The English & Creative Writing Program offers students an opportunity to explore the world and themselves through an astonishing range of literature, from William Shakespeare to Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin to Sandra Cisneros, Emily Dickinson to Jericho Brown, Homer to Octavia Butler.
Regular and special topics courses focus on traditional and contemporary issues in both creative writing and literature. Each semester, visiting writers offer students specialty workshops in creative writing craft. And every three years, the department offers a very unique course, Living Writers, an extended study of the work of six writers who visit campus and discuss the ins and outs of writing their most recent book.
Almost all creative writing classes are small—typically no more than fifteen students. we pride ourselves on creating dynamic conversations in the classroom. All of our creative writing classes focus on reading literature to learn about craft and aesthetics. More so, all our creative writing classes create a vibrant writing community, where students read each other’s work and offer helpful commentary.
Creative writing students are immersed in the community and value study abroad. Students are encouraged to study abroad for a semester or through MILA programs, which feature creative writing courses in Italy, Ireland and in the United States.
Students also may work with or assist faculty in Allentown city schools and in the Lehigh County prison.
