UA Program


			Degree Requirements The program leading to the master of fine arts (M.F.A.) degree in creative writing is a studio/academic course of study, designed with an eye to accommodating a variety of student and faculty passions. Imaginative writers enroll in writing workshops, forms courses, and literature classes, gaining exposure to a broad range of writing models and experimenting with a variety of strategies and forms. Guided development of each writer's talents culminates in a complete, carefully conceived final project (the thesis), typically a book-length manuscript. Most writers focus their studies on either poetry or prose, with minor studies in one or more additional genres. Coursework is offered in digital media, nonfiction, screenwriting, and autobiography, as well as poetry and fiction. Writers may, however, choose to balance the study and practice of two or more genres throughout the degree program, bearing in mind that at least one complete project must be submitted as a thesis. The program can be completed in three intensive years; a fourth year of study, in which work on the final project is the central activity, is often elected. The M.F.A. thesis—and its oral defense—are required of all degree candidates. While this final project is conventionally a book-length manuscript, theses that are not print-based may also be submitted. Thesis projects are prepared under direction of a thesis advisor, usually a member of the resident creative writing faculty. Candidates for the M.F.A. are examined on their final projects by a committee of five faculty members Students in the program in creative writing give a presentation of a significant portion of their own written work produced while in residence. In this 45-minute public reading/performance, the student demonstrates the wide array of his or her work before an audience of peers, faculty, and the general public.
							Candidates for the M.F.A. degree are required to spend a minimum of two semesters in residence and to complete 48 hours of graduate-level coursework, divided as follows (half of all coursework must be at the 600 level):



EN 608 & EN 609 Sample Offerings EN 608 Forms Tour of Fiction Wendy Rawlings Starting with Rip Van Winkle after he awakens from his famous nap, we’ll take a whirlwind tour of the short story form, exploring the impulses and cultural developments that exert pressure on the form over the past century. Our focus will be the short story in America, though important contributions from luminaries such as Kafka and Chekhov will be included. Assignments will include writing a short story, a paper on narrative voice in the short story, and one collaborative presentation. Collaboration Michael Martone & Gary Taylor This course will use examples of different kinds of authorial collaboration to investigate the nature of authorship and the production of literary culture. The course will move back and forth temporally and geographically. Examples of collaboration may include: Louise Erdrich/Michael Dorris, Coleridge/Wordsworth (Lyrical Ballads), Gordon Lish/Raymond Carver, Marlowe/Chapman (Hero and Leander), Tennessee Williams/Elias Kazan, Middleton/Rowley (The Changeling), the American expatriate group in Paris in the 1920s, Measure for Measure (written by Shakespeare, adapted by Middleton), nineteenth-century abolitionist slave narratives. Besides reading and participation in discussion, students will be expected to produce (in addition to shorter individual texts) some form of collaborative project—and the course seeks to explore the variety of such collaborative arrangements and forms. EN 609 Writers at Work: Form. Theory. Practice Aspects of Performance Robin Behn "Readings" are a living, integral, and frequent event in the writing world, here at Alabama and far beyond. As writers, we attend a lot of them, and—gulp!—give a few ourselves. What is the history of the "reading" as a phenomenon in literary culture? Who decides/who reads? What do they read? Where do they read and for whom? What sort of tacit or announced social contract(s) does a reading partake of or contribute to at a university, a bookstore, a festival, a grade school, a slam? What in addition to great writing makes for a great reading? A terrible one? How can we become better readers? Is there a difference between the way actors and writers read, or ought to read? What is, or was, the study of "oral interpretation"? We'll partake of readings, both live and taped, practice reading, and give some readings of our own. "Texts" include taped readings (audio or A/V) from our own program's archives as well as of writers such as T.S. Elliot, Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, Langston Hughes, Patti Smith, and writings by Stanislavski, Jourdian, and others. The Found Work Michael Martone A down and dirty examination of cut and paste, arrangement, framing, collage and collecting.							15 hours in graduate-level writing workshops [3 hours each], at least 3 hours of which must be in a second genre. Workshops may be repeated for credit and include: EN 509 Writing for Film EN 601 Fiction Workshop EN 603 Poetry Workshop EN 605 Writing Workshop: Special Topics
							9 hours in EN 608 Forms [3 hours each] Through readings of primary works and theory by writers in a particular genre or form, these courses examine the traditional and contemporary practice of that genre's aesthetics. [See the sidebar on the left of this page for sample EN 608 offerings. Other sample topics include: The Long Poem Characterization Across Genre The Mock Essay Autobiography The Visual Book The Alphabet from Sand to Silicon Wild Prosody Contemporary Poetics Creative Writing for Kids Modes of Political Poetry The First Person Rich Poetic Imagery
							3 hours in EN 609: Writers at Work: Form. Theory. Practice. [1 hour each] This short course examines a specialized topic of interest to creative writers. May be repeated for credit. [See the sidebar on the left of this page for EN 609 offerings for Fall 2001.] Other sample topics include: Profession of Authorship Teaching Creative Writing Writing Internship Publishing: A Brief History Poetry & Dance
							12 hours in literature, criticism, or linguistics courses [3 hours each] in the Department of English at the 500 or 600 level 3 hours in any elective course at the 500 or 600 level [3 hours each] (in English, a foreign language or literature, The Program in Book Arts, Women's Studies, American Studies, or other departments) 6 hours in EN 699 (thesis preparation)



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