Murray State University MFA Creative Writing

Reviewer's Name:

Chris Cutler

Review Date

April 22, 2009

Year of Graduation:

2010

Review Title:

A Great Program and Experience

Full Review of the Program:

When I started researching low-residency programs two years ago, I had not heard of Murray State. I'm so glad that I stumbled onto the Murray website, met Squire Babcock the program director, and decided to become part of this phenomenal program.

As someone entering my thesis (final) semester, I highly recommend this program. Over the past three semesters, I have learned to read both my writing and the writings of others more critically, to hone my own writing skills, and to write outside of the box. I find that the faculty and staff are generous, accessible, honest, encouraging and unpretentious. The focus is on improving our writing, thinking, reading skills. In other words, I find that they are more concerned with HOW we write, not how MUCH we write.

The visiting writers (for example - Linda Bierds, Scott Russell Sanders, Heather Sellers, George Ella Lyon, George Singleton among others) are also approachable. In addition to doing a reading, they do a craft lecture, answer questions, and mingle with us.

Murray offers concentrations in fiction, poetry, nonfiction and writing for children/young adults. While we do the majority of our work in our own genre, we can take a semester in other genre if we would like to do so.

Three small things that I think illustrate the department's concern with our individual development are these: 1- At the end of each residency, we fill out evaluations. They actually read them and, in a number of cases, adopt them. 2- Our program paid for interested MFA students to attend AWP this year. 3- The program paid for coffee at a local coffee shop for us during workshop. (You might not think that important until you need coffee early in the morning before class!).

I also want to point out that I am a nontraditional (older) student and appreciate the diversity of the program.

Advice to Prospective Students:

I did a lot of research into various programs before I chose to attend Murray. Research will take time, but it's the best thing you can do. Familiarize yourself with the program and the school. Read some of what the faculty and visiting writers have written as well as the school's literary journal or publication. TALK to the program director, mentors, other students. Visit the school if you can. Be wary if you can't get someone to answer your questions.

Know that low-residency programs require a large time commitment. Just because you are not on campus does not mean you won't have a lot of work to do on your own time. You will get out of any program only as much as you put into it.

A lot of people are excited by semester abroad programs. As someone who spent a semester abroad in undergraduate school, I can tell you that it's fun, but being abroad does not necessarily do anything to improve your writing. It's the PROGRAM, not the location, that makes the difference.