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Our Community, On and Off Campus

 

On Campus: MFA Readings and Events

On the Same Page

Held on several evenings during the fall semester, this series of informal discussions of literary texts is designed for the whole MFA community, both faculty and students. Two or three texts are assigned during the summer for everyone to read. (For instance, recently, we assigned The Atlantic Monthly Fiction Issue, Tory Dent’s book of poetry HIV Mon Amour and The Best American Essays.)  Led by one or two faculty members, the discussions are meant to engage everyone, and to explore matters of craft, form and language in the texts.

Trends in Translation

Each year we invite several esteemed literary translators to speak about the theory and practice of translation.  This year, we will offer a Trends in Translation Conference that will include a series of talks, readings and meetings.  Previous programs have shown writers the challenge and pleasure peculiar to this field and in doing so, we encourage translation from any one in the Program as a means to experiment and to expand their own creativity.  

Emerging Writers Series

This series is one of our most special events. Each semester, on a series of evenings, emerging writers come to read and talk about their most recent book with our students in a salon-style setting.  The guest typically reads then takes questions and comments from the audience, all of whom have read the book. Some of our most fascinating and still on-going discussions have been generated during these conversations. We have had readings by poets and fiction writers and look forward next year to presentations by playwrights and children’s book authors as well.

Evening Reading Series

Sponsored by Queens College and directed by Joseph Cuomo, this renowned series brings many notable writers to campus, including, in the past, Arthur Miller, Jamaica Kincaid and Robert Pinsky. Readings are held at 7pm on Tuesday nights during the academic year. Leonard Lopate writer as well as host of The Leonard Lopate Show, conducts interviews of many of the writers. Further information is available at: http://www.qc.edu/qcer

Our Bulletin Blog

One of the ways we keep in contact with our students and the wider community is through postings of news and events on our MFA bulletin blog. To read about our current readings and talks, go to:
http://queenscollegemfa.blogspot.com/

 

Off Campus: Our Literary Partners

A huge advantage for our faculty and students is our location: New York City, the capital of culture and publishing!  Writers the world over vie for access to the resources that we have at hand. Beyond the Queens College campus events, there are a multitude of readings, panels, discussions, and employment possibilities. 

And, as part of a larger university system, The City University of New York, our students are part of a network of graduate programs, three other CUNY MFA programs and the Graduate Center.  Although we are discrete academic programs, in the interest of community-building across the system, the CUNY faculty are in the process of planning a number of joint events.  In May 2007, the creative writing faculty from across CUNY campuses read at a marathon reading.  Aside from our own faculty members, other writers included Billy Collins, Michael Cunningham, Elizabeth Nunez, Meena Alexander, Tom Sleigh, Grace Schulman.

Our partnering continued at the Associated Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) 2008 Conference in New York.  As a major sponsor, our faculty and students enjoyed participating at a national conference in their own hometown.   

The CUNY faculty members are continuing this relationship and will partner with national literary organizations, such at The Poetry Society of America, the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, The Asian American Writers Workshop and the Center for Book Arts.   

For updates, see Creative Writing at CUNY:
http://www1.cuny.edu/academics/academic-programs/programs-of-note/creative-writing-at-CUNY.html