“Noted Authors Lead Creative Writing Program”

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>A great story about the Program in Creative Writing at Princeton</p>

<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/61/74I24/index.xml?section=featured%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/61/74I24/index.xml?section=featured&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.princeton.edu/%7Evisarts/cwr/faculty.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/~visarts/cwr/faculty.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>“Princeton's renowned Program in Creative Writing offers undergraduate students the unique opportunity to pursue original work in fiction, poetry and translation under the guidance of some of the world's best-known writers.</p>

<p>“Among the 15 practicing writers on the program's faculty are Toni Morrison, Paul Muldoon, James Richardson, C.K. Williams, Edmund White, Joyce Carol Oates and Chang-rae Lee, its current director.</p>

<p>“Recent speakers have included Don DeLillo, Jhumpa Lahiri, Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer, a 1999 Princeton graduate whose debut novel, "Everything Is Illuminated," grew out of his senior thesis.</p>

2

<p>Toni Morrison + Joyce Carol Oates = favorites! I would really love to meet them :).</p>

3

<p>Jonathan Safran Foer is a rare talent these days.</p>

4

<p>Unfortunately, Toni Morrison retired this past year, but we still have other great writers on faculty</p>

5

<p>
[QUOTE]
Jonathan Safran Foer is really overrated these days

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>Fixed it for ya.</p>

6

<p>But can they teach?</p>

7

<p>do you ever have anything nice to say about a school on its own board?</p>

8

<p>Some of you guys could use a creative writing class. This post is a snooze.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
But can they teach?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Creative writing classes mostly involve workshopping that's best done with other writers anyway.</p>

10

<p>Fair enough.</p>

<p>I never said anything about Princeton. I have expansive respect for the school.</p>

<p>I do, however, have problems with schools touting big-name professors, especially if they weren't academics. This happens at all schools, including Stanford. While it might have been cool to take a class from Al Gore, that's no guarantee that one actually learns something, especially considering it's almost guaranteed that he isn't grading your papers, etc. Stanford professor William Perry, former Defense Secretary, has a reputation of being a poor teacher. </p>

<p>It's the teaching quality, rather than the star power that matters.</p>