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment German literature and philosophy, lyric, genre theory, reception of classical antiquity
Jonah Johnson received his Ph.D. in German and Comparative Literature from the University of Michigan in 2009. His research focuses on the relationship between literature and philosophy, particularly among German thinkers in the decades following the French Revolution. He is currently working on a book project in which he follows the emergence of tragedy as a discursive strategy within post-Kantian philosophy and explores the consequences of this discourse for early Romantic drama. He has taught courses on literature and culture in the German Department and Great Books Program at Michigan. He holds a B.A. in Ancient Greek Language and Literature from Oberlin College.
Hannah Kauders
Fields: Creative Writing, Translation
Research and Writing Interests : Translation Theory and Craft, Comparative Literature, 20th and 21st Century Latin American and Iberian Literature, Contemporary American Literature, Applied Linguistics
Hannah holds an MFA in writing and literary translation from Columbia. Before coming to Harvard, she taught in the University Writing program at Columbia and the department of Comparative Literature at Barnard College. Her fiction and essays appear in The Drift , Astra Magazine , Gulf Coast Magazine , Fiction International , and more, and she is currently editing a memoir about the intersection of grief and translation. She translates from Spanish with a focus on contemporary Colombian fiction and poetry, queer narratives, and cross-genre literature. .
Isabel Lane
Fields: Comparative Literature, Environmental Humanities
Research and Writing Interests : Russian and American twentieth- and twenty-first-century fiction; energy production and nuclear technologies in literature and culture; environmental humanities; prison and incarceration.
Isabel Lane holds a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Yale University and a BA in Russian Studies from NYU. Before coming to Harvard, she taught literature and writing at Yale and the Bard Prison Initiative, and she was the founding director of the Boston College Prison Education Program. Isabel's scholarly research focuses on cultural representations of energy production and use (especially nuclear), intersecting human and environmental harm, and incarceration. In parallel with her scholarly research, she is currently working on a public humanities project, Products of Our Environment ( ofourenvironment.org ), that brings together people inside and outside of prison around environmental justice and the arts.
Taleen Mardirossian
Fields: Creative Writing
Research and Writing Interests : Histories of violence, human rights, race, memory, gender, identity
Taleen Mardirossian holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University, where she’s taught undergraduate writing. In the early part of her career, she studied law and worked in the legal field with a concentration in criminal law. From teaching street law to creative writing, she has extensive experience designing courses for students in her local community and abroad. She is currently working on a collection of essays about the body and identity.
Ross Martin
Fields: Early and Antebellum U.S. American ideas and culture
Research and Writing Interests : Nineteenth-century science, philosophy, and law
Ross Martin received his PhD from the University of Michigan where, prior to teaching in the Harvard College Writing Program, he was a Frederick Donald Sober Postdoctoral Fellow. As a scholar he focuses on U.S. American intellectual history up to 1865, specializing in the comparative study of philosophical, scientific, and legal ideas.
Keating McKeon
Fields: Classics, Achaemenid Persia
Research and Writing Interests : Ancient autocracy, generic intertextuality, Attic tragedy
Keating McKeon holds his PhD in Classical Philology from Harvard and completed his undergraduate studies in Classics at Columbia and the University of Cambridge. His research is especially concerned with the manifestations and receptions of autocracy in the ancient world. Keating’s current projects approach these concepts from two perspectives: the first probes the role of nostalgia in democratic Athenian constructions of autocracy, while the second explores how epic models for rulership are mediated through the act of Homeric quotation across Greco-Roman antiquity. Keating has published on the Greek adaptation of Old Persian sources as well as on the historian Herodotus’ narrative interest in the performative manipulation of time.
Rachel Meyer
Field: Sociology
Research and Writing Interests : Social movements, social class, labor movements, political sociology, social change, culture and identity, labor and work, globalization, U.S. labor history, qualitative methods
Website : https://scholar.harvard.edu/rachelmeyer
Meyer’s research explores changes in political economy and working-class mobilization. She is interested in the relationship between precarious workers, the neoliberal state, and social change. Her recent publications in Critical Sociology, Political Power & Social Theory and the Journal of Historical Sociology explore how collective action experiences transform working-class consciousness and subjectivity. Recently she has written, additionally, on precarious workers’ movements and on contemporary immigrant mobilizations. She has also published with colleagues at the University of Michigan on the extent and sources of ethical consumption with respect to sweatshops and workers’ rights. Meyer is currently working on a project about the relationship between workplace and community in the mid-20th century American labor movement. In Harvard’s Sociology Department she has been Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, Harvard College Fellow, and Lecturer. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan in 2008.
Field: Public Speaking
Research and Writing Interests : Dramaturgy; Theatre History; Performance; Personal Storytelling
Website : https://www.phillipjamesmontano.com/
James Montaño is a dramaturg, educator, critic, and playwright. He has taught theater and public speaking at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Brandeis University. He has also worked in literary management and special projects producer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and in education and community engagement at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA. He has served as a dramaturg for productions at ART, Harvard University, and Boston Conservatory as well as freelance projects around New England, New Mexico, and Texas. His artistic training is from UMass Amherst, ART/Harvard, and the Moscow Art Theatre. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Performance as Public Practice at The University of Texas at Austin.
Ryan Napier
Field: British literature
Research and Writing Interests : Nineteenth-century literature; contemporary fiction; theory of the novel; religion and literature
Ryan Napier holds a PhD in English from Tufts University and an M.A.R. in religion and literature from Yale Divinity School. His writing has appeared in Jacobin , and a collection of his short fiction, Four Stories about the Human Face , is available from Bull City Press.
Field: English Literature
Research and Writing Interests : Early modern drama and poetry, Shakespeare, media history, intellectual history
David Nee received a B. A. in English from Columbia University and a Ph. D. in English from Harvard University. He specializes in the English literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, particularly Shakespeare. Other research interests include comparative literature, media history, and the history of literary studies.
Lee Nishri-Howitt
Field: Voice, Speech, Accents, Shakespeare, Theater
Lee Nishri-Howitt teaches and coaches vocal production, speech, accent acquisition, and Shakespearean text. He has taught in the Theater, Dance, and Media concentration at Harvard, and at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Emerson College, and the Moscow Art Theatre School. As a coach, he has worked with the American Repertory Theater, Huntington Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, SpeakEasy Stage Company, and others. Lee is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, and of the masters program in vocal pedagogy at the American Repertory Theater Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard.
Field: Creative Writing and Literature
Ben Parson received his MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught first year writing with the UMass Writing Program as well as courses in creative writing for both the UMass English department and the Juniper Institute for Young Writers. Since then, Ben has taught literature and writing at a private boarding school for learning diverse students. His short fiction has been published in The Cape Cod Poetry Review , and he is currently working on a novel.
Brian Pietras
Field: Literature; history; gender and sexuality studies
Research and Writing Interests : Medieval and early modern literature; the history of sexuality; feminist and queer theory; twentieth-century LGBTQ+ cultures
Pietras holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from Rutgers University. His scholarly articles have been published in The Journal of the History of Sexuality , Renaissance Drama , Spenser Studies , and elsewhere.
Trained as an early modernist, his work on the history of sexuality has led to a new project that investigates queer life in America before Stonewall. Prior to coming to Harvard, he taught in the Writing Program and Freshman Seminars Program at Princeton.
Kelsey Quigley
Field: Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Psychophysiology
Research and Writing Interests : Clinical and developmental psychology, stress and trauma, resilience, psychophysiology, parenting, gender
Kelsey Quigley completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Penn State University, with secondary fields in Developmental Psychology and Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience. In her research, she examines biobehavioral pathways by which early adversity influences health outcomes. In the clinic, she works primarily with children, women, and gender-expansive individuals who have experienced stress or trauma. Quigley has taught courses in the Harvard and Penn State Psychology Departments and as part of the Harvard University Committee on Human Rights Studies. She has worked previously as an Early Childhood Mental Health consultant and a Federal Policy Analyst at Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families in Washington, DC. She earned her AB in Social Studies at Harvard University.
Emilie J. Raymer
Field: The History and Philosophy of Science
Research and Writing Interests : the modern life and environmental sciences, evolutionary theory, intellectual history, philosophy
Emilie holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University, where she taught classes offered through the Program in Behavioral Biology, the Department of the History of Science and Technology, and the Program in Expository Writing. Her scholarly interests include the development of the modern life sciences, evolutionary theory, the environmental humanities, and the philosophy of science. At Harvard, she teaches writing courses focused on biomedical and environmental ethics. She also serves as the faculty director of the Writing and Public Service Initiative and on the Board of First-Year Advisers. She worked for the National Academy of Sciences before she began her doctorate.
Field: Government
Research and Writing Interests : International relations, women and politics, political psychology, group-based violence, survey experiments
Website : www.sparshasaha.com
Sparsha Saha received her Ph.D. and M.A. from the Department of Government at Harvard, and her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation examines the causes of severe protest policing violence in Iran since 1979, and her current research focuses on the effects of gender and dress on women in politics and society.
John Sampson
Fields: American literature
Research and Writing Interests: Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American literature and culture; urban history; composition and writing center studies.
John Sampson holds a Ph.D. in English from Johns Hopkins University. He has published articles in NOVEL , American Literary Realism , and the Henry James Review . He also has a book chapter forthcoming in Paris in the Americas , an interdisciplinary edited volume, which traces the French influences on the built environment of Washington, D.C. Before coming to Harvard, he served as Director of the Johns Hopkins Writing Center and was a writing instructor and administrator with the West Point Writing Program.
Adam Scheffler
Fields: Creative Writing, Poetry, and Literature
Research and Writing Interests: Poetry Writing and Criticism
Website: adamscheffler.com
Adam Scheffler received an AB in English from Harvard, an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and a PhD in English from Harvard. He has taught courses at Harvard and the University of Iowa on such topics as poetry writing, science fiction, realist fiction, and love and madness in literature. He is the author of two books of poems, A Dog’s Life (2016) and Heartworm (2023), and his poems appear in numerous literary journals. He is also currently working on a book of literary criticism about the poet James Wright; he was a resident tutor in Currier house for five years.
Research and Writing Interests: Nonfiction, autofiction, satire, and cultural criticism
Ian holds an M.F.A. from the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa and B.A. degrees in History and Italian Studies from Brown University. Before coming to Harvard, he taught courses on creative nonfiction and rhetoric at the University of Iowa and helped lead the Brown University Writing Fellows Program. His work has been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books , DIAGRAM , Atlas Obscura , and Artsy , among other publications. He is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Gillian Sinnott
Field: Law; political theory
Research and Writing Interests: Constitutional law; theories of liberalism; privacy
Gillian Sinnott received her undergraduate degree from University College Dublin. She also has an M.Phil. from the University of Oxford and an S.J.D. from Harvard Law School. Her doctoral dissertation examined the application of the political philosophy of John Rawls to questions in constitutional law. Prior to joining the Writing Program, she practiced law in New York and London.
Stephen Spencer
Research and Writing Interests: Early modern literature; Gender, sexuality, and affect studies; Utopian/dystopian literature; History of science fiction
Stephen Spencer is a scholar-teacher focusing on early modern literature. He holds a PhD in English from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. His research investigates the gender(ed) politics of religious affect in Milton and his contemporaries. He has published on John Donne's figuration of the hermaphrodite and Andrew Marvell's poetry of weeping.
Tracy Strauss
Field: Creative Writing, Literature, and Film
Research and Writing Interests: trauma literature and film, the bildungsroman, prose and poetry of war, screenplay as dramatic literature, literary adaptations, public humanities
Tracy Strauss holds an M.F.A. in Film from Boston University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Lesley University. She is the author of I Just Haven’t Met You Yet , a memoir that landed on Harvard Bookstore’s “Bestseller Wall” in 2019. Former essays editor of The Rumpus , she has written creative nonfiction, scholarly works, and writing craft articles for publications such as Newsweek , Oprah Magazine , Glamour , New York Magazine , Ploughshares , Poets & Writers Magazine , Writer’s Digest Magazine , Publishers Weekly , The Southampton Review, Cognoscenti, and War, Literature & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities . She has also been a guest speaker on local and national television talk shows, podcasts, and Ms. Magazine’s Facebook “Live Q&A."
Zachary Stuart
Field: Public Speaking, Film/Video, Mulit-arts education, Social Justice
Zachary Stuart has worked in arts education and film production for 20 years in the Boston area. He was Lead-facilitator and curriculum officer for the innovative theater education program Urban Improv and the Director of the theater department at CAAP summer arts Experience in Brookline. He produced the documentary Savage Memory about the Early anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski and is currently finishing post production on a new Feature documentary Die Before You Die , looking at female leadership in Islamic mysticism. With a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, youth development and social justice, the public speaking component of his work relies heavily on embodied pedagogy and storytelling. He has also taught and developed curriculum in ceramics and photography with a fine art and community building orientation, mainly working with youth and urban communities.
Julia Tejblum
Fields: British Literature, Romanticism, poetry and poetics, narrative theory
Julia Tejblum holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from Harvard, an M.A. from Oxford University, where she studied as a Clarendon Scholar, and a B.A. in English and Theater Arts from Brandeis University. Her current research focuses on the relationship between autobiography and form in Romantic and Victorian poetry. She has published criticism and reviews in Essays in Criticism, Romanticism, and The Wordsworth Circle. Other research interests include travel writing, narrative theory, literature and science, and literary influence.
Elliott Turley
Field: Theatre, Literature
Research and Writing Interests: Modern Tragicomedy, Theatre History and Theory, Performance Studies, Professional Rhetoric, Pedagogy
Elliott Turley received his PhD in English from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018. Before coming to Harvard, he taught English, writing, and theatre classes at the University of California San Diego, Florida State University, UT-Austin, and secondary schools. His scholarly work can be found in Modern Drama , the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism , and Modern Language Quarterly , and he has published book and performance reviews in Theatre Survey and PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art . He is currently at work on a book on modern tragicomedy and has an article on Suzan-Lori Parks’s rewriting of American myth forthcoming in Modern Drama .
Peter Vilbig
Fields: Creative writing, journalism, songwriting
Research and Writing Interests : fiction, songwriting
Peter Vilbig has covered war and refugees in Central America as a stringer for The Boston Globe , crime and politics as a staff writer for the Miami Herald , and the Congress and federal agencies as an investigative reporter for a Washington DC-based news service distributed to 200 papers nationally. His short fiction has appeared in Tin House , Shenandoah , and 3:AM Magazine, among many other publications in the US and Europe. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and an MA in English teaching from Brooklyn College and has taught first-year writing at New York University and CUNY’s Baruch College. As a public high school teacher in New York City, he taught advanced placement English at Midwood High School in Brooklyn. Most recently he has been writing songs and has performed in small venues in New York and Providence, and at the Rhode Island Folk Festival.
Rob Willison
Fields: Social Science
Research and Writing Interests: Philosophy of Language, Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy, and Philosophy of Education
Rob Willison is a philosopher with broad interests, but his recent research has focused on philosophy of language and ethics—especially where those fields intersect. He has published work on the nature and ethics of irony, and has ongoing projects on the nature of concepts, and on the ways that a theory of meaning in general can be used to understand meaning’s particular kinds (for example, linguistic meaning and meaning in life). He also has long-standing interests in the philosophy of education, democratic theory, and the philosophy of social science. Before joining Expos, Rob served as a Lecturer in Social Studies at Harvard; as the Associate Director of the Parr Center for Ethics and Research; Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UNC-Chapel Hill; as the Director of Education Policy for a New York City Council Member; and as a high school Social Studies teacher in the New York City public schools. He has also worked as a consultant for UNICEF, co-leading a Social Norms Workshop addressing violence against women and children in Harare, Zimbabwe, and helping to develop “A Fieldworker’s Toolkit for Social Change.” Rob received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017, and his A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard in 2003.
Mande Zecca
Fields: American literature & creative writing
Research and Writing Interests : American modernist and postwar literature; poetry and poetics; material culture and book history; radical political movements; literary subcultures
Mande Zecca holds a Ph.D. in English from Johns Hopkins University, an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and a B.A. in English from Wesleyan University. Before coming to Harvard, she taught in the Johns Hopkins Program in Expository Writing for four years, two of them as a postdoctoral fellow. She writes poetry and scholarship about poetry, the latter in the form of a book project: Undersongs: Left Elegies and the Politics of Community . She’s also published writing (both scholarly and creative) in Modernism/modernity , Post45 , Jacket2 , Ploughshares , Colorado Review , CutBank , and elsewhere. Her chapbook of poems, Pace Arcadia , was published by Dancing Girl Press in 2017.
- About the Poetry Room
- Programs and Events
- The Listening Booth
- The Vocarium
ABOUT THE WOODBERRY POETRY ROOM
- Explore the Collections
- Visit or Schedule Seminars
- Apply for the WPR Creative Fellowship
- Meet the WPR Staff
Welcome to the Woodberry Poetry Room, a special collections reading room and audio-visual archive at Harvard University. Located in Lamont Library (in a room designed by renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto), and overseen by Houghton Library , the Poetry Room features a circulating collection of 20th and 21st century English-language poetry, an encyclopedic array of poetry serials, the Blue Star collection of rare books, broadsides, chapbooks, and typescripts, and a landmark collection of audio recordings (1933 to the present). With over 6,000 recordings on a range of media that span the 20th and 21st centuries--- including phonodiscs, magnetic tape (reel to reel and cassette), CDs, DATs, and born digital---the collection is one of the largest and earliest poetry-specific sound archives in the United States.
Founded in honor of poet, scholar, and Harvard alumnus George Edward Woodberry (1855-1930), the Poetry Room first opened its doors on the third floor of Widener Library in May 1931. Harvard faculty member Harry Levin later reflected: "As I look back, I can now see how significantly the opening [of the Poetry Room] was timed: Harvard was officially recognizing modern poetry. And it was Theodore Spencer and F. O. Matthiesen (both fated to die quite young) who really brought it into the English curriculum, and their efforts were crowned by T. S. Eliot's year as Norton Professor." The early Poetry Room featured open shelves, with books that "ranged from such immediate forerunners of modern verse as Hardy and Hopkins to the contemporary stretch between Aiken and Zaturenska" ( Harvard Library Bulletin , Winter 1954). The warm, welcoming room offered access to a wide range of "poetry magazines little and big" and, along one wall, an eclectic collection of books from Amy Lowell's personal library (later transferred to Houghton Library, when it opened in 1947). In addition to the presence of Modernist monographs and experimental magazines, the Morris Gray lecture series added an audible dimension to the room. Among the early luminaries of the Morris Gray lectures and readings were Martha Dickinson Bianchi, I. A. Richards, Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams. In 1938, a Victrola was purchased for the room, and phonograph records soon became the centrepiece of undergraduate excitement.
The mere presence of phonograph records does not explain how the Poetry Room became a landmark audio-visual collection. For that, we need to turn to the pioneering work of Harvard Professor of Public Speaking and Director of the Speech Clinic Frederick C. Packard, Jr. . As early as 1929, Packard began to clamor for the creation of the first-ever “library of voices” (a vocarium , as he dubbed it), which would be “a place where voices can be kept and studied” and which would stand in equal stature to a library of books. He found a home for his vision in the nascent Poetry Room. In a 1975 interview, he states: “my Vocarium was in there.”
In 1933, Packard succeeded in his first overt step toward his “library of voices” when he launched the Harvard Vocarium, one of the first poetry/literature recording labels in the world. The preliminary batch featured several Latin and Greek recordings and T. S. Eliot's first poetry recording. The recording of "Gerontion" and "The Hollow Men" was made by Packard during the poet's year-long residence in Cambridge as the Charles Eliot Norton lecturer.
Until the university withdrew its financial support and discontinued its affiliation in 1955, the Harvard Vocarium made and, in many cases commercially released, the first or (in certain cases, earliest extant) recordings by Elizabeth Bishop, Randall Jarrell, Robinson Jeffers, Weldon Kees, Robert Lowell, Archibald MacLeish, Marianne Moore, Vladimir Nabokov, Anais Nin, Ezra Pound, Muriel Rukeyser, May Sarton, Robert Penn Warren, and Tennessee Williams. For many of these poets, the recording experience (after which Packard would provide immediate playback) constituted the first time they had ever heard their own voices.
In addition to his commercial venture, Packard actively recorded, commissioned, collected, and created “a repository of all the voices he could get a hold of, a kind of audio time capsule, for posterity,” according to his granddaughter and Vocarium discographer Josephine Packard.
Packard found a practical depository and an organically evolving curatorial home for his “vocarium” in the recently opened Poetry Room, where master recordings were held and two phonograph players were subsequently installed for student use. While a 1938 Boston Sunday Post article boasted that “Harvard University, one of the most forward universities in the world, is breaking all precedent and founding a library for the voice—the Harvard Vocarium,” the physical library never wholly materialized. But his recordings did continue to be deposited and accessed at the Woodberry Poetry Room. As Packard later stated: “My Vocarium was in there.”
By the 1940s, the Poetry Room (at Widener) had become so popular and the "record collection['s] attraction increased" to such a degree that the record players "never quite satisfied the demand for a hearing" ( Harvard Library Bulletin , 1954). When the Poetry Room moved to the nation's first undergraduate library, Lamont Library, in February 1949, it was to a new suite of rooms designed specifically as "a place for poetry" (in the words of Alvar Aalto) and poetry listening. Four players, equipped with outlets for eight sets of earphones, helped to accomodate the growing visitorship. Over 4,000 listeners visited the new Poetry Room in its first four months in Lamont Library. (The downside of this move was that it excluded women from the Poetry Room---Radcliffe students had previously had access to its Widener venue---until 1967 when Lamont Library began to admit women.)
In 1940, John ("Jack") Lincoln Sweeney came to Harvard to work with Prof. I. A. Richards on the Committee on Communications. According to the Harvard Crimson , Sweeney was interested in "using Richard's 'Basic English' to prepare simplifications of the Bill of Rights and immigration documents." In 1942, after the position of curator was offered to (and turned down by) Robert Frost, Sweeney accepted the position---a position he held until 1969. During his mid-century curatorship, the Poetry Room fluorished and became a nexus for poets who were (or would later be) associated with the New York School of Poets, the Poets' Theatre, the Boston Renaissance, and Confessional poetry. The Poetry Room also forged a significant collaboration with the British Council, which jointly funded recordings by Kamau Braithwaite, David Jones, W. S. Graham, Philip Larkin, Hugh MacDiarmid, Herbert Read, Stevie Smith, among others. Live readings and studio recordings from the mid-century include the circuit tours of E.E. Cummings and Dylan Thomas and the performances of emerging poets John Ashbery, John Berryman, Robert Creeley, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Robert Lowell, James Merrill, W.S. Merwin, Adrienne Rich, Anne Sexton, Wallace Stevens, Jean Valentine, John Wieners, and the earliest extant poetry recording of Sylvia Plath. We have also recently discovered one of the earliest live recordings of Ralph Ellison, made during the Conference on the Novel that met in the Lamont Forum Room in August 1953. With the assistance of audio engineer and musicologist Stephen Fassett , Sweeney also initiated the transfer of original lacquer/shellac discs to the "new" postwar format: the reel to reel. According to the Harvard Crimson , the first Master recording made by the Poetry Room via this new technology was circa 1950. In 1974, Stratis Haviaras was named curator of the Poetry and Farnsworth Rooms, a position he held until 2000. During this lively period, Haviaras recorded a wide array of poets representing a broad range of late 20th century poetics: among them, Charles Bernstein, Clark Coolidge, Rita Dove, Robert Duncan, Jorie Graham, Donald Hall, Galway Kinnell, Sharon Olds, Gary Snyder, and Derek Walcott. Haviaras was also responsible for creating a substantive archive of contemporary Greek-language recordings, featuring such authors as George Seferis and Odysseus Elytis. In addition, he recorded over 40 readings, seminars, and lectures by Seamus Heaney, during Heaney's pivotal period of affiliation with the university. Like Sweeney before him, Haviaras also began to transfer the Poetry Room's recordings to the next iteration of sound recording: the compact cassette. In 1986, Haviaras founded the literary journal Errato , which later became the Harvard Review ---contributors to which have included Jhumpa Lahiri, J. M. Coetzee, Yusef Komunyakaa, David Foster Wallace, and the over 200 poets who participated in the recent Renga for Obama .
With his retirement in 2000, the Poetry Room was transferred to management under Houghton Library: its recording collection having been deemed a special collection. In 2002, during the dynamic curatorship of Don Share , the Harvard Vocarium was chosen as a part of the first annual selection of the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. Share was also crucial in recognizing the precarity of such recording formats as reels and discs, and with his help the Poetry Room became a part of the pilot Library Digitization Initiative, establishing new standards for audio preservation at Harvard and beyond. The Woodberry Poetry Room's audio collection is, according to Seamus Heaney, "indispensable: it contains not only the voices—from different times of their lives—of the greatest poets, but constitutes a living history of modern poetry." (Heaney held the Poetry Room in such high regarded that when he accepted a new appointment as Ralph Waldo Emerson Visiting Poet, he added to that title "and Consultant to the Curator of the Poetry Room.")
This vital tradition continues today with a rich assortment of poetry readings, seminars and workshops, as well as significant efforts to preserve and digitize the Woodberry's pivotal recordings for generations to come. The Woodberry Poetry Room celebrates poetry as an intellectual pursuit and sensory experience; as a textual encounter and an auditory phenomenon, as a solitary meditation and as a source of solidarity and social life. In the many roles that the Woodberry Poetry Room plays and the countless communities it serves, the room could be said to be an "enormous room" (to quote Harvard alumnus E. E. Cummings). We welcome you to visit the Poetry Room in person or to encounter it virtually through our online Listening Booth (of individual readings), Vocarium (of oral histories, panel discussions, and seminars), and our popular blog Stylus .
EXPLORE THE COLLECTIONS
- Audio-Visual Collection
- Blue Star Collection
- Book and Serial Collection
- Listening Copies, Transcripts & Permissions
AUDIO-VISUAL COLLECTION
The Woodberry Poetry Room's audio collection comprises over 6,000 recordings, including unique recordings produced by the Poetry Room and the Harvard Department of English, early collaborative recordings made in conjunction with the British Council, as well as the audio archives of the Academy of American Poets and the Aspen Writers' Conference. In addition to these recordings, the Poetry Room provides access to an extensive number of recordings by early recording pioneers, independent studios and commercial recording companies from around the world. Our recordings include readings, lectures, informal conversations, oral histories, interviews, radio broadcasts and, more recently, answering-machine poems. The Poetry Room also houses a growing collection of poetry-related films and documentaries in DVD and VHS formats.
Thanks to a generous donation from Bob Hildreth and a pilot study by the NEDCC, the Poetry Room has undertaken to preserve these invaluable recordings for generations to come. For highlights from our digitization initiative and our current public programs, we invite you to peruse our online Listening Booth . To search for our recordings via HOLLIS , type the name of the author(s) you are interested in and press "search." You can then use the sidebar to filter your search by Format (e.g., "Sound Recording") and Location (e.g. "Poetry Room (Lamont)"). To browse the entire archive of sound recordings unique to the Poetry Room, type "poetry" in the search box, then filter by Format (Sound Recording) and Author (Woodberry Poetry Room).
The audio-visual collection is accessible by arrangement with the curator at (617) 495-2454 or via email at [email protected] . Recordings must be listened to in the Poetry Room, unless digital access is provided through HOLLIS.
BLUE STAR COLLECTION
The Blue Star collection is a non-circulating collection of rare or limited-edition monographs, chapbooks and broadsides. Highlights from the Blue Star collection include typescripts of poems by Sylvia Plath, Theodore Roethke's annotated edition of Rilke's Duino Elegies , a cigar smoked by Amy Lowell, broadsides signed by Elizabeth Bishop and Allen Ginsberg, archival photographs of Robert Frost, Marianne Moore and Ted Hughes and portraits by Larry Rivers, as well as first (or signed) editions of works ranging from John Ashbery to Louis Zukofsky. Click here, for an overview list of Blue Star materials (pdf) .
The Blue Star collection is serviced by the Houghton Reading Room. Photocopies of materials that are not fragile (or whose duplication is not prohibited) can be made on request for a fee and as staff time permits.
BOOK AND SERIAL COLLECTION
The Woodberry Poetry Room circulating collection presents highlights from 20th and 21st century English-language poetry and poetry in translation. To search our circulating collection via HOLLIS , type the name of the respective author or text and narrow down your search by selecting "Location: Poetry Room (Lamont)" in the sidebar. In addition, the room features a non-circulating collection of current poetry journals from across the country and around the world, which are free to be perused by all visitors.
LISTENING COPIES, TRANSCRIPT & PERMISSIONS
If you are interested in requesting a scholarly-use copy or a transcript of a Woodberry Poetry Room recording or video, please contact the WPR curatorial staff. If no digital access copy or transcript currently exists, the curatorial staff will research the requested item, confirm its playability and suitability for transfer/transcription, and provide you with an estimate for the creation of a listening copy. While we make every effort to provide scholarly-use copies, we do reserve the right to refuse requests that cannot be filled due to the fragility of master recordings or legal/copyright obligations. Please note that we do not make copies of commercially-produced recordings. In addition, for all Academy of American Poets recordings (on deposit at the Poetry Room) additional permission must be obtained from the Academy in advance of your request. Listening copies are provided under Title 17 of U.S. copyright law. In requesting a listening copy for one-time scholarly use, you are confirming that you have read the following copyright restriction:
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use", that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Patrons wishing to use these materials as a part of a radio broadcast, online podcast, commercially produced CD, or other mode of publication should seek appropriate permissions from the pertinent Estate or copyright holder(s).
For additional information, please contact the curator Christina Davis at (617) 495-2454 or via email at [email protected] . Additional information on how to cite our materials is available via Houghton Library's Reproductions and Permissions page.
The WPR Creative FELLOWSHIP
The WPR Creative Fellowship invites poets, writers, multimedia artists, and scholars of contemporary poetry to propose creative projects that would benefit from the resources available in the room and to generate new work that further actualizes the Poetry Room's collections—particularly the audio-video archive. In addition to conducting research and pursuing projects, the WPR fellow will be asked to present a works-in-progress event in conjunction with the Poetry Room’s public programming season and/or to contribute a work or drafts (produced during the fellowship) to the WPR archive. The recipient is expected to work on-site at the Woodberry Poetry Room for at least 10 days during the Harvard academic year. The WPR Creative Fellow will receive a stipend of $4,000. The Poetry Room is proud to announce that Tracie Morris has been selected to receive the 2018-2019 fellowship for her performance project, “The Impossible Man.” Tess Taylor has been presented with the 2018-2019 WPR Creative Grant for her project, “Roads Not Taken: Pilgrimages with Poets & Poems.” Previous recipients of the fellowship have included Kate Colby, Eileen Myles, Fanny Howe, and Erin Moure. During certain years, additional WPR Creative Grants have been made available: recent recipients include Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, Christine Finn, Dan Beachy-Quick, and Lindsay Turner. The WPR Creative Fellowships and Grants are generously funded by the Dr. Michael & Teresa Anagnostopoulos Fund. The next deadline for application is Jan. 14, 2019. The application guidelines will be made available in Fall 2018.
Visit THE ROOM / SCHEDULE CLASSES
The Poetry Room is open to all Harvard students, faculty, staff, alumni, visiting scholars and members of the public (with a valid photo ID). Members of the public must sign in at the Lamont Library security desk and indicate that they are visiting the Woodberry Poetry Room.
Faculty members and teachers wishing to schedule classes in the room (that draw upon our A/V collection) are encouraged to use the Classroom Request Tool . The WPR curatorial staff will followup with you to discuss your specific needs and interests.
Scholars, researchers and readers interested in accessing specific recordings, should contact the WPR curatorial staff at least 24 hours prior to their visit. The curatorial staff will research your requested items and assess them for playability.
The Poetry Room is only open on weekdays. For our specific hours, please check our up-to-date schedule prior to your visit.
- General Admittance
The Woodberry Poetry Room is wheelchair-accessible via a ramp at the front entrance to Lamont Library. In addition, the Edison Newman Room at Houghton Library (where some of our events are held each semester) is accessible via a short flight of steps up from the level of Quincy Street. For wheelchair access for public events at Houghton Library, please contact Public Services at 617-495-2440 in advance of the event, and we will arrange to meet you at Houghton's side entrance. For additional questions or to schedule a time to access specific materials, please contact the curatorial staff at [email protected] .
MEET THE STAFF
The Poetry Room has a long history of hiring poets and writers, and the current staff is no exception to that legacy. Christina Davis (author of An Ethic and Forth A Raven) and Mary Walker Graham (recipient of an MFA in Poetry from New England College) are both actively publishing poets. Past curatorial assistants and undergraduate/graduate students who have worked at the Poetry Room include: Chloe Garcia Roberts, Maureen McLane, Fred Moten, and Lindsay Turner. WPR Curators from 1931 to the present have been: W. N. Bates, George M. Kahrl, Arthurt T. Hamlin, Arnold M. Keseth, Philip Horton, John Lincoln Sweeney, Robert Fitzgerald, Jeanne Broburg, Stratis Haviaras, and Don Share.
Copyright © 2012 The President and Fellows of Harvard College. The WPR logo was created by Daniel Gross, '13.
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MFA Programs Database
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Our MFA database includes essential information about low- and full-residency graduate creative writing programs in the United States and other English-speaking countries to help you decide where to apply.
Adelphi University
Poetry: Jan-Henry Gray, Maya Marshall Prose: Katherine Hill, René Steinke, Igor Webb
Albertus Magnus College
Poetry: Paul Robichaud Fiction: Sarah Harris Wallman Nonfiction: Eric Schoeck
Alma College
Poetry: Leslie Contreras Schwartz, Jim Daniels, Benjamin Garcia Fiction: Karen E. Bender, Shonda Buchanan, Dhonielle Clayton, S. Kirk Walsh Creative Nonfiction: Anna Clark, Matthew Gavin Frank, Donald Quist, Robert Vivian
American University
Poetry: Kyle Dargan, David Keplinger Fiction: Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Stephanie Grant, Patricia Park Nonfiction: Rachel Louise Snyder
Antioch University
Poetry: Victoria Chang Prose: Lisa Locascio
Arcadia University
Poetry: Genevieve Betts, Michelle Reale Fiction: Stephanie Feldman, Joshua Isard, Tracey Levine, Eric Smith Literature: Matthew Heitzman, Christopher Varlack, Elizabeth Vogel, Jo Ann Weiner
Poetry: Genevieve Betts, Michelle Reale Fiction: Stephanie Feldman, Joshua Isard, Tracey Levine, Eric Smith
Arizona State University
Poetry: Sally Ball, Natalie Diaz, Alberto Álvaro Ríos, Safiya Sinclair Fiction: Matt Bell, Jenny Irish, Tara Ison, Mitchell Jackson, T. M. McNally Creative Nonfiction: Sarah Viren
Ashland University
Poetry: Aria Aber, Dexter Booth, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Adam Gellings, Tess Taylor, Vanessa Angélica Villareal
Fiction: Kirstin Chen, Brian Conn, Edan Lepucki, Sarah Monette, Nayomi Munaweera, Vi Khi Nao, Naomi J. Williams, Kyle Winkler
Nonfiction: Cass Donish, Kate Hopper, Lauren Markham, Thomas Mira y Lopez, Lisa Nikolidakis, Terese Mailhot, Kelly Sundberg
Augsburg University
Poetry: Michael Kleber-Diggs Fiction: Stephan Eirik Clark, Lindsay Starck Nonfiction: Anika Fajardo Playwriting: Carson Kreitzer, TyLie Shider, Sarah Myers Screenwriting: Stephan Eirik Clark, Andy Froemke
Ball State University
Poetry: Katy Didden, Mark Neely Fiction: Cathy Day, Sean Lovelace Nonfiction: Jill Christman, Silas Hansen Screenwriting: Rani Deighe Crowe, Matt Mullins
Bard College
Jess Arndt, Shiv Kotecha, Mirene Arsanios, Hannah Black, Trisha Low, Christoper Perez, Julian Talamantez Brolaski, Simone White
Bath Spa University
Poetry: Lucy English, Carrie Etter, Tim Liardet, John Strachan, Samantha Walton, Gerard Woodward Fiction: Gavin James Bower, Celia Brayfield, Alexia Casale, Lucy English, Nathan Filer, Aminatta Forna, Maggie Gee, Samantha Harvey, Philip Hensher, Steve Hollyman, Emma Hooper, Claire Kendal, Kate Pullinger, C.J. Skuse, Gerard Woodward Nonfiction: Celia Brayfield, Richard Kerridge, Stephen Moss Scriptwriting: Robin Mukherjee
Poetry: Lucy English, Carrie Etter, Tim Liardet, Gerard Woodward Fiction: Gavin James Bower, Celia Brayfield, Nathan Filer, Aminatta Forna, Maggie Gee, Samantha Harvey, Philip Hensher, Claire Kendal, Kate Pullinger, Gerard Woodward Nonfiction: Richard Kerridge, Stephen Moss
Bay Path University
Mel Allen, Leanna James Blackwell, Jennifer Baker, Sari Botton, Melanie Brooks, María Luisa Arroyo Cruzado, Áine Greaney, Shahnaz Habib, Jessica Handler, Ann Hood, Susan Ito, Karol Jackowski, Yi Shun Lai, Anna Mantzaris, Meredith O’Brien, Lisa Romeo, Kate Whouley
Bennington Writing Seminars at Bennington College
Poetry: Jennifer Chang, Michael Dumanis, Randall Mann, Craig Morgan Teicher, Mark Wunderlich Fiction: Peter Cameron, Jai Chakrabarti, Stacey D’Erasmo, Monica Ferrell, Rebecca Makkai, Stuart Nadler, Téa Obreht, Moriel Rothman-Zecher, Katy Simpson Smith, Taymour Soomro Nonfiction: Garrard Conley, Sabrina Orah Mark, Spencer Reece, Lance Richardson, Shawna Kay Rodenberg, Hugh Ryan, Greg Wrenn
Binghamton University
Poetry: Tina Chang, Joseph Weil Fiction: Amir Ahmdi Arian, Thomas Glave, Leslie L. Heywood, Claire Luchette, Liz Rosenberg, Jaimee Wriston-Colbert, Alexi Zentner Nonfiction: Amir Ahmdi Arian, Leslie L. Heywood
Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University
Poetry: Julie Hensley, Young Smith Fiction: Julie Hensley, Nancy Jensen, Robert D. Johnson Nonfiction: Nancy Jensen, Robert D. Johnson, Evan J. Massey
Boise State University
Poetry: Martin Corless-Smith, Sara Nicholson, Taryn Schwilling Fiction: Mitch Wieland (Director), Anna Caritj Creative Nonfiction: Chris Violet Eaton, Clyde Moneyhun
Boston University
Poetry: Andrea Cohen, Karl Kirchwey, Robert Pinsky Fiction: Leslie Epstein, Jennifer Haigh, Ha Jin
Boston University—MFA in Literary Translation
Odile Cazenave, Yuri Corrigan, Margaret Litvin, Christopher Maurer, Roberta Micaleff, Robert Pinsky (advising), Stephen Scully, Sassan Tabatabai, J. Keith Vincent, William Waters, Dennis Wuerthner, Cathy Yeh, Anna Zielinska-Elliott
Bowling Green State University
Poetry: Abigail Cloud, Amorak Huey, Sharona Muir, F. Dan Rzicznek, Larissa Szporluk, Jessica Zinz-Cheresnick Fiction: Joe Celizic, Lawrence Coates, Reema Rajbanshi, Michael Schulz
Brigham Young University
Poetry: Kimberly Johnson, Lance Larsen, Michael Lavers, John Talbot Fiction: Chris Crowe, Ann Dee Ellis, Spencer Hyde, Stephen Tuttle Nonfiction: Joey Franklin, Patrick Madden
Brooklyn College
Poetry: Julie Agoos, Ben Lerner Fiction: Joshua Henkin, Madeleine Thien Playwriting: Dennis A. Allen II, Elana Greenfield
Harvard Extension Courses
Return to Department List
Department - CREA
Crea e-22 section 1 (26257).
Spring 2023
Introduction to Creative Nonfiction
Margaret Deli PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This is a workshop-based course for students interested in creative nonfiction: reading it, discussing it, and writing it for yourself (perhaps for the first time). Drawing on a wide variety of forms and voices, we close read for craft by analyzing the internal mechanics of style. The focus of these discussions is exemplary work by authors like Zadie Smith, Chang-Rae Lee, Susan Orlean, and James Baldwin. These conversations are the jumping off point for students' own writing: by the end of term, students produce two different essays to be workshopped by their peers.
CREA E-24 Section 1 (24510)
Story Development
Shelley Evans MFA, Screenwriter
This workshop introduces the unique challenges of longform storytelling, and helps writers develop strategies for approaching long projects, either screenplays or novels. Many writers are drawn to the page by character or language or theme, but story is the scaffold on which movies and novels depend. Over the course of the semester, we learn to work creatively with the tasks of story building. We begin with ideas where and how do we find them? What kinds of ideas can carry a story? How can you turn a wobbly idea into one that works? We then consider character who does the story belong to? How do their desires, problems, and drives give the story its essential energy? Then we turn to story development and structure, the primary work of the course: how do you keep an idea alive for two-hundred pages, or two hours? What elements help a story build energy and momentum, and deliver us to a satisfying close? We explore these essential story energies using writing exercises, examples from film and literature, and the shared experience of working writers.
CREA E-25 Section 2 (16665)
Introduction to Fiction Writing
Randy S. Rosenthal MTS, Editor
A workshop for writers with little or no experience in writing fiction. The class focuses on the elements of fiction: dialogue, voice, image, character, point of view, and structure. Students are asked to read and discuss fiction by major writers, to critique each other's work, and to write and revise at least one short story. Requirements also include several short writing exercises.
CREA E-25 Section 1 (16814)
William J. Holinger MA, Director, Secondary School Program, Harvard Summer School
CREA E-30a Section 1 (16374)
Beginning Poetry: Listening to Lines
David Barber MFA, Poetry Editor, The Atlantic
This intensive workshop offers students the opportunity to develop their aptitude and affinity for the practice of poetry. Students follow a structured sequence of writing assignments, readings, and exercises aimed at cultivating a sound working knowledge of the fundamental principles of prosody and the evolving possibilities of poetic form. There is a special emphasis on listening to lines and saying poems aloud, in concert with an eclectic assortment of audio archives. Another principal focus is the verse line through time, as we turn for instruction and inspiration to what the critic Paul Fussell calls the "historical dimension" of poetic meter and poetic form. The collective goal of the course is to create the conditions for reading and writing poems with a stronger sense of technical know-how and expressive conviction as well as a renewed appreciation for why poetry matters.
CREA E-45 Section 1 (13975)
Beginning Screenwriting
Susan Steinberg PhD, Filmmaker, Writer
This is an intensive course that provides members with a command of basic screenwriting elements and creative methods. The course goal is to promote each member's originality, voice, knowledge, and screenwriting technical skills, and to give scripts a written script structure and an act one of which they feel proud and can use to advance their work. Students are welcome to write an entire script, should they wish to and some have. During the semester, students produce a completed feature film or television treatment and the film first act in script format, as well as the film logline or pitch. Those who wish to use the course to write an entire screenplay or to rewrite a screenplay may pursue these goals, but must notify the instructor to arrange a writing schedule. Students need not enter with a script concept. Ideas are developed in class. Each person is encouraged to develop a creative approach and method appropriate to their working style. Alternative narrative styles and methods are presented in class.
CREA E-90 Section 2 (26063)
Fundamentals of Fiction
Tracy L. Strauss MFA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This intensive, immersive course is designed for graduate-credit students with strong writing skills and an interest in becoming fiction writers but little formal experience, students who would like to develop a solid foundation in story and scene structure before embarking on an advanced fiction writing course. The first part of the course focuses on a close analysis of plot and structure in several short stories and novels. Students then apply these techniques and methods to generate and shape their own ideas, build a solid narrative foundation, and use scene structure to craft a dramatic story. Using Janet Burroway's Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, students explore and learn the fundamentals of character, dialogue, showing versus telling, and point of view. By the end of the course, students complete a short story or the first chapter of a novel (about 15 to 20 pages of fiction), which is workshopped in class.
CREA E-90 Section 1 (26368)
Christopher S. Mooney MA, Author
CREA E-90 Section 1 (16784)
Crea e-91 section 1 (16697).
Fundamentals of Dramatic Writing
This course is designed for students with strong writing skills who have an interest in writing plays and/or screenplays, but little formal experience. The course introduces basic principles of dramatic writing and provides a foundation for advanced playwrighting and screenwriting courses. Using both plays and screenplays as study texts, we elucidate the elements of dramatic writing and consider how those elements work differently in different mediums. Plays and screenplays are similar but not the same both genres create narrative using character and dialogue, but plays lean more heavily on the inner life and voice of characters, while screenplays unfold in the external world, building stories with images and action. Weekly exercises guide students through the process of developing different kinds of scripts assessing potential story ideas, doing pre-draft character and backstory exploration, finding structure, and writing scenes. By the end of the semester, students have completed a short outline and the first twenty pages of a play or screenplay, which are workshopped in class. Prerequisites: This course is intended for students with strong writing skills, not beginning writers.
CREA E-100r Section 1 (24317)
Advanced Fiction: Writing the Short Story
Shay Youngblood MFA, Commissioner, Japan-US Friendship Commission, United States State Department
This is an intensive workshop in the craft of writing short fiction for students who have read widely among past and contemporary masters of short fiction and who are accomplished in the elements of prose composition (mechanics, syntax, and structure). Students are expected to produce two new short stories (10 to 20 pages each) and to revise them during the term. Prerequisites: A beginning or intermediate fiction writing course or permission of the instructor. Students should bring a 10-page sample of their work to the first class.
CREA E-100r Section 1 (16881)
Elizabeth Ames MFA, Writer
This course is for writers who love to read short stories and wish to make their own short stories come alive on the page. Students should arrive with a commitment to and curiosity about the short story form; we build on that foundation through close reading and in-depth discussion of exceptional published short stories. To better understand and employ key craft elements, students complete in-class writing exercises, reflect and present on both their own short stories and published work, and offer clear-eyed critiques of their peers' works-in-progress. Much of our time is spent in workshop. Students carefully read and thoughtfully respond to one another's short stories and we work together to determine how best to filter and synthesize the feedback offered in a workshop setting. The skills honed via peer critique are crucial in editing one's own work and students showcase their growth through the revision of one of two stories they write this semester. Prerequisites: A beginning or intermediate fiction writing course or permission of the instructor. Students should bring a 10-page sample of their work to the first class.
CREA E-100r Section 2 (26530)
Thomas Wisniewski PhD, Lecturer on Comparative Literature, Harvard University
CREA E-101r Section 1 (16305)
Writing a Nonfiction Book
Christina Thompson PhD, Editor, Harvard Review, Harvard College Library
This is a course for people who are embarked on a book-length work of nonfiction: biographers, memoirists, historians, journalists, science writers, and others who are writing for a non-specialist audience. Students should have a clearly formulated book idea or, ideally, be already working on a project. In the course we talk about voice, structure, audience, and how to pitch projects to agents and publishers. We also read samples from a wide variety of nonfiction books. Prerequisites: At least one creative writing class; preferably beginning or advanced narrative (or creative) nonfiction.
CREA E-101r Section 2 (16883)
Deirdre Alanna Mask JD, Writer
CREA E-101r Section 1 (25084)
Christina Thompson PhD, Editor, Harvard Review, Harvard College Library - Elizabeth Greenspan PhD, Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania
CREA E-105r Section 1 (16475)
Advanced Fiction: Writing the Novel
Elisabeth Sharp McKetta PhD, Writer
This is an advanced fiction-writing course. Class meetings run mainly as workshops: students respond to one another's novel excerpts. We also discuss process, as well as elements of fiction that relate to the novel. Students are expected to produce two new chapters (10 to 20 pages each) and to revise them during the term. Prerequisites: Students should have successfully completed other fiction-writing courses and begun writing a novel when the semester begins.
CREA E-105r Section 2 (16882)
Crea e-105r section 1 (26259), crea e-105r section 2 (26407), crea e-105r section 3 (26529), crea e-110r section 1 (26361).
Advanced Poetry Writing: The Art of the Line
Good poets pay attention to the words in a poem. Great poets attend to the sounds. How do you suggest anger in a line? How do you create levity, melancholy, suspense just by working with vowels, consonants, and meter? In this poetry writing workshop, we survey an array of poetic forms, from the ancient hemstitch of Beowulf to the recent sonnet cycles of John Murillo. We study the line: the meter, the caesura, the break. And with these tools, students explore new possibilities in their own writing. Prerequisites: A beginning poetry course or permission of the instructor.
CREA E-114 Section 1 (16783)
Advanced Fiction: Writing Suspense Fiction
Learn how techniques used in suspense fiction structure, pace, tension, and plot can be applied to your own writing. In addition to studying the bestselling works of both commercial and literary writers of suspense, students complete weekly writing assignments and participate in writing workshops. Writing samples will also be read and critiqued by a literary agent. Prerequisites: An introductory and/or intermediate fiction course or permission of the instructor. Students should bring to class either a work in progress or an idea for a novel or short story.
CREA E-114 Section 1 (26367)
Crea e-118r section 1 (16366).
Advanced Creative Nonfiction
Kurt Pitzer MFA, Author
This workshop is for students who want to stretch their abilities as writers. The goal of the course is to produce publishable short memoirs, essays, profiles, literary nonfiction, or any of the other subgenres often called creative nonfiction. We develop pitches for editors; gather material through interviews, research, and observation; and then organize and rewrite our pieces until readers won't put them down. Although we deal strictly in facts, we use literary devices such as scene, plot, character, and voice. We draw inspiration from masters of the craft such as Susan Orlean, Zadie Smith, David Foster Wallace, Virginia Woolf, and Ryszard Kapuscinski. Prerequisites: A beginning writing course or permission of the instructor.
CREA E-118r Section 1 (26118)
Brian Pietras PhD, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This workshop is intended for serious writers of creative nonfiction who want to produce publishable work. In the first half of the course, we study work by major authors in this capacious genre, including Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Audre Lorde, and Jo Ann Beard. In the second half, we use what we have learned about scene, plot, character, and voice to produce new work. Students may write short memoirs, personal or lyric essays, profiles, literary nonfiction, and more. Toward the end of the course, we focus on strategies for getting published, including how to identify likely publication venues and how to effectively pitch editors. Prerequisites: A beginning writing course or permission of the instructor.
CREA E-118r Section 2 (26417)
Ian Shank MFA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University
This is an intensive workshop in the craft of writing literary essays for students who have read widely among past and contemporary masters of the form and who are accomplished in the elements of prose composition (mechanics, syntax, and structure). Students are expected to produce two new essays (10 to 15 pages each) and to revise them during the term.
CREA E-120r Section 1 (16668)
Advanced Screenwriting
Wayne Wilson MFA, Screenwriter
In this advanced screenwriting workshop, students watch films and discuss the work of workshop members. During the course, each student presents two 20- to 30-page acts from his or her screenplay for class discussion. The final project is a revision of one of these two workshop submissions. Prerequisites: CREA E-45 or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Students should e-mail a sample of their own writing (ten pages or fewer) to Mr. Wilson before the first class.
CREA E-121 Section 1 (15776)
Advanced Fiction: Writing the Middle Grade and Young Adult Novel
Mary Sullivan Walsh BA, Author and Freelance Editor
This is an intensive workshop for writers interested in developing a middle grade or young adult novel. During each class meeting, we workshop chapters of students' novels-in-progress, focusing on elements of craft (character, point of view, dialogue, and plot). In addition, by reading and analyzing sections of work by such exemplary novelists as Angie Thomas, Lois Lowry, and Kwame Alexander, students learn to read like writers and to develop their own voices. Students are expected to have completed approximately 40 pages and a working synopsis of their novel by the end of the course. Prerequisites: A ten-page writing sample to be submitted to [email protected] before classes begin.
CREA E-121 Section 1 (25946)
Crea e-122 section 1 (25809).
Advanced Fiction: Writing Fairy Tales
Katie Beth Kohn MA, Doctoral Candidate, Visual and Environment Studies, Harvard University
Fairy tales have inspired authors for centuries and we are still very much under their spell. In the first part of this course, we study fairy tales both classic and contemporary, including works by Helen Oyeyemi, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, and Kelly Link. In the second part, students workshop their own original prose fiction fairy tale, which may be a piece of short-form fiction or an excerpt from a longer work in progress. Throughout, we explore how fairy tales have encouraged authors to develop their own style and voice even as they seem to speak in a language all their own. Prerequisites: A beginning creative writing course or permission of the instructor.
CREA E-125r Section 1 (26260)
Advanced Playwriting
Bryan Delaney MA, Playwright and Screenwriter
This course is intended for students who have some experience with playwriting or dramatic writing in general so that they can refine the skills they have already acquired and take them to the next level. Topics covered include techniques for approaching the first draft, in-depth characterization, dramatic structure, conflict, shaping the action, language and dialogue (including subtext, rhythm, imagery, and exposition), how to analyze students' own work as playwrights, dealing with feedback, the drafting process, techniques for rewriting, collaboration (with directors and actors) and the business of the art working with theaters, agents, literary managers, and dramaturges. The focus of the course is more on what might be called the classical principles of dramatic writing rather than the more avant-garde approaches to the art. Prerequisites: Ideally, students come to the first class with an idea for a one-act play to write throughout the course, although this is not mandatory, as the first class explores techniques for generating ideas.
CREA E-126 Section 1 (16669)
Advanced Fiction: Writing Horror
How do authors achieve the spine-tingling, bone-chilling, nightmare-inducing effects of great horror fiction? In addition to studying works of classic and contemporary horror, students in this course complete two works of short fiction before workshopping and presenting a final work. Throughout, we consider the diversity of the genre, from the gothic romanticism of Bram Stoker and Nathaniel Hawthorne to the paranoiac parables of Shirley Jackson and Ira Levin as well as the blockbuster works of Stephen King. We also pay considerable attention to emerging voices in the genre, studying selected works from Tananarive Due, Paul Tremblay, Carmen Maria Machado, Otessa Moshfegh, Emily Carroll, and Iain Reed. For final works, students are invited to workshop standalone works of short form fiction or selections from larger projects (novels, anthologies, scripts) provided these works are developed and drafted during the course. Prerequisites: A beginning-level creative writing course or permission of the instructor.
CREA E-128 Section 1 (26042)
Advanced Memoir: Mythic Structures
Both myth and memoir share a structure: somebody goes into the woods and comes out wiser about the ways of the world, emerging with an elixir (real or symbolic) to bring healing and hope. In sharing a memoir with readers, we share our lessons, the morals of our stories, the keys to our versions of happily ever after. Yet memoir writers often get stuck choosing which stories (from all of the stories we have lived) to include. In this course, we study myths and fairy tales, and write memoirs. We read short memoirs by writers who use these imaginary stories as a framework to examine their own lives, including Linda Grey Sexton, Sabrina Mark, Alexander Chee, and Michael Mejia. Students borrow structure from the great pool of myth and fairy tale lore and then fill in their stories with the particulars of their human-sized lives. Using mythic structure to help shape ordinary life events helps writers to combine universal themes with their own true voice a way to write our lives and make it matter. Students must craft new material for this course or develop new material for an existing project, such as a chapter in a longer memoir. Prerequisites: A beginning-level creative writing course or permission of the instructor.
CREA E-143 Section 1 (26475)
Advanced Fiction: Writing the Murder Mystery Novel
David Freed ALM, Novelist and Journalist
Murder mysteries have become the most popular realm of commercial fiction, with an insatiable demand for new titles each year among the millions of the genre's loyal devotees. This course guides students in conceiving their own murder mystery, from plot outline to the execution of a commercially viable first chapter. Prerequisites: At least one advanced writing course, or by prior permission from the instructor.
CREA E-148 Section 1 (16891)
Advanced Fiction: Writing Flash Fiction
How can you tell a story in a single paragraph? In a page? In three? This advanced writing course explores one of the hottest forms of fiction published today: flash fiction. Students read widely and experiment freely with the form, which offers a range of possibilities both in style and in length. In weekly writing workshops, students receive regular feedback on their work-in-progress and significantly revise 20-25 pages of prose with the aim of publication. As students draft their work, we study and dissect models of masterful very short fiction by writers both classic and contemporary, including Colette, Guy de Maupassant, Franz Kafka, Jorge Luis Borges, Clarice Lispector, Ernest Hemingway, Yasunari Kawabata, Dorothy Parker, Jamaica Kincaid, Lydia Davis, Charles Baxter, Anne Carson, Keith Taylor, Joyce Carol Oates, and Amy Hempel. We discuss these texts with the eye of a writer attentive to elements of craft, including dramatic structure, tone, point of view, suspense, prose style, rhythm, characterization, and plot. Working in this genre pushes students to write with economy and to polish their sentences as they aspire towards the hallmarks of excellent prose fiction: precision and economy, clarity and urgency. The course concludes with a conversation about how to break into publishing by working in a form that offers many opportunities for literary contests, awards, and first publications.
CREA E-153 Section 1 (26362)
Advanced Nonfiction: Writing Biography
Maggie Doherty PhD, Biographer and Critic
The biography is one of the most popular and enduring genres of nonfiction writing. This course teaches students the skills needed to bring people to life through biographical writing. Students read excerpts from different types of biography scholarly, popular, and experimental as well as read about the process of writing biography. Students practice interviewing, learn about accessing archival resources, and work on aspects of prose and style that bring characters to life. Students work to complete one chapter of a biography in progress. By the end of the course, students have the skills to enhance all their nonfiction writing projects, making them more marketable to editors and agents and more engaging to readers. Prerequisites: A beginning writing course or permission of the instructor.
CREA E-156 Section 2 (25774)
The Art of the Pitch
Catherine Eaton BA, MFA, Director and Writer
You have an idea or you have created a brilliant piece of work: a novel, a screenplay, a concept for a TV series, maybe even a scripted nonfiction podcast. Now what? How do you convince others to jump on board to buy or create or collaborate or publish or produce your story? How do you move it out of your desk drawer or hard drive or imagination and into the world? In this course, we break down the making of a pitch into its core elements generating the idea, developing the story, and stress-testing the material as we practice strategies for producing pitch materials and for pitching your project, in the room, to a live audience. Students write and revise two treatments: one for a work they have created and one for an idea they have yet to develop. Students build one look book and one pitch deck and do three live pitches. Students develop an insider's perspective on industry practices and etiquette, essential knowledge for anyone interested in the business of creation. Prerequisites: An advanced creative writing course or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
CREA E-156 Section 1 (25949)
January 2023
CREA E-597 Section 1 (16821)
Precapstone: Building the World of the Book: Fiction
Leah De Forest MFA, Writer
In this course, students engage in a series of structured creative writing exercises that make it possible for them to delve deeply into their characters what they look like, what they want and need, and how they interact with the world in which they live as they structure the imaginative world of their fiction. Students draft the first chapter of their capstone novel or the first story in their capstone collection (15-20 pages). Students also write a plan for their projects (5-10 pages) in which they create a roadmap of their book, bringing the plot and key characters into focus and defining the audience for their stories. Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in Master of Liberal Arts, creative writing and literature, who are in their penultimate semester. Prospective candidates and students with pending admission applications are not eligible. Candidates must be in good academic standing and in the process of successfully completing all degree requirements except the capstone, CREA E-599, which they must enroll in the upcoming spring term as their final course with the same instructor. Candidates are allowed to complete the summer residency after the capstone. Candidates who do not meet these degree requirements are dropped from the course.
CREA E-597 Section 2 (16656)
Precapstone: Building the World of the Book: Fiction or Nonfiction
In this course, students engage in a series of structured writing exercises that make it possible for them to delve deeply into their characters what they look like, what they want and need, and how they interact with the world in which they live as they structure the world of their fiction or nonfiction. Students draft the first chapter of their capstone novel, memoir, or nonfiction book, or the first story or essay in their capstone collection (15-20 pages). Students also write a plan for their projects (5-10 pages) in which they create a roadmap of their book, bringing the narrative arc and key characters into focus and defining the audience for their work. Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in Master of Liberal Arts, creative writing and literature, who are in their penultimate semester. Prospective candidates and students with pending admission applications are not eligible. Candidates must be in good academic standing and in the process of successfully completing all degree requirements except the capstone, CREA E-599, which they must enroll in the upcoming spring term as their final course with the same instructor. Candidates are allowed to complete the summer residency after the capstone. Candidates who do not meet these degree requirements are dropped from the course.
CREA E-599 Section 1 (26418)
Capstone: Developing the Manuscript: Fiction
This course is meant to follow CREA E-597, in which students built the imaginative world of their books and produced the first story or chapter of them. In this workshop, students write two additional chapters or stories, or approximately 30 pages of new work. The capstone project in total should be about 50-60 pages the equivalent of a thesis. Students submit the entire manuscript the plan and the three chapters developed during both the precapstone and capstone courses at the end of the second semester, but instructors read and comment on only the two new chapters. Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in the Master of Liberal Arts, creative writing and literature. Candidates must be in good academic standing, with only the capstone and the on-campus summer residency left to complete (no other course registration is allowed simultaneously with the capstone), and have successfully completed the precapstone course, CREA E-597, with the same instructor in the previous fall term. Candidates are allowed to complete the summer residency after the capstone. Candidates who do not meet these requirements are dropped from the course.
CREA E-599 Section 2 (26250)
Capstone: Developing the Manuscript: Fiction or Nonfiction
This course is meant to follow CREA E-597, in which students built the imaginative world of their books and produced the first story, essay, or chapter of them. In this workshop, students write two additional chapters, stories, or essays, or approximately 30 pages of new work. The capstone project in total should be about 50-60 pages the equivalent of a thesis. Students submit the entire manuscript the plan and the three chapters, stories, or essays developed during both the precapstone and capstone courses at the end of the second semester, but instructors read and comment on only the two new chapters. Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in the Master of Liberal Arts, creative writing and literature. Candidates must be in good academic standing, with only the capstone and the on-campus summer residency left to complete (no other course registration is allowed simultaneously with the capstone), and have successfully completed the precapstone course, CREA E-597, with the same instructor in the previous fall term. Candidates are allowed to complete the summer residency after the capstone. Candidates who do not meet these requirements are dropped from the course.
MFA Program in Creative Writing
The Creative Writing Program offers the MFA degree, with a concentration in either poetry or fiction. MFA students pursue intensive study with distinguished faculty committed to creative and intellectual achievement.
Each year the department enrolls only eight MFA students, four in each concentration. Our small size allows us to offer a generous financial support package that fully funds every student. We also offer a large and diverse graduate faculty with competence in a wide range of literary, theoretical and cultural fields. Every student chooses a special committee of two faculty members who work closely alongside the student to design a course of study within the broad framework established by the department.
Students participate in a graduate writing workshop each semester and take six additional one-semester courses for credit, at least four of them in English or American literature, comparative literature, literature in the modern or Classical languages or cultural studies (two per semester during the first year and one per semester during the second year). First-year students receive practical training as editorial assistants for Epoch, a periodical of prose and poetry published by the creative writing program. Second-year students participate as teaching assistants for the university-wide first-year writing program. The most significant requirement of the MFA degree is the completion of a book-length manuscript: a collection of poems or short stories, or a novel, to be closely edited and refined with the assistance of the student’s special committee.
MFA program specifics can be viewed here: MFA Timeline Procedural Guide
Special Committee
Every graduate student selects a special committee of faculty advisors who works intensively with the student in selecting courses and preparing and revising the thesis. The committee is comprised of two Cornell creative writing faculty members: a chair and one minor member. An additional member may be added to represent an interdisciplinary field. The university system of special committees allows students to design their own courses of study within a broad framework established by the department, and it encourages a close working relationship between professors and students, promoting freedom and flexibility in the pursuit of the graduate degree. The special committee for each student guides and supervises all academic work and assesses progress in a series of meetings with the students.
At Cornell, teaching is considered an integral part of training for a career in writing. The field requires a carefully supervised teaching experience of at least one year for every MFA candidate as part of the program requirements. The Department of English, in conjunction with the First-Year Writing Program, offers excellent training for beginning teachers and varied and interesting teaching in this university-wide program. These are not conventional freshman composition courses, but full-fledged academic seminars, often designed by graduate students themselves. The courses are writing-intensive and may fall under such general rubrics as “Portraits of the Self,” “American Literature and Culture,” “Shakespeare” and “Cultural Studies,” among others. A graduate student may also serve as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate lecture course taught by a member of the Department of Literatures in English faculty.
All MFA degree candidates are guaranteed two years of funding (including a stipend , a full tuition fellowship and student health insurance).
- Graduate Assistantship with EPOCH . Students read submissions, plan special issues and assume other editorial and administrative responsibilities.
- Summer Teaching Assistantship, linked to a teachers' training program. Summer residency in Ithaca is required.
- Teaching Assistantship
- Summer Fellowship (made possible by the David L. Picket ’84 Fund and The James McConkey Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Award for Summer Support, established by his enduringly grateful student, Len Edelstein ’59)
Optional MFA Lecturer Appointments Degree recipients who are actively seeking outside funding/employment are eligible to apply to teach for one or two years as a lecturer. These positions are made possible by an endowment established by the late Philip H. Freund ’29 and a bequest from the Truman Capote Literary Trust.
Admission & Application Procedures
The application for Fall 2024 admission will open on September 15, 2023 and will close on December 15, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. Please note that staff support is available M-F 9am-4pm.
Eligibility : Applicants must currently have, or expect to have, at least a BA or BS (or the equivalent) in any field before matriculation. International students, please verify degree equivalency here . Applicants are not required to take the GRE test or meet a specified GPA minimum.
To Apply: All applications and supplemental materials must be submitted on-line through the Graduate School application system . While completing your application, you may save and edit your data. Once you click “submit,” your application will be closed for changes. Please proofread your materials carefully. Once you pay and click submit, you will not be able to make any changes or revisions.
DEADLINE: Dec. 15, 11:59 p.m. EST . This deadline is firm. No applications, additional materials or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.
MFA Program Application Requirements Checklist
- Academic Statement of Purpose Please use the Academic Statement of Purpose to describe, within 1000 words: (1) your academic interests, (2) your academic background, preparation, and training, including any relevant professional experiences, (3) your reasons for pursuing graduate studies in this specific program, and (4) your professional goals.
- Personal Statement Your Personal Statement should provide the admissions committee with a sense of you as a whole person, and you should use it to describe how your background and experiences influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Additionally, it should provide insight into your potential to contribute to a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and work productively and positively together. Writing your Personal Statement provides you with an opportunity to share experiences that provide insights into how your personal, academic, and/or professional experiences demonstrate your ability to be both persistent and resilient, especially when navigating challenging circumstances. The statement also allows you to provide examples of how you engage with others and have facilitated and/or participated in productive collaborative endeavors. Additionally, it provides you with an opportunity to provide context around any perceived gaps or weaknesses in your academic record. Content in the Personal Statement should complement rather than duplicate the content contained within the Academic Statement of Purpose, which should focus explicitly on your academic interests, previous research experience, and intended area of research during your graduate studies. A complete writing prompt is available in the application portal.
- Three Letters of Recommendation Please select three people who best know you and your work. Submitting additional letters will not enhance your application. In the recommendation section of the application, you must include the email address of each recommender. After you save the information (and before you pay/submit), the application system will automatically generate a recommendation request email to your recommender with instructions for submitting the letter electronically. If your letters are stored with a credential service such as Interfolio, please use their “online application delivery” feature and input the email address assigned to your stored document, rather than that of your recommender’s. The electronic files will be attached to your application when they are received and will not require the letter of recommendation cover page. Please do not postpone submitting your application while waiting for us to receive all three of your letters. We will accept recommendation letters until December 30,11:59pm EST . For more information please visit the Graduate School's page on preparing letters of recommendations .
- Transcripts Scan transcripts from each institution you have attended, or are currently attending, and upload into the academic information section of the application. Be sure to remove your social security number from all documents prior to scanning. Please do not send paper copies of your transcripts. If you are subsequently admitted and accept, the graduate school will require an official paper transcript from your degree-awarding institution prior to matriculation.
- English Language Proficiency Requirement All applicants must provide proof of English language proficiency. For more information, please view the Graduate School’s English Language Requirement .
- Fiction applicants: Your sample must be between 6,000 and 10,000 words, typed, double-spaced, in a conventional 12- or 14-point font. It may be an excerpt from a larger work or a combination of several works.
- Poetry applicants: Your sample must be 10 pages in length and include a combination of several poems, where possible.
General Information for All Applicants
Application Fee: Visit the Graduate School for information regarding application fees , payment options, and fee waivers . Please do not send inquires regarding fee waivers.
Document Identification: Please do not put your social security number on any documents.
Status Inquiries: Once you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email. You will also be able to check the completion status of your application in your account. If vital sections of your application are missing, we will notify you via email after the Dec. 15 deadline and allow you ample time to provide the missing materials. Please do not inquire about the status of your application.
Credential/Application Assessments: The admission review committee members are unable to review application materials or applicant credentials prior to official application submission. Once the committee has reviewed the applications and made admissions decisions, they will not discuss the results or make any recommendations for improving the strength of an applicant’s credentials. Applicants looking for feedback are advised to consult with their undergraduate advisor or someone else who knows them and their work.
Review Process: Application review begins after the submission deadline. Notification of admissions decisions will be made by email or by telephone by the end of February.
Connecting with Faculty and/or Students: Unfortunately, due to the volume of inquiries we receive, faculty and current students are not available to correspond with potential applicants prior to an offer of admission. Applicants who are offered admission will have the opportunity to meet faculty and students to have their questions answered prior to accepting. Staff and faculty are also not able to pre-assess potential applicant’s work outside of the formal application process. Please email [email protected] instead, if you have questions.
Visiting: The department does not offer pre-admission visits or interviews. Admitted applicants will be invited to visit the department, attend graduate seminars and meet with faculty and students before making the decision to enroll.
Transfer Credits: Transfer credits are not available toward the MFA program.
Admissions FAQ
For Further Information
Contact [email protected]
MFA in Creative Writing Graduation Readings
The Writing Seminars
- MFA Requirements
- Graduate Courses
Students admitted to the MFA program enroll in two years of course work. The program requires two full years of residency in Baltimore. Students take two courses per semester: a writing workshop in poetry or fiction, and a second “readings in literature” course taught within the department. In addition, first-semester students take a third course in pedagogy, in preparation for their own teaching of undergraduate fiction and poetry in the spring of the first year. Poetry courses are offered by James Arthur, Dora Malech, Andrew Motion, Lauren Russell, Bruce Snider, and David Yezzi. Fiction courses are offered by Susan Choi, Danielle Evans, Katharine Noel, Eric Puchner, and Lysley Tenorio.
Students are paired with one member of the graduate faculty who serves throughout the MFA program as advisor in the student’s chosen genre, and who becomes the thesis director. At the end of the first year, students present a first-year portfolio, approximately half the length of the projected thesis, for faculty review. Students are given the opportunity to meet with the combined faculty in their genre for the “first year conversation,” in which their performance as writers, students, and teachers is discussed, and guidance offered for the second year.
The thesis, due in the second year, is the most important indication of the student’s accomplishment. A fiction student’s thesis is a substantial manuscript in the form of a novella, a novel excerpt, or a collection of fiction. Poets produce a thesis of collected poetry. In the second year, the student is assigned a second reader—a faculty member from a different genre—who serves on the thesis committee.
It is our belief that having a second language (at the intermediate level, at least) allows a writer the flexibility to experiment with the first language, and permits development of a literary voice through a deeper understanding of how language functions. Students may show foreign language proficiency in the first year by passing a placement exam or a translation test. Students also have the option of enrolling in a full year at any level of college-level foreign language study, to be passed no later than the end of the first semester of the second year. Students are also welcome to take courses in other departments outside The Writing Seminars, beyond our own requirements.
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The M.F.A. centers around the Graduate Writers' Workshop, a group which meets each quarter in poetry and fiction, in which faculty and students share in criticism and discussion of student writing. There are twelve MFA students in poetry and twelve in fiction, half in their first year and half in their second year in the Writing Program. About two-thirds of the Writing Program student's work consists of participation in the Workshop; the other third is devoted to graduate-level seminars offered by the MFA faculty and other faculty of the Department of English and Comparative Literature and other graduate programs. The aim of the Programs in Writing is the training of accomplished writers who intend to make their writing their life. What we expect of our students is passionate precision, character, and stamina. What we want most for our students is that each will sooner or later write something that lasts. Successful writing, we think, is writing that succeeds itself each time it is read with interest and care by a succession of new readers. To facilitate such writing, the faculty has kept the Writing Program small in order to ensure the high quality of the students as well as to permit much teaching on a one-to-one basis. All students consult frequently with the staff for assistance with their work. In recent years, visiting writers and lecturers have included: Ralph Angel, John Ashbery, Wilton Barnhardt, John Calvin Batchelor, Ethan Canin, Jennifer Clarvoe, Killarney Clary, Gwyneth Cravens, Stuart Dybek, Robert Farnsworth, Amy Gerstler, Louise Glück, Jay Gummerman, Ursula Hegi, Brenda Hillman, Rust Hills, T.R. Hummer, Cynthia Huntington, P.D. James, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Margot Livesey, Thomas Lux, Lynne McMahon, Heather McHugh, Maile Meloy, Jeredith Merrin, Josephine Miles, Wright Morris, Howard Moss, Carol Muske-Dukes, Robert Olmstead, Ann Patchett, Bette Pesetsky, Martha Rhodes, Mark Richard, Mary Robison, Thomas Sanchez, Sherod Santos, Christine Schutt, Lynn Sharon Schwartz, Alan Shapiro, Jim Shepard, Mona Simpson, Ted Solotaroff, Pamela Stewart, Robert Stone, Mark Strand, Melanie Thernstrom, Lawrence Thornton, Brad Watson, Joy Williams, and William Wiser.
Contact MFA Programs in Writing: Phone 949-824-6718, Email: [email protected] .
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Graduates of the Programs in Writing have gone on to publish works of fiction, poetry, and nonficiton, and have received distinguished prizes and fellowships such as the Pulitzer Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, Pushcart Prize, PEN/Faulkner Award, Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, National Endowment for the Arts Award, Shelley Memorial Prize, Art Seidenbaum Award, Mary McCarthy Prize, Katharine Bakeless Nason Literary Prize, Kathryn A. Morton Prize, Staige D. Blackford Prize, Tufts Poetry Award, The Nation Discovery Award, and the Ken Kesey Award.
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Writing (M.F.A.)
Why get a Master of Fine Arts in writing?
Do you want to shape your gifts and passion for writing? Work one-on-one with nationally recognized faculty? Get the support of a talented community of peers? Focus on fiction, narrative nonfiction or poetry in our graduate M.F.A. program, which has launched the careers of hundreds of poets, novelists, storywriters, essayists and memoirists. What is notable is not just how hard students work on their own creative writing, but how much effort goes into their response to the work of their peers. Writers here care deeply about each other, and the production of honest work that captures life on the page.
Why choose UNH for your writing degree?
The M.F.A. writing program at UNH is small, highly-ranked and selective. We emphasize one-on-one contact between a nationally recognized faculty and talented students. Many exciting opportunities are available, including a visiting writers’ series, where you’ll have the chance to connect with some of the finest contemporary poets, novelists and essayists currently at work. You can take advantage of paid internships in local arts organizations, editorial positions at our online journal Barnstorm, teaching assistantships, tuition scholarships and grant awards. Our students typically complete the program in two to three years.
Potential career areas
- Fiction writing
- Journalism
- Literary agencies
- Public relations
- Publishing
- Screenwriting
Contact Information
Curriculum & Requirements
Program description.
The MFA Program in Writing at the University of New Hampshire has a clear and abiding focus: to help you shape your gifts and passion for the art, and to prepare you for the opportunities and demands that all writers will experience in a long professional career. Over the years, the graduate writing program has launched the careers of hundreds of poets, novelists, storywriters, essayists and memoirists. This is a small, highly-ranked, and selective program. We emphasize one-on-one contact between a nationally recognized faculty and talented students. Students typically complete the program in two to three years.
We are most proud of the supportive community we have created here, one in which cross-genre exploration is strongly encouraged. Six out of ten of our MFA students receive direct financial aid , with most funding taking the form of teaching assistantships, tuition scholarships, and grant awards. Other opportunities include paid internships in local arts organizations, and editorial positions at our on-line journal Barnstorm .
We also run an exciting visiting writers' series , so that students have a chance to connect with some of the finest contemporary poets, novelists and essayists currently at work. Add to all this the fact that we're located in a stunningly beautiful spot, close to mountains and sea coast, but within an hour of Boston and other cosmopolitan areas. We can't imagine that there is a more energizing and congenial place to pursue your talents and dreams anywhere in the country.
The fiction program centers on your fiction. The one goal of our two years together is to make your fiction stronger, more aesthetically powerful, and yes, more publishable. The small 10-person workshop, intense conferencing with multiple award-winning faculty such as Ann Joslin Williams and Tom Paine, craft seminars that range from "Joyce and Chekhov" to Novellas and Contemporary Short Story Collections", special topics classes on "American Short Fiction by Women" and "Sentence Experiments in Literary Fiction", an esteemed reading series that brings authors such as Dan Chaon and Elissa Schappell to class and campus, our nationally known literary magazine Barnstorm: all of this is here simply to advance your fiction. Maybe it is because we are in the Granite State, but what is notable in our program is not just how hard students work on their own fiction, but how much effort goes into their response to the work of their peers. Writers here care deeply about each other as people, and the production of honest work that captures life on the page.
Our narrative nonfiction program embraces a wide variety of forms, from memoir to travel writing, literary journalism to the personal essay and all of its permutations. Our focus, however, is not on labels but on nurturing your talent and developing your skills with the goal of helping you craft rich, compelling and publishable essays, stories and books. In short, we toil together to make facts dance. In our workshops and seminars we ask our students to read broadly and push themselves beyond their comfort zone, to experiment and exercise an array of literary muscles, to employ the imagery of a poet, the drama of a novelist and the content drive of a journalist. Our classes are small (average size is ten) and students meet frequently with instructors in individual conferences. As practical as the state of New Hampshire, our program emphasizes not only the art of writing narrative nonfiction, but also how to sell it. In one course students will learn how to write a book proposal and in others how to pitch travel stories and personal essays. The UNH nonfiction faculty is diverse in its expertise but united in its passion for reading and writing the literature of fact, and for sharing that passion.
We offer poetry workshops limited to 10 students and small seminars in craft and poetics in a dynamic, individual-oriented system that emphasizes intensive conferencing. Students have the chance to work with master teachers like the award-winning poets Mekeel McBride and David Rivard. We believe in grounding our students in the widest possible range of poetic technique and approach—with seminars offered in areas such as translation, 20th-century poetic movements, and ecstatic poetry—and no preconceived notions as to how anyone should write (other than well!). The poetic tradition of New England—one of the richest and most expansive in the world—serves as a backdrop for all our efforts. This is an area teeming with great poets, with numerous weekly opportunities for students to attend readings and lectures in the art.
Requirements for the Program
Degree requirements.
Students are required to take four workshops in their major genre. In addition, students take one form and theory course in their major genre, five elective courses that may include additional writing courses or courses from the English department's offerings in other fields (such as literature, linguistics, or composition studies), and 8 credit hours of the M.F.A. thesis ( ENGL 899 Master of Fine Arts in Writing Thesis ). Teaching assistants are required to take ENGL 910 Practicum in Teaching College Composition as one of their electives. There is no foreign language requirement.
May be repeated.
ENGL 910 Practicum in Teaching College Composition is reserved for graduate teaching assistants.
The M.F.A. thesis is a book-length, publishable manuscript. For fiction writers, the thesis could be a collection of short stories, a story cycle (linked stories), or a novel. For nonfiction writers, the thesis could be a collection of themed essays and/or magazine articles or a book of creative nonfiction. For poets, the thesis would be a book-length collection of poems. The minimum length of the thesis is 150 pages for fiction and nonfiction writers and 45 pages for poets. Students will work closely with a thesis adviser as they write and pass an oral defense of the thesis, a defense conducted by a three-member thesis committee of writing faculty. Students will also conduct a public reading of their thesis in an event organized by the writing faculty.
In addition, the M.F.A. program offers students opportunities to publish in an online journal called Barnstorm , as well as intern at arts/cultural organizations and the university research department, as well as teach in community schools. A select number of students are chosen to teach UNH undergraduate writing courses and to work in the University's Writing Center.
The program admits an average of 15 new students a year, which creates a writing community of 45 student writers.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Have a firm grasp of all the elements of craft whether fiction, poetry or nonfiction, including narrative structure, imagery, dramatic tension, efficient dialogue, and believable character.
- Demonstrate expertise in the stylistic functions of language, including the use of simile and metaphor, unique language as opposed to clichés, resonating images or details, using all points of view, whether first, third or omniscient.
- Understand the role of research and external content to provide context, layers, and credibility.
- Be able to significantly revise work.
- Have experience reading out loud and presenting to an audience.
- Be able to flourish in the workplace for jobs in publishing, editing, communication, public relations, television, screenwriting, social media, news, advertising or any job where a writer is needed.
Application Requirements & Deadlines
Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:
- Fall : Jan. 15
- Spring : N/A
- Summer : N/A
- Special : N/A
Application fee : $65
Campus : Durham
New England Regional : RI VT
Accelerated Masters Eligible : No
New Hampshire Residents
Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence Form . This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission or you will not be able to register for classes.
Transcripts
If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, UNH Non-Degree work and GSC.
If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.
If admitted , you must then request an official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:
- Electronic Transcripts : Please have your institution send the transcript directly to [email protected] . Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
- Paper Transcripts : Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.
Transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions must be submitted and applicants must disclose any previous academic or disciplinary sanctions that resulted in their temporary or permanent separation from a previous post-secondary institution. If it is found that previous academic or disciplinary separations were not disclosed, applicants may face denial and admitted students may face dismissal from their academic program.
Letters of recommendation: 3 required
Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.
Personal Statement/Essay Questions
Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:
- Reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives.
- Your specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field.
Additional Department Requirements
Fiction: Please submit at least two separate pieces, i.e. two short stories, part of a novel or novella and a short story. Non-Fiction: At least two separate non-fiction pieces, i.e. feature articles, essays, or newspaper stories. Poetry: Ten to fifteen poems
Important Notes
All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program-specific application questions.
International Applicants
Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.
Explore Program Details
Faculty directory.
Students in the MFA program are invited to become involved in the production of the UNH online literary journal, Barnstorm . Barnstorm was founded by MFA graduate students and continues to be entirely student run under faculty advisor Tom Payne. The position of Editor-in-Chief pays a stipend of $3,500 per year.
While we do not adhere to a particular style or manifesto, Barnstorm strives to publish the best poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Previous contributors include both renowned and emerging writers. Barnstorm also publishes weekly literary columns from our staff via our blog. To learn more about Barnstorm and its publications, visit our website at barnstormjournal.org.
Internships & Opportunities
The portsmouth music hall internship.
A paid, year-long internship at one of New England’s premier arts organizations—The Music Hall’s two literary series, Writers on a New England Stage and Writers in the Loft, employ an MFA student to assist in marketing and production. This is a great opportunity for a literary- and marketing-minded student with sharp writing and interpersonal skills to further develop their skills and resume while working with the Music Hall’s award-winning professionals. The PMH intern engages in a wide range of marketing and event activities, from press release writing and blogging about authors to distributing collateral including posters, as well as researching specialty markets and occasionally going out to pick up a sandwich for the author on an event night. The position pays $4,000 for the year, and is funded through the generosity of an anonymous UNH alumnus.
Visit the Writers on a New England Stage website .
Research Development and Communications Internships
The UNH Office of Research Development and Communications offers a number of internships to graduate English students each year. Interns work an average of at least 10 hours per week over the course of the year (a minimum of 500 hours for the entire year), including the summer. The yearly salary is approximately $6000. Intern responsibilities include reviewing and editing grant proposals to federal funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, writing communications pieces on behalf of the Research Office, and working with graduate students applying for federal funding. Interested candidates should possess excellent writing/editorial skills. Professional experience as a writer/editor is a plus. The positions are open to both current and incoming students, and applications are accepted in late April/early May. Because this position is funded with Work Study funds, you must have filed a FAFSA form in order to apply. Students holding Teaching Assistantships may not apply for this position.
Read Free or Die
Read Free or Die is a monthly reading series created and hosted by the students of UNH's MFA program to showcase writing from across the genres. Traditionally held once a month in the upstairs of The Press Room in historic downtown Portsmouth, NH, the series provides an intimate space and the opportunity for MFA students to share both voice and craft. Each reading features two poets, two fiction writers, and two non-fiction writers. Read Free or Die is a free event. For more information visit the Facebook page for the series.
MFA Student Successes
December, 2023: Nico Bailey (MFA '22) published their debut story "Pas De Deux" in the Kelsey Review, and it has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Congratulations, Nico!
April, 2022: Austin Bolton's (MFA '22) short story, "If Ever You Should Leave," is getting published by the literary magazine Change Seven at the start of July. Congratulations, Austin!
October, 2021: Christina Keim (MFA '20) has co-authored a book with Sally Benton. The Athletic Equestrian: Over 30 Exercises for Good Hands, Power Legs, and Superior Seat Awareness is set to be released in January, 2022 by Trafalgar Square Books. https://www.horseandriderbooks.com/store/the-athletic-equestrian.html
September, 2021: Our first student to earn her MFA, Midge Goldberg (MFA '06), has just had her third book of poems published by Kelsay Books. To Be Opened After My Death is available at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Be-Opened-After-My-Death/dp/195435391X/ref=sr_1_3
September, 2021: Samantha DeFlitch's (MFA '18) second manuscript was named a finalist in the National Poetry Series. The news release is at https://nationalpoetryseries.org/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-the-2021-national-poetry-series/ .
February, 2021: Samantha DeFlitch's (MFA '18) first full-length book of poetry has been published! Confluence is available for pre-order at http://broadstonebooks.com/Samantha_DeFlitch.html Congratulations, Sam!
November, 2020: Bill Price (MFA '21) has had four pieces published since joining the MFA program. Congratulations, Bill!
“The Ferryman’s Coin.” Showbear Family Circus, Nov. 2020 “Nature’s Glory.” Ripples in Space, Aug. 2020 “The Knocking.” Beyond Words, May 2020 “I, Leave.” National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, Nov. 2019
November, 2020: Paulna Valbrun (MFA '20) had two pieces published. “Afrodite” and “Church for Sinner’s.” The latter essay was published by a popular literary magazine in Kenya! https://www.midnightandindigo.com/afrodite/ https://jaladaafrica.org/2020/12/04/church-for-sinners-by-paulna-valbrun/
March, 2020: Morgan Plessner's (MFA '19) manuscript is to be published on March 24th, 2020! Body of the Moon is available at https://www.amazon.com/Body-Moon-Morgan-Leigh-Plessner/dp/B0863TKRQT . Congratulations, Morgan!
February, 2020: Joshua Foreman (MFA '17) and his writing partner Ryan Starrett started working with the History Press while he pursued his MFA at UNH. They have published three narrative history books ( https://foremanstarrett.com/books/ ) with them. The most recent publication - Hidden History of New Orleans - in Feb. 2020. Josh also began teaching in the Communication Department at Mississippi State University in August.
January, 2020: Danley Romero (MFA '21) had his short story, "Fin, or A Thing Like Music" published in the Massachusetts Review's 60th anniversary issue and it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize! Congratulations, Danley!
November, 2019: Heidi Turner's (MFA '21) first book was published by Heritage Future and won the 2019 Great Story Project. The Sacred Art of Trespassing Barefoot is available for purchase at https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Trespassing-Barefoot-Great-Project/dp/1732856419 . Congratulations, Heidi!
October, 2019: Congratulations to Tyler Paterson (MFA '20)! The publishing company Retreat West out of London officially nominated his short story "Seedlings" for the Pushcart Prize.
August, 2019: Jason Tandon's (MFA '07) new book of poetry was published by Black Lawrence Press. "The Actual World" is available now. Jason currently teaches in the Writing Program at Boston University. https://www.blacklawrence.com/the-actual-world/ | https://jasontandon.com/
February, 2017: Kaely Horton's (MFA '18) short story "Canvassing" will be published in May's edition of RipRap. Kaely also wrote an article on teaching which is the first runner-up for the Donald Murray Prize and is getting published in the spring issue of Writing on the Edge with commentary from Peter Elbow.
May, 2017: Congratulations to Ben Ludwig (MFA 2017) on the publication of his novel Ginny Moon , Park Row Books, May 2017!
May, 2017: Brian Evans-Jones , Poetry MFA 2016, has won the poetry section of the 2017 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award from Poets & Writers.
May, 2017: Alix McManus's (MFA Fiction) short story "Rosemary and the Red Pens" was recently published in Gravel Magazine. Congratulations, Alix!
April, 2017: Rose Whitmore , Fiction MFA 2013, won a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University, 2017.
February, 2017: Amy Sauber (MFA '14) wins Pen/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for her story "State Facts of the New Age". Information about the prize can be found at https://pen.org/2017-penrobert-j-dau-short-story-prize-emerging-writers/ Congratulations, Amy!
November, 2016: Brittany Smith's story 'The Fruit Grove Girl' gets published in The Bangalore Review. The story can be read at http://bangalorereview.com/2016/11/fruit-grove-girl/ Congratulations, Brittany!
September, 2016: Amy Sauber's (MFA '14) story 'State Facts for the New Age' gets published in The Rumpus. Congratulations, Amy! The story can be found at http://therumpus.net/2016/09/rumpus-original-fiction-state-facts-for-th…
April, 2016: Midge Goldberg (MFA '06) recently published a book of poetry, Snowman's Code, which won the Richard Wilbur Poetry Award. Midge was our very first MFA student to earn her degree! The book was published by University of Evansville Press and can be found on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Snowmans-Code-Midge-Goldberg/dp/0930982754/ref=sr…
February 2016: Benjamin Ludwig's FOREVER GIRL, pitched as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime meets Room, told from the perspective of an adopted autistic teenage girl who's plotting to get herself kidnapped by her birth mother, pre-empted by Liz Stein on an exclusive 3-day submission, in a major deal (WE) by Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management; translation rights with Molly Jaffa at Folio Literary Management.
September, 2015: Congratulations to UNH's very first student to earn her MFA in Writing almost 10 years ago! Midge Goldberg recently published a children's book, My Best Ever Grandpa , with Azro Press of N.M. The book was illustrated by Valori Herzlich. Here's s a link to the publisher's announcement page: http://www.azropress.com .
May, 2015: Much congrats to Sonia Scherr , MFA ’13, who has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship! Scherr, who was an alternate in the competition last year, will conduct research in Morocco in order to write a historically informed Young Adult novel about the relationship between Jewish and Muslim Moroccans during the Holocaust.
January, 2015: Benjamin Ludwig's book, titled "Sourdough" won the Clay Reynolds Novella Prize from Texas Review Press. The book is for sale on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Sourdough-Benjamin-Ludwig/dp/1680030140/ref=sr_1_1 ... Congratulations, Benjamin!
November, 2014: Congratulations to Caro Clark (MFA '13) who recently received a McDowell Fellowship for the spring!
September, 2014: Congratulations to Bryan Parys (MFA '10) for landing a job as an editor/writer at Berklee College of Music in the department of digital strategy and communications. Bryan also recently signed a contract to publish his thesis with Cascade Books. More details to come!
August, 2014: Craig Brown (MFA '11) published an article in Dispatch Magazine called "Cruising the Coast: Three Days Sailing on the Victory Chimes , America's Windjammer". A scan of the article can be found at /sites/cola.unh.edu/files/media/Dispatch_-_Cruising_the_Coast.pdf.
August, 2014: Rose Whitmore (MFA '13) recently had an essay published in The Sun, and was awarded a work-study scholarship in non-fiction to the Bread Loaf Writer's conference.
July, 2014: Congratulations to Caro Clark (MFA '13) who's Glimmer Train story won first place in the new writer's contest! First place won $1500 and publication in issue #94. The announcement of the winners can be found at http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/glimmertrain/May2014SSA-Winners.pdf
July, 2014: Maria Chelko's (MFA '10) poems have appeared in these journals: The Ampersand Review, Anti-, Birdfeast, The Freeman, Revolver, Sixth Finch, and Washington Square Review. She was also awarded a scholarship to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference this summer.
July, 2014: Congratulations to Nathan Webster (MFA '09) who was hired as a full time lecturerer for the English department at UNH! Nate has published the following:
- Daily Beast, Jan. 11. "How the War Comes Home.”
- The Rumpus, July 4. "Bedrooms of the Fallen." http://therumpus.net/2014/07/bedrooms-of-the-fallen-by-ashley-gilbertso…
- Wrath Bearing Tree, July 10. "Foreshadows from Iraq." http://wrathbearingtree.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/foreshadowing-in-iraq-…
July, 2014: Erin Somers' (MFA '13) story, "Astronauts in Love" was published by One Teen Story this month. Link: http://www.oneteenstory.com
June, 2014: Congratulations to Karina Borowicz (MFA '09) for winning the Codhill Poetry Award for her book of poetry titled Proof . It was also a finalist for the National Poetry Series! The press release can be found at http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6030-proof.aspx . The Amazon link is at http://www.amazon.com/Proof-Karina-Borowicz/dp/1930337752/ref=sr_1_1?ie…
June, 2014: William Stratton (MFA '12) published his first collection of poems titled Under the Water Was Stone. http://wintergoosepublishing.com/now-available-under-the-water-was-ston…
April, 2014: Great news from Sarah Stickney (MFA '10) that the book she co-translated with Diana Thow and Eugene Ostashevsky, The Guest in The Wood by Italian poet Elisa Biagini just Won the Best Translated Book Award for 2014. Congratulazioni, Sarah! http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/index.php?id=…
April, 2014: Caro Clark (MFA '13) won the Luso-American fiction scholarship to attend the Disquiet International writing conference in Lisbon this summer. You can read about the conference here: http://disquietinternational.org . The scholarship pays for transportation to and from Portugal and all fees associated with the two-week program. Caro will have the chance to work with Denis Johnson, Josip Novakovich, Padgett Powell, and others while there. And in further good news: Glimmer Train also picked up one of her stories stories recently.
March, 2014: Emily Bradley , who received her MFA in creative nonfiction from UNH in 2012, published an essay in the March/April issue of Yankee Magazine. The illustrated feature, titled “When My Father Calls,” tells of her father’s relationship with a chipmunk in the years after her mother died while revealing the ways we reconfigure our lives in the wake of grief. http://www.yankeemagazine.com/
November, 2013: Jason Tandon '07 has published his third book of poems, Quality of Life, with Black Lawrence Press. Here's the link to his publishers announcement page: http://www.blacklawrence.com/quality-of-life/
October, 2013: Jennie Latson '13 signed a contract with Simon & Schuster for her book The Boy Who Loved Too Much. This tale of a boy with Williams Syndrome, the so-called "friendliness disorder," and his mother was her MFA thesis project. For over two years she immersed herself in the lives of the two, traveling with them to Michigan for a summer camp, spending weekends with them in their Connecticut home, monitoring how this child who knows no skepticism, loves everyone, navigates a world that requires caution. The book will be published in early 2015.
September, 2013: Rose Whitmore '13 (fiction) has won the William Peden Prize from The Missouri Review for her short story "The Queen of Pacific Tides." Learn more.
September, 2013: Jeremy Parker , a new MFA student this year, was a semi-finalist in the 2013 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest run by Carve Magazine . Out of over 1,000 submissions, the editors chose 5 winners, 5 honorable mentions, and 23 semi-finalists.
July, 2013: Laurin Becker Macios , MFA poetry alum, is the Program Director for Mass Poetry, an organization supporting poets and poetry in Massachusetts. Her poems have recently been published in 34th Parallel, Pif, and Five2One Magazine. In Sept. 2013 she will be spending two weeks at the Martha's Vineyard Writer's Residency in Edgartown.
July, 2013: Alan Schulte , MFA nonfiction alum, was hired for a permanent, tenure track position at Franklin Pierce University as Assistant Professor of Composition and Director of the Wensberg Writing Center. He is also the Faculty Adviser of Nevermore, the University's Literary Journal.
July 2013: Maria Chelko , MFA poetry alum, just won a 2013 PSA New York Chapbook Fellowship for her manuscript, Manhattations. Mary Ruefle selected it. Here's a link to the announcement: http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/awards/chapbook_fellowship/
June 2013: Congrats to recent grad Erin Somers , who is featured in "Writing Lessons" on the Ploughshares blog. "Writing Lessons" features essays by writing students about lessons learned, epiphanies about craft, and the challenges of studying writing. You can view Erin's post here: http://blog.pshares.org/index.php/writing-lessons-erin-somers/ .
March 2013: Congratulations to David Bersell , who has been awarded the much coveted nonfiction scholarship to the Tin House Writer's Workshop this summer. David will spend the week working with Cheryl Strayed, author of the memoir Wild and the Rumpus column Dear Sugar. Quite the coup for David and well deserved.
January 2013: Emily Robbins Bradley , MFA nonfiction alum, was hired at the New Hampshire Institute of Art as their "Instruction and Reference Specialist" in their college library. She also teaches composition there. She had a short essay featured on the video series "In Place" which is part of the larger online journal "Extracts: Daily Dose of Lit."
January, 2013: Kristina Reardon , MFA fiction alum, was awarded the 2012 Aetna Works-in-Progress Grant for a short story collection, awarded by the UConn Department of English. She was also awarded the 2012 Tinker Foundation Pre-Dissertation grant to translate fiction in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her translations of the short story "The Surprise" by Lili Potpara (from the Slovenian) & "The Vision" by Carmen Boullosa (from the Spanish) are published in World Literature Today (September 2012). She also has an essay on literary translation published on WLT's "Translation Tuesday" blog.
January, 2013: Dustin Martin , MFA fiction alum, was hired as a staff assistant to the Donor Relations team for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University.
January, 2013: Sarah Stickney , MFA poetry alum, has publications in Rhino, and Portland Review. In October she acted as a simultaneous French interpreter for the Megaflorestais international forestry conference. She was recently hired as a tenure-track professor at St. John's College in Annapolis.
January, 2013: Alan Schulte , MFA nonfiction alum, landed a position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Composition and Director of the Wensberg Writing Center at Franklin Pierce University. He has also been assigned as Faculty Adviser of Nevermore, the University's Literary Journal.
January, 2013: Edward Manzi, MFA poetry alum, had poems published in Brush Fire, Paper Nautilus , and The Bakery . He also had a poem nominated for the Pushcart Award.
November, 2012: Jennifer Latson , a 3rd-year MFA in nonfiction candidate, has a BIG story in the Nov/Dec issue of Yankee magazine. The subject: Tuttle's farm in Dover, told from Lucy Tuttle's point of view. The story began in an essay writing workshop, was revised in Sue Hertz's people and place workshop last spring and sent to Yankee in the summer. They loved it!
August, 2012: Tim Horvath , MFA alum, landed a full-time teaching gig at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. He also just published his latest, a collection of short fiction called Understories .
June, 2012: Rose Whitmore , a fiction MFA who will graduate in May '13, has THREE success stories! Her short story "The Queen of Pacific Tides" will be published in the summer issue of The Missouri Review and her essay "The Lost Coast" will appear in Fourth Genre. Rose has also been accepted to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference this summer. Nonfiction MFA Jennifer Duffy has also been accepted to Bread Loaf.
June, 2012: Jennifer Latson , a nonfiction MFA who will graduate in May '13, will publish "Blood Ties to the Land," a nonfiction narrative about Tuttle's Farm in Dover told through 67-year-old Lucy Tuttle's point of view, in the December issue of Yankee Magazine .
June, 2012: Alan Schulte , a nonfiction MFA who graduated in December '11, has published his essay "The Point of Failure" in the online journal Junklit .
April, 2011: Ryan Flaherty , MFA '10, has published a new book of poetry, What's This, Bombardier? He also has a poem featured on BOMBlog Word Choice .
February, 2011: Kristina Reardon's (MFA Dec. 2010) essay White Goddess Ghosts will be published in the Montreal Review . Kristina wrote the piece for her UNH travel writing class last summer in Cambridge, England.
February, 2011: Bryan Parys (MFA ’10) won a Fair Trade essay contest , which awarded him $2,000 in fair trade goods. He was also named a contributing scholar for a new online publication called State of Formation . Most recently his article “Superman of the House” was published by the Gooden Men Project Magazine .
November, 2010: Ryan Flaherty , MFA ’10, has three poems in POOL : http://www.poolpoetry.com/ , had a poem featured on Verse Daily : http://www.versedaily.org/2010/conditionals.shtml and an essay published in Columbia : http://columbiajournal.org .
November, 2010: The World after Czeslaw Milosz , a chapbook by Maria Chelko , MFA ’10, won the 2010 Dream Horse Press National Chapbook Contest. Dream Horse Press will publish the book in the Spring/Summer of 2011.
May, 2010: Marla Cinilia was awarded a Bread Loaf Writers Conference scholarship based on the merit shown in her fiction. Only 12 spots are available for the conference, chosen from a pool of hundreds nation-wide.
May, 2010: Kristina Reardon and Sarah Stickney have received prestigious Fulbright Scholarships that will provide them support to conduct research abroad during the 2010-11 academic year. Learn more.
February, 2010: Amy VanHaren , a member of the MFA’s first graduating class in 2007, recently published her piece “Rescue on the Ridge” in AMCOutdoors . While Amy is not working on the book from which this piece is excerpted, she is using her writing skills as the social media manager at Stonyfield Farm, one of the nation’s leaders in organic agriculture and retail dairy products
February, 2010: MFA nonfiction writer Nathan Webster has had his thesis accepted for publication by The Truth About The Fact: International Journal of Literary Nonfiction (Loyola Marymount University, LA). "Suspicions, After Curfew" is slated for publication in the Spring 2010, Volume V Number I issue. Here’s what the editors wrote to Nathan: "We received hundreds of submissions from the international literary community, including impressive narratives about life in South Africa, Sri Lanka, China, Canada, Great Britain and the United States. Your work was one of only 21 pieces selected."
February, 2010: Jason Tandon , MFA ’07, was pleased that Garrison Keillor read one of his poems from his book Give Over the Heckler and Everyone Gets Hurt on The Writer’s Almanac.
February, 2010: Emily Robbins , MFA ’11, published her essay “The Way Home” in the Northern New England Review , Volume 31.
January, 2010: MFA nonfiction writer Ryan Flaherty recently published two chapbooks, Live, from the Delay and Novas. He also has poems coming out this spring in three journals: Colorado Review, Ninth Letter, and Handsome. He has also been awarded PEN New England's Discovery Award in Poetry. Each year, established authors sponsor newcomers in their field and this year poet Peter Covino selected Ryan and will introduce him at the 31st Annual Discovery celebration. The award is based on the promise of the discoveree’s potential.
October, 2009: MFA student Bryan Parys published "The Last Word or, The Eternal Present Tense" in The (Non)fiction 500 section of the journal Like Water Burning .
September, 2009: MFA alum Brian Wilkins '06G, '09G is a poet; his former college roommate, Ian Terrell, is a Web developer. Together, they've created a literary magazine for the iPhone, which plays an audio recording of a poem, essay, or short story as the reader scrolls along with the text. "The best part about poetry or any literature really is going to a reading and getting to hear the author's voice," says Wilkins. The first issue of "Scarab" includes a poem by Charles Simic, UNH professor emeritus. Read the story
June, 2009: MFA fiction writer Kristina Reardon , who will enter her second year in the program this fall, has published two stories, "Easter 1941" and "A Bit of Kindness," in the New Voices section of the summer edition of the Newport Review: http://www.newportreview.org/?new-voices/kreardon.html . Kristina has also won a scholarship from the Centre for Slovene at the University of Ljubljana and will spend the month of July there this summer researching material for her thesis manuscript.
February, 2009: MFA poet Maria Barron won the 2009 LUMINA Poetry contest. LUMINA is a literary journal published by Sarah Lawrence College. The contest was judged by poet, Ilya Kaminsky. Maria's poems placed both first and second, earning Maria the invitation to read at Sarah Lawrence in April.
February, 2009:MFA poet Mark Gosztyla crossed genre lines into nonfiction when he stumbled into a story about two 50-year-old unsolved murders in Somersworth, NH. For over a year Mark pursued the mysterious deaths, both on his own and in nonfiction workshops, publishing a series in Foster's Daily Democrat in June of '08. That series, titled “Shame and Silence,” won first place “for highest achievement in investigative reporting” in New England Press Association’s 2008 Annual Better Newspaper Contest.
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International Poetry Night
- Author By Sylvie Potookian
- Publication date May 10, 2024
- Categories: Uncategorized
This was a successful event where we read our original poems and those written by our favorite writers! We enjoyed good food, music, and getting to know one another. Many of our members showed up, and we had 11 readers. Some of the languages represented included Spanish, Hebrew, Albanian, French, Armenian, Uyghur, and Arabic. Our photos are posted on our Instagram page. Make sure to check them out!
Graduate profiles
Meet the class of 2024, harvard college.
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Isabella Madrigal
Isabella’s senior thesis screenplay, a genre-bending family drama full of magical realism, centers the issues of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and two-spirit people.
Read more about Isabella
Dora Woodruff
Dora will next pursue a Ph.D. at MIT in algebraic combinatorics, a branch of mathematics that applies methods found in abstract algebra to discrete counting problems.
Aaron Shirley
Aaron dove into the world of medieval medicine with his thesis, “Holiness to Wholeness: Restoring Medieval Surgery to its Religious Cultural Context.”
Harvard Business School
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Davida Bynum
As a dual-degree candidate studying business and government, Davida is exploring the best ways to serve the public and private sectors.
Eduardo Avalos
With a focus on social entrepreneurship, Eduardo is hoping to create more equitable opportunities for those with fewer resources and less access.
Claudia Hill
By combining a degree in biomedical engineering with an M.B.A., Claudia plans to change millions of lives by creating life-saving drugs that can be distributed equitably.
Harvard Divinity School
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The growth I’ve experienced at HDS, both personal and academic, has been beyond anything I expected.” Samirah Jaigirdar Master of Theological Studies Learn more about Samirah’s studies
Jude Terna Ayua
Jude says his time at HDS changed his perspective about other faith traditions. After graduation, he will work as a private attorney and also run his non-profit, Keep Hope Alive Nigeria.
Christopher Siuzdak
While studying at HDS, Christopher’s favorite class was “Trends in World Christianity, 1900-2050,” which explored shifts in Christian confessions around the globe from a historical and social scientific perspective.
Harvard Extension School
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Tomas Hernandez
Extension School graduate Tomas was able to complete his Master of Liberal Arts in Finance degree while working a full-time job, being a dad to three children, and pursuing his love of karate.
Vivien Kocsis
For her Master of Liberal Arts in Data Science capstone project, Vivien had a very specific sponsor in mind: NASA.
Brian Mazmanian
Of his journey at Harvard Extension School, Brian said, “I can honestly say that I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Harvard Graduate School of Education
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Kavya Krishna
Kavya was recently named among Forbes’ “30 Under 30” for her dedication to empowering girls with the digital literacy skills necessary to excel in a technology-driven society.
Alria and Vyankatesh Kharage
Alria and Vyankatesh met as undergraduates, fell in love, and began building a life together when their shared passion for education brought them to Harvard.
Moriah has turned her own struggles with sobriety and recovery into an opportunity to help others seeking higher education opportunities.
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
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Ben Schroeder
During his internship at SpaceX, Ben talked to experts to help him finalize his design for a robotic hand to help astronauts perform tasks remotely without the fatigue imposed by a suit glove.
Maria Emilia Mazzolenis
While pursuing a master’s degree in data science, Maria always kept her focus on the responsibility and impact that technology can have on society.
Lachlain McGranahan
Whether on the Charles River as a skipper on the Harvard Crimson sailing team or on the ocean helping to decipher sperm whale communications, Lachlain was never too far from his love for water and engineering.
Harvard Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
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Thomas found a way to identify otherwise unrecorded 20th-century hurricanes, laying the foundation for a new field of historical environmental seismology.
Dylan Renaud
Dylan’s Harvard Horizons project combines research in the emerging field of nanoscale photonics—how light interacts with very small objects—with practical computing applications to create novel devices that move information via light.
Juhee Kang, who studied history and East Asian languages and civilizations, explored how psychological testing and mass data collection evolved in 20th-century Japan, where they became central across society.
Harvard Kennedy School
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Ananya Chhaochharia
While pursuing a Master in Public Policy, Ananya learned how to turn a political campaign into an art form.
Adebayo Alonge
After founding a platform that provides safe pharmaceuticals in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, Adebayo decided to pursue a mid-career master’s degree to help him understand how to expand to even more countries.
For her capstone research project, Maya sought to understand and find solutions for the inequality in Boston’s core city services, which aren’t equitably distributed across its diverse neighborhoods and communities.
Harvard Law School
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Nicholas Gonzalez
Nicholas was instantly smitten with the law when he took part in mock trial and moot court competitions in high school. The performative part of arguing a case felt both familiar and alluring.
Phoebe Kotlikoff
After becoming one of the first female U.S. Navy submariners, Phoebe was inspired by the integration of submarine service and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to attend law school.
Harvard Medical School
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I often tell students two things: ‘You can do it,’ and ‘but not alone.’” David Velasquez Doctor of Medicine Learn what inspired David to earn a third Harvard degree
Deborah Plana
Personal experience with cancer in her family cemented Deborah’s determination to pursue a career that combines her passions for analysis and improving patient care.
Mitchell Winkie
There are only a handful of residency positions in dermatology for the U.S. military each year. There was only one spot in the Navy open to graduating medical students, and Mitchell was selected to fill it.
It was an online search for “science internships, Boston” that set Irene on a 10-year path to Harvard where she would ultimately complete a Ph.D. in biological and biomedical sciences.
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
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Sheridan Danquah
Growing up, Sheridan didn’t encounter a dentist until after moving from Ghana to the U.S. when he was 10. The experience made a profound impression on him and influenced him to enter the field.
Explore how Sheridan found his purpose
Jessica Latimer
Jessica turned a passion for doodling into a side job creating scientific illustrations that have landed in well-known medical and dental journals across the country.
Read about Jessica’s unique skill set
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Meet more Harvard Chan School graduates
I heard of people who had given birth during their incarceration, and I was really shocked.” Bethany Kotlar, who studied the impact of maternal incarceration during pregnancy and after birth on child development Learn more about Bethany’s research
Irfan Chaudhuri
Watching his grandmother battle Alzheimer’s disease inspired Irfan to explore the role public health could play in Alzheimer’s prevention.
After navigating the roadblocks involved in gender-affirming care, Ivan founded the startup Trans Health HQ to decrease barriers for clinicians and patients.
James Frater
As a child with asthma, James saw the dangers that come from inadequate health care. That’s why he decided to gain the skills to understand health systems and improve health equity across the globe.
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Boston University MFA Poetry Reading
July 12, 2023 @ 7:00 pm.
Please join us for our reading with BU Poetry MFA 2022-2023 cohort with an introduction by Robert Pinsky.
Featuring: Rachel M. Dillon Brian Flynn Numertha Geisinger Emily Gutowski Jody Hartkopp Bailey Martin
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MFA Highlights: Prints and Drawings
A concise introduction to a premier collection of prints and drawings, from the Renaissance to today
One of the oldest forms of artistic expression, drawing flows most directly and personally from the artist’s hand. Whether quickly outlining a figure with a charcoal line or capturing the play of light and shade with watercolor, drawings allow viewers to experience the act of creation in an immediate and intimate way. Printmaking, derived from drawing, offers a wealth of visually distinctive techniques, from bold woodcuts to delicate engravings, from shadowy aquatints to brightly colored screen prints.
This volume selects more than 100 examples from more than six centuries of European and American drawings and prints in the distinguished collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Presenting works by artists ranging from early masters such as Albrecht Dürer to contemporary printmakers such as Tara Donovan, arranged by theme and accompanied by illuminating texts, it invites readers to explore the creative range of prints and drawings, and of their makers.
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Noteworthy Signed Books: Join the Club!
Join our Signed First Edition Club (or give a gift subscription) for a signed book of great literary merit, delivered to you monthly.
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Celebrating the Spring 2024 MFA Graduates
Read more news.
English MFA Prize and Scholarship Winners Spring 2024
Daniel and merrily glosband mfa fellowship in poetry.
Riley Jones
Deborah Slosberg Memorial Awards for Fiction and Poetry
Poetry: Allison McKean
Fiction: Katerina Zadé
Academy of American Poets Prize
Suzanne Bagia
Harvey Swados Fiction Prize
Nathan Zachar
Cara Parravani Memorial Award
Bec Bell-Gurwitz
Best New Poets Anthology
Noelle Mrugalla-Paraan
James W. Foley Memorial Prize
Shashank Rao
Jane Lunin Perel Poets Fund
Joanie Cappetta
Skolfield Goeckel Poetry Award
Jennifer Valdies
E445 South College 150 Hicks Way Amherst, MA 01003 (413) 545-5456
IMAGES
VIDEO
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Through the master's degree in creative writing and literature, you'll hone your skills as a storyteller — crafting publishable original scripts, novels, and stories. In small, workshop-style classes, you'll master key elements of narrative craft, including characterization, story and plot structure, point of view, dialogue, and ...
The vital presence of creative writing in the English Department is reflected by our many distinguished authors who teach our workshops. We offer courses each term in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting, playwriting, and television writing. Our workshops are small, usually no more than twelve students, and offer writers an opportunity to focus intensively on one genre.
Poetry@Harvard represents a vital nexus of poetry-related courses, library collections, events, organizations, publications and pedagogy at Harvard University. Poetry@Harvard is a site of collaborative interchange and, like all great poems, it is an ongoing experiment: It relies upon faculty and students to actively share and exchange information and ideas.
Adam Scheffler received an AB in English from Harvard, an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and a PhD in English from Harvard. He has taught courses at Harvard and the University of Iowa on such topics as poetry writing, science fiction, realist fiction, and love and madness in literature.
A public classroom. Created and directed by Harvard professor Elisa New in partnership with Harvard, "Poetry in America" is a public television series and multi-platform educational initiative that brings poetry into classrooms and living rooms around the world. "Poetry in America" offers free online courses for global learners as well ...
To browse the entire archive of sound recordings unique to the Poetry Room, type "poetry" in the search box, then filter by Format (Sound Recording) and Author (Woodberry Poetry Room). The audio-visual collection is accessible by arrangement with the curator at (617) 495-2454 or via email at [email protected].
Instructor: Stephanie BurtDay & Time: Mondays & Wednesdays 12:00-3:00pm (EDT)Summer 7-week session | CRN 34505Limited to 15 students This course is about writing—and, therefore, reading—many kinds of poetry, including brand new open forms, very old rhymed and metered forms, digital native forms, parodies, and (as Yeats put it) "imitation of great masters." It offers a chance to expand the ...
Supplemental Application Information: Please submit a portfolio including a letter of interest, ten poems, and a list of classes (taken at Harvard or elsewhere) that seem to have bearing on your enterprise. English CAPR. Poetry: Workshop. Wednesday, 6:00-8:45pm | Location: This class will be fully remote Spring 2024.
Department of English Barker Center 12 Quincy Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Hours: M-F 9:00 am-5:00 pm Phone: 617-495-2533 Fax: 617-496-8737 [email protected]
BU's 2021-2022 MFA Poetry Cohort July 7, 2022 @ 7:00 pm. Los Lorcas; 1776 ; Details Date: July 7, 2022 Time:
Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we've published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests ...
The Harvard Department of English presents the Stratis Haviaras Poetry Reading with Sherwin Bitsui and Rowan Ricardo Phillips. Join us at 6pm in the Thompson Room at 12 Quincy St. for a poetry reading and Q and A from the authors with an introduction by Professors Christopher Pexa and Tracy K. Smith. ... Bitsui teaches for the MFA in Creative ...
David Barber MFA, Poetry Editor, The Atlantic. This intensive workshop offers students the opportunity to develop their aptitude and affinity for the practice of poetry. Students follow a structured sequence of writing assignments, readings, and exercises aimed at cultivating a sound working knowledge of the fundamental principles of prosody ...
The Harvard Book of Contemporary American Poetry Edited by Helen Vendler This generous anthology of the work of thirty-five postwar poets reveals the range and power of the ... John Skoyles, Director-MFA Program for Writers S7,ANNAN0O 701 Warren Wilson Road, BOX 900 N O R T H C A R O 1. I N A Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778-2099 ...
The Creative Writing Program offers the MFA degree, with a concentration in either poetry or fiction. MFA students pursue intensive study with distinguished faculty committed to creative and intellectual achievement. Each year the department enrolls only eight MFA students, four in each concentration. Our small size allows us to offer a ...
Students admitted to the MFA program enroll in two years of course work. The program requires two full years of residency in Baltimore. Students take two courses per semester: a writing workshop in poetry or fiction, and a second "readings in literature" course taught within the department. In addition, first-semester students take a third course...
Department of English Barker Center 12 Quincy Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Hours: M-F 9:00 am-5:00 pm Phone: 617-495-2533 Fax: 617-496-8737 [email protected]
MFA Programs in Writing. The Programs in the writing of poetry and fiction lead to the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in English. In addition to the workshops and seminars taught within the Writing Programs by its faculty, instruction is offered by visiting writers. The curriculum is augmented by frequent readings on the Irvine campus.
January, 2013: Dustin Martin, MFA fiction alum, was hired as a staff assistant to the Donor Relations team for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. January, 2013: Sarah Stickney, MFA poetry alum, has publications in Rhino, and Portland Review. In October she acted as a simultaneous French interpreter for the Megaflorestais ...
This was a successful event where we read our original poems and those written by our favorite writers! We enjoyed good food, music, and getting to know one another. Many of our members showed up, and we had 11 readers. Some of the languages represented included Spanish, Hebrew, Albanian, French, Armenian, Uyghur, and Arabic. Our...
Christopher Siuzdak. While studying at HDS, Christopher's favorite class was "Trends in World Christianity, 1900-2050," which explored shifts in Christian confessions around the globe from a historical and social scientific perspective.
Boston University MFA Poetry Reading July 12, 2023 @ 7:00 pm | $10. Gallery Talk: American Watercolors, 1880-1990: Into the Light; Bastille Day - Wine Tasting & Class at Bonde Fine Wine Shop ; Details Date: July 12, 2023 Time: 7:00 pm Cost: $10 Event Category: Author Events.
Harvard Book Store 1256 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138. Tel (617) 661-1515 Toll Free (800) 542-READ Email [email protected]. View our current hours » Join our bookselling team » Map Find Harvard Book Store »
It was an evening of awe, joy, laughter, tears, and meditation — the English department is so proud of these talented writers! Congratulations to all of our graduating MFAs, and the best of luck with your writing and endeavors! The 2024 MFA Cohort: Megan Williams, MFA Creative Nonfiction. Thesis: Control Freak Loser Bitches Need Love, Too.
E445 South College 150 Hicks Way Amherst, MA 01003 (413) 545-5456