Writing at Hampshire College

Writing
If you ask our professors what makes a good writer, they’ll agree on two crucial elements: practice and imagination. All Hampshire students are writers, as classes here require substantial writing in many varied forms.

Through small, intensive workshops and seminars in poetry, fiction, playwriting, and literary journalism, students are constantly asked to write and rewrite, receiving detailed critiques from both faculty and peers. And with a faculty that believes strongly in the importance of imaginative work, they are encouraged to develop a responsive vision of the world around them, sharpening their writing skills as they explore a wide range of disciplines.

Though relatively few colleges offer writing as a major, Hampshire students can concentrate on writing directly, or as it relates to other interests.

Student Project Titles

 * Milk: A Poetry Collection
 * Jak v Nebi, Tak na Zemi: Writing the Experience of Art and Travel
 * The bold and the ethereal
 * Dead Ends, or, Stories from the Backseat
 * Talking to History: A Story through Images and Words
 * Painfully Pretty: Examining Beauty, Heartache, and Romance through Photography and Prose
 * The Typewriter and the Bank Account: A Div III in Playwriting and Arts Management
 * Walking the Imagination
 * Property and Language: Fictions and Essays
 * “Unwriting” the Novel: Novel Writing and Revision

Featured Faculty Profiles
Deborah Gorlin Codirector of the Writing Program

William Ryan Codirector of the Writing Program and Faculty Associate in Social Science

Eleanor Siegel Codirector of the Writing Program and Codirector of Academic Life

Lynne Hanley Professor of Writing and Literature

Sample First-Year Course

 * Intro to Writing

This course will explore the work of scholars, essayists, and creative writers in order to use their prose as models for our own. We’ll analyze scholarly explication and argument; we’ll also try to appreciate the artistry in our finest personal essays and short fiction. Students will complete a series of critical essays in the humanities and natural sciences and follow with a personal essay and a piece of short fiction. Students will have an opportunity to submit their work for peer review and discussion; students will also meet individually with instructors. Frequent, enthusiastic revision is an expectation.

Sample Courses at Hampshire

 * Advanced Screenwriting Workshop
 * Advanced Seminar in Writing
 * American Voices, American Lives
 * Fiction Writing Workshop
 * The Good Story
 * High Spirits: Reading &amp; Writing About Spiritual Experience
 * Intermediate Poetry Writing
 * Intro to Writing
 * Literary Journalism
 * The Past Recaptured: Photographs, Facts &amp; Fictions
 * Performance and Poetry: A Workshop
 * Playwriting
 * The Practice of Literary Journalism
 * Screenwriting
 * The Sporting Life
 * Therapuetic Writing
 * Using Suspense in Story
 * Who’s Telling this Story: Point of View for Fiction Writers
 * Writing About the Outdoors
 * Writing a Child’s Voice for Theatre
 * Writing Fiction About Families
 * Writing Project Workshop

Through the Consortium

 * Clearing Customs: Locations &amp; Dislocations in Travel Literature (SC)
 * English Composition (UMass)
 * Fiction Writing I (AC)
 * Intro to Creative Writing (MHC)
 * Intro to Journalism (MHC)
 * Screenwriting (AC)
 * Short Story I (MHC)
 * Writing, Identity &amp; Culture (SC)
 * Writing Poetry I &amp; II (AC)

Facilities and Resources
The Hampshire College Writing Center is open to all students at the college. The center is available to help students with writing skills—from brainstorming to drafting cohesive paragraphs to writing a final paper. 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.

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 magazine dedicated to adventure, travel, and outdoor pursuits), The Reader (literary/photo magazine), and Human Beings (an all-genre, culture and arts magazine).

Throughout the year, the Pioneer Valley and the Five College consortium host 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.

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

Writing Resources

 * Writing Center
 * Resources for Creative Writers
 * Resources for Journalism Concentrators

Digital Resources

 * [[Image:Writing Rules.pdf]] and [[Image:Mcevoy writing heuristics.pdf]], from http://www.williamcronon.net/