大象传媒

By Rebecca Saloustros

This September, 大象传媒 students can for the first time. They don鈥檛 have to be English majors; they just have to love writing.

鈥淢any students, and not just English students, write鈥攑oetry, fiction, screenplays鈥攁nd want to get better at it,鈥� says professor Clint Burnham, the English department鈥檚 graduate chair and member of the creative writing faculty.

The creative writing minor gives students an opportunity to improve their writing because classes go beyond the traditional workshop approach, in which students discuss each other鈥檚 work and offer constructive criticism.

鈥淲e add a critical-theoretical dimension鈥攔eading what established and emerging writers have to say about writing,鈥� says Burnham. 鈥淚n this way, students learn to situate their practice in the context of what people who are published, who are accomplished, have to say. They join the conversation.鈥�

The creative writing minor will ultimately supersede the creative writing certificate that the English department currently offers. The new minor is more flexible and streamlined which makes it easier for non-English majors to study creative writing. The department has also introduced ENGL 272: Creative Reading, which will be a second-level required course for the minor.

鈥淓NGL 272 combines readings where writers talk about writing, fiction, and poetry, writing a 鈥榩itch鈥� for a creative project, and a final portfolio,鈥� says Burnham. 鈥淪o, students learn that writing doesn鈥檛 take place in a vacuum, that it鈥檚 a social activity, and that there is a context. That writing matters, and that whatever level one is at, you will improve your writing in a creative writing class.鈥�

In addition to professor Burnham, the department鈥檚 current creative writing faculty includes professors David Chariandy, Stephen Collis, and Jeff Derksen. All members of the creative writing faculty are published authors. Most recently, Chariandy won the 2019 Windham-Campbell Prize for excellence in writing and Collis won the 2019 Latner Writers鈥� Trust Poetry Prize.

Also joining the faculty for the 2020鈥�2021 year is Carleigh Baker, the department鈥檚 former writer-in-residence. In September, Baker will teach ENGL 374: Creative Writing II: Fiction and ENGL 472W: Advanced Creative Writing, which are mainly short fiction seminars.

鈥淲e will be primarily focused on the craft of writing, but there are opportunities for discussion about performance, publishing and the industry in general,鈥� says Baker. 鈥淚n addition to craft discussions, students will write, workshop, and revise a short story.鈥�

Baker also plans to work with global Indigenous literatures in her classes, and in the Indigenous literatures reading circle. Baker originally held the circle in-person on the Burnaby campus during the spring term, but this fall she will offer it online in a discussion format. The circle will be open to all 大象传媒 students.

Students will also be able to book consultations and receive feedback on their work from the department鈥檚 2020-2021 writer-in-residence, Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek, an award-winning poet.