CREATIVE WRITING AT TULANE

(http://www.tulane.edu/~english/Undergrad/creative.htm)

Tulane’s outstanding undergraduate program in creative writing offers classes in poetry, fiction, screenwriting, writing for children, spoken word, and creative non-fiction – all in America’s most storied literary city.

We also offer our undergraduates unparalleled opportunities to develop as writers, including masterclasses, event management internships, short-term writing residencies, a student reading series and literary journal, and travel to conferences and festivals.

Students from all departments and disciplines are welcome to take classes in creative writing.

Our program is supported by the Creative Writing Fund [LINK TO: http://www.tulane.edu/~english/CreativeWritingFund.htm] of the Department of English.

The Concentration in Creative Writing

Students choosing to pursue the major in English with emphasis in creative writing are

held to the same requirements as those in the regular English major [LINK TO http://www.tulane.edu/~english/Undergrad/undergrad.htm] except that they must choose four creative writing courses – including at least one at 400 level – as the focus of their study. All of these courses may count as electives toward the English major.

Students can request that creative writing classes taken in other Tulane departments (theater, foreign languages) or at other universities be counted toward the emphasis. Only ONE transfer credit can count towards the concentration in creative writing.

Creative Writing Classes

ENLS 361 : Introduction to Creative Writing A craft course developing skills in reading

and writing poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. This is a prerequisite for all other 300 and 400-level classes.

ENLS 362 : Workshop in Creative Writing Intensive workshops in creative writing led

by a visiting writer, with two or three different classes on offer each semester. Recent classes include workshops in: Writing for Children; Spoken Word; Writing About New Orleans; and Cultural and Media Commentary.

ENLS 363 : Screenwriting A course examining the expressive strategies and formal considerations relevant to the writing for television and cinema. A workshop format requires sustained analysis of professional screenplays as well as student work.

ENLS: 461 : Advanced Creative Writing--Fiction . A workshop class exploring the writing of fiction. May be repeated for credit. A 361 creative writing course and permission of the instructor are prerequisites. This course is usually taught by Professor Paula Morris. [LINK TO http://www.tulane.edu/~english/Faculty/EnglishFacultyPaulaMorris.htm] In Fall 08, this class will be taught by visiting writer Dinaw Mengestu.

ENLS 462 : Advanced Creative Writing--Poetry . A workshop s exploring the writing of poetry. May be repeated for credit. A 361 creative writing course and permission of the instructor are prerequisites. This course is usually taught by Professor Peter Cooley. [LINK TO http://www.tulane.edu/~english/Faculty/EnglishFacultyPeterCooley.htm]

ENLS: 466 : Advanced Creative Writing—Creative Non-Fiction . A workshop exploring the writing of creative non-fiction. May be repeated for credit. A 361 creative writing course and permission of the instructor are prerequisites. This course is usually taught by Professor Tom Beller. [LINK TO http://www.tulane.edu/~english/Faculty/EnglishFacultyTomBeller.htm]

Students can request that creative writing classes taken in other Tulane departments (theater, foreign languages) or at other universities be counted toward the emphasis.)

The Poet Laureate Series

Each spring semester, the Creative Writing Fund invites a distinguished poet to campus: to give a public reading and to meet with students in the Advanced Poetry class. In spring 08, we hosted Pulitzer Prize winner Louise Gluck [link to http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/82] . In spring 09, our visiting Poet Laureate will be Billy Collins. [link to: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/278]

The Great Writers Series

Thanks to the Creative Writing Fund, the Department of English is able to invite a writer of international reputation to give a public reading or lecture on campus. Our first visitor, in spring 07, was Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. [LINK TO http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=7290] The spring 08 visitor was Sir Salman Rushdie. [Link to: http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/040908_rushdie.cfm] Both events were attended by capacity audiences. The writer for Spring 09 will be announced soon.

Distinguished Writer-in-Residence

Every second semester, the department hosts a Writer-in-Residence who teaches one or two creative writing classes, gives a public reading, and takes an active role in the university’s cultural life. Recent visiting writers include: Jason Berry, ZZ Packer, and Timothy Liu. In fall 08, our visiting writer is award-winning novelist Dinaw Mengestu. [Link to: http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000068959,00.html?sym=BIO]

Creative Writing Readings and Events

We maintain a full schedule of visits from acclaimed authors in a variety of genres. These writers give readings or talks, and meet with students. Recent visitors include playwright, novelist and sculptor Edward Carey; Pulitzer Prize-winning non-fiction writer Lawrence Wright; poet Alison Pelegrin, and non-fiction writer Tom Sancton.

On November 1 (Fall 08), we will host an African Writers’ Symposium, featuring the writers Niyi Osundare, Mohammed Naseehu Ali, Sefi Atta, and Dinaw Mengestu.

Tulane students are also active in organizing events. In spring 07 students from the Spoken Word workshop hosted a citywide youth poetry slam on campus. With students from Loyola, they run 1718, New Orleans' first inter-collegiate reading series. 1718 features readings by acclaimed local authors and student writers, and takes place at

The Columns Hotel, on the first Tuesday every month of the school year. 

The Newcomb College Center for Research on Women sponsors two visits each year: the Florie Gale Arons Poet and the Zale Writer-in-Residence. Visiting poets attend the Advanced Poetry class and give a public reading. Recent visitors include Alice Notley, Toi Derricotte, Natasha Tretheway, and Kimiko Hahn. The visitor this fall is Nicole Cooley.

The Zale Writer-in-Residence spends a week on campus, attending a variety of classes, meeting with students in one-on-one sessions, and giving readings and talks. Recent visitors include Elizabeth McCracken, Curtis Sittenfeld and Julie Orringer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I major in creative writing?

There’s no major in creative writing: students can declare a creative writing concentration within the English major. Four creative writing courses are required – including one section of 361, Introduction to Creative Writing – for a concentration. At least one of these classes must be a 400-level course.

Are the same classes available each semester?

Up to six section of Introduction to Creative Writing are offered each semester, as well as Advanced Poetry and Advanced Fiction. The other classes vary, depending on the interests of visiting writers and availability of other specialist instructors.

I’m not an English major. Can I still take creative writing classes?

Our students represent all areas of the university – Business, Architecture, Medicine, Engineering, the Liberal Arts. Many of these students take four or more creative writing classes during their time at Tulane, and are active participants in our literary events.

I’m a transfer student, and I’ve done a number of creative writing classes at another school. Do these classes count towards the concentration in creative writing?

Only one class taken at another institution can be applied to the concentration. Also, all students wishing to advance in creative writing at Tulane MUST take a section of 361 (Introduction to Creative Writing), even if they have taken classes at other schools.

How do I find out more about next semester’s course offerings?

Course descriptions and class listings are available online on the Department of English web site. [LINK TO http://www.tulane.edu/~english/Courses/courses.htm]

What kind of opportunities are offered to creative writing students beyond the classroom?

Each year we take four advanced creative writing students to the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference. In 2008, the conference took place in New York City; in 2009, it will take place in Chicago.

Creative writing students can apply for a place in the Literary Event Management internship, which gives them the opportunity to help organize, promote and manage our literary events on campus, as well as work at the Tennessee Williams Festival in the French Quarter.

Are there prizes in creative writing?

We have a number of prizes for graduating seniors, including a screenwriting prize that

sends an outstanding student to the famous Robert McKee seminar.

In addition, an exceptional graduating senior in creative writing is awarded a week-long residency at ‘A Studio in the Woods,’ an acclaimed artists’ retreat just outside New Orleans. The first student writer-in-residence was James Langlois. [LINK TO http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=7378]. In 2008, the residency was awarded to Ada Bidiuc.

Two creative writing contests run each year: the Academy of American Poets contest and

the Dale Edmonds Short Story Prize. Entries are solicited for these prizes each spring.

What do creative writing students do after graduating from Tulane?

Students who have completed undergraduate work in creative writing have gone on to graduate programs at Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Iowa, Houston, Indiana, Maryland, Washington, Hollins, UCLA, New Hampshire, Cornell, Syracuse, NYU, Montana, Virginia, Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, Florida State, USC, Southern Mississippi, Arkansas, UNO, Vermont College, and Brooklyn College.

They have won numerous prizes and published work in the New Yorker , The Atlantic , The Southern Review , The Nation , The New Republic , The Virginia Quarterly Review , Prairie Schooner , and Denver Quarterly and have had their work included in Best American Poetry and the textbook The Making of a Poem .

They have careers in college, junior college, and high school teaching, English as a second language education, journalism, radio, television, film, literary publishing, public relations, advertising, arts management, law, medicine, and social services.