Creative Writing

Creative Writing

When you major in creative writing, words are your work. At KCAI, you will link original writing and critical thinking with an in-depth studio experience of your choice.

You will explore literary genres including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, minute fiction, screenwriting, mixed genres, experimental, travel writing, essay and scholarly research, and you will experience a rigorous intellectual process that examines literature, aesthetics and philosophy while you develop technique and confidence as a writer.

Students choose from a wide variety of elective courses, including “Topics in Aesthetics: Sense & Sensibility,” “Topics in American Literature: Contemporary Drama,” “Topics in European Literature: Literature of the Holocaust,” “Topics in the Narrative: Twice-Told Tales,” “Topics in Global/Comparative Literature: The Japanese Novel,” “Creative Nonfiction Workshop: The New New Journalists.”

Paul Collins, Ben Lerner, Lore Segal, Janet Desaulniers and David Kirby are just a few of the nationally and internationally known writers who have spoken at KCAI and led workshops for creative writing majors. Recent lecturers have included author Temple Grandin, who wrote “Animals in Translation” and “Animals Make us Human” and poet Dana Gioia, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Samples of Work

Creative Writing Faculty

  • Phyllis Moore, Ph.D., associate professor and director, School of Liberal Arts

    Phyllis Moore, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the School of Liberal Arts at KCAI, is an award-winning teacher and writer...Read More.
  • Rush Rankin, Professor

    Rush Rankin, who joined the KCAI faculty in 1975, teaches creative writing, fiction, poetry and aesthetic philosophy. Rankin...Read More
  • Patricia Catto, Associate professor

    Patricia Catto has taught in the School of Liberal Arts for 20 years and has offered a collection of courses dealing with eco-...Read More
  • Jordan Stempleman, lecturer

    Jordan Stempleman is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop where he was a Leggett Schupes Fellow in Poetry. He is the author of six...Read More

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