Director's Message

Fall 2011

Welcome!

The Creative Writing Program, housed within our Department of English offers two degrees in creative writing:  A Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration on Creative Writing and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.  Admission to both the undergraduate and graduate programs is dependent on writing samples and a statement of purpose.  While the undergraduate program prepares liberal arts students for a wide range of careers through the practice of reading, writing and critiquing poetry, fiction and autobiography, the MFA in Creative Writing develops the potential of emerging writers who will contribute to the country’s literary production and to defining the ever-shifting landscape of contemporary literature.  Since the inception of our program in 1992, our alumni have published over forty books of poetry, novels and short story collections (www.as.miami.edu/english/creativewriting/alumni/publications ).

This year, the MFA in Creative Writing Program is thrilled to welcome highly esteemed visiting faculty Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban and several other novels, and poet John Murillo, author of Up Jump the Boogie.  In February, Peter Selgin, the 2007 Flannery O’Connor Award winner and author of Drowning Lessons and Life Goes to the Movies, joins us for one week, mentoring graduating seniors on the craft of writing novels and short stories.  In addition, we welcome Patricia Engel, author of Vida, as this spring’s guest lecturer. These writers, along with our core faculty, give our students new perspectives and strategies to develop their work and we are excited to welcome each of them.

Polyglot Writers: A Reading Series on Writing Across Languages, begins in September with readings on campus at the College of Arts and Sciences Gallery and a special Writers’ Salon at Books & Books. In addition to Garcia and Murillo, we have an amazing line up of polyglot writers including Nathalie Handal , Ishion Hutchinson, Susana Chavez Silverman and Bino Realuyo.  This collaborative series, supported by multiple programs at the University of Miami, promises to engage our community in a fascinating exploration of the fluidity of language as it crisscrosses borders, cultures and people. 

Our open mic series, USpeak: Open Verse and Story Performances, provides UM students and the community at large a unique opportunity to hear and be inspired by established writers and poets.  In addition to readings by distinguished local authors, students are encouraged to stand up and read during the open mic session.  The literary evenings are a classic exchange between the Miami literati and emerging student writers and poets. 

For USpeak’s third season, we’ve partnered with Books & Books in Coral Gables to host a “Back to School Bash” featuring spoken word team Hialeah Haikus, winners of Miami’s infamous Literary Death March.  Upcoming USpeak events on the Coral Gables campus will feature Miami-based artists Emma Trelles and Patricia Engel as well as a special reading by Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation (VONA) faculty.

2012 marks a new initiative between the University of Miami's MFA Creative Writing Program and VONA as we offer Words Are Mightier: A VONA/Voices Writing Weekend at the University of Miami during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.   The collaboration between UM and VONA continues our mission to challenge and inspire our students and visitors in a weekend of literary workshops with widely acclaimed writers of color Elmaz Abindador, Willie Perdomo, and Mat Johnson.  Writers interested in applying should visit our link, www.miami.edu/voices-at-um.

Through Mangrove, our print and online literary journal, our program offers both graduate and undergraduate students the experience to solicit, design, and publish undergraduate fiction and poetry.  This year, poet and MFA alumnus Zack Hickman returns to Mangrove as our Managing Editor.  Students who are interested in working either as MFA advisors, or undergraduate editors and staff members are encouraged to apply.

Last year, we honored senior writer Lester Goran’s 50th teaching anniversary. Among our many celebratory initiatives, we launched a scholarship campaign and because of the generosity of many of our alumni and friends were able to establish the Lester Goran Creative Writing Fellowship Fund for an emerging writer or poet.  We hope that in the coming year we will continue to fundraise for this important endowment. 

While writing is ultimately a solitary practice, creating a writing community that can support and challenge emerging writers is an important component to both our MFA and undergraduate creative writing programs. I invite you to explore the many facets of our program through this website.  Bookmark us and we’ll keep you posted on our events.  If you have any questions or need of further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
 

M. Evelina Galang
Associate Professor
Creative Writing Director