An online home for the American University Creative Writing MFA community
By: Emily Smith Emily Smith: Hi Will, thanks for doing this! Let’s start off with an easy one. You entered the MFA with a fiction concentration. Is that still the genre you find yourself most drawn to? Will Schick: The short answer is no. I’m…
By Brahidaliz Martinez As the semester rolls over to the halfway mark, it’s a good time to make sure that you’re on top of your assignments and workshops. Besides attending office hours, critiquing your peers’ work, and revising your stories, it might be helpful to…
By Tara Campbell I had a specific goal when entering the MFA program at American University—to get help on my historical fiction novel-in-progress. Coming in as a writer of speculative fiction, I needed additional support tackling this new genre, as well as its sensitive subject…
By Nick Chhoeun The annual Art of Losing event took place on April 24, 2019. For those unfamiliar with this event, its mission was celebration. Every year, we lose writers and artists that impacted in our lives for the better. This event gave people the…
By Emily M. Smith “I celebrate myself and sing myself.” In honor of the bicentennial of Whitman’s birth, American’s Lit Department took these words to heart and held a group reading of “Song of Myself” on Friday, March 29th. Literature and creative writing professors, graduate…
Here are a few recent student, faculty, and alumni wins that are making us happy this month: MFA alumna Claire Handscombe‘s debut novel, Unscripted, is available for purchase. The novel was released on April 4th by Unbound publishing. Current student (and Cafe MFA editor!) Tara…
By Will Schick I’ll never forget the way certain things could make me feel on deployment. The way a rocket blast could jolt me awake, and rattle its way through my bones. The way a helicopter could make me feel utterly helpless as it would…
By Emily Smith A defining aspect of AU’s MFA program is its close relationship between faculty and students, both past and present. The Annual Faculty Reading, held this past Wednesday night at 826 DC, is the embodiment of this communal spirit. MFA faculty, current students,…
By Tara Campbell Welcome back to a new year at AU. Before the semester gets too hectic, let’s take a look around at what else is going on in the Literary DMV (see Part I). Now’s the time to plug things into your calendar so…
Nick Chhoeun A few weeks ago, DC Scores had their annual poetry performance night. The “Our Words Our City” event began with a reception of parents, teachers, coaches, friends, and students. The mission statement of DC Scores is that it “creates neighborhood teams that give kids…