The Creative Writing Program, an integral part of the English department, recognizes the essential role of the literary arts in the life of our culture, and the importance of creative writing in helping our students to develop their own powers of expression, empathy and critical reading and thinking. We are committed to providing a learning experience that enhances our students' creative, literary, and professional lives; to building a community of writers, scholars, and critics; and to developing productive relationships between that creative writing community and our university, our region and our society.
The students and faculty affiliated with creative writing at Lehigh are diverse in thier interests but united in their dedication to the creative process. The program centered around a craft-based approach to creative writing, uses a combination of traditional studio workshops, lectures, seminars, and literary study to help students acquire the tools of good writing, and to allow them to develop their individual voices within the long conversation that is the literary tradition.
In addition to a curriculm featuring small classes and a diverse selection of courses, the Creative Writing Program sponsors a number of events and activities that are important for creative writing students, from readings, residencies, master classes with writers or national and international reputation, to student readings, from Amaranth, the student run literary journal of Lehigh, to the Williams Prizes in Creative Writing, an annual contest to recognize excellence in writing.
The Creative Writing Minor
Minimum number of hours: 16 (4 courses)
To have entered on the transcript Minor In Creative Writing, the student must take one 4 credit course at the 100 level, chosen from the following:
English 142 Introduction to Writing Poetry
English 143 Introduction to Writing Creative Nonfiction
English 144 Introduction to Writing Fiction
Students much take an additional 4 credit literature course at the 100 or 300 level, chosen from the following:
English 342 Advanced Poetry Writing
English 343 Advanced Creative Non-fiction Writing
English 344 Advanced Fiction Writing
Students must take at least 4 credit hours of elective courses chosen from the following:
English 170, 142, 143, 144, 201, 281, 342, 343, 344, 483
The Concentration in Creative Writing
Students are required to take the following courses:
English 305 Creative Writing Thesis Proposal
English 306 Creative Writing Thesis
Students are not required to take the literature course for the concentration