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Master
of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Creative Writing
The M.F.A. in Creative Writing offers writers
the opportunity to work on poetry, fiction, and/or cross-genre
projects ranging from the contemplative to the experimental
and avant garde. Elective courses are offered in playwriting,
screenwriting, translation, creative nonfiction, and autobiography.
The poetics of the program places an emphasis on explorative
work that takes risks while moving in the context of multiple
traditions, as opposed to that of a conventional and commercial
orientation. We look closely at links between writing and
theory and at interconnections between writing, reading, music,
and painting. In a small and intimate program setting, we
offer easy access to faculty and strong mentoring and take
into account the interests and concerns of individual students.
A limited number of assistantships and fellowships is available
for six credits of tuition remission and a stipend as well
as partial two year scholarships. The assistantship/fellowship
sequence is designed to train graduate students to teach college
composition. Students usually begin by working in the Writing
Center as a tutor (Teaching Assistant) and may then apply
for a position as a Teaching Fellow and teach English 16 in
the English Department's First-Year Writing Program.
REQUIRED COURSES
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Methods of Research & Criticism
English 707: Methods of Research and Criticism (three
credits)
This foundations course is required for all M.A. and
M.F.A. students in the English Department.
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Process & Techniques Courses
Take all three of the following:
English 502: Writers on Writing (three credits)
English 503: Theory of Writing (three credits)
English 504: Traditions & Lineages (three credits)
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Writing Workshops
Each student must take fifteen credits (five courses)
of Writing Workshops, with the following restriction:
No more than nine credits in the same course.
Some combination of the following courses may be used
to satisfy this requirement:
English 520--Nonfiction Writing Workshop (may be taken
only once)
English 523--Fiction Writing Workshop (may be taken
three times)
English 524--Poetry Writing Workshop (may be taken three
times)
English 525--Play Writing Workshop (may be taken three
times)
English 526--Writing for Media I: The Story (may be
taken only once)
Other courses (offered on occasion) that may be used
to satisfy this requirement:
English 528--Seminar in Creative Writing (may be taken
three times each per genre)
English 529--Topics in Creative Writing (one credit--may
be taken six times)
English 705--Independent Study
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Literature Courses
Each student must take nine credits (three courses)
in Literature.
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Thesis
English 708: Thesis (three credits)
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Possible Additional Requirements
In addition to the course requirements listed above,
Teaching Assistants are required to take English 646:
Individual & Small Group Writing Instruction. Teaching
Fellows are required to take English 700: Practicum
in the Teaching of Writing.
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Click here to
see descriptions of selected courses offered during the last
several semesters.
Click
here for general course descriptions, as they appear in
the Graduate Bulletin.
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CORE FACULTY
Jessica Hagedorn, who is
the Parsons Family Professor of Creative Writing at Long Island
University in Brooklyn, was born and raised in the Philippines
and came to the United States in her early teens. Her novels
include Dream Jungle; The Gangster of Love,
which was nominated for the Irish Times International Fiction
Prize; and Dogeaters, which was nominated for a National
Book Award. Hagedorn is also the author of Danger and Beauty,
a collection of poetry and prose; and the editor of Charlie
Chan is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American
Fiction and Charlie Chan is Dead 2: At Home in the
World. Her poetry, plays and prose have been anthologized
widely. A new novel, Toxicology, is forthcoming from
Viking Penguin in 2011.
Lewis Warsh is the director
of the M.F.A. program in creative writing. He is the author
of numerous books of poetry, fiction, and autobiography, including
The Origin of the World, Touch of the Whip,
Ted’s Favorite Skirt, and most recently Inseparable:
Poems 1995-2005 (Granary Books, 2008) and A Place in
the Sun (Spuyten Duyvil, 2010). He is co-editor of The
Angel Hair Anthology, recipient of grants from the NEA,
NYFA, and the Fund for Poetry, and editor and publisher of
United Artists Books. His writing has appeared in numerous
magazines and anthologies, including The Best American
Poetry (1997, 2002, 2003).
John High is the author of
several books of poetry and fiction, including Here,
Talking God's Radio Show, and The Desire Notebooks
(selected by the Village Voice Literary Supplement
as one of the best books of 1999). His selected writings,
Bloodline, was published by Talisman House in 2002.
He has received four Fulbright fellowships, two National Endowment
for the Arts fellowships, and writing awards from the Witter
Bynner Foundation and the Academy of American Poets. A founding
editor of Five Fingers Review, he is also a translator
of several books of contemporary Russian poetry and the editor
of Crossing Centuries, an anthology of contemporary
Russian poetry. The second book of a trilogy of poems, A
Book of Knowing, was published in 2010. Recent poems and
translations have appeared in The Nation, Pen America,
Conjunctions, Ugly Duckling Presse and elsewhere.
He will teach a poetry workshop through LIU's Global College
in Hangzhou, China, in the fall of 2010.
VISITING & GUEST WRITERS have included...
Colson Whitehead, Thulani Davis, Jaime Manrique, Han Ong,
Paul Beatty, Alex Mindt, Brenda Coultas, Anne Waldman, Erica
Hunt, Wang Ping, Samuel R. Delany, Richard Hell, Barbara Henning,
David Henderson, Katt Lissard, Karen Russell, Matvei Yankelevich,
Murat Nemet-Nejat, Akilah Oliver, Eleni Sikelianos, Albert
Mobilio, Bernadette Mayer, Kristin Prevallet, Linh Dinh and
Renee Gladman.
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OPPORTUNITIES
Downtown Brooklyn: A Journal of Writing
The literary magazine of the English Department publishes
poetry, fiction, literary non-fiction and visual art by students,
faculty, and staff from the Brooklyn Campus. For further information,
contact the Editor, Wayne Berninger.
MFA Reading Series at
the Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan
The M.F.A. program sponsors this reading series, which is
curated by the students themselves, along with the core faculty.
Visit the website of the Bowery
Poetry Club.
The
Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery
Opportunities exist for students in the MFA program to work
as interns at the
Poetry Project, in Manhattan. Contact Lewis
Warsh.
Opportunities are also available to intern or volunteer at
diverse cultural organizations such as PEN, the National Book
Foundation and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, to name a few.
Contact Jessica Hagedorn.
A Word's Worth
(English Department graduate newsletter)
To write for the newsletter, contact Marilyn
Boutwell. She can connect you with the current graduate-student
editor.
The MFA faculty can assist students who are interested in
relevant internships and volunteer opportunities with various
organizations and events, such as PEN and the World Voices
Festival. Contact .
Click here
for information about how to become a middle school or high
school English teacher.
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INFORMATION
/ APPLY ONLINE
For more information, contact the English Department's
Graduate Advisement Coordinator, Marilyn
Boutwell. Also check out our
graduate newsletter, A Word's Worth.
For general information or a Graduate Bulletin,
call the Admissions Office at 718-488-1011.
Apply
online!
Note: In order to register, we prefer that the applicant's
undergraduate transcript show at least a B average in six
advanced undergraduate English courses. When you're filling
out the online form, in the drop-menu under "Intended
Major," choose "Creative Writing M.F.A." In
addition to your online application, be sure to snail-mail
the following to the Office of Admissions: (1) A letter of
intent about your academic interests and career goals--be
sure to mention which genre(s) you want to specialize in (poetry,
fiction, playwriting, creative non-fiction), (2) A sample
of your creative writing (poems, fiction, drama, creative
non-fiction), and (3) Two letters of recommendation.
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