Creative Writing Courses Popular

Students say Harvard's creative writing courses are some of the best at the College.

Small, intimate and well-taught, the writing classes are often the favorites of those lucky enough to take them.

"The level of individual attention is extraordinary relative to the University as a whole," says Niko Canner '94, who has taken a number of creative writing courses in the English department.

His teacher for two of the classes, Lucie Brock-Broido, was "probably the best teacher I've had at Harvard or anywhere else," the Marshall scholarship winner says.

But there's just one problem with the idyllic creative writing program: a lack of professors drastically limits the number of students who can take the classes.

Teachers like Brock-Broido, who win rave reviews from students, cannot stay longer than five years at Harvard because of the short appointments available for most creative writing professors.

And, according to English department members, the status of the program is unlikely to change despite dramatically increasing student demand.

Good Classes

The creative writing classes have a 15-person maximum, says Briggs-Copeland Lecturer Jill McCorkle, who teaches creative writing courses. The small class size allows students to get personal attention from professor and fellow classmates.

For English Cpr: "Poetry Writing I," "We make copies of our poem for everybody," says Roland Tan '97, who is taking the class this semester. "Everybody has one week to read everybody else's poems...There's very little pressure."

Students read one another's work in nearly all of the classes.

In English Crr: "Fiction Writing

In English Crr: "Fiction Writing I," studentsread three short stories by other students.

"At the end you have to bring in two completedpieces," says Joseph G. Covalesky '97, who istaking English Crr.

But some students who wish to take the creativeclasses never get the chance.

To get into a creative writing course, studentsmust usually submit a writing sample and a coverletter to the professor who is teaching the classof their choice. classes are presently offered innon-fiction, fiction, and poetry writing.

Professors say the application process enablesthem to get quality students who raise the levelof the classes.

"I'm looking for talent and diversity... Ithink it's great to have freshmen mixed withstudents doing their honors theses," saysBriggs-Copeland Lecturer Henri Cole, who teachesEnglish Cpr and Cqr: "Poetry Writing I and II."

For the students who are not admitted into theclasses, however, the application procedure doesnot seem justified.

Maria N. Antifonario '96 applied twice to takecreative writing courses but did not get in.

"I don't think I'm a bad writer and I thinkit's kind of unfair that people who want to can'ttake these classes," she says.

More Applicants

The number of undergraduates applying tocreative writing has grown dramatically, saysMcCorkle, who teaches English Csr: "FictionWriting."

"This semester we gave out 500 applications andwe have 180 people that got in," she says.

In fact, the program ran out of applicationforms this year, she says.

McCorkle says figures are not available forprecisely how many of the 500 actually applied,but she estimates that nearly all of them did.

Last year, according to McCorkle, only betweentwo and three hundred students applied.

McCorkle says she would like to offer moreclasses, but the four Briggs-Copeland lecturers,two guest professors and one full professor increative writing program simply cannot serve 500students. And the full professor, BoylstonProfessor of Rhetoric Seamus Heaney, teaches atHarvard only during the spring semesters.

"The thing is we can't offer more as we'reconstituted [now]," Heaney says.

But adding more creative writing faculty wouldbe "a fairly extensive undertaking," McCorklesays.

Dean for Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buellsays he expects at best a slow improvement in theresources of the creative writing program.

"The best that can be hoped for is a kind ofgradual incrementalism," he says.

The program is part of the English departmentand despite the high student demand, it is notalways the department's highest budget priority.

Buell, who is also an English professor, saysit is up to the department to invest moreresources in creative writing.

Such reallocation would be like "robbing Peterto pay Paul," he says, because the departmentwould have to take money away from its literaryofferings.

Resources for Concentrators

The department would rather use its resourcesto satisfy concentrators, rather than the manystudents outside the department who take thecreative classes.

"We've made a commitment to have all sophomoretutorials faculty-led," Buell says, "and we have alot of trouble making good on that."

English department chair Leo Damrosch sayscreative writing is just "one of many things inthe mix and not an immediate priority."

"We also have desperate needs," he says.

Damrosch also places some responsibility forthe status of creative writing with centralFaculty administrators.

There is only one tenured position for acreative writing teacher, the BoylstonProfessorship held by Heaney.

Most of the teachers, no matter how popularwith students, must leave Harvard after theirfive-year lectureships expire.

The department has "kicked around the idea thatit would be nice to have a [tenured] novelist,"Damrosch says. But the department would need thesupport of Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowlesto establish a new professorship, he says.

Another possible option to improve the statusof the creative writing program would beestablishing a separate department for creativewriting classes. But according to Buell, this isalso unlikely to happen.

The dean says a separate department "wouldstill have to be in a symbiotic relationship withthe critical study of literature," and keepingcreative writing in the English department "doesmore [to] guarantee the symbiosis."

Also, Buell says, "generally speaking it'sunwise to generate ultra-small academic units,"

Several creative writing teachers suggest alecture-format class that could accommodate morestudents than the intimate seminars.

"I've often thought what I'd like to do isoffer a lecture course for writers," Heaney says.

But such a large course would demand teachingfellows, and Harvard has no graduate program increative writing to supply them.

Heaney himself opposes such a graduate program,which he says would destroy the Harvard focus onundergraduates.

"Most other places concentrate on graduates,"he says. "They are [well known] because of theruthlessness of selection."

So the department will likely stick with thestatus quo, which pleases those students luckyenough to get in, but freezes out many who wish totake the classes.

"It's kind of a pity they don't have manyresources," Covalesky says, "but on the other handthe creative writing department does a great job."

In English Crr: "Fiction Writing I," studentsread three short stories by other students.

"At the end you have to bring in two completedpieces," says Joseph G. Covalesky '97, who istaking English Crr.

But some students who wish to take the creativeclasses never get the chance.

To get into a creative writing course, studentsmust usually submit a writing sample and a coverletter to the professor who is teaching the classof their choice. classes are presently offered innon-fiction, fiction, and poetry writing.

Professors say the application process enablesthem to get quality students who raise the levelof the classes.

"I'm looking for talent and diversity... Ithink it's great to have freshmen mixed withstudents doing their honors theses," saysBriggs-Copeland Lecturer Henri Cole, who teachesEnglish Cpr and Cqr: "Poetry Writing I and II."

For the students who are not admitted into theclasses, however, the application procedure doesnot seem justified.

Maria N. Antifonario '96 applied twice to takecreative writing courses but did not get in.

"I don't think I'm a bad writer and I thinkit's kind of unfair that people who want to can'ttake these classes," she says.

More Applicants

The number of undergraduates applying tocreative writing has grown dramatically, saysMcCorkle, who teaches English Csr: "FictionWriting."

"This semester we gave out 500 applications andwe have 180 people that got in," she says.

In fact, the program ran out of applicationforms this year, she says.

McCorkle says figures are not available forprecisely how many of the 500 actually applied,but she estimates that nearly all of them did.

Last year, according to McCorkle, only betweentwo and three hundred students applied.

McCorkle says she would like to offer moreclasses, but the four Briggs-Copeland lecturers,two guest professors and one full professor increative writing program simply cannot serve 500students. And the full professor, BoylstonProfessor of Rhetoric Seamus Heaney, teaches atHarvard only during the spring semesters.

"The thing is we can't offer more as we'reconstituted [now]," Heaney says.

But adding more creative writing faculty wouldbe "a fairly extensive undertaking," McCorklesays.

Dean for Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buellsays he expects at best a slow improvement in theresources of the creative writing program.

"The best that can be hoped for is a kind ofgradual incrementalism," he says.

The program is part of the English departmentand despite the high student demand, it is notalways the department's highest budget priority.

Buell, who is also an English professor, saysit is up to the department to invest moreresources in creative writing.

Such reallocation would be like "robbing Peterto pay Paul," he says, because the departmentwould have to take money away from its literaryofferings.

Resources for Concentrators

The department would rather use its resourcesto satisfy concentrators, rather than the manystudents outside the department who take thecreative classes.

"We've made a commitment to have all sophomoretutorials faculty-led," Buell says, "and we have alot of trouble making good on that."

English department chair Leo Damrosch sayscreative writing is just "one of many things inthe mix and not an immediate priority."

"We also have desperate needs," he says.

Damrosch also places some responsibility forthe status of creative writing with centralFaculty administrators.

There is only one tenured position for acreative writing teacher, the BoylstonProfessorship held by Heaney.

Most of the teachers, no matter how popularwith students, must leave Harvard after theirfive-year lectureships expire.

The department has "kicked around the idea thatit would be nice to have a [tenured] novelist,"Damrosch says. But the department would need thesupport of Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowlesto establish a new professorship, he says.

Another possible option to improve the statusof the creative writing program would beestablishing a separate department for creativewriting classes. But according to Buell, this isalso unlikely to happen.

The dean says a separate department "wouldstill have to be in a symbiotic relationship withthe critical study of literature," and keepingcreative writing in the English department "doesmore [to] guarantee the symbiosis."

Also, Buell says, "generally speaking it'sunwise to generate ultra-small academic units,"

Several creative writing teachers suggest alecture-format class that could accommodate morestudents than the intimate seminars.

"I've often thought what I'd like to do isoffer a lecture course for writers," Heaney says.

But such a large course would demand teachingfellows, and Harvard has no graduate program increative writing to supply them.

Heaney himself opposes such a graduate program,which he says would destroy the Harvard focus onundergraduates.

"Most other places concentrate on graduates,"he says. "They are [well known] because of theruthlessness of selection."

So the department will likely stick with thestatus quo, which pleases those students luckyenough to get in, but freezes out many who wish totake the classes.

"It's kind of a pity they don't have manyresources," Covalesky says, "but on the other handthe creative writing department does a great job."