Creative writing changes see mixed reviews

This fall marks the early stages of the spring 2011 policy change in the Program in Creative Writing, with enrollment in poetry, translation and screenwriting workshops no longer requiring applications for courses at the 201 level and below. But as the add/drop window closed only recently, it is still too early to fully assess many of the effects of the removal of the application process, according to program director Susan Wheeler.

Wheeler noted, however, that she has seen a shift in introductory poetry workshops: Without applications, high demand prompted the department to double the number of sections offered this semester, she said.

“We have a wonderful, lively group of students (who come from many disciplines), some of whom have written a poem or two before and some of whom have not,” she said.

Meanwhile, students in the department suggested that the change in policy has led to some interesting classroom dynamics.

Maia ten Brink ’13, who has taken five creative writing classes, said that the greater diversity in experience that students now bring to introductory poetry classes “changes the tone of the class.”

“I have a fair number of friends in classes where a lot of people have decided to take it for a PDF-able LA requirement — so they feel that they can’t get a lot out of the class,” she said. “Some people really loved poetry and wanted to dive right in, whereas others didn’t know where to start. That’s a really strange classroom dynamic — it could work, but I don’t know.”

But ten Brink emphasized that she does not think that the removal of the application process has necessarily compromised the quality of workshops.

“Let’s face it: Everybody here is qualified to write a good piece. It’s about the time and effort you want to put into it,” she said. “I’ve heard from people about some classes where there are now a fair number of senior engineers, but they may be perfectly good writers who also need to fulfill the LA requirement.”

While students said they appreciate the high quality of the workshops, however, some said they felt that professors should make changes in their teaching methods to accommodate the diversity of students’ writing experiences.

“You should be able to try new things out in a constructive environment, with professors who are willing to help,” Dixon Li ’14 said. He explained that he spoke with a student who, having never written poetry prior to his poetry workshop, felt that the professor “hadn’t adjusted enough for the fact that there would be totally new people.”

“He felt totally at sea and was given such an open-ended assignment that he dropped the class,” he said. “That’s definitely something that the professors have to take into account now that there’s such a varied class.”

Li added, however, that he thought the change in policy may have leveled the playing field for freshmen wanting to take introductory creative writing classes. Students such as Stephanie Tam ’13 were previously unable to take these classes as freshmen because of a lack of time to put together an application.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“I sent in a late application, and they said no,” Tam said.

Ten Brink explained that, while she was initially skeptical about the removal of the application process for introductory courses, cases such as Tam’s made her rethink her position.

“A bunch of freshmen who wanted to try creative writing didn’t get to apply ... because they couldn’t build up a portfolio in six hours,” she said.

A solution to the problem, Li said, would be for the Lewis Center to send out an early notice informing incoming freshmen about the application process to the department.

While students with no previous experience can now dabble in poetry, translation and screenwriting, fiction and advanced poetry workshops are still application-based, as is the prosody workshop. Wheeler was unavailable for comment regarding this semester’s application numbers.

The removal of applications for some introductory classes may have caused anxiety in students interested in introductory fiction, Li said.

“The people who took introductory poetry last year and who should be taking advanced poetry are now taking introductory fiction because there’s speculation that applications for fiction might be removed next year,” he said. “If someone does poetry and has never done fiction and wants to find out if they’re better-geared to a creative fiction thesis, they feel that they have to get into a fiction class now, whereas advanced classes will always be application-based.”

Though introductory classes may have filled up quickly, two of the sections in this semester’s CWR 301: Advanced Creative Writing (Poetry), taught by visiting professor Mark Doty, were canceled because of poor enrollment numbers. Only four out of a possible 10 spots were filled in the remaining section. Last fall, 10 students were enrolled in the two CWR 301 workshops, while 23 students were enrolled in CWR 302 this past spring.