1. art and entertainment
2. books and literature
3. poetry

MFA Student Manual
2012 - 2013
Note: This manual is for the residency program only. The low-residency program has a
separate manual.
Table of Contents
Contact information for MFA Faculty and Staff ................................................................... 1
Curriculum ............................................................................................................................. 2
Course Descriptions……………………………………………………………………….. 5
Email ......................................................................................................................................14
Field Seminars .......................................................................................................................15
Forms .....................................................................................................................................21
Honor Code ............................................................................................................................28
Lindsay House .......................................................................................................................29
MFA Graduate Student Association ......................................................................................31
Reading Series .......................................................................................................................35
Thesis Manual ........................................................................................................................36
Website ..................................................................................................................................46
A Note about Grading ............................................................................................................47
Book Lists ..............................................................................................................................48
Contact Information for MFA Faculty and Staff
Name
Alexander, Sally
Auxier, Jonathan
Ayres, Kathy
Writing
Specialty
Writing for
Children
Writing for
Children
Writing for
Children
Email Address
[email protected]
Work
Phone
Cell
Phone
Home
Phone
412-421-6354
412-760-7795
412-421-6364
[email protected]
[email protected]
412-365-1322
[email protected]
412-365-1185
Cregan, Mara
Literature
Poetry and
Nonfiction
Teaching
Creative Writing
[email protected]
412-338-6120
Flick, Sherrie
Fiction
[email protected]
412-488-1751
Fox, Melanie
Nonfiction
[email protected]
Gift, Nancy
[email protected]
Hockley, Libba
Environmental
Program
Assistant
Jakiela, Lori
Nonfiction
[email protected]
Katz, Joy
Poetry
American
Literature
Poetry and
Nonfiction
Nonfiction and
Journalism
Fiction and
Nonfiction
[email protected]
[email protected]
412-365-1263
[email protected]
412-365-1264
412-965-4465
St. German, Sheryl
Poetry
Nonfiction &
Poetry
[email protected]
412-365-1190
412-759-7286
Sterner, Sandy
Poetry
[email protected]
412-365-1198
Stevens, Robert
Fiction
[email protected]
Tanski, Caroline
Publishing
African
American
Literature
[email protected]
Bruckner, Lynne
Coppoc, Jim
Lenz, William
McNaugher,
Heather
Mendelson, Abby
Nieson, Marc
Oresick, Peter
Wardi, Anissa
MFA Student Manual
412-404-8921
[email protected]
[email protected]
412-421-7088
412-320-1621
412-365-1685
917-886-6489
[email protected]
412-365-1186
[email protected]
412-365-1210
412-362-6738
[email protected]
[email protected]
412-521-6498
412-441-3273
412-362-2772
412-521-6650
412-365-1696
Page 1
Curriculum
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is a broad program of study (39 credit hours)
designed to prepare students for careers as writers or other positions requiring similar
professional skills, such as editing, publishing, and teaching; to enable students to improve their
writing in more than one genre through interaction with our faculty and other writing students;
and to become experienced critics of literary works. Our focus on nature, environmental and
travel writing provides students unique opportunities to explore the world and travel as part of
their degree programs.
Most full-time students will be able to complete the program in two years. All students must
complete the program within five years of entrance into the program.
Program of Study
Complete 39 credits hours of graduate coursework beyond the BA or BS. Students who have not
completed an undergraduate major in writing, or in English with a writing focus, may be
required to take a basic core of 3 courses before registering for the advanced curriculum.
Requirements:
 One craft course in your primary genre (3 credits):
ENG581 The Craft of Fiction (3)
ENG582 The Craft of Nonfiction (3)
ENG583 The Craft of Poetry (3)
ENG586 The Craft of Writing for Children (3)
Primary genre craft course must be taken during the fall of student’s first year. Craft
courses are prerequisites for all workshops of any genre.

One readings course in student’s primary genre (3) chosen from the following:
ENG531 Readings in Poetry
ENG532 Readings in Fiction
ENG533 Readings in Creative Nonfiction
 Two advanced writing workshops (6 credits) in your primary genre chosen from the
following:
ENG535 Writing Poetry: Form Workshop (3)
ENG537 Writing Poetry: Literary Movements Workshop (3)
ENG544 Writing Creative Nonfiction: The Lyric and Formally Adventurous Essay (3)
ENG 545 Writing Creative Nonfiction: Literary Journalism (3)
ENG 548 Writing Creative Nonfiction (3)
ENG 550 Writing Fiction: the Novel (3)
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ENG 551 Writing Fiction: the Short Story (3)
ENG 553 Writing Poetry (3)
ENG 554 Writing Fiction (3)
ENG 556 Writing for Children (3)
ENG 557 Writing Fiction: Story Collections/Novel-in-Stories (3)
ENG 559 Writing for Children: Biography and Autobiography (3)
ENG 560 Writing for Children: Mystery and Suspense (3)
ENG 561 Writing for Children: Picture Book (3)
ENG 565 Writing for Children: History (3)
ENG 589 Multi-Genre Workshop (3)
 One of Nature Writing OR Travel Writing (3 credits):
ENG 584 Nature Writing (3)
ENG 585 Travel Writing (3)
 Four content courses (12 credits), at least 2 of which must be literature-based courses.
Sample courses include:
ENG 519 Frontier Women (3)
ENG 522 American Exploration (3)
ENG 527 Ethnicity and Place (3)
ENG 546 Wildness and Literature (3)
ENG 552 Ecofeminist Literature (3)
ENG 562 Children’s Literature (3)
 One ENG 710 Summer Community of Writers (6)
 One Thesis Seminar corresponding to the student’s primary genre (3). Choose from:
ENG 605 Fiction; ENG 606 Creative Nonfiction; ENG 607 Poetry; ENG 608 Children’s
Writing
The Thesis Seminar is a prerequisite for Final Manuscript (698)
 One ENG 698 Final Manuscript (3)
Dual Concentration Requirements
By taking a craft course and two writing workshops in their secondary genre, students may attain
their MFA with a Dual Concentration. Thus, students choosing this option will take one craft
course, one reading course and six credits in workshops for their primary genre and one craft
course plus six credits of workshops for the secondary genre. The Thesis Project for Dual
Concentration may be composed of work in either genre or a combination of both.
MFA Student Manual
Page 3
Concentration in the Teaching of Writing
Students who wish to earn a Concentration in the Teaching of Writing take an additional nine
credits specifically in courses designed to study the pedagogy of writing. Students earning this
concentration take related course work throughout the degree program aimed at increasing their
knowledge and understanding of current theoretical and practical approaches to the teaching of
creative writing. During the final semester, students teach in a field placement that they design
and implement in a working classroom or other approved setting.
3 required courses:
ENG 514 Readings in the Pedagogy of Creative Writing (3)
ENG 515 Teaching Creative Writing (3)
ENG 678 Field Placement (3)
Concentration in Literary Publishing
Students who wish to concentrate in literary publishing may take nine hours of related courses to
do so, chosen from the courses below:
ENG 595 Independent Literary Publishing
ENG 569 Practicum: Fourth River 1 and 2
ENG 694 Internship (with a nationally recognized press or journal)
Concentration in Travel Writing
Students who wish to concentrate in Travel Writing must take nine hours of related courses to do
so, chosen from the courses below.
ENG 585 Travel Writing (3)
ENG 674 International Field Seminar (3) (may be repeated once)
ENG 675 National Field Seminar (3) (may be repeated once)
ENG 676 Pittsburgh Field Seminar(3) OR
ENG 693 Independent study in travel writing (3)
Concentration in Nature Writing
Students who wish to concentrate in Nature Writing must take nine hours of related courses to do
so, chosen from the courses below.
ENG 552 Ecofeminist Literature
ENG 555 Shakespeare Ecocriticism
ENG 584 Nature Writing
ENG 546 Wildness and Literature
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Course Descriptions
ENG513 Writing About Food (3)
This course focuses on developing specific techniques and skills for nonfiction writing about
food, agriculture, and culture by analyzing texts in history, journalism, cookbooks, ethics,
memoir, advertising, and policy. Students will produce work in a variety of multimodal venues,
with an emphasis on both print and online venues. This course counts as a literature course for
the MFA program.
ENG514 Readings in the Pedagogy of Creative Writing (3)
This course is a prerequisite for ENG515 and focuses on theoretical and pedagogical readings
related to the teaching of creative writing.
ENG515 Teaching Creative Writing (3)
Students explore the genres of poetry, fiction, drama, and nonfiction from the perspective of a
teacher, producing lesson plans, as well as developing a final curricular creative writing unit.
Aspects of lesson design, classroom environment/
management, the writing process, writing workshops, assessment, publication, and performance
will be emphasized. Prerequisite(s): ENG514.
ENG518 The American Nature Tradition (3)
This course explores the vital relationship between American literature, American culture,
Nature, and environmental values, asking how changing literary interpretations of the land have
influenced attitudes toward nonhuman nature.
ENG519 Frontier Women (3)
A number of narratives, novels, diaries, and poems recording the responses of women to the
American frontier have become available in recent years. By reading about these experiences,
and examining differences in perception and conception based apparently on gender, students
will better understand how the frontier functioned within American culture.
ENG522 American Exploration (3)
This course focuses on American fiction that records physical as well as metaphysical journeys;
writers’ exploration of new territories such as the frontier West, Polynesian Isles, and South
Pole; and their imaginative discovery of new truths about nature, society, and self. Includes
works by Poe, Cooper, Melville, Simms, Kirkland, and Chopin.
ENG523 The Craft of Creative Writing: Multi-genre (3)
A multi-genre craft course that includes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, children’s writing
and hybrid genres. This course fulfills the craft requirement for all genres.
ENG525 Bleak Houses: English Novels in Shifting Landscapes (3)
This course surveys the English novel from 1853 to 2001. Of particular interest will be how
these novels depict their subjects’ relationships with notions of Englishness, and with the
radically changing landscape from estate-culture to an urban-industrialized and, ultimately,
suburban one. Each novel will explore a new sense of Englishness rooted in the social-political
and economic events of the era.
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ENG526 Writing About Environmental Science (3)
In this course, students will read, discuss, and practice a variety of methods of communicating
about environmental science, from popular culture to news to government reports. By the end,
students should be able to competently translate scientific results into conversational English,
and should be able to evaluate scientific results from the news in terms of their accuracy and
clarity.
ENG527 Ethnicity and Place (3)
This course focuses on the connection between place and cultural identity. Ethnic, regional, and
linguistic markers help define writers’ distinctive voices. Dislocation from the place of
origination can also result in a creative tension. Students will read a variety of texts that explore
the borderlands between ethnicity and place.
ENG530 Mark Twain and American Humor (3)
A study of selected works of Twain within the context of American literature and the traditional
American humor.
ENG531 Readings in Poetry (3)
This course is a graduate seminar focusing on the close reading of poetry drawn primarily from
the modern and contemporary periods. Designed to complement the poetry workshop, this course
is required of all MFA students specializing in poetry.
ENG532 Readings in Fiction (3)
This course is a graduate seminar focusing on the close reading of fiction drawn primarily from
the modern and contemporary periods. Designed to complement the fiction workshop, this
course is required of all MFA students specializing in fiction.
ENG533 Readings in Creative Nonfiction (3)
This course is a graduate seminar focusing on the close reading of creative nonfiction drawn
primarily from the modern and contemporary periods. Designed to complement the creative
nonfiction workshop, this course is required of all MFA students specializing in creative
nonfiction.
ENG535 Writing Poetry: Form Workshop (3)
A poetry writing workshop focusing on diverse poetic forms. Prerequisite: ENG583.
ENG537 Writing Poetry: Literary Movements Workshop (3)
A poetry workshop focusing on readings from a particular poetic movement, and writing poetry
that models or responds to that movement. Prerequisite: ENG583.
ENG539 Writing Creative Nonfiction: Memoir (3)
A creative nonfiction workshop focusing on personal narrative and memoir. Prerequisite:
ENG582.
ENG544 Writing Creative Nonfiction: The Lyric and Formally Adventurous Essay (3)
A Creative nonfiction workshop focused on lyric and experimental essay forms. Prerequisite:
ENG582.
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ENG545 Writing Creative Nonfiction: Literary Journalism (3)
A creative nonfiction workshop focusing on literary journalism. Prerequisite: ENG582.
ENG546 Wildness and Literature (3)
Students read poetry, nonfiction and fiction that explore the relationship between wildness and
humans as well as the relationship between wildness and culture. This seminar will trace the idea
of wildness in American literature through the twenty-first century.
ENG548 Writing Creative Nonfiction (3)
This course is designed to teach the techniques and practice of creative nonfiction through
participation in a process of peer review and commentary, reading and discussions of selections
of other writers and stories, and regular submissions of original creative compositions. The
course is taught in a workshop format. Prerequisite: ENG582.
ENG549 Exiles (3)
This course examines the 20th-century condition of exile in relation to its different
configurations, from European émigrés to postcolonial subjects to experiences of exile in the
United States, to the relation of exile to Diaspora (African, Indian, and Jewish).
ENG550 Writing Fiction: The Novel (3)
A fiction writing workshop focusing exclusively on the novel. Prerequisite ENG581.
ENG551 Writing Fiction: The Short Story (3)
A fiction writing workshop focusing exclusively on the short story. Prerequisite ENG581.
ENG552 Ecofeminist Literature (3)
This course brings together theoretical and creative approaches to the study of women and the
environment. Students will examine how diverse eco-feminist writers problematize and reclaim
the woman/nature paradigm. This course focuses particularly on how representations of women
and can help students rethink and re-imagine their relationships to the Earth.
ENG553 Writing Poetry (3)
This course is designed to teach the techniques and practice of poetry writing through
participation in a process of peer review and commentary, reading and discussions of selections
of other poets and poems, and regular submissions of original creative compositions. The course
is taught in a workshop format. Prerequisite: ENG583.
ENG554 Writing Fiction (3)
This course is designed to teach the techniques and practice of fiction writing through
participation in a process of peer review and commentary, reading and discussions of selections
of other writers and stories, and regular submissions of original creative compositions. The
course is taught in a workshop format. Prerequisite: ENG581.
ENG555: Shakespeare: Ecocriticism
(3) Students in this course study Shakespeare's sonnets and plays from a "green" perspective.
This course looks at how Shakespeare's works engage deforestation, enclosure, the (ab)use of
animals, stewardship, cultivation and the exploitation of natural resources.
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ENG556 Writing for Children (3)
This course is designed to teach the techniques and practice of writing poetry and prose for
children and adolescents through participation in a process of peer review and commentary,
reading and discussions of selections of other writers and their work, and regular submissions of
original creative compositions. The course is taught in a workshop format. Prerequisite:
ENG586.
ENG557 Writing Fiction: Story Collections/Novel-in-Stories (3)
A fiction workshop focusing on writing story collections or a novel in story. Prerequisite
ENG581.
ENG558 Contemporary Writers and the Art of Reading (3)
This course will explore the ways creative writers read literature. Students will read both critical
and creative work, examining a given writer’s creative interests, theories, and practices.
Emphasis will be on 20th-century writers from around the world.
ENG559 Writing for Children: Biography and Autobiography (3)
Focused on developing personal histories into stories that entertain, inform, and inspire, students
will write autobiographies and biographies for young audiences using solid research techniques
and storytelling skills. Prerequisite: ENG586.
ENG560 Writing for Children: Mystery and Suspense (3)
This writing workshop requires students to compose and revise via in-class critiques. Students
develop writing skills essential to suspenseful narrative, including the creation character, setting,
atmosphere, critical details, and plot. Readings include high-quality mystery books and stories
for young readers. Prerequisite: ENG586.
ENG561 Writing for Children: Picture Book (3) This course explores the pairing of words and
images in creating literature for the young child. Students write and revise for children from
infancy through the early elementary grades, aiming for lively, lyrical, spare texts that address a
young child's growth, development, concerns, and abilities. Prerequisite: ENG586.
ENG562 Children‘s Literature (3) Designed to complement Writing for Children and
Adolescents, this course surveys the best of children‘s fiction and nonfiction and encourages the
student to examine issues of plot, story development, character, setting, and creative use of
language.
ENG565 Writing for Children: History (3)
This course examines non-fiction and fiction writing for children based on history. Students
examine the use of historical settings and events in high-quality books for young readers. As they
prepare their own manuscripts, students develop active research strategies, which include the
investigation, annotation, and development of primary and secondary sources. Prerequisite: ENG
586.
ENG566 Young Adult Literature (3)
Designed to complement Writing for Children and Adolescents, this course surveys the best of
children’s fiction and nonfiction and encourages the student to examine issues of plot, story
development, character, setting, and creative use of language focusing on young adult literature.
MFA Student Manual
Page 8
ENG568 Practicum: Fourth River 1 (3)
This course is a practicum in which graduate students publish the print edition of Chatham's
national literary journal, The Fourth River. All phases of the publishing process are addressed,
with a special emphasis on editorial acquisitions and copy editing.
ENG569 Practicum: Fourth River 2 (3)
This course is a practicum in which graduate students publish the print edition of Chatham's
national literary journal, The Fourth River. All phases of the publishing process are addressed,
with a special emphasis on design, production, proofreading, marketing, and distribution.
ENG580 August Wilson and Pittsburgh (3)
This course explores the dramatic work of August Wilson, paying particular attention to
Wilson’s ten-play cycle. We will perform close readings of the plays, examining themes such as
urban migration, the blues and Black Nationalism, while simultaneously using Wilson’s drama
as a lens for reading the history of Pittsburgh.
ENG581 The Craft of Fiction (3)
This is a required course for MFA students specializing in fiction. Students will experiment with
creating scene, sense of place, summary, dialogue, framing, flashbacks, and transitions. Students
will be introduced to the workshop method and given instruction on sending work out for
publication.
ENG582 The Craft of Creative Nonfiction (3)
This is a required course for MFA students specializing in creative nonfiction. Readings and
writing will include scene construction, sense of place, point of view, character and narrator
development. Students will be introduced to the workshop method and given instruction on
sending work out for publication.
ENG583 The Craft of Poetry (3) This is a required course for MFA students specializing in
poetry. Reading and writing will center on the craft of poetry, including music and rhythmic
devices in traditional and experimental forms. Students will be introduced to the workshop
method and given instruction on sending work out for publication.
ENG584 Nature Writing (3) This is a multi-genre course that focuses on the art and craft of
nature and environmental writing. Students will read and study contemporary nature and
environmental writing, and will be expected to generate creative work that illustrates a deep
understanding of the literary tools available to writers in this genre.
ENG585 Travel Writing (3)
This course focuses on the art and craft of travel writing. Students will read and study
contemporary travel writing, and will be expected to generate creative work that illustrates a
deep understanding of the literary tools available to writers in this genre.
ENG586 The Craft of Writing for Children (3)
This course, required for all MFA students specializing in writing for children, examines the
basic principles that guide writers for children and adolescents, beginning with concept and
picture books and extending into full-length works of fiction and nonfiction. Students will
explore multiple genres and audiences in this writing-intensive course.
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Page 9
ENG589 Creative Writing: Multi-Genre (3)
A multi-genre craft course that includes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, children’s writing
and hybrid genres. This course fulfills the workshop requirement for all genres. Prerequisite:
ENG589 or craft workshop in any genre.
ENG595 Independent Literary Publishing (3)
This course gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience as publishers. Students
will research independent literary presses or magazines of their own choosing, and then they will
publish a literary chapbook by an author other than themselves.
Thesis Seminars:
ENG 605 Fiction Thesis Seminar
ENG 606 Creative Nonfiction Thesis Seminar
ENG 607 Poetry Thesis Seminar
ENG 608 Children’s Writing Thesis Seminar
These seminars are workshops focusing on generating a thesis proposal, bibliography and
significant creative work towards completion of the student's thesis. Readings will focus on
creating and articulating a creative process and vision, as well as models for longer creative
projects. Normally taken the first semester of the student's second year, this course is a
prerequisite for ENG698 Final Manuscript.
ENG674 Field Seminar: International (3)
The field seminar is a traveling creative writing workshop designed to push students outside the
realm of comfort and make them question their assumptions about themselves and their culture.
Travel locations and specific topics will vary, but will always be outside the United States. An
additional fee applies to this course. May be repeated for credit.
ENG675 Field Seminar: National (3).
Same as ENG674 but destinations will be within the United States. An additional fee applies to
this course. May be repeated for credit.
ENG676 The Pittsburgh Field Seminar (3)
Same as ENG674 but destinations will be within Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. An
additional fee applies to this course.
ENG678 Field Placement (3)
During this course, taken in one of the final semesters of the M.F.A., students teach/study in a
supervised field placement and practice the pedagogy of creative writing in a working classroom.
Prerequisite(s): ENG514 and ENG515.
ENG683 Special Topics (3) Literature courses on differing topics, usually thematically based.
ENG691 Independent Study (1) ENG 692 Independent Study (2) ENG693 Independent Study (3)
Independent study on topics of the student’s choosing.
MFA Student Manual
Page 10
ENG694 Internship (3)
Internship with a publishing company, literary press or other writing organization. Must be
approved by the director.
ENG698 Final Manuscript (3)
Independent work on the final creative thesis and critical introduction.
ENG710 Summer Community of Writers (6)
The ten-day intensive residency in Pittsburgh is required of all MFA students. The residency is
composed of genre-specific craft sessions, workshops, lectures, readings and one-on-one
conferences with mentors.
MFA Student Manual
Page 11
MFA Program of Study Checklist
1. One Craft Course in your primary genre (must be taken first semester; you cannot register
for a workshop until you have completed the craft course). The following craft courses are
only offered in the fall. (3 credits)
Choose from:
581
582
583
586
The Craft of Fiction
The Craft of Nonfiction
The Craft of Poetry
The Craft of Writing for Children
Semester/year taken
_____
_____
_____
_____
2. One Readings Course in your primary genre. (3 credits)
Choose from:
Semester/year taken
531 Readings in Poetry
532 Readings in Fiction
533 Readings in Creative NF
_____
_____
_____
3. Two Advanced Writing Workshops in your primary genre. Generally these will be taken
once per semester after you finish the craft course. Workshops are offered every semester.
(6 credits)
Choose from:
Semester/year taken
535 Writing Poetry: Form Workshop
_____
537 Writing Poetry: Literary
Movements Workshop
_____
539 Writing Creative Nonfiction: Memoir _____
544 Writing Creative Nonfiction: the Lyric
and Formally Adventurous
_____
545 Writing Creative Nonfiction: Literary
Journalism
_____
548 Writing Creative Nonfiction
_____
550 Writing Fiction: the Novel
_____
551 Writing Fiction: the Short Story
_____
553 Writing Poetry
_____
554 Writing Fiction
_____
556 Writing for Children
_____
557 Writing Fiction: Story Collections/
Novel-in-Stories
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
589 Multi-Genre Creative Writing (may substitute for a craft or workshop) _____
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Page 12
4. One of Travel Writing OR Nature Writing. Offered alternating years. (3 credits)
584 Nature Writing
585 Travel Writing
Semester/year taken
_____
_____
5. Four Content Courses. Usually you will take one each semester. Any MFA course that is
NOT a workshop, craft course or field seminar counts as a content course. See catalogue for
sample content courses. Note: at least two of these courses must be literature courses.
Publishing and Pedagogy courses do not count as literature courses. (12 credits)
Name and Number of Course Taken
Semester/year taken
_________________________
_________
_________________________
_________
_________________________
_________
_________________________
_________
6. Summer Community of Writers. Taken on campus over a period of 10 days. (6 credits)
710 Summer Community of Writers
Semester/year taken
_________
7. Thesis Credits. You will register for thesis seminar in your penultimate semester, and final
manuscript in your last semester. You have your thesis committee formed before registering for
thesis hours. You must register for thesis courses with an Add/Drop Form, available on the
Intranet or at the HUB. You must have the form signed by the Program Director. I will
sign the form after you provide evidence that you have your thesis committee together. It
is recommended that you avoid taking thesis credits in the summer.
Thesis Seminar in your genre (3):
Semester/year taken
605
606
607
608
______
______
______
______
Fiction
Creative Nonfiction
Poetry
Children’s Writing
698 Final Manuscript (3)
______
TOTAL CREDITS:
______
Total credits: You need 39 credits to graduate.
Each course in the MFA program is worth 3 credits.
MFA Student Manual
Page 13
E-Mail
All students are required to check their Chatham e-mail account on a daily basis, as instructors
may communicate assignments, announcements, schedules, etc., via e-mail correspondence.
Other, personal e-mail accounts are not permitted to be used for class purposes. It is the
responsibility of each individual student to check his or her e-mail daily, as well as three
days prior to the beginning of each term and at least 24 hours before returning to campus
following a university scheduled break.
An e-mail account will be set-up for each student by the Information Technology (IT) staff at
Chatham University, and all questions regarding technical assistance and support should be
directed to the IT staff. The IT staff are located in Woodland Hall, and may be contacted via
phone at (412) 365-1112, or via e-mail at [email protected].
MFA Student Manual
Page 14
Field Seminars
Register for field seminars when you register for the spring semester.
For the year 2012 - 2013 all international field seminars will have an additional fee
TBA. In 2012 - 2013, the fee was $1,200.
Fees for national/local field seminars will vary.
MFA Student Manual
Page 15
CHATHAM UNIVERSITY
Contract for Chatham MFA Field Seminar Courses
I.
Participation Conditions – Students must submit the signature page of this contract by
12/15/2012--otherwise your candidacy for the Field Seminar is forfeited.
A.
Academic Responsibilities:
The undersigned agrees to the following policies and procedures relative to academic
matters:
1. Attendance: Students must attend all regularly scheduled classes and course
meetings, both on the Chatham University campus and in the foreign country
destinations. If students fail to attend any required classes or course meetings, the
student may be dismissed from the field seminar, without refund.
B.
Financial Responsibilities:
The undersigned agrees to the following policies and procedures relative to financial
matters:
C.
1.
Administrative Costs: All students participating in field seminars are responsible
for all fees related to the trip as specified in the course description. A $1000
deposit will be required of each student.
2.
Additional Costs: While the University subsidizes a large portion of this program
(including airfare, lodging, local transportation, and some meals), portions not
covered by the University shall be the responsibility of each participant – these
items will be explained by your faculty. Passport, visa fees, and costs of
immunizations (if required) are not covered by the University.
3.
Spending Money: Students are responsible for their own spending money and for
costs of personal incidentals on the Chatham Abroad course.
4.
Refunds: Students have until January 15, 2013 to withdrawal from field seminars
that take place in May, and until April 1, 2013 to withdraw from field seminars
that take place in July. After this date, any amounts pre-paid by the student will
become non-refundable. This refund policy is required as Chatham University
expends monies on behalf of student participants in order to secure travel
arrangements well in advance of the trip.
Medical Responsibilities: The undersigned acknowledges that there are certain risks
inherent to international travel and that Chatham University cannot assume responsibility
for the provision of medical services to its students or the payment of medical costs that
might be incurred by students.
MFA Student Manual
Page 16
Contract for Chatham MFA Field Seminar Courses (cont.)
1.
Consultation with Medical Doctors: The undersigned is expected to consult with
a medical doctor prior to participating in the course as he/she deems necessary
regarding all individual medical issues or needs. Further, the undersigned is
aware that Chatham University cannot be responsible for attending to the medical
needs of the undersigned.
2.
Hospitalization:
The undersigned acknowledges that should he/she be
hospitalized in a foreign country during the course, Chatham University cannot
assume responsibility for the payment of such costs. The undersigned agrees to
assume all risk and responsibility for any such costs. The undersigned agrees to
obtain adequate insurance to meet all needs for payment of medical or
hospitalization costs during the Chatham Field Seminar course.
D.
Consent to Emergency Medical Treatment: The undersigned acknowledges that, on rare
occasions, an emergency may develop which necessitates the administration of medical
treatment, hospitalization or surgery. In the event of injury or illness to myself that
necessitates emergency medical care, I hereby authorize Chatham University and/or its
authorized representatives or agents to secure any necessary treatment deemed
appropriate, including the administration of anesthetics and surgery. Chatham University
shall not assume responsibility for student medical expenses. I agree to reimburse
Chatham University for all expenses incurred on my behalf.
E.
Health Insurance: The undersigned understands that all Chatham Field Seminar
participants are required to maintain sufficient health, accident, disability, and
hospitalization insurance while participating in this program. Chatham University shall
not assume responsibility for student medical expenses.
F.
Release from Liability: In consideration for being permitted to participate in a Chatham
Field Seminar course, the undersigned agrees that Chatham University, its officers,
directors, employees, governing board members, agents, representatives or related
entities shall not be liable for any claims, demands or causes of action based on or arising
out of any illness or injury (including death), property loss or damage, deviation, delay or
curtailment, however caused, that I might suffer in connection with my enrollment or
participation in any Field Seminar.
G.
Indemnification: In consideration for being permitted to participate in a Field Seminar
and its attendant activities, the undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless Chatham
University, its officers, directors, employees, governing board members, agents,
representatives or related entities from any and all claims, demands, and causes of action
and all expenses incidental thereto (including reasonable attorney's fees), based upon or
arising out of any personal injury (including death) and property loss or damage caused
by or resulting from any acts or omissions by Chatham University, its officers, directors,
employees, governing board members, agents, representatives, related entities or any acts
or omissions caused by the undersigned during enrollment or participation in any Field
Seminar course.
MFA Student Manual
Page 17
Contract for Chatham MFA Field Seminar Courses (cont.)
H.
Behavioral Responsibilities: The undersigned is aware of expected behavioral
responsibilities while participating in a Field Seminar. As a guest in (a) foreign country
(ies), there are certain behaviors which are considered unacceptable and could lead to
possible disruption of the program. The undersigned agrees to conduct herself at all
times in an appropriate manner which does not infringe upon the customs and mores of
the country (ies) in which the course is being conducted. The undersigned further agrees
to conduct herself at all times in a manner, which does not infringe upon the rights and
safety of the undersigned and of other participants in the course. Additionally, the
undersigned agrees to adhere to all policies and procedures outlined in Chatham
University’s Student Handbook and understand that those policies and procedures apply
to the student even when in a foreign country. The undersigned acknowledges that
inappropriate behavior is cause for dismissal from the course without refund, and may
also lead to disciplinary actions as provided in the Chatham University Student
Handbook and Honor Code.
I.
Drugs:
1.
Illegal Drugs: The undersigned understands that the use or possession of illegal
drugs during the course is prohibited and cause for immediate dismissal from the
course without refund, and may also lead to disciplinary actions as provided in the
Chatham University Student Handbook and Honor Code. In addition, Chatham
University cannot be responsible for the consequences of illegal drug use or
possession.
2.
Prescription Medication: Prescription medication should be stored in its original
container with the name and telephone number of the prescribing medical doctor
clearly marked thereon. Students are responsible for ensuring that they have
enough of any prescribed medication to last the duration of the course.
J.
Involuntary Withdrawal: The undersigned acknowledges that return passage and all
other expenses incurred as a result of a participant's involuntary withdrawal from the
course shall be the sole and exclusive financial responsibility of the student concerned.
K.
Program Cancellation: The undersigned understands that Chatham University reserves
the right to cancel or reschedule any course without notice.
L.
Alterations of Travel Arrangements/Accommodations: The undersigned agrees that she
is not permitted to extend or otherwise alter the Field Seminar travel arrangements or
accommodations.
M.
Course Beginning and Conclusion: The Field Seminar courses depart from Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania and return to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Students are not permitted to join
or depart the Field Seminar from differing locations. Students are responsible for assuring
that they are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania prior to course departures. Thus, insuring their
travel arrangements to Pittsburgh, students will bear sole responsibility for the possibility
of travel delays or cancellations due to poor weather conditions, acts of God, and other
unforeseen circumstances.
MFA Student Manual
Page 18
Contract for Chatham MFA Field Seminar Courses (cont.)
N.
Documents:
1.
Passports: All students are required to obtain—at their own cost—a passport
valid through at least December 2014.
2.
Visas: All students are required to obtain—at their own cost—any necessary
visas to travel to course destinations. Chatham University shall not assume
responsibility for student visa applications.
3.
International Student Identification Cards (ISIC): All students are encouraged to
obtain an International Student Identification Card, which provides student
discounts and some insurance.
3.
Copies of Passport: All students must deliver one clear copy of their passport by
Feb. 15, 2013. Failure to hand in copies of any of these forms may result in
dismissal from the Field Seminar, without refund.
MFA Student Manual
Page 19
CHATHAM UNIVERSITY
Signature Page
Contract for Field Seminar Courses
I hereby agree to comply with the provisions of the Contract for Chatham Field Seminars. I
certify that I have read this document and that I understand the provisions therein and agree to be
legally bound hereby... I further understand that if I withdraw from a 2012 Field Seminar, I will
be asked to pay a cancellation fee of $1,200.
Student Name (Printed)
Program Location
Signature of Student
Date
Submit this page to:
MFA Program Assistant
MFA Student Manual
Page 20
Forms
MFA Student Manual
Page 21
MFA Student Manual
Page 22
Guidelines for Independent Study:
1.
A student may enroll in no more than one independent study per term.
2.
The normal purpose of an independent study is to undertake an academic project not
available in the university’s regular curriculum. The interest and availability of faculty
sponsors will depend upon a number of factors, including the faculty member’s workload
and departmental policy.
3.
Before approaching a faculty member concerning sponsorship of an independent study,
student should define his or her goals, interests, and resources, as far as possible, in
writing. The advice and direction available from the faculty member is not a substitute
for the initiative of the student.
4.
A faculty sponsor should be in an academic field related to the subject under study. When
a faculty member wishes to sponsor a project outside his or her known competencies, an
arrangement should be made to co-sponsor the study with a faculty member related to the
field in question.
5.
Students and faculty should try to define projects well in advance of advising week and
registration.
MFA Student Manual
Page 23
MFA Student Manual
Page 24
JKM Library, 3rd Floor  (412) 365-1523 Phone  (412) 365-1660 Fax  [email protected]
INTERNSHIP LEARNING AGREEMENT
Due Add/Drop Deadline of the semester in which you are requesting to receive
academic credit
STUDENT INFORMATION
INTERNSHIP INFORMATION
Name________________________________________
Site__________________________________________
ID #_________________________________________
Supervisor____________________________________
Phone #______________________________________
Site Address___________________________________
Email________________________________________
City ______________________State ____Zip _______
Address______________________________________
Phone #______________________________________
City ______________________State ____Zip _______
Email________________________________________
GPA___________ Major________________________
Fax # ________________________________________
□ First-year □ Sophomore □ Junior □ Senior □ Grad Student
Starting Date _____________ Ending Date______________
□ Fall □ Spring □ Maymester □ Summer
# Credits ____ □ Unpaid □ Paid Amount $___________
How did you find out about the Internship Program?
_______________________________________________________
How did you find your internship?
_____________________________________________________________________
REQUIREMENTS
1. Attach an internship position description to this Learning Agreement.
2. On a separate sheet entitled Learning Objectives, please type your response to the
following questions and attach to this Learning Agreement.
a. What do you expect to learn through this experience? In consultation with your
Faculty Supervisor, identify at least three (3) Learning Objectives.
b. What activities will help you achieve the above objectives?
c. How will these objectives be assessed through the projects you intend to complete
for this Internship?
d. Describe how your internship relates to your major.
3. Determine with your Faculty Supervisor which of the following projects will be completed
for your Internship credit. Note that internships for more than 3 credits must
incorporate sufficient academic work to warrant the awarding of the additional credit(s).
Please detail on a separate sheet precisely how the extra credit will be earned with
academic work (internships worth 4 – 12 credits only).
Check all that apply with details as appropriate:
MFA Student Manual
Page 25
□ Portfolio (specify length _______________ and
content__________________________________)
□ Video project (give details on separate sheet)
□ Papers: _________(number) papers at ________pages each
□ Reflective journal (number of pages_____ and dates
due_________________________________)
□ Other final project (please specify how and how well learning objectives have been met
_____________________________________________________________________
_________)
4. Your Faculty Supervisor will arrange a regular schedule and form of communication with
you. Please indicate below the form that this communication will take. Check all that
apply:
□ Weekly e-mail updates
□ Weekly written reports
□ Monthly reports
□ Site visit(s) by Faculty Supervisor (number ____ and approximate dates
_____________________)
□ Other (please specify)
____________________________________________________________
5. Submit all required paperwork with all necessary signatures to the Office of Career
Development for review. If your internship is approved, we will sign this Learning
Agreement and provide copies to all parties.
See next page for Approval Signatures
MFA Student Manual
Page 26
APPROVAL SIGNATURES—Signature authorizes approval and indicates understanding and commitment to comply
with and complete
all items
outlined in
onan
this
agreement
and attachments.
6. Attend
andas
participate
internship
reflection
group meeting toward the conclusion of
the internship semester to share your experience with other students.
Student (please print): ______________________________________________________________________
7. Upon completion of the internship semester, a Student Evaluation and a Supervisor
Signature ____________________________________________________________Date
________________________
Evaluation must be completed and returned to the Office of Career Development
with
copies provided to the Faculty Supervisor before a final grade can be assigned.
Faculty Supervisor (please print) ______________________________________________________________________
Signature ____________________________________________________________Date ________________________
Faculty Advisor (If not acting as Faculty Supervisor) (please print) _______________________________________________
Signature ________________________________________________________Date ____________________
Site Supervisor (please print) _________________________________________________________________________
Title ____________________________________________________________________________________
Signature ________________________________________________________Date ____________________
Office of International Programs (International Students Only)
Signature ________________________________________________________Date ____________________
Program Chairperson (signature only needed if doing internship seemingly unrelated to major)
Signature ________________________________________________________Date ____________________
Career Development Director/Counselor
Signature ________________________________________________________Date ____________________
MFA Student Manual
Page 27
Chatham University Honor Code and Policies
(excerpt taken from the Chatham University Student Handbook)
Chatham University Honor Code
Honor is that principle by which we at Chatham form our code of living, working, and studying
together. The standards of honor at Chatham require that all Chatham students residing on
Chatham’s campus act with intellectual independence, personal integrity, and honesty in all
relationships, and consideration for the rights and well-being of others. As citizens of the campus
community focused on education, students must accept certain obligations that accrue by virtue
of such citizenship. Individual rights are ensured to the degree that these rights require a respect
for the rights of all within the community to the same extent. In accepting admission to Chatham
University, undergraduate and graduate students automatically agree to be personally responsible
in all matters pertaining to honor and pledge to abide by those rules, which are considered by the
community, as part of its Honor Code. While the University articulates specific community
standards, both academic and social, the Honor Code is maintained through the acceptance of
personal responsibility by each community member in their on and off campus behavior.
Upholding the tenets of the Honor Code is essential in promoting a safe and secure living and
learning community for which students, faculty and staff share responsibility. The Chatham
University Honor Code is reviewed every four academic years with student input.
Please see the Chatham University Student Handbook for the complete Honor Code by going to
this link: http://www.chatham.edu/studentlife/documents/studenthandbook.pdf
MFA Student Manual
Page 28
Lindsay House
Lindsay House is open from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. You may use the computers on the first and
third floor, and the kitchen facilities on the first floor. PLEASE CLEAN UP AFTER
YOURSELF.
The library on the third floor is for your use. It contains contemporary creative writing
handbooks, novels, collections of short stories, essays and poems, contemporary journals and
copies of all of our MFA theses for you to browse through. We also put calls for submission in a
box on one of the tables. We have also just begun a collection of nature and environmental
creative writing books.
If you wish to take a book out of the house, please check with Sheryl or Libba.
MFA Student Manual
Page 29
LINDSAY HOUSE BUILDING DIRECTORY
FIRST FLOOR
NAME
TITLE
LOCATION
Bruckner, Lynne
Associate Professor of English
Oresick, Peter (ON LEAVE)
Associate Professor, Asst. Director, MFA Low-Residency Program
Near Kitchen
Lenz, William
Professor of English & Chair, Writing, Literary, & Cultural Studies
Division
Front Office
Second
Office
SECOND FLOOR
Alexander, Sally
Lecturer in English/Writing - Children's Literature
Mail Slot
Ayres, Kathy
Lecturer in English/Writing and Coordinator - Children's Literature
Flick, Sherrie
Adjunct Lecturer
Mail Slot
Gift, Nancy
Adjunct Lecturer
Mail Slot
Hockley, Libba
Program Assistant to Sheryl St. Germain and the MFA Program
Katz, Joy
Adjunct Lecturer
Kingsbury, Karen
Professor of International Studies
Mendelson, Abby
Adjunct Lecturer
St. Germain, Sheryl
Director, MFA Residency Program, Professor of English
Front Office
Sterner, Sandy
Senior Lecturer in English
Near Copier
Stevens, Robert
Adjunct Lecturer
Near Copier
Wardi, Anissa
Associate Professor of English
Near Copier
Near Copier
Third Office
Mail Slot
Second
Office
Mail Slot
THIRD FLOOR
Fourth River/Student Lounge
Front Room
McNaugher, Heather
Associate Professor
First Office
Nieson, Marc
Assistant Professor
Second
Office
MFA Student Manual
Page 30
MFA Graduate Student Association
Chatham University MFA Writing Program Council
Governance Document
1
Preamble
The purpose of this document is to outline the principles and procedures that pertain to
the operation and management of The MFA Writing Council at Chatham University.
Although this council is to be run by MFA students, no rule or procedure will take
precedence over the authority of Chatham University.
2
Mission Statement
Writing takes place within a community and a place. Chatham University offers a
place for writing, and it is the duty of the MFA Writing students to make this place a
community. In the fall of 2005 it was clear to a group of MFA students that while the
graduate writers at Chatham were talented and interesting, the fledgling program offered
little in the way of community. In order to rectify this, an MFA Council was established
to link the graduate students and ensure communication, which is vital to a community.
The nature of Graduate Education sometimes inhibits the maintenance of a student
community, as the term of study is brief and current students travel from disconnected
points. To the extent that we wish to maintain a strong communal connection, we are
creating an MFA Council whose purpose is to enrich and sustain the writing community
at Chatham University. The MFA Council is a permanent and facile tool that enables
consistent lines of communication and acts as a focal point of the MFA writing
community.
We understand the writer’s community to include the following areas, entries to which
may be added at any time:
Reading Series
The Fourth River Literary Journal
Workshops
Conferences
Publication Opportunities
MFA Writing Program News
Special Programs
Social Events
Scholarships/ Prizes
Alumni Network
Community Involvement
Treasury
MFA Student Manual
Page 31
Chatham University MFA Writing Program Council Governance Document (cont.)
3.
Composition of the MFA Council
The MFA Council is in no way opposed to individuality, nor is it to be an arm of
Chatham University Administration. It merely seeks to create a central point from which
all MFA Writing students may access the writer’s community. No single individual can
possibly keep the council in operation, nor can this council be effective without a means
of operating itself. To this end, we find it necessary to organize and create a governance
document. This document will establish a board of members and committees to head the
Council to whom we will entrust the maintenance and growth of the writing community.
The MFA Council may alter the composition of its members and committees as it sees fit
with a majority vote.
4.
MFA Council Membership
Membership to the MFA Council is granted to all matriculated MFA Writing students.
Members have the right to voice their opinion at every MFA Council meeting, may
participate in any MFA Council committee, and may be nominated to the MFA Council
Board. If a vote is called, every MFA Council member has an equal vote.
5.
MFA Council Board
The MFA Council Board will be comprised of one Senior and one Junior Chair, one
Treasurer, one Secretary, one Graduate Student Council Representative, one
representative from The Fourth River, and all of the heads of MFA Council Committees.
In addition, an MFA Council member may sit on the board as a representative if they
would like greater involvement with the council. The Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary
positions are elected and each requires a nomination and majority vote. The Graduate
Student Council Representative will be an active member of the Graduate Student
Council, a separate entity which serves all graduate students at Chatham. The Committee
heads and other representatives volunteer their service.
6.
MFA Council Meetings
During the regular academic year, the MFA Council will meet at least once a month.
These meetings will be open to every MFA Writing student and will be announced to the
student body. The purpose of these meetings is to distribute information to the MFA
community, to recruit membership in committees, and to make decisions that concern the
MFA Council.
All questions will be decided by a majority vote, and proxy votes in writing will be
allowed. 2/3 of the Board Members must be present if a quorum is called. In the event
of a tie, the Senior Chair may cast the deciding vote. In extenuating circumstances, an
interim board member may be appointed by the board to fill in for an absent board
position.
The minutes of each meeting will be posted on the online blackboard by the secretary.
MFA Student Manual
Page 32
Chatham University MFA Writing Program Council Governance Document (cont.)
7.
MFA Council Board Duties
The Senior and Junior Chair are leadership roles that require overseeing the entire MFA
Council and running MFA Council meetings. The Chair will use discretion as to which
questions must be posed to the entire MFA Community, which will be decided in
committee, and which will be decided personally. It is preferable that the Senior Chair is
a student who has completed at least one year of study, and the Junior Chair is a first year
student. The Junior Chair should be strongly committed to the council, and is the logical
choice to succeed the Senior Chair.
The Treasurer is responsible for keeping records of all income and expenditure of the
MFA Council. If there comes a time when the MFA Council has a specific account, the
Treasurer will keep it in good standing. The Treasurer will enable use of funds that have
the authorization of the board.
The Secretary is responsible for keeping the minutes of the meetings and making them
available to all members via online blackboard, or a suitable facsimile.
The Heads of MFA Council Committees are to operate their committees and report to the
MFA Council.
The Graduate School Council Representative will be a member of the Graduate School
Council, a separate entity from the MFA Council. This representative will act as a liaison
between the two councils.
The Fourth River Representative should be an active member of The Fourth River
Literary Journal, and preferably be a graduate student who has secured an internship with
the journal, should that position materialize.
MFA Council Representatives will participate in discussion and potentially assume
responsibilities as they arise. The MFA Council Representative must commit to attend
MFA Council meetings or risk revocation of his/her board status.
8.
MFA Council Board Term
Each member of the board agrees to a term of one year. A special election will be held
for a vacated seat, or a volunteer will be called to fill a committee head seat.
MFA Council Committee Heads will serve through the semester in which their duties
begin, and remain in that position until the May semester ends.
MFA Student Manual
Page 33
Chatham University MFA Writing Program Council Governance Document (cont.)
9.
MFA Council Committees
Much of the detailed discussion of MFA Council business will take place in committee.
These committees take an active role in sustaining and building the graduate writing
community at Chatham, and play the most crucial role in the MFA Council. Committee
heads recruit members for their committees and are responsible for overseeing the
committee.
Committees are created as needed, but there are nine standing committees:
The MFA Graduate Reading Series
Workshops/Writing Groups
Conferences
Publication Opportunities
MFA News/Scholarships
Special Programs/Readings
Social Events
Alumni Network
Community Involvement
Committee Heads volunteer their service, and the Chair confirms their appointment.
Should more than one person wish to head a committee, they may share duties. No ad
hoc committee will have a life beyond one year unless it is written into the governance
document as a standing committee.
10.
Open Meetings Policy
Every MFA Council meeting is open to every MFA Council Member, that is, the entire
graduate community. Members are encouraged to sit in on meetings and participate in
committees.
MFA Student Manual
Page 34
Reading Series
The reading series is an important aspect of the MFA Program.
Every year we feature the Melanie Brown fiction lecturer, and sponsor a Bridges to
Other Worlds Literary Festival.
Go to the MFA website for up-to-date information about the readings the program
sponsors throughout the year (News – Events).
www.chatham.edu/departments/writing /graduate/writing/news.cfm
MFA students sometimes post events on our program Facebook page as well.
MFA Student Manual
Page 35
Thesis Manual
MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN CREATIVE WRITING
THESIS MANUAL
Chatham University 2012 - 2013
Statement of Philosophy
One of the requirements for obtaining a Master of Fine Arts in Writing degree is a thesis project.
The thesis is the culmination of a student’s work towards the MFA. Thus, it should represent the
best work a student is capable of and, when complete, be a manuscript of marketable quality.
The thesis project is to be completed by taking the Thesis Seminar (ENG 605,606, 607 608) in
the student’s primary genre in the Fall (3 credits), and ENG 698 Final Manuscript (3 credits) in
the Spring. Students may not register for both Thesis Seminar and Final Manuscript in the same
semester. The Thesis Seminar is a prerequisite for Final Manuscript.
Checklist for the MFA Thesis and Graduation
1.
Complete at least 18 hours of credits in the MFA.
2.
At the end of your first year, identify a director (an MFA faculty member working in
your primary genre) and two readers. The readers may be any other MFA or English
faculty. The thesis director will work closely with you throughout the project. The other
two individuals will act in a consulting role and as readers of the initial proposal and of
the final project. Please note that the MFA thesis is an independent project. It is an
opportunity to show that you can craft a significant body of work on your own with
important but minimal input from others.
3.
After you have your committee together (director plus two other members), notify the
program director via email of the members of your committee. It is recommended that
you do this the semester before you register for the Thesis Seminar.
4.
Register for the Thesis Seminar in your respective genre. Thesis Seminars are only
offered in the fall. Please remember this when you are planning your schedule. If you
are a dual genre student, pick the thesis seminar section that will most assist you with
your thesis.
5.
During the Thesis Seminar, you will complete your proposal and a good draft of the first
half of your manuscript. Give a copy of your proposal to all members of your committee
once it is approved by your Thesis Seminar instructor. At the end of the term, turn in all
the work you have done to both your Thesis Seminar instructor and your thesis director.
6.
Register for ENG698 Final Manuscript via an Add/Drop form. You will not be able to
register for thesis credits until you have your committee together. Be sure to put the
MFA Student Manual
Page 36
correct section number of your thesis director in the appropriate place on the Add/Drop
form (each faculty member has a number assigned to her/him as a section number). If
you don’t know the number, put the faculty member’s name in the section number space.
7.
Design a schedule with your Director of when you will be turning out work and receiving
feedback from them (usually every 2-3 weeks). It is your responsibility to make sure you
meet your deadlines, and it is your responsibility to make certain your director is able to
read through and comment on your entire thesis BEFORE you turn it out to the whole
committee. Never send your thesis out to the entire committee without your thesis
director’s permission. You should have had at least one rewrite of the entire these and
introduction before it goes to the committee, and often there will be many more rewrites.
If you cannot finish your thesis and think you need to take an incomplete, contact your
thesis director. You must fill out a request for an incomplete, and have good reasons for
taking an incomplete. You will have to register for ENG 800 Continuing Graduate Credit
the following semester if you are not registered for any other classes in order to complete
your thesis.
8.
Write your thesis and a 10-15page introduction. The page length range of the thesis
requirement is 50-60 pages of poetry and 125-135 pages of prose. These numbers do
not include introduction, front or back matter (i.e, title pages, table of contents,
bibliography). If you wish to write a longer thesis the length must be negotiated up front
with your director.
The introduction should discuss your work and its various literary influences, how it
relates to or builds on those influences, what you are trying to accomplish and what you
think you have accomplished. It may incorporate personal reflection as well as analytic
language, as long as it places the thesis within a literary tradition. The introduction may
be based on the proposal you wrote or not, depending on how closely you have adhered
to the proposal in the actual writing of the thesis. You will work out the schedule for
writing with your thesis director, but generally you will want to be giving your director
significant chunks of work on a regular basis that have gone through revision already,
then you will meet with your director for comments and suggestions. It is your
responsibility to keep your director and committee informed of your progress and to
make sure you are making progress.
9.
Turn in your application for graduation early in the semester you intend to graduate.
10.
With your thesis director’s permission, submit a hard copy of your revised thesis to the
other readers and your thesis director. You need to give them 10-14 days to read before
your scheduled board meeting.
11.
Set up a time, date and room for your final thesis board. Your thesis defense needs to take
place on or before the last day of class of the semester. It is recommended that you
schedule it a few weeks before the last day of class in case there are revisions suggested
by the committee that need to be submitted before the end of the term.
12.
Prepare a ten-minute introduction for your thesis board. You may prepare note cards, but
do not read from your thesis introduction. In your oral remarks, you should be able to
clearly articulate your creative vision, what you think you have accomplished with the
thesis, what challenges you encountered, and what you learned in the process. You
MFA Student Manual
Page 37
should also be able to talk about what kind of reader you envision for the thesis, what you
hope a reader will take from your thesis, and should be able to discuss literary influences
in a sophisticated manner.
13.
The day of your thesis, be sure to bring a copy of your thesis with you to the board.
Make sure it is paginated in the same manner as the copies you have given to your
committee members. See detailed guidelines (next section) on how to prepare for the
thesis board. You may be asked questions about the books from your genre’s book lists
at your final board.
14.
After your thesis defense, you may be asked to make more revisions, so you should not
make any bound copies until your thesis director tells you to do so.
15.
Make any revisions suggested by your committee and then make three bound copies of
your thesis. Use IKON, in the basement of Coolidge, for binding your thesis. Give one to
your thesis director, and two to the program director. You must also provide the library
with an electronic copy of your thesis. If you do not turn in your final bound copies
and electronic copy to the program director before grades are due, your account
will have a hold placed on it.
Things to think about (and makes notes on!) for the final board:
General comments:
The purpose of your final board is to provide you with an opportunity articulate the extent of
your growth as an artist in the program as well as your future plans for development. The board
is a conversation among writers about the art, craft, and process of writing, using your thesis and
the works you’ve included in your bibliography as focuses. Most often, boards turn into lively
discussions, a final rigorous workshop of sorts, a last test to pass to demonstrate your proficiency
and growth as a writer. This session is directed primarily toward the thesis, but may contain other
topics with which you would be expected to be familiar at the completion of the MFA degree.
During this conversation, you are to synthesize the reading, thinking, and writing that go into
earning the MFA degree. Your board is the first of potentially many occasions when you will be
asked to discuss your work intelligently, as a practicing writer. Whether in interviews for
teaching and other positions or as part of the public appearances and interviews that accompany
book publication, the writer needs to be able to talk about his/her work, placing it in the broader
context of literature and answering questions about his/her writing process and artistic
judgments.
At the board, you’ll be expected to answer a range of questions that have a general focus on your
thesis, your reading list, courses taken, etc., but you should be prepared to speak on a range of
topics in dialogue with your thesis committee as a working artist. Your goal here is to provide a
background and context for your work, discuss the writing and presentation of the work itself,
expand and defend your personal aesthetic principles, and discuss plans for further revision of
the thesis. Consider holistically your experience at Chatham, what you learned, what challenges
you faced, and your plans are after the MFA.
MFA Student Manual
Page 38
Some specifics:

Consider specific craft issues such as focus/theme, organization/structure; be able to
explain and support your particular artistic choices.

You should be able to talk about what kind of reader you envision for the thesis, what
you hope a reader will take from your thesis.

Be prepared to discuss literary influences in a sophisticated manner, those you used
directly or indirectly for your thesis.

You should also demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of other work in
the larger literary genre in which you’re writing and be able to answer questions
about your work as related to that genre: What related works are out there? How does
yours fit in with other similar works? How is this project unique and different? How
could you see this being marketed?

Make sure you have also thought about "what's next": Where will you go with the
writing now? What plans, if any, do you have for the project? Will you expand it?
Submit parts/all of it for publication?

Think about what you learned, what posed challenges/problems, and what you might
do differently, etc.
Thesis Format
The complete creative thesis must be printed in a clear and readable font, at least 12 point in size.
All bound copies must be on 8-1/2 x 11 bond paper of at least 20-pound weight containing 25%
or more rag content. The left hand margin should be set at 1.5 to 2 inches and all other margins
should be set at 1 inch. The thesis must be double-spaced throughout, with the exception of
poetry, which may be single-spaced. The appropriate title page, thesis committee approval page,
and table of contents should be included (refer to the end of this section for examples). A student
may also include an acknowledgements page if he/she wishes to do so. A bibliography must
conclude the thesis. Students should follow MLA guidelines for documentation of source
material. The thesis must be bound by Ikon with a black cover that has Chatham’s logo on it.
Elements of the Thesis
1.
Signature Page. This page should contain the date, followed by the statement, "We
hereby recommend that the thesis of (insert your name) entitled (insert the title of your
thesis) be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Fine Arts." Following this statement, there should be a list of three lines for the names
and signatures (Director, Reader, Reader).
2.
Title Page. Include the full title of thesis, your full name, as you would like it to appear
on the final manuscript, and the following language: "A thesis submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts Chatham University
MFA in Creative Writing". Include the month and year the work is submitted.
MFA Student Manual
Page 39
3.
Acknowledgments (optional). These may include acknowledgments of previous
publications, if parts of your thesis have been published and/or thanks to those who have
been of help to you.
4.
Table of Contents, with page numbers.
5.
Introduction. The introduction is your opportunity to present your own view of the work
included in the thesis. It should include information concerning the work's development,
literary influences, and aesthetic aims.
6.
Text of Creative Thesis. This book-length collection represents your completed and
revised work in your genre of study. Use MLA style. Here is a link to MLA style
guidelines: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
7.
Bibliography. MLA format. Here is a link on MLA-syle formatting:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_mla_format_examples.shtml
Pagination
1.
A thesis contains two sets of numbers. The preliminary pages (items 1-5 of the thesis)
should be numbered consecutively in small Roman numerals. The title page should be
considered "i" but should not be numbered. Beginning with the text, all pages must be
numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals (items 6-7 of the thesis).
Extensions
1.
Extensions will be given as long as the student continues working in good faith towards
the completion of the thesis. Students must register for ENG800 (Graduate continuing
credit) to continue working on their thesis in a semester where they are not registered for
any other classes. Students must fill out a request for an Incomplete in order to receive
an “I” for thesis credits.
Grading
Grading will be based on the following criteria:
1.
Originality: The thesis is an original piece of writing developed solely by the student.
2.
Quality: The thesis is the culmination of the student's program of study and will represent
the best work of the graduate student. Therefore, it will be a final draft of the highest
quality and will include no errors of fact, content, grammar, spelling, style or format.
3.
Length: The core of the thesis is a book-length piece of fiction or non-fiction or a
collection of linked, shorter pieces, or a collection of poems.
4.
Format: The thesis is to be written according to the printed guidelines.
Professional standards for approval of the thesis will be as rigorously applied as in any
other area. The grade for the thesis will be determined by a consensus of the committee
and will be awarded on a scale of Pass or Fail. Key factors in grading include originality,
MFA Student Manual
Page 40
clarity, voice, and style. Manuscripts that contain errors will be returned to the student for
correction before a grade is determined.
Reading
As the culmination of their thesis project, students will be asked to give a public reading of their
work. These will be arranged and publicized on campus and open to the public.
MFA Student Manual
Page 41
Children’s and Adolescent’s Writing
1.
Format: The writing for children thesis is to be written according to the printed guidelines
of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
2.
Literature Review: The thesis will include a thorough and exhaustive literature search
that explores books of similar topic, genre and/or style.
3.
Critical Component: The thesis will include a critical component demonstrating a
thorough grounding in children's literature and the place of this work in that context.
MFA Student Manual
Page 42
Thesis Manual (cont.)
We hereby recommend that the thesis of (insert your name)
entitled (insert title)
be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts.
_______________________________________
Director: (insert name)
_______________________________________
Reader: (insert name)
_______________________________________
Reader: (insert name)
(insert date)
MFA Student Manual
Page 43
Thesis Manual (cont.)
SAMPLE TITLE PAGE
[3 Hard Returns/Enters]
THESIS TITLE
[7 Hard Returns/Enters]
A Thesis in [Nonfiction/Fiction/Poetry] Writing
By
Your Name
[7 Hard Returns/Enters]
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts
Chatham University
August 2010
MFA Student Manual
Page 44
Thesis Manual (cont.)
SAMPLE TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ iv
Chapter One – Chapter Title ................................................................................................1
Chapter Two – Chapter Title .............................................................................................19
Chapter Three – Chapter Title ...........................................................................................49
(Etc.)
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................103
Or,
Poem Title ..........................................................................................................................60
MFA Student Manual
Page 45
Web Site
MFA in Creative Writing Web Page
http://www.chatham.edu/departments/writing/graduate/writing/
The website contains current events, information about the reading series,
information about the curriculum, important notices, photos from recent events,
and faculty contact information. Consult it frequently.
MFA Student Manual
Page 46
A Note About Grading
Following are the kinds of grades you may receive in graduate school and their
meaning:
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
Excellent work
Good work
Acceptable work
A sign that you need to work harder
Almost failing – verging on not being acceptable
Failure – work does not meet graduate standards
Failure
You must repeat any grade of C+ or under.
You will receive a P or F for thesis credits. You cannot graduate with your MFA
unless you pass your thesis. Grading for thesis, unlike grading for courses, is
based solely on the quality of your writing and your performance in the final board.
Remember that the thesis represents independent work, and you need to show the
ability to work independently.
MFA Student Manual
Page 47
Book Lists
Following are book recommendations in several genres. You are expected to read
widely and deeply during your time at Chatham. At minimum, you are expected to
be familiar with the major American writers in your genre.
MFA Student Manual
Page 48
BOOKS BY CHATHAM MFA INSTRUCTORS
Alexander, Sally
Ayres, Kathy
Flick, Sherrie
Green, Derek
Katz, Joy
Lagorio, Kitty
McNaugher, Heather
Mendelson, Abby
Do You Remember the Color Blue?
On My Own: The Journey Continues
Taking Hold: My Journey Into Blindness
Mom's Best Friend
Maggie's Whopper
Sarah's Surprise
Mom Can't See Me
She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind
Pioneer
Up, Down and Around
Matthew's Truck
A Long Way
Macaroni Boy
Stealing South
Silver Dollar Girl
Voices at Whisper Bend
North by Night
Family Tree
Reconsidering Happiness
New World Order
Fabulae
The Garden Room
Cowboy Sam and Those Confounded Secrets
Panic & Joy
Countdown to Renaissance II
Wilderness Within, Wilderness
The Pittsburgh Steelers: The Official History
The Pittsburgh Steelers: Yesterday and Today
Pittsburgh: A Place in Time
Pittsburgh Prays: Thirty-Six Premier Houses of Worship
Reckoning with Rainbows: The History of The Pressley Ridge
Schools, and A Century of Caring: The History of Holy Family
Institute
Paradise Boys and Scotch and Oranges
Ghost Dancer and The End of the Road
Jazz Suite
Pittsburgh: Fulfilling Its Destiny, Pittsburgh Characters
The Power of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh: A Place in Time
Pittsburgh Born/Pittsburgh Bred
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Novel
Novel
Poetry
Poetry
Children's
Poetry
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Nieson, Marc
A View from the Loft, "On Self and Society"
American Way, "The Perfect Shell"
Oresick, Peter
Warhol-o-rama
For a Living: The Poetry of Work
The Pittsburgh Book of Contemporary American Poetry
Working Classics: Poems on Industrial Life
Definitions
Other Lives
An American Peace
The Story of Glass
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
St. Germain, Sheryl
The Mask of Medusa
Going Home
Making Bread at Midnight
How Heavy the Breath of God
The Journals of Scheherazade
Je Suis Cadien
Swamp Songs: The Making of an Unruly Woman
Let it Be a Dark Roux: New and Selected Poems
Between Song and Story: Essays for the Twenty-first
Century (Anthology: Co-Editor)
Navigating Disaster: Sixteen Essays of Love and A Poem of
Despair
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Translation
Memoir
Poetry
Field Notes from the Interior
Time, Space, Light, Consciousness
Galimoto
When Africa Was Home
Four Feet, Two Sandals
Circles of Hope
Painted Dreams
Tap-Tap
Editor
Editor
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
A Real Christmas This Year
First Grade King
One Thing I'm Good At
Applebaum's Garage
Baseball and Butterflies
My Name Is Sangoel
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Children's
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Writing
Sterner, Sandy
Williams, Karen
Nonfiction and
Poetry
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT
Baca, Jimmy Santiago
Bachelard, Gaston
Bail, Murray
Bartram, William
Bergon, Frank
Bonta, Marcia
Buell, Lawrence
Burnside, John, ed.
Carson, Rachel
Carson, Rachel
Chatwin, Bruce
Courturier, Lisa
Davis, Devra
Ehrlich, Gretel
Ehrlich, Gretel
Elder, John, ed.
Emerson and Thoreau
Galvin, James
Gessner, David
Glotfelty, Cheryl, ed.
Griffiths, Jay
Halpern, Daniel, ed.
Hubbell, Sue
Hurd, Barbara
Kantner, Seth
Krakauer, Jon
Lamberton, Ken
Lear, Linda, ed
Legler, Gretchen
Leopold, Aldo
Leslie, Clare Walker
Lopez, Barry
Lopez, Barry
Louv, Richard
McKibben, Bill
McPhee, John
Merrill, Christopher
A Place to Stand
The Poetics of Space
Eucalyptus
Travels and Other Writings
The Wilderness Reader
Appalachian Winter (and Summer, Fall, Spring)
The Environmental Imagination
Wild Reckoning: An Anthology Provoked by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
The Sense of Wonder
Silent Spring
The Songlines
The Hopes of Snakes and Other Tales from the Urban Landscape
When Smoke Ran Like Water
The Future of Ice
The Solace of Open Spaces
The Norton Book of Nature Writing
Nature/Walking
The Meadow
Sick of Nature
The Ecocriticism Reader
Wild
The Nature Reader
A Book of Bees
Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination
Ordinary Wolves
Into the Wild
Wilderness and Razor Wire: A Naturalist's Observations from Prison
Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson
On the Ice
A Sand County Almanac
Keeping a Nature Journal
Arctic Dreams
Of Wolves and Men
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau
Encounters with the Archdruid
Forgotten Language: Contemporary Poets and Nature
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT
Muir, John
Murray, John
Nabhan, Gary
Natl Audubon Society
Nelson, Dylan, ed.
Nelson, Richard
Pollan, Michael
Pollan, Michael
Quammen, David
Ray, Janisse
Ray, Janisse
Rogers, Pattiann
Rogers, Pattiann
Rogers, Susan Fox, ed.
Sanders, Scott Russell
Sanders, Scott Russell
Sanders, Scott Russell
Schlissel, Lillian, ed.
Shepard, Paul
Slovic, Scott, ed
Snyder, Gary
Sullivan, Robert
Taylor, Stephen
Thoreau, Henry David
Torrance, Robert
Turner, Jack
Various
Vitale, Alice
Weisman, Alan
White, Jonathan
Williams, Terry Tempest
Williams, Terry Tempest
Travels in Alaska
Writing about Nature: A Creative Guide
Cross-Pollinations: The Marriage of Science and Poetry
Field Guides
Birds in the Hand: Fiction and Poetry about Birds
The Island Within
Second Nature: A Gardener's Education
The Botany of Desire
The Flight of the Iguana
Wild Card Quilt
Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
The Dream of the Marsh Wren
Firekeeper: Selected Poems
Another Wilderness: New Outdoor Writing by Women
Writing From the Center
The Country of Language
Hunting for Hope
Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey
The Only World We've Got
Literature and the Environment
The Gary Snyder Reader
Rats
Building Thoreau's Cabin
Walden
Encompassing Nature: A Sourcebook
The Abstract Wild
The Best American Science and Nature Writing
Leaves in Myth, Magic, and Medicine
The World Without Us
Talking on the Water: Conversations about Nature and Creativity
Refuge
Desert Quartet
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN POETRY
Atwood, Margaret
Baca, Jimmy Santiago
Baudelaire, Charles
Behn, Robin, ed.
Bishop, Elizabeth
Broumas, Ogla
Daniel, John
Dante
Dickinson, Emily
Ellman, Richard, ed
Emerson, Claudia
Felstiner, John
Frost, Robert
Gass, William
Hass, Robert
Homer
Homer
Hugo, Richard
King James Translation
Kinnell, Galway
Merrill, Christopher
Merwin, W.S.
Milosz, Czeslaw
Milton
Myers, Jack
Neruda, Pablo
Olds, Sharon
Olds, Sharon
Parini, Jay
Plath, Sylvia
Rich, Adrienne
Rilke, Rainer
Rilke, Rainer
Roethke, Theodore
Rogers, Pattiann
Sexton, Ann
Selected Poems
Black Mesa Poems
Flowers of Evil
The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach
The Complete Poems 1927-1979
Rave
Wild Song: Poems of the Natural World
The Inferno
Collected Poems
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry
Late Wife
Translating Neruda
Selected Poems
Reading Rilke
Human Wishes
The Iliad
The Odyssey
The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing
The Bible
Selected Poems
The Forgotten Language: Contemporary Poets and Nature
Migration: New & Selected Poems
A Book of Luminous Things
Paradise Lost
Longman Dictionary and Handbook of Poetry
Selected Poems
Satan Says
The Dead and the Living
Wadsworth Anthology of Poetry
Ariel
Selected Poems
Letters to a Young Poet
Selected Poems
Collected Poems
Selected Poems
Selected Poems
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN POETRY
Shapiro, Karl
Thomas, Dylan
Unknown
Van Cleave, Ryan, ed
Whitman, Walt
Wolkstein, Diane
Wright, James
The Art of Poetry Writing
Collected Poems
Beowulf
Contemporary American Poetry
Leaves of Grass
Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth
Collected Poems
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN TRAVEL WRITING
Abby, Edward
Ackerman, Diane
Benz, Stephen
Bowles, Paul
Bryson, Bill
Cahill, Tim
Cherry-Garrard,
Apsley
De Botton, Alain
Glowczewska, Klara
Hemingway, Ernest
Iyer, Pico
Kerouac, Jack
Mayes, Frances
Meek, Sandra Ed.
Shapiro, Michael, Ed.
Theroux, Paul
Various
Vowell, Sarah
Whitman, Walt
Zobel, Purwin Louise
Desert Solitaire
The Moon by Whale Light
Green Dreams
The Sheltering Sky
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America
Pass the Butterworms
The Worst Journey in the World
The Art of Travel
Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places
The Sun Also Rises
Falling Off the Map
On the Road
Under the Tuscan Sun
Deep Travel: Contemporary American Poets Abroad
A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk about Their Craft
The Old Patagonian Express
The Best American Travel Writing
Assassination Vacation
Leaves of Grass
The Travel Writer's Handbook
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN CREATIVE NON-FICTION
Bragg, Rick
D’Agata, John
Doty, Mark
Flynn, Nick
Forche, Carolyn
Gawande, Atul
Karr, Mary
Kincaid, Jamaica
Kincaid, Jamaica
Lanham, Richard
Lopate, Phillip, ed.
Maso, Carole
McCourt, Frank
Monson, Ander
Moore, Dinty
Perl, Sondra, ed.
Rankine, Claudia
Reichl, Ruth
Root, Robert, ed.
Selzer, Richard
Slater, Lauren
St. Germain, Sheryl & Whitford,
Margaret, ed.
Thomas, Abigail
Various
Wideman, John Edgar
Wolff, Tobias
All Over but the Shoutin'
The Next American Essay
Still Life with Oysters and Lemon
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City
Writing Creative Nonfiction
Complications
Lit
A Small Place
My Brother
Revising Prose
The Art of the Personal Essay
Break Every Rule: Essays on Language, Longing and Moments of Desire
Angela's Ashes
Neck Deep and Other Predicaments
The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction
Writing True: The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction
Don' t Let Me Be Lonely
Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table
The Fourth Genre: Contemporary Writers of/on Creative Nonfiction
The Exact Location of the Soul
Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir
Between Song & Story: Essays for the Twenty-First Century
Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life
The Best American Essays
Hoop Roots
This Boy's Life: A Memoir
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN FICTION
Annual Editor
Atwood, Margaret
Austen, Jane
Baldwin, James
Bass, Rick
Baxter, Charles
Bradbury, Ray
Burgess, Anthony
Burroway, Janet
Camus, Albert
Carroll, Lewis
Carver, Raymond
Chabon, Michael
Chaon, Dan
Chopin, Kate
Clancy, Tom
Crace, Jim
Cunningham, Michael
Danticat, Edwidge
Defoe, Daniel
Dick, Philip K.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor
Dybek, Stuart
Eugenides, Jeffrey
Eliot, George
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Furman, Laura, ed.
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel
Gibson, William
Gioia, Dana, ed.
Golding, William
Haley, Alex
Hemingway, Ernest
Hornby, Nick, ed.
Hosseini, Khaled
Best American Short Stories (Current)
The Handmaid’s Tale
Pride and Prejudice
Giovanni’s Room
The Hermit’s Story
Burning Down the House: Essays o Fiction
Fahrenheit 451
A Clockwork Orange
Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
The Stranger
Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass
Where I’m Calling From: Selected Stories
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
You Remind Me of Me
The Awakening
The Hunt for Red October
Being Dead
The Hours
Krik? Krak!
Robinson Crusoe
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Crime and Punishment
I Sailed with Magellan
Middlesex
The Mill on the Floss
Tender is the Night
The O. Henry Prize Stories
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Neuromancer
Longman Anthology of Short Fiction, Compact Fiction
Lord of Flies
Roots
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
Speaking with the Angel
The Kite Runner
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN FICTION
Hurston, Zora Neale
Huxley, Aldous
James, Henry
Joyce, James
Kafka, Franz
King, Stephen
King, Stephen
Kingsolver, Barbara
Kundera, Milan
Lahiri, Jhumpa
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Lee, Harper
Martel, Yann
McCarthy, Cormac
Morrison, Toni
Nabokov, Vladimir
O'Brien, Tim
O'Connor, Flannery
Proulx, Annie
Robbins, Tom
Rushdie, Salman
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft
Smiley, Jane
Steinbeck, John
Tan, Amy
Tolstoy, Leo
Twain, Mark
Vonnegut, Kurt
Walker, Alice
Welty, Eudora
Wilde, Oscar
Wolff, Tobias, ed.
Woolf, Virginia
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Brave New World
The Turn of the Screw
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The Metamorphosis
The Stand
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
The Poisonwood Bible
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Interpreter of Maladies
The Lathe of Heaven
To Kill A Mockingbird
Life of Pi
Blood Meridian, Or the Evening Redness in the West
Beloved
Lolita, Pale Fire
The Things They Carried
The Complete Stories, The Violent Bear It Away, Wise Blood
Close Range: Wyoming Stories
Still Life With Woodpecker
The Ground Beneath Her Feet, The Satanic Verses
Frankenstein
A Thousand Acres
The Grapes of Wrath
The Joy Luck Club
War and Peace, Anna Karenina
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Color Purple
The Collected Stories
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories
To The Lighthouse
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN FICTION
STORIES
Alexie, Sherman
Allison, Dorothy
Barrett, Andrea
Bloom, Amy
Carver, Raymond
Cheever, John
Chekhov, Anton
Chopin, Kate
Davis, Lydia
Dubus, Andre
Dybek, Stuart
Erdrich, Louise
Faulkner, William
Gillman, Charlotte Perkins
Hemingway, Ernest
Henry, O.
Jackson, Shirley
Jen, Gish
Joyce, James
Kincaid, Jamaica
Lawrence, D H
Mansfield, Katherine
Maupassant, Guy de
Olsen, Tillie
Ozick, Cynthia
Paley, Grace
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Updike, John
Welty, Eudora
Wolff, Tobias
"What You Pawn I Will Redeem"
"River of Names"
"Littorial Zone"
"Silver Water"
"Where I'm Calling From"
"The Swimmer"
"The Lady with the Lapdog"
"The Story of an Hour"
"Story"
"The Intruder"
"We Didn't"
"Snares"
"A Rose for Emily"
"The Yellow Wallpaper"
"Hills Like White Elephants"
"The Gift of the Magi"
"The Lottery"
"Who's Irish?"
"Araby"
"Girl"
"The Rocking-Horse Winner"
"Miss Brill"
"The Necklace"
"I Stand Here Ironing"
“The Shawl”
"A Conversation with My Father"
"A Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
“A & P"
"Why I Live at the P O"
"Bullet in the Brain"
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Stories
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Short Story
Novella
Short Story
Short Story
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN CHILDREN’S WRITING
Bemelmans, Ludwig
Brown, Margaret Wise
Burton, Virginia Lee
Carle, Eric
Coerr, Eleanor
DePaola, Tomie
Dr. Seuss
Freeman, Don
Gag, Wanda
Goble, Paul
Johnson, Crockett
Keats, Ezra Jack
Krauss, Ruth
Lobel, Arnold
McCloskey, Robert
Rey, H.A.
Rylant, Cynthia
Sendak, Maurice
Yolen, Jane
Zion, Gene
Madeline
The Runaway Bunny, Goodnight Moon
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Strega Nona
Various Titles
Corduroy
Various Titles
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Harold and the Purple Crayon
The Snowy Day
The Carrot Seed
Frog and Toad, various stories
Make Way for Ducklings
Curious George
Henry and Mudge and When the Relatives Came
Various Titles
Owl Moon
Harry the Dirty Dog
Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Cleary, Beverly
Cormier, Robert
Fitzhugh, Louise
Frank, Anne
Hinton, S.E.
Knowles, John
L'Engle, Madeline
Lewis, C.S.
Lowry, Lois
Patterson, Katherine
Salinger, J.D.
Taylor, Mildred
Voigt, Cynthia
White, E.B.
NOVELS
The Secret Garden
Ramona the Pest
The Chocolate War
Harriet the Spy
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Outsiders
A Separate Peace
A Wrinkle in Time
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Anastasia
The Great Gilly Hopkins
The Catcher in the Rye
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Homecoming
Charlotte's Web
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN LITERATURE OF PITTSBURGH
Allen, Hervey
Attaway, William
Bell, Thomas
Chabon, Michael
Chabon, Michael
Corse, Paola
Davenport, Marcia
Dillard, Annie
Fifield, Barringer
Graham, Laurie
Long, Haniel
Vollmer, Judith
Wideman, John Edgar
Wilson, August
The Forest and the Fort
Blood on the Forge
Out of This Furnace
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Wonder Boys
Death by Renaissance
The Valley of Decision
An American Childhood
See Pittsburgh
Singing the City
Pittsburgh Memoranda
Level Green
Brothers and Keepers
Any Play
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN LITERARY CRITICISM
Abrams, M.H.
A Glossary of Literary Terms
Barry, Peter
Beginning Theory
Benjamin, Walter
Illuminations
Benjamin, Walter
Reflections
Berger, John
Ways of Seeing
Buell, Lawrence
The Future of Environmental Criticism
Christian, Barbara
“The Race for Theory”
Culler, Jonathan
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction
Eagleton, Terry
Literary Theory: An Introduction
Ezell, Margaret
Writing Women’s Literary History
Fiedler, Leslie
Love and Death in the American Novel
Frye, Northrop
Anatomy of Criticism
Gioia, Dana & Mason, David,
Twentieth-Century American Poetics: Poets on the Art of Poetry
Schorke, Meg, Ed.
Garrard, Greg
Ecocriticism
Gates, Henry Louis
“The Signifying Monkey”
Gilbert, Sandra & Gubar, Susan
The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination
RECOMMENDED READINGS IN LITERARY CRITICISM
Harp, Jerry & Weissmiller,
Jan., Ed.
Hugo, Richard
Kolodny, Annette
Lutz, Gary
Marx, Leo
Morrison, Toni
Ostriker, Alicia
Reynolds, David
Rich, Adrienne
Richter, David
Roethke, Theodore
Rilke, Ranier Maria
Showalter, Elaine, Ed.
Tompkins, Jane
Walker, Alice
Wittig, Monique
A Poetry Criticism Reader
The Triggering Town
The Land before Her: Fantasy and the Experience of the American Frontiers
“The Sentence is a Lonely Place”
The Machine in the Garden
“Rootedness: The Ancestor as Foundation”
Stealing the Language
Beneath the American Renaissance: The Subversive Imagination in the Age of Emerson and Melville
On Lies, Secrets and Silence: Selected Prose 1966-1978
Falling into Theory: Conflicting Views on Reading Literature
On Poetry and Craft
Letters to a Young Poet
New Feminist Criticism: Essays on Women, Literature,Theory
Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction
“In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”
The Straight Mind and Other Essays