From the issue dated March 15, 2002
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Undergraduates Heed the Writer's MuseEnglish departments add programs as more students push to write fiction and poetryBy THOMAS BARTLETT Selinsgrove, Pa. His first draft was a bust. After 70 pages, 11 different narrators, and heaps of ashes
There's a quote tacked to the wall of his dorm room about the "anguish and travail" of the writing process. The words belong to William Faulkner, Mr. Varner's favorite writer. "I keep re-reading The Sound and the Fury," he says. "There's nothing else like it." Technically, Mr. Varner is an English major. But like other students here in the English department's writing program, he calls himself a writing major. Programs like the one at Susquehanna seem to be cropping up everywhere recently. In the past six years, more than 50 colleges have added creative writing to their list of offerings for undergraduates, bringing the total to well over 300 at both private and public institutions. These are not elective courses, but full-blown programs, usually within English departments, that allow students to earn a bachelor's degree with a major or minor in creative writing. The programs require students to take workshop seminars in fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction (an increasingly popular genre) along with a range of literature courses. The content and format of the workshops vary greatly, from those that are exclusively concerned with student writing to those that have substantial reading components. Southern Vermont College, which has 400 students, offered a creative-writing major last year for the first time. The college had 12 majors the first year, 25 this year, and officials expect even more next year. Established programs, like the one at Oberlin College, begun in 1978, have seen consistently strong demand. "We have three times more applications for positions in our courses than we have available spaces," says Dan Chaon, an assistant professor of creative writing. The growing interest comes as the number of English majors has declined significantly since 1970, dropping 23 percent to 49,708 in 1998, the latest year for which numbers are available. Does that mean students are ditching courses that require Norton anthologies for coffeehouse poetry slams and touchy-feely fiction workshops? Not at all, say creative-writing professors. They argue that students in their programs learn to write clearly and thoughtfully -- a crucial skill in college and the rest of life. And they study literature too, just from a different perspective. The old saw is true: Before you can become a writer, you have to become a reader. That's Gary Fincke's line. The professor of English at Susquehanna and the founder, director, and indefatigable force behind its creative-writing program has no patience for those who think creative writing is soft. "We don't just say 'Hey, let's go write poems.' We want them to read, and they have to read a lot. There's no question about that." Of the 44 major credit hours students must complete, 20 of those are in literature. And in each of the writing courses there are required readings, from Shakespeare's sonnets to the works of contemporary writers like Andre Dubus III. When Mr. Fincke started the program five years ago, he had to beg for office space. Now creative writing is the toast of the college. And because a local foundation recently forked over a $500,000 grant, Mr. Fincke is talking about endowed chairs, new computer equipment -- maybe even the program's own building. Creative writing has gone from a handful of students five years ago to more than 50 this year -- an impressive jump considering there are fewer than 2,000 students here. In fact, officials predict that next year the number of students in creative writing will surpass the number in literature. In a recent poetry workshop taught by Mr. Fincke, students discussed a semi-autobiographical poem by Kevin Hoffman, a sophomore, about the death of his grandmother, the fragility of life, and soft drinks. It was the golden Pepsi can"What's the Pepsi can in the poem?" Mr. Fincke asks. There is no immediate answer. Then a hand goes up. "I think the Pepsi can is interesting as the last witness," a student offers. After a brief discussion of the symbolism of soda, the conversation turns to structure. "Can we talk about line breaks? They felt a little forced to me," says Adam Cole, a senior, who came to Susquehanna when the program was still getting off the ground. Mr. Cole was planning to major in English literature but "switched as soon as I heard about" the writing major, he says. Mr. Cole has the reputation among his peers of being a good critic. As if to demonstrate his writing credentials, the backs of his hands are covered in black ink (reminders to himself, he says). Lately, he's been writing poems in the personas of minor Old Testament characters. Discussions often come back to the mechanics of writing -- grammar, word choice, rhythm. Copies of a student's story or poem are distributed to members of the class and returned to the author with comments, suggestions, criticisms. Feedback can be hard to take, but that is part of the process, says Mr. Fincke. Why Students Embrace Fiction David Fenza directs the Associated Writing Programs, a national organization that promotes creative writing in colleges. He defends creative writing against charges from those in academe who believe it lacks rigor and also from critics (often creative writers themselves) who contend that colleges have become assembly lines, cranking out graduates who produce -- blech! -- "workshop fiction." One of those critics is David Radavich, a professor of English at Eastern Illinois University. He argues in "Creative Writing in the Academy," an essay recently published in Profession, that colleges need to "reexamine and renegotiate" the purpose of graduate creative writing, particularly in a time when the publishing prospects for young writers look grim. The same holds true at the undergraduate level, he says, but there are other concerns. "If you offer creative writing in lieu of English classes and if students perceive that they are less difficult, then I think that's a mistake," he says. "And I definitely think that happens at some places." But Mr. Radavich doesn't believe creative writing should be scrapped. In fact, he sometimes teaches workshop classes, and his department offers a writing minor. He adds, though, that it must be "part of the overall educational process." Even an advocate like Mr. Fenza emphasizes the reader-first ca-veat: "The younger the writer is, the more that writer needs to study literature." That said, English departments need creative writing, he argues. Without it, the curriculum is incomplete. "The study of literature has been mostly retrospective. A work is viewed as a historical or sociological artifact, and somewhat as an aesthetic object," he says. "But the fact that living people produce such works has often been overlooked in higher education." But why are students now reaching for their pens (that is, flipping open their laptops) and beckoning the muse? Most see college as a box they have to check off before entering the work world -- according to surveys, anyway. In a recent one, 70 percent of incoming freshmen said they came to college "to be able to make more money." But in that same survey, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, 15 percent said writing original works such as stories or poems was an "essential or very important" objective. Susan Hubbard has a theory. The associate professor of English at the University of Central Florida thinks there has been a "resurgence of idealism" among students. "I can't document it, but in the last five years or so there has been an increased interest in programs that won't necessarily lead to careers," she says. "Students are looking for something more meaningful." They've found that something in her college's creative-writing program, which has about 150 students, nearly twice as many majors as literature. She says those students are often the most inquisitive, and the least likely to "simply parrot the ideas of their professors." English departments should welcome creative writing, she says, though she acknowledges that's not always what happens. Ms. Hubbard, who teaches creative writing, puts it this way: "A lot of my colleagues don't understand what I do." That lack of understanding can lead to tension. Ms. Hubbard was at Syracuse University in the mid-1990s when animosity between literature and creative-writing professors led to some very nasty dust-ups. "You came to work on Monday expecting there to be blood flowing in the hallways," she remembers. There was a similar, though less public, rift at Pennsylvania State University at University Park a few years ago, which led to curriculum changes throughout the system. Some English professors felt that undergraduates in the creative-writing program were not taking enough basic literature courses. "This led to a negotiation -- not always friendly -- between the literature side and the writing side," says Dinty W. Moore, an English professor who teaches creative writing at the university's Altoona campus. The result? Creative-writing majors now take more literature courses. Mr. Moore thinks the gap between the two sides is beginning to shrink. But the basic issue hasn't gone away: "In a creative-writing class, students are reading one another's stories, rather than what has been deemed great literature, and some literature faculty see that as a waste of time," he says. Turf Battles Susquehanna's halls have remained relatively blood-free. Literature professors here rave about the creative-writing program, saying that it has raised the profile of the department and attracted lots of new students. But there is still the occasional turf war over who gets to teach certain classes. "We're not immune to those tensions," says Laurence Roth, an assistant professor of Eng-lish who teaches literature. "But we're young enough and new enough that we don't really think of each other as sides." When asked why they're interested in creative writing, students at Susquehanna often mention the "close community" of writers. Discussions about writing are just as likely to be heard at BJ's Steak and Ribs as in the classroom. Kristina Torres, a senior, explains how her friendship with Mr. Cole has made her a better writer. During the past three-and-a-half years, they have traded their work back and forth, offering one another feedback. For example, he helped her prune a 40-page account of a semester she spent in Australia down to 20 pages. "It's hard, because you get really attached to a line or to a section, and you just can't do that," she says. "You need to have someone who can help you step back and take another look at it." This past fall, Ms. Torres did some soul-searching. She is a pre-med biology major with a minor in creative writing. Trying to juggle that and fill out medical-school applications became too much; something had to go. But she didn't drop the minor. Instead, she chose not to become a doctor. Ms. Torres is applying to M.F.A. programs and has already been accepted by one. "Writing is what I love," she says. Decision by Default Mr. Hoffman -- who wrote the poem about his grandmother -- didn't have a similar epiphany. He chose creative writing by default. The sophomore started out in political science, but found that it didn't suit his temperament. So he switched to creative writing. "With writing, you actually get to do something," he explains. Mr. Hoffman asserts that he has no plans to live the life of a starving artist, however. Before he switched majors, he talked to Mr. Fincke, a man who can tick off where all of the alumni of the program are now and what they are doing. "He told me that you need writing skills in a lot of different fields," Mr. Hoffman says, mentioning law and public relations. This was helpful in convincing his parents of the wisdom of his choice. "They don't want me sending off stories all day to magazines like a crazy person," he says. Then there's Mr. Varner and his novel. He has always wanted to be a writer and creative writing was the reason he came to Susquehanna. When asked to identify the most serious writer in the program, several students name Mr. Varner. He is taking another crack at that novel, this time with just one narrator. The semi-autobiographical work, tentatively titled "Fire Through the Center," is about his grandfather, a convicted arsonist, and Mr. Varner's father, the fire chief of the small Pennsylvania town where he grew up. Tom Bailey, an assistant professor of English who teaches creative writing, is guiding him through the project. "It can't be about making famous writers -- that's wrongheaded from the beginning. It has to be about teaching them to think well and to read closely," says Mr. Bailey. He adds, "Isn't that the heart of any liberal-arts education?" WRITING PROGRAMS WITH FLAIR The following are some of the special features of the undergraduate writing programs at some colleges: Carnegie Mellon University Poetry students create their own chapbooks (small pamphlets of poems). "It teaches them to be superconscious of each word," says Jim Daniels, director of the program. The undergraduate creative-writing program, founded in 1968, is one of the oldest. Columbia College Chicago Along with more traditional fare, creative-writing students can choose courses such as "Researching and Writing Historical Fiction" and "Science Fiction Writing." The program emphasizes summer internships in writing-related fields, such as public relations. Naropa University The writing department at the Buddhist university in Boulder, Colo., was founded by Anne Waldman and Allen Ginsberg in 1974 as the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Though it has dropped that name -- officially at least -- the department maintains its founders' vision. Along with taking courses in writing, reading, and critical study, undergraduates are required to study a "contemplative-arts" practice, such as Aikido or Sumi brushstroke, to help them "cultivate mindful awareness." Washington College The senior who demonstrates the "greatest ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor" is given the Maryland college's Sophie Kerr Prize. The prize is more than a certificate and a handshake: Last year's winner received a check for $62,099. The amount is half of the annual income from the bequest of author Sophie Kerr, who wrote popular fiction in the 1930s. Wofford College Each year the best novel by an undergraduate is published in a limited edition of 2,000 copies. Since 1995, 40 students at the Spartanburg, S.C., college have written novels.
SOURCE: Chronicle reporting
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Copyright © 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education