mfa creative writing sfsu

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Creative Writing

College of liberal & creative arts.

Dean: Dr. Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo

Department of Creative Writing

Humanities Building, Room 573 Phone: (415) 338-1891 Email: [email protected] Website: http://creativewriting.sfsu.edu

Chair: Andrew Joron Undergraduate and Graduate Advisors: Carter, Caspers, Chai, Chernoff, Conboy, De Robertis, Hoover, Joron, Mirosevich, Tigay

Program Scope

The Department of Creative Writing offers undergraduate and graduate programs. The three degree programs emphasize the primary importance of the study and practice of imaginative writing in the genres of creative nonfiction, fiction, literary translation, playwriting, and poetry. The core literature classes assure that students will continue to absorb and be trained in a study of the best literature of the past. In Creative Writing classes, students work with an active, publishing faculty. They learn by vigorous practice; by focused studies of craft; and by extensive reading, analysis, and discussion of their work, as well as that of published authors.

The undergraduate major combines the study of literature from a variety of departments, including English, Comparative World Literature, Ethnic Studies, and Women and Gender Studies, with the experiential needs of the writing student. Students who enter this program should do so only under the strongly held assumption that they have abilities as writers that may be fostered and trained by such a discipline as is described here. It is hoped that this combined program of writing and literature will lead students to a cohesive study and discipline that combines breadth with intensity.

Accordingly, some greater latitude of choice in literature courses is allowed in the creative writing major. Ample guidance of the creative writing advisors helps ensure that students will not be deprived of a sense of the history of literature.

The two graduate programs differ in scope. Both programs are distinguished by innovative classes. Both include seminars, opportunities for community projects, and a thesis. Students may apply for admission to either the Master of Arts in Creative Writing (30 units) or the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (54 units). In no case will a student be admitted to both programs simultaneously.

The Master of Arts in Creative Writing serves a double purpose: to provide the help of a faculty of professional writers and critics in developing the student's own potential as a professional writer and as a teacher of creative writing/composition.

The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is regarded as the terminal degree in the field. The M.F.A. in Creative Writing offers extended experience in small seminars and individual instruction with faculty. It also develops the student's understanding of the history and theory of literature and incorporates correlative patterns of study in elective areas such as other cultures, other arts, technical studies, and/or the teaching of writing.

The Creative Writing Department has a strong core faculty and invites visiting renowned authors to campus every semester through Writers on Writing and the Marcus Fund for Excellence in Creative Writing guest series, curated by the Marcus Endowed faculty.

Career Outlook

The career goal is to inspire, train, and encourage writers of creative nonfiction, fiction, literary translation, plays, and poetry. Many celebrated and distinguished writers are graduates of the department. In the job market, good writers with the ability to use language creatively, craft a story, and think critically and creatively are hard to find. The skills developed in creative writing translate well into non-profit/corporate writing and editing; publishing; teaching; and working for arts organizations.  Start-up companies in the Bay Area appreciate applicants and employees who have studied poetry, fiction, playwriting and creative nonfiction as well as those who have skills and experience in translation.

Michelle Carter (1988), Professor in Creative Writing . M.A. Stanford University.

Nona Caspers (2002), Professor in Creative Writing . M.F.A. San Francisco State University.

Maxine Chernoff (1994), Professor in Creative Writing . M.A. University of Illinois, Chicago.

Paul Hoover (1999), Professor in Creative Writing . M.A. University of Illinois.

Associate Professor

May-Lee Chai (2018), Associate Professor in Creative Writing . M.F.A. San Francisco State University.

Carolina De Robertis (2016), Associate Professor in Creative Writing . M.F.A. Mills College.

Andrew Joron (2014), Associate Professor in Creative Writing . B.A. University of California at Berkeley.

Chanan Tigay (2012), Associate Professor in Creative Writing . M.F.A. Columbia University.

Assistant Professor

Joseph Cassara (2020), Assistant Professor in Creative Writing . M.F.A. Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Tonya M. Foster (2021), Assistant Professor in Creative Writing . Ph.D. Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Michael David Lukas (2018), Assistant Professor in Creative Writing . M.F.A. University of Maryland.

Dodie Bellamy (2000), Lecturer in Creative Writing . M.S. Indiana University, Bloomington.

Matthew Clark Davison (2003), Lecturer in Creative Writing . M.F.A. San Francisco State University.

Donna De La Perriere (2004), Lecturer in Creative Writing . M.F.A. Brown University.

Steve Dickison (1999), Lecturer in Creative Writing . B.A. University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Anne Galjour (2001), Lecturer in Creative Writing . B.A. Nicholl's State University.

Junse Kim (2009), Lecturer in Creative Writing . M.F.A. Goddard College.

Truong Tran (2004), Lecturer in Creative Writing . M.F.A. San Francisco State University.

• Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing
• Minor in Creative Writing
• Master of Arts in Creative Writing
• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

C W 101 Introduction to Creative Writing (Units: 3)

The creative writing process. Exercises in writing poetry, fiction, and dramatic scripts. Selected readings of exemplary stories, poems, and plays. Open to all students.

• E1 LLD Pre-Fall 2019

C W 300 Welcome to Creative Writing: Developing a Writing Practice in Community and Navigating the Degree (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to Creative Writing majors.

C W 301 Fundamentals of Creative Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing majors; ENG 114 or equivalent; non-majors admitted with permission of the instructor.

C W 302 Fundamentals of Creative Reading (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing majors; GE Area A2; non-majors admitted with permission of the instructor.

C W 467 On the Cultural Frontlines: Contemporary Trends in Israeli Art (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

C W 497 Modern Greek Literature (Units: 3)

Introduction to Greece's major modernist and postmodernist writers. Exploration of experimental writing techniques using 20th Century literature. (This course is offered as MGS 497 and C W 497 . Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

C W 501 Graphic Memoir and Biography (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: ENG 216 or ENG 218 or equivalent.

C W 506 The Business of Creative Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisite for C W 806 : Restricted to graduate Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor. Prerequisites for C W 506 : Restricted to Creative Writing majors and minors; upper-division standing; C W 101 or C W 301 with a grade of C or better; GPA of 3.0 or higher; or permission of the instructor.

C W 507 Writing on the Body (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; C W 101 or C W 301 .

C W 510 The Creative Process (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing majors and minors; C W 101 or C W 301 with a grade of C or better; or permission of the instructor.

• Nature Poetry
• California Fiction: Landscape as Literature
• Lit of Contempt Hatred Obsessn Narrative Catalysts
• Reimagining Narratives
• Geography in Narrative
• The Researched Creative Essay
• Speculative Fiction
• The Poetics of Place
• Style in Fiction
• Rhythms of Poetry
• Introduction to Narrative
• Personal Narrative
• Investigating Voice
• Characterization
• Beat Poets in the American Poetry Archive
• The Short-Short Story
• American Poetics

C W 511GW Craft of Poetry - GWAR (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing majors; GE Area A2; C W 301 or equivalent.

• Graduation Writing Assessment

C W 512GW Craft of Fiction - GWAR (Units: 3)

C W 513GW Craft of Playwriting - GWAR (Units: 3)

C W 514 Contemporary World Poetry (Units: 3)

Prerequisite for C W 814 : Graduate Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor. Prerequisites for C W 514 : Upper-division Creative Writing majors; C W 301 or C W 101 with a grade of C or better; GPA of 3.0 or higher; permission of the instructor. Non-Creative Writing majors permitted with the permission of the instructor.

C W 520 Writers on Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisite for C W 820 : Graduate standing or permission of the instructor. Prerequisite for C W 520 : Upper-division standing; GPA of 3.0 or higher; or permission of the instructor.

C W 550 Poetry Center Workshop (Units: 3)

Prerequisite for C W 850 : Graduate standing or permission of the instructor. Prerequisite for C W 550 : Upper-division standing; GE Area A2; GPA of 3.0 or higher; or permission of the instructor.

C W 600 Special Topics in Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing majors; C W 301 or C W 101 with a grade of C or better; non-majors admitted with permission of the instructor.

• Women's Workshop
• The Uses of Personal Experience
• Journal Writing as a Source for Creative Writing

C W 601 Work in Progress (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to senior Creative Writing majors.

C W 602 Playwriting (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing majors; C W 301 and C W 511GW or C W 512GW or C W 513GW ; or permission of the instructor.

C W 603 Short Story Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing and English Education majors; C W 301 ; C W 511GW or C W 512GW or C W 513GW ; non-majors admitted with permission of the instructor.

C W 604 Poetry Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing majors; C W 301 and C W 511GW or C W 512GW or C W 513GW .

C W 605 Writing and Performing Monologues (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing, English Education, and Theatre Arts majors; TH A 130 . For C W majors: C W 301 ; C W 511GW or C W 512GW or C W 513GW .

C W 606 Art of Revision: from Draft to Manuscript (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: C W 101 or C W 301 ; C W 302 ; C W 512GW or C W 603 .

C W 609 Directed Writing for B.A. Students (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Creative Writing majors and permission of the instructor.

C W 640 Transfer Literary Magazine (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to English (Creative Writing) majors; C W 301 or permission of the instructor.

C W 659 Practicum in Teaching (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; C W 101 or C W 301 ; C W 302 *; C W 511GW * or C W 512GW * or C W 513GW *. Required for undergraduates serving as Creative Writing Graduate Instructional Aides.

C W 675 Community Projects in Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite for C W 875 : Restricted to graduate Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor. Prerequisites for C W 675 : Restricted to Creative Writing majors; upper-division standing; C W 301 or C W 101 with a grade of C or better; GPA of 3.0 or higher; or permission of the instructor.

C W 685 Projects in the Teaching of Creative Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Advanced undergraduate standing in Creative Writing and approval of the chair; a grade of C or better in course in which student will be aide.

C W 699 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

C W 785 Graduate Projects in the Teaching of Creative Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Graduate standing in Creative Writing; a grade of B or better in the course or its equivalent in which the student will be an aide; permission of the instructor.

C W 803 Advanced Short Story Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Creative Writing or permission of the instructor.

C W 804 Advanced Poetry Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor.

C W 806 The Business of Creative Writing (Units: 3)

C W 807 Developing the Novel (Units: 3)

C W 808 Novel Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students in Creative Writing; C W 807 ; or permission of the instructor.

C W 809 Directed Writing for Graduate Students (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor. Apply to instructor during the semester prior to desired enrollment.

C W 810 Seminar in the Creative Process (Units: 3)

• History, Trauma, and the Unreal
• Working Cross-Genre
• Contemporary World Fiction
• Writing as Translation
• Mad Girls Bad Girls:Transgressive Writing by Women
• Centering on Language
• Autobiography
• The Prose Poem
• Experimental Fiction
• Visions of Childhood
• Contemporary Non-fiction
• Prose Writers in the Archives
• Craft of Poetry
• Plays: Reading/Viewing
• Art of Narrative
• Nonfiction: Moral Issues
• Oral Poetics
• The Novella
• What the Body Knows
• Uses of Time in Narrative
• Building Characters
• New York School Poetry
• Documentary Poetics
• The Mask: Persona Poem
• The Poetics of Extremity
• Poetry of Trauma
• Law in Literature
• Border Crossing Narratives

C W 814 Contemporary World Poetry (Units: 3)

C W 820 Writers on Writing (Units: 3)

C W 825 Playwright's Theatre Workshop (Units: 3)

C W 840 Fourteen Hills Literary Magazine (Units: 3)

C W 850 Poetry Center Workshop (Units: 3)

C W 852 Workshop in Creative Nonfiction (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor.

C W 853 M.F.A. Workshop in Fiction (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to M.F.A. Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor.

C W 854 Workshop in Poetry (Units: 3)

C W 855 Workshop in Playwriting (Units: 3)

C W 859 Practicum in Teaching (Units: 3)

C W 860 Teaching Creative Writing (Units: 3)

C W 866 Craft of Translation (Units: 3)

C W 867 Theory of Translation (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate Creative Writing students with a working knowledge of a language other than English.

C W 875 Community Projects in Literature (Units: 3)

C W 880 M.F.A. Craft and Process Tutorial in Fiction (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate M.F.A. in Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor.

• The Art of Short Fiction
• Discovery and Development
• Writing in its Public Context
• Individual Vision: Fiction
• The Displaced Person
• Writing into Dailyness
• Vampires, Androids, and Detectives
• Creative Nonfiction
• Earning Dramatic Emtn: Fulfilling Intent Narr Tech
• Risk & Reward:Pushing Ourselves in Fiction Writing
• Voices within Voices: Interiority and Polyphony
• The Poetics of Narrative
• The Art of Subtext in Fiction
• The Real Thing

C W 881 M.F.A. Craft and Process Tutorial in Poetry (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to MFA in Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor.

• Contemporary US Poets & History
• Imagining the Book
• Open Work: The Long Poem
• Poetics of Indeterminacy
• Individual Vision: Poetry
• Literary Mapping: Mixed-Genre Place-Based Literatu
• Kinship and Community
• Translate and Transpose
• Poets and Their Thinkers
• Poetry Machines
• Poetics of Listening
• Poems From Nature
• The Lyric Documentary

C W 882 M.F.A. Craft and Process Tutorial in Playwriting (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to M.F.A. in Creative Writing students or permission of the instructor.

• Playwrights' Virtual Theater Workshop
• The Comedic Play
• Plays and Politics
• Adapting for the Stage
• Contemporary American Playwrights
• Architectonics of Plays

C W 893MA Written M.A. Creative Project (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and major adviser; approval of Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) for the Master of Arts in English: Creative Writing and Culminating Experience (CE) forms by Graduate Studies. ATC and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.

C W 893MFA Written M.F.A. Creative Work (Units: 6)

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and major adviser; approval of Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) for the Master of Fine Arts and Culminating Experience (CE) forms by Graduate Studies. ATC and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.

C W 899 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)