Creative Writing at Hampshire College

Creative Writing
If you ask Hampshire’s writing professors what makes a good writer, they will agree that at least two principles are crucial to developing a student’s skills and talents.

The first is practice. Through small, intensive workshops and seminars in poetry, fiction, playwriting, and literary journalism, students are constantly asked to write, and both faculty and peers provide detailed critiques of their work.

The second is imagination. Our faculty believe strongly in the importance of imaginative writing, as a writer must not only be able to create clear, meaningful, and compelling sentences, but also develop a responsive vision of the external world.

To this end, Hampshire students explore a wide range of disciplines while sharpening their writing skills, designing individual programs of study within the context of Hampshire’s divisional system.

Student Project Titles

 * Pseudofemme.com: A Virtual Narrative Environment
 * Property and Language: Fictions and Essays
 * “Unwriting” the Novel: Novel Writing and Revision
 * Milk: A Poetry Collection
 * The Bold and the Ethereal
 * Dead Ends, or, Stories from the Back Seat
 * Multi-Media and Cross-Genre Art and Writing
 * Walking the Imagination

Featured Faculty Profiles
Lynne Hanley Professor of Literature and Writing

Paul Jenkins Professor of Poetry

Nathalie Arnold Assistant Professor of Writing

Sample First-Year Course

 * Feminist Fictions

This course will explore works of fiction by post-women’s liberation writers. Discussion will focus on forms of narration, use of language and structure, the representation of gender, sexuality, race and culture, and the relation of the acts of writing and reading to feminist theory and practice. Readings may include Beloved, The Autobiography of My Mother, A Book of Common Prayer, For the Country Entirely, and Stone Butch Blues. We will also read A Room of One’s Own and selected short stories and critical essays. Students should expect to keep a journal consisting of at least one typed page on each text, and to attend a series of films on Wednesday evenings. Students will write in a variety of forms: personal essay, literary criticism, short fiction, and autobiography. For the final project, students will write a 10-15 page portrait of their mother, which will be critiqued in small groups, revised and presented to the class.

Sample Courses at Hampshire

 * Advanced Seminar in Writing
 * Feminist Fictions
 * Fiction Writing Workshop
 * High Spirits: Reading &amp; Writing About Spiritual Experience
 * Intermediate Poetry Writing
 * Intro to Writing
 * Magical realism as Genre
 * Micro-Fiction Workshop
 * The Past Recaptured
 * Performance &amp; Poetry
 * Playwriting
 * The Practice of Literary Journalism
 * The Sporting Life
 * The Story Cycle
 * Using Suspense in Story
 * Whatnot in the Speech-Grille
 * Who’s Telling This Story
 * Writing a Child’s Voice for Theatre
 * Writing Fiction About Families

Through the Consortium

 * Creative Writing Fiction (UMass)
 * Creative Writing Poetry (UMass)
 * Expository Writing (UMass)
 * Fiction Writing I &amp; II (AC)
 * Screenwriting (AC)
 * Short Story I (MHC)
 * Writing Across Cultures (MHC)
 * Writing Poetry I &amp; II (AC)

Facilities and Resources

 * Resources for Creative Writers

The Writing Center is available to help students with writing skills—from brainstorming to drafting cohesive paragraphs to writing final papers. Students can use the center for one-time-only assistance or on a regular basis. The Writing Center also offers classes and workshops in writing and writing skills.

Throughout the year, the Five College consortium hosts a diverse and vibrant literary community. Students can attend readings, book signings, and lectures by visiting and resident literary lights, such as Eleni Sikelianos, Patricia MacLachlan, Martin Espada, Wally Lamb, Mark Costello, and Aleida Rodriguez. The annual Five College Student PoetryFest features outstanding poets from each of the consortium schools, and the WORD! Festival provides a venue for student-written plays dealing with issues of race and diversity.

Many students participate in internships at magazines and journals, publishing houses, and literary agencies. The Hampshire campus also has many opportunities for students interested in writing for a larger audience, such as: The Climax (a student newspaper), The Omen (a student magazine), The Beta (a monthly magazine dedicated to adventure, travel, and outdoor pursuits), and The Reader (semi-annual literary/photo review).

Information Quoted From:http://www.hampshire.edu/admissions/creative_writing.htm