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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 in poetry, fiction, and cross-genre projects ranging
from the contemplative to the experimental and avant garde.
Elective courses are also 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 the links between writing and theory and
at the 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.
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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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.
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 sequence
is designed to train graduate students to teach college composition.
Students usually begin by working in the Writing Center as
a tutor and progress to teaching in the Writing Program.
Note: 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.
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.
Lewis Warsh is the director
of the M.F.A. program. He is the author of numerous books
of poetry, fiction, and autobiography, including The Origin
of the World, Touch of the Whip, and Ted's Favorite
Skirt. 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). Two new
books, Inseparable: Poems 1995-2005 and A Place
in the Sun, are forthcoming in 2007.
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 its year). His selected writings,
Bloodline, was published by Talisman House in 2002.
He has received four Fulbright fellowships, two NEA 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.
VISITING WRITERS have included...
Edwin Torres, Brenda Coultas, Anne Waldman, Erica Hunt, Maureen
Owen, Charlotte Carter, Bernadette Mayer, Samuel Delaney,
Richard Hell, Barbara Henning, David Henderson, Hettie Jones,
Katt Lissard, and Dennis Moritz.
Downtown Brooklyn: A Journal of Writing
publishes poetry, fiction, literary non-fiction and visual
art by students, faculty, and staff from the Brooklyn Campus.
The magazine also provides an internship space for graduate
students in the M.F.A. program. For further information, contact
the Editor, Wayne Berninger.
The M.F.A. program sponsors the MFA
Reading Series. Readings are curated by the students themselves
along with the core faculty.
Students in the program work as interns at The
Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, in
Manhattan.
For more information about the M.F.A. program and for application
forms, contact the English Department's Graduate Advisement
Coordinator, Marilyn Boutwell.
(In the summer, contact Wayne Berninger.)
Click here for the latest issue
of our graduate newsletter, A Word's Worth.
For general information or a Graduate Bulletin, call
the Admissions Office at 718-488-1011. You may also Download
a Graduate Admissions Application from the Admissions
Office website. On your application, be sure to indicate that
you are applying for the M.F.A. program.
With your completed application, be sure to include the following:
(1) A letter of intent about your academic interests and career
goals, (2) A sample of your creative writing (poems, fiction,
or drama), and (3) One or two letters of recommendation.
Note: We prefer that the applicant's undergraduate transcript
show at least a B average in six advanced English courses.
Click here for
information about how to become a middle school or high school
English teacher.
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