Department of Creative Writing

John Estes directs the Creative Writing Program at Malone University in Canton, Ohio where he lives with his wife and sons. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Missouri, where he concentrated in poetics and environmental literature. Recent poems have appeared in Tin House, New Orleans Review, Southern Review, Iron Horse, and AGNI. His first book, Kingdom Come, was published in 2011 by C&R Press, and he is author of two chapbooks: Breakfast with Blake at the Laocoön (Finishing Line Press, 2007) and Swerve (PSA, 2009), which was selected by C.K. Williams for a National Chapbook Fellowship from the Poetry Society of America.

"There was no official creative writing major while I was a student at UE (1988-92). The addition of a fiction writer to the faculty and dedicated fiction courses allowed me to embrace the identity of being a writer in a way not possible in a multi-genre creative writing course, and it felt like the community of writers was also beginning to gain an independent sense of itself. The greatest gift I received at UE was the firm affirmation that being a writer was not only possible, but choiceworthy. Our gifts were taken seriously, and we were accorded a kind of respect and space to explore that was novel and life-giving. While the writer I've become is not the writer I envisioned myself becoming when 22, for better and worse, I credit the faculty at UE with instilling in me the confidence and courage to persevere until I became the writer I could or needed to be. I learned to be patient, and to read, and to work steadily at the art for the sake of its own completion. As Milan Kundera quotes Vladimir Holan in The Art of the Novel: "From the sketch to the work one travels on one's knees." This is the kernel of what I left UE understanding--far more important to my survival than anything else--and it saw me through many difficult years and phases as I struggled to find a means to write a poetry with which I thought I could I live, or live by."

Erica Schmidt Fehrman has edited children's books, taught English and designed PEZ Candy dispensers. Erica's work has been published online at 3for5.org and TodaysMama.com. She lives in Lexington, KY and edits Local Perspectives on TodaysMama.com and manages Evo Conference in Park City, UT.

Can you tell us how majoring in Creative Writing at UE has helped you?

At the simplest level, majoring in creative writing allowed me to clearly, succinctly and correctly engage in written communication. Emails, articles, memos, sales presentations, marketing reports, whatever. If you can't get your point across or you look like a moron due to spelling and grammar--everything else is moot.

What did you come away with?

I left UE with confidence and skillful writing and thinking tools. In addition, working as an editor on The Evansville Review gave me hands-on experience with which I could immediately transition into a full-time job. With benefits. Whoa.

What did you learn here that you don't think you could have learned any other place?

The very nature of UE's liberal arts education--especially when coupled with the international Harlaxton experience--puts its students at an advantage when they graduate and move into the working marketplace. We are well-rounded thinkers, with a strong ability to transition with our environment and its needs.

Did you have any memorable experience (in or out of the classroom) that changed you as a writer or a creative thinker?

The English professors at UE are deeply invested in their students. I didn't realize how rare this was until I left. My professors and I stay in contact with one another, and they are very encouraging of alumni endeavors. It's good to have them in your corner. I don't know alumni from any other universities who would count their professors as friends.

Independent studies were special. They really allowed deeper and more personal discussions, along with very specific writing development. Out of the classroom, my professors inadvertently taught me how to cook with fresh herbs, drink a whiskey sour and grasp the idea of grace in my life.

In addition, what could we do to make things better?

Require grant writing. Every English graduate finds himself facing grant writing at some point, I think.

Johanna Gohmann has written for Salon, Chicago Sun-Times, Bust, Babble.com, Elle, Red, The Irish Independent, The Dubliner, Parade.com, and YourTango.com. Her essays were selected for the anthologies: A Moveable Feast - Life Changing Food Encounters Around the World, The Best Sex Writing 2010, and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2010 (which recently received an Independent Publisher Book Award).

"Majoring in Writing allowed me to explore different genres and really challenge myself creatively. It helped me to hone my voice, and introduced me to some amazing contemporary writers. It also forced me to write…A LOT. And I'm now very grateful that I know how to make a deadline."

What did you come away with?

I came away with a strong sense of my own style. I also left feeling very versatile, which later helped me in a variety of writing gigs – everything from writing for a construction newsletter in Chicago to reviewing erotica for a website.

What did you learn here that you don't think you could have learned any other place?

I adored my professors at UE and felt a level of attention and support that I don't know people experience at larger universities. The professors were deeply passionate about writing, and this was infectious and inspiring. I also felt they treated all of my work (even horrific love poems) with respect, and for a fledgling writer with an oh-so-tender ego, this kind of encouragement is invaluable. I felt safe enough there to let my imagination go berserk.

Did you have any memorable experience (in or out of the classroom) that changed you as a writer or a creative thinker?

I can remember reading Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" and my socks being blown off. I can remember how it felt to see my first short story in print in The Evansville Review. I can remember sitting in Harlaxton and struggling to describe Notre Dame, which I had just visited for the first time the weekend before. I can remember having the rather surprising realization that non-fiction could be just as powerful as fiction. I can remember hearing Molly Peacock read some beautiful poems at a Coffee Hour. These experiences - and dozens of others at UE - all shaped me as a writer.

In addition, what could we do to make things better?

The only thing I would have liked would have been a separate, practical class on the different jobs/internships available to writers, what they're really like, and how to pursue them. I think as a young gal from the Midwest, I didn't quite understand how to move to the big city and get a job.*

*The Department of Creative Writing now offers Copyediting, which includes discussing submissions, resumes, job searches, and internships.

Carrie Jarrell is Assistant Professor of English at Murray State University. Her poetry collection After the Revival won the Anthony Hecht Prize and was published by Waywiser Press in 2009. She has poems in IMAGE, The Great American Poetry Show, and The Yalobusha Review.

How has majoring in Creative Writing helped you? What did you come away with?

I wasn't a Creative Writing major (my degree is in Secondary English Education), but I appreciated how flexible the department was in its accommodation of students with other majors who were still very interested in creative writing. I got to participate in the literary journals and take many of the same courses as CW majors, and I felt welcomed in all of those situations. No one made me feel like an outsider.

My experience with the creative writing classes has helped me in many ways. Most practically, it's helped me get a job! Had I not had such a quality foundation, I may not have gone on to graduate school, or done well once I was there, and I may not have landed the job I have now. In a more general sense, creative writing demands that you look at the world a little differently, with an eye to what's most lasting and memorable in the events that take place around you or in the history of a place, and that is an attribute which serves everyone well, regardless of his or her chosen major.

What did you learn at UE that you could not have learned at other places?

I grew up just 45 minutes from Evansville, in rural southern Indiana, so what I learned at UE that I couldn't have learned anywhere else is that you don't have to travel great distances to grow as a student and a person, and to widen and sharpen your perspective of the world around you. I think many high schoolers and young people feel they have to escape from their backgrounds or history or hometowns in order to experience something monumental in their lives, but it simply isn't true. Yes, it is wonderful to be able to travel and investigate new territory firsthand, but at UE, as a result of being challenged to think expansively, critically, and imaginatively, I came to appreciate my little corner of the country and the experiences that shaped me while I was there in very essential ways. Had I gone somewhere else, I would've missed that, and I think my life and my poetry would be lacking because of it.

Is there any memorable experience (inside or outside of the classroom) that changed you as a writer or as a creative thinker?

Two events come to mind as life or career-changing moments from my time at UE. The first is the poetry reading that Yusef Komunyakaa gave on campus. I was just beginning to write poetry that semester, and Komunyakaa's performance was stunning – I'd never heard anything like it. He has an immensely compelling voice, and his poems are mesmerizing, and the artistic charge I received at that reading still sticks with me. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that, during that Coffee Hour, I decided to devote my life's energy to writing poetry because I witnessed how beautiful and powerful it can be. The other "event" that deeply affected me was the semester I spend overseas studying at Harlaxton College. Touring Shakespeare's home, watching the Royal Shakespeare Company perform, hiking through the Lake District as Wordsworth had done, walking Yeats' neighborhood in Ireland – these opportunities impressed upon me how important it is to be aware of one's literary ancestors. During my time at Harlaxton, I was also exposed to other art forms that nourish creative writing: sculpture, painting, photography, music. Were it not for the financial accessibility of this particular program offered by UE, I would not have been able to afford studying abroad during my college years. I continue to be thankful for this experience and the ways in which it has made me a better writer and a better person.

Courtney Kersten's essay Let Me Ripen appeared in Thoreau's Rooster, a creative non-fiction journal from Assumption College. Courtney first wrote this piece in a Creative Non-Fiction Writing 308 class at the University of Evansville. She spent 2010-2011 in Riga, Latvia studying theater on a Fulbright.

"One of the most significant and difficult courses I took at UE was a William Faulkner course taken during my senior year. By having to understand and respond to Faulkner's work, the course challenged me to consider a perspective and history different than my own and to examine how his work was a reflection of this. A few months later, I was in Latvia and overwhelmed with culture shock. I investigated Latvia's history in order to understand the predominant cultural attitudes, just as we had done with exploring how the culture and history of the American South is represented in Faulkner Not only did this course help me engage with Latvians, but it has encouraged me to openly attempt to understand different perspectives.

"A course that greatly affected my writing and creative outlook was Creative Non-Fiction. Through studying creative non-fiction essays and by hearing my fellow students work, I began to see the creative inspiration in places I had previously considered mundane. That semester was one of infinite mental expansion; suddenly, potential stories and essays were everywhere! The course challenged me to look at my life as a work of art waiting to be recorded; the course inspired me to better engage with my surroundings and commit to my experiences.

"At UE, I was challenged to explore the meaning and impact of written material in my writing and literature courses. Rather than taking text at face-value, professors helped us to look beyond in order to examine a text's inspiration, goal and result. For me, it was exciting and still is fascinating to see how word choice, style, and structure can affect a work's impact. Beyond strengthening my own writing and editing skills, I gained insight into the power and effect of words; I feel my education has helped me to better dissect and critique the ever-changing face of not only contemporary literature, but the use of words in social networking, advertising, and speech."

Kristen (Woszczynski) Lund was the senior writer at Tucker Publishing Group in Evansville, IN. Her work has been published in Indianapolis Monthly and The Indianapolis Star's community magazines and has aired on WNIN public radio. She is currently Director of News Services at the University of Evansville.

Can you tell us how majoring in Creative Writing at UE has helped you?

Career-wise, I feel that an English degree served me better than a traditional journalism major would have. Writing for a magazine is fundamentally different than writing for a newspaper, which is different than writing for TV, radio, etc. My classes at UE taught me the skills that make good magazine writing: telling a story with a narrative arc and memorable characters. Also essential is the ability to write pieces that have both timeliness and staying power — and to make every word count, whether a story is 250 or 2,500 words long.

Did you have any memorable experience (in or out of the classroom) that changed you as a writer or a creative thinker?

Yes, namely my semesters at Harlaxton College and Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa. I have to admit that I barely wrote at all when I was abroad, except for journaling and the obligatory travel blog for friends and family back in the U.S. But once I came back and processed my experiences a bit, they worked their way into many stories and essays. I traveled as much as possible, tutored South African preteens, walked through buildings 1,000-plus years old, met refugees, talked with Northern Irish young adults about their wartime childhoods, and more. Hearing those stories and experiencing other ways of life gave my writing a broader frame of reference and (I like to think) a maturity that I may not have otherwise gained at a young age.

Corinna McClanahan, who is a graduate student in the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing at the University of Mississippi, is a John and Renee Grisham Fellow in poetry there, and serves as Poetry Editor of The Yalobusha Review, has had a number of publishing successes recently. Her poem "Maidens in the Queen's Court of Immortality," which was first published in The Tampa Review, was selected by Lynn Powell for an AWP Intro Award. Her poem "Prayer for Tundra Land was a finalist in TIFERET's Poetry Contest (judged by Marie Howe). Corinna has also published poems in The Country Dog Review, Hayden's Ferry, Measure, and Waccamaw. She has also written criticism for Hayden's Ferry, as well as a poetry review in The Collagist.

"I transferred to UE my sophomore year, already pretty sure that I wanted to enter into an MFA program after graduation, and so, while Creative Writing is a great major for a variety of people with a variety of goals, my thoughts are probably best directed at those who share the same ambition. That said, I can't speak highly enough of UE's Creative Writing program. It's one of a handful of BFA programs in the country, and it truly trains its students to enter writing careers and the writing life. For example, I graduated with three years of workshop experience, which meant that I was comfortable with workshop etiquette and discourse, felt comfortable having others respond to my work, and felt confident in my ability to judge the work of other poets, even those with different aesthetic preferences. I am the youngest member of my MFA class, and I can say without a doubt that I have the most workshop experience of any of my classmates. Pretty cool--and that, of course, would not have been the case without UE's program. As a Master's student, I've also been given the opportunity to teach undergraduate workshops, and I believe that my time at UE also helped to prepare me for this role. Having taken workshops with six faculty members during my time at UE, I had a diverse array of teaching styles from which to borrow and craft my own approach to the workshop.

"One of my most memorable experiences at UE was the Harlaxton Summer Creative Writing Program, directed by Rob Griffith. Not only did I get to spend the summer abroad, but I spent the summer abroad writing poems while exploring Europe. Thanks to Rob, the other students and I were also not only introduced to important contemporary writers like Colette Bryce and Beth Ann Fennelly, but we got to work with them. Meeting Beth Ann was an incredible connection for me to make, as she teaches at Ole Miss's MFA program, which I now attend. I have no doubt that meeting her before I applied helped me to earn my spot in one of the up-and-coming MFA programs in the country.

"There are countless other opportunities at UE for which I am thankful, but here I would also mention my editorial experience with The Evansville Review. I worked my way up through the ranks as a general reader and then as Poetry Editor and finally at Editor-in-chief. My work with this journal taught me a great deal about the literary magazine world--from general submissions and solicitations to copy-editing and working with a publisher--and it also indirectly taught me how to submit to journals responsibly and how to respect editors, who work hard and very often receive little recognition."

Andrew Reinhard is Publications Director for the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in Princeton, New Jersey. Reinhard was previously the Director of eLearning for Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers where he created software, websites, and eBooks for students of Latin and Greek.

"Majoring in creative writing fed my right brain while the science of archaeology was actively engaging my left hemisphere. At the same time, the rigors and importance of rewriting and of workshopping gave me a lot of tough love, showing me how much work it takes to even approach "good". It also showed me that while writing is in of its nature solitary, the support of colleagues was always there as we jointly pursued the art of the story and the craft of the poem. I felt that my professors cared about my progress as a writer, and they were the best coaches I could have hoped for. Mike Carson introduced me to the hard work of making just one honest poem. Bill Baer showed me what it was to plan and write a screenplay and the effort that goes in to creating an economy of exposition and dialog. Not only that, but he was the first person to really show me any kind of poetry that follows the rules of form, and that it is a delight to make something that fits within the meter. Margaret McMullan helped me improve my short fiction and allowed me to explore more fantastical themes. It's interesting that the stories I write today are firmly rooted in reality and attempt some emotional resonance. My poetry focuses on the image (thanks to Carson). My long fiction strives to create memorable characters in the middle of conflict that changes them. These are all simple truths of writing well, but I would have had no idea about any of it had it not been for my time spent at UE. I write for myself. Maybe one day I'll try to publish. But for now it's for fun because I love it. UE is to thank for instilling in me the love of writing and trying to write well.

"As for things that changed me as a writer and as a creative thinker, editing Pendulum and On Time. put me in the role of editor-in-chief for the first time, where I was in the position to evaluate a lot of writing of varying quality. I learned the difference between serious writing and writing by hobbyists. I also learned how to manage a staff. Here I am, a publisher, doing exactly the same thing as a profession!

"I remain friends with many of my English Department colleagues, namely Mindy Snyder, Bill Notter, and Michael Cowgill. I still send them things for feedback. I also recall my interaction with visiting writers Phillip Lopate and Dave Smith. Lopate was right in his assessment of me as an individual and began my transition away from being an egomaniac. Dave Smith helped my poetry my locking in on my voice and making it consistently strong throughout my writing. Meeting Phillip Levine was a revelation. And hearing Rita Dove in person on campus made me write lyrical poetry for the first time. The fact that UE could being in such talent is a testament to the Department and its staff. I hope that hasn't changed.

"As for how to make things better, I would have greatly benefited from learning more about how to shop a novel, a story, a poem. Baer gave us some of the tools. I think we should have all sent out query letters and manuscripts as part of a 400-level seminar just to do it, to get the experience and to get help from people who have been published in major markets. Even though I'm in publishing, I wish I knew more about how to get an agent, how to find a publisher. Reading Writers' Market isn't enough. It takes luck and skill in getting out there, and I bet a lot of us are still treading water wondering what to do next.

"I think that's it for now. I miss my time at UE and know for a fact that I would not be what I am now without the skills and experience gained while in the department."

Jane Springer's first book, Dear Blackbird, won the Agha Shaid Ali prize (University of Utah Press, 2007). Her second book, Murder Ballad, just won the Beatrice Hawley Award and is forthcoming from Alice James Books in May 2012. Her other awards include the Robert Penn Warren Prize for Poetry, an NEA grant, and a Whiting Award. She currently teaches poetry at Hamilton College, in upstate, New York, where she lives with her husband, John Powell, their son, Morrison, and their two dogs, Walter-Woofus and Georgia.

Can you tell us how majoring in Creative Writing at UE has helped you?

The major gave me a broad knowledge-base in writing and literature that more than prepared me for graduate school. In short, it allowed me to pursue my dream of becoming a poet and professor.

What did you come away with?

I formed friendships with peers and professors there that lasted long after graduation and utterly debunked the myth that writing is a "solitary" practice.

What did you learn here that you don't think you could have learned any other place?

UE professors encouraged me to address questions that concern us all in writing as well as to craft poems with an eye towards their long-lastingness. A spiritual approach I've much appreciated since leaving—as I understand that the goal of writing is not so much to publish works by the pound, but to engage thoughtfully (and playfully) in the process writing of them.

Did you have any memorable experience (in or out of the classroom) that changed you as a writer or a creative thinker?

Yes. Too many to list. Here's one: Dr. Carson read poems with a sonorous voice that unearthed their music while conveying meaning. I learned, from him, that more than half the work of teaching poetry is accomplished by loving it. He read our student poems with the same care as he read Milton, so we could not help but take our own work seriously.

Here's another: Dr. Baer taught me there was "freedom in form" and assigned formal poem exercises that seemed restrictive if not impossible to complete at the time. I'm a free verse poet, now, but when I "get stuck" I write in form and it always helps me find solutions to the various problems I am having—who knew? (He did.)

I could go on for days listing concrete examples from each professor I took a class from—and those examples would not be limited to the classes I took in creative writing. Core curriculum classes I took in psychology, anthropology, theater, literature, art history, ceramics, etc. all informed my writing/teaching in interesting ways.

The artists in residence program: I met/worked with Galway Kinnell, William Stafford, Nancy Willard, Bruce Weigel, and many other terrific writers while there—time spent with them was no less valuable than time spent with the writers on the faculty.

Reading: Student writers read more than we wrote at UE. Tolstoy, Austen, Garcia-Marquez, Fielding, Dickinson, Mishima, Dillard, O'Connor—what would I write if I did not have their sentences rolling around in my skull?

Open Doors: I had no idea how valuable the time of my professors was. Each hour they spent with me in an office was an hour of research or writing sacrificed for my learning. I understand that now—and am so thankful for their generosity. None of that time spent was wasted.

Stef Tarner is an Online Project Manager at Oxford University Press. In 2007, after years in marketing at Penguin Books and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, she found herself at the most prestigious academic publishing house in the world. She lives in New York City.

"I loved being an English major at UE, but I didn't just learn how to be a better writer or how to interpret great literary works--I discovered who I was: how to think creatively, constructively, and carry myself confidently. Unlike larger campuses, I wasn't just a social-security number at UE, I didn't get lost in the intimate class size; I had a name and I was a bright and fantastic young woman. And I owe that personal growth, those invaluable lessons--never mind the sharing of ideas, love of literature and endless conversations and supportive mentorship that occurred outside of the classroom over hot cups of tea--to the professors that helped me become successful: Michael Carson (retired), Don Richardson (retired), and Margaret McMullan. Even years later I still correspond with and think of them often, grateful for the imprint on my life: they took a shy and insecure young writer from a small town in northern Indiana and molded her into someone brave... someone not afraid to be who she was meant to be."

Benjamin Vogt has a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an M.F.A. from The Ohio State University. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, while poems and creative nonfiction have recently appeared in American Life in Poetry, Crab Orchard Review, Diagram, Hayden's Ferry Review, ISLE, Sou'wester, and Subtropics. Benjamin has two poetry chapbooks, Indelible Marks (Pudding House) and Without Such Absence (Finishing Line Press). He's currently a lecturer at the Universtiy of Nebraska-Lincoln.

I still remember sitting in on a 300 level poetry workshop my freshman year with Mike Carson. I was an ambitious little twirp, and Mike asked me if I thought I might be in the class too soon. I'm sure I was. But he let me stay in, and that helped me stretch myself and get rid of some bad tendencies I had already developed at age 19. I don't know if he shrugged his shoulders or took a leap of faith with me, but I'm thankful I was allowed to be in over my head.

Going to Harlaxton blew me wide open as a person. The emotional ride that experience provided--the person that time unleashed--helped me have faith in my own abilities as a writer. I knew that if I put myself into something so terrifying, as fully as I could, I'd get that effort reflected back. That meant traveling, making friends with strangers, learning to drink beer, etc. A writer has to be bold, fearless, confident even if they aren't. Failure is part of the process, and it can be a good part of it. I have regrets like anyone, but for writers you can't have any, especially in that first draft. Just keep writing. Go go go.

My time as an editor on The Evansville Review and Senior Literary Journal was wonderful, too. Loved the late nights battling for slush manuscripts, doped up on coffee and pop. Again, these things wouldn't have been possible without supportive teachers who allowed me to mess up, fail, trip, and who also didn't give up on me. I think everyone exhibited these qualities as teachers.

I was THRILLED when a big name writer came in. I know that costs money, but it is so very helpful to hear from published authors, to talk to them especially in class or a smaller setting when you're young and moderately impressionable. That helped me think more professionally about writing.