Department of English
Division of Humanities and Fine Arts
Budding writers find the creative writing community at Washington College inviting and full of opportunities to practice their craft. The minor in creative writing offers a carefully planned curriculum designed to foster the young writer’s creative expression—guidance that is significantly enhanced by exposure to the voices and visions of some of the finest poets and fiction writers in the country. Each year, thanks to the endowment of the Sophie Kerr Fund, the College brings to campus a succession of distinguished writers, editors, and literary scholars. Billy Collins, Junot Díaz, Nick Flynn, Jonathan Franzen, Neil Gaiman, Lauren Groff, Ted Kooser, Li-Young Lee, Colum McCann, Azar Nafisi, Maggie Nelson, Joyce Carol Oates, Claudia Rankine, Jane Smiley, Natasha Trethewey, Colson Whitehead, and Jacqueline Woodson are just some of the writers and literary scholars who have come to campus in the last decade to teach, lecture, and conduct writing workshops.
The Sophie Kerr Endowment also supports the justly famous Sophie Kerr Prize (almost $70,000 in 2022, the largest undergraduate literary prize in the country), as well as student scholarships and grants, library collection development, and professional development for English Department faculty. The Literary House supervises about 100 learning opportunities and internships for students, as well as providing a space where students can explore the letterpress and bookmaking in the print studio.
Creative Writing Minor Requirements
The Creative Writing Minor requires successful completion of six courses and attendance at six literary events
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| Introduction to Creative Writing | |
| Introduction to Fiction | |
| Introduction to Nonfiction | |
| Introduction to Poetry | |
| Introduction to Drama | |
| Chaucer | |
| Arthurian Literature | |
| Women Writers to 1800 | |
| The Eighteenth Century | |
| Romanticism | |
| The Victorian Age | |
| The 19th Century English Novel | |
| The Rise of Modernism | |
| Modernism and Its Discontents | |
| Modern & Contemporary British Literature | |
| Postcolonial Literature | |
| Women's Literature | |
| Native American Literature | |
| Children's & Young Adult Literature | |
| American Short Story | |
| The African American Novel | |
| American Environmental Writing | |
| Contemp Am Literature : Living Writers | |
| Lit. of Eur Colonies of N Am & Early US | |
| Literary Romanticism in U.S. I | |
| Literary Romanticism in the U.S. II | |
| Gilded Age & American Realism | |
| The Harlem Renaissance | |
| Faulkner & Modernism in U.S. | |
| 2PACalypse Now! | |
| Book History & American Print Culture | |
| Toni Morrison | |
| Black Men & Women: Images | |
| Special Topics (Relevant Literature Course) | |
| |
| |
| Introduction to Playwriting | |
| Creative Writing Workshop: Fiction | |
| Creative Writing Workshop: Poetry | |
| Creative Writing Workshop : Nonfiction | |
| Special Topics (or other pertinent special topics courses with the approval of the Director) | |
| Total Credits | 24 |
Students majoring or minoring in another English program (English major, Journalism, Editing & Publishing minor) may only double-count two courses (eight credits).
Advising note
Students may count up to two courses (8 credits) toward multiple programs in the English department (i.e., toward the English major, Creative Writing minor, and/or Journalism, Editing & Publishing minor).
Courtney Rydel, Director
James Allen Hall
Roy Kesey
