Program Description

The Lilly Lieb Port creative writing program is a highly selective and structured BA program that shares features of the arts programs at Purchase College. This major offers motivated, talented, and committed students a dynamic context and com-munity in which to explore all aspects of creative writing. As an integral part of the program, readings are held each semester by students, faculty, alumni who have published their writing, and professional writers. Editors and other members of the publishing world are also invited to speak and share their expertise with students.

Applicants may be either prospective first-year students or transfer students. All applicants must submit a portfolio containing:

1. a completed one-page questionnaire: PDF | Rich Text Format
2. samples of their fiction or poetry
3. a short essay describing their strengths and weaknesses as a writer
4. two letters of recommendation from instructors familiar with the applicant’s writing

Program Faculty

Requirements for the Major

• Foundations in Poetry and Fiction*
• Two courses* in the student’s chosen concentration (fiction or poetry): Poetry Writing I and II or
  Fiction Writing I and either The Art of the Novella or Fiction Writing II
  *Must be completed with a grade of B or higher
• Two of the following literature courses:
  U.S. Short Story
  Survey of U.S. Literature I
  Survey of U.S. Literature II
  Realism and Naturalism in U.S. Literature
  U.S. Poetry
  Poetry and the Avant-Garde
  
• Two upper-level creative writing electives
• Arts-related course(s): 3–4 credits
• Special Topics in Creative Writing
• Senior Project

Representative Electives

Advanced Seminars in Fiction and Poetry Writing
Alternate Worlds
Constructing Truths: The Personal Essay
Editing and Production Workshop
The Importance of Tone in Constructing a Poem
The Screenplay
Travel Writing
Writing and Reading the Region
Writing Women: Women Fiction Writers of the 20th and 21st Centuries

Representative Writers-in-Residence and Guest Speakers

Edward Albee
Michael Cunningham
E.J. Garcia
Hettie Jones
Jamaica Kincaid
Sheila Kohler
Tony Kushner
Jhumpa Lahiri
Marni Ludwig
Rick Moody
Marjane Satrapi
Art Spiegelman
Craig Morgan Teicher
Cecilia Vicuña
Derek Walcott
Tom Wolfe

Representative Alumni

• Brian J. Bieniowski ’00, executive producer, Nickelfish Interactive Design and Marketing; former managing editor, Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine
• Daniel Donatacci ’04, MFA, City College of New York; PhD student and teaching fellow, Brandeis University
• Maeve Klersfeld ’10, Master of Letters candidate in peace and conflict studies, University of St. Andrews, UK
• Lauren Novack (McGowan) ’01, MFA, Sarah Lawrence College; group copy supervisor, Grey Healthcare Group
• Peter J. O’Brien ’08, producer and director, Riphouse 151: Could’ve Been’s & Wanna Be’s, a feature-length documentary
• Nicholas Priore ’07, MFA, Actors Studio Drama School, Pace University; playwright and director; instructor at Saint Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.
• Zachary Wood ’09, assistant editor, The Hudson Review

For more information, please visit the creative writing program site.

Updated Dec. 12, 2012

Updates
Please direct updates for this page to the managing editor in the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs. Because internal and external links may change or expire from time to time, please report any changed or broken links to the managing editor as well.