Anyone who possesses a knack for writing knows the joy and much-needed catharsis of pouring words out onto a page. Actually carving out the time and space to devote to said process—that’s a different story entirely. The MFA Writing Program at Sarah Lawrence College, the oldest program of its kind in the country, offers burgeoning writers the structure and support to explore their passion for writing and hone important critical skills under the guidance of some of today’s leading creative voices.
Offering concentrations in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and speculative fiction, the nationally renowned MFA Writing Program, which makes its home on Sarah Lawrence’s wooded 44-acre campus in Yonkers, brings students into close mentoring relationships with active, distinguished writers—and with each other.
With a full-time track as well part-time options that allow mid-career and non-traditional students the ability to plug into classroom life for as little as one day a week, there’s also a path available for every student, from the recently graduated to those yearning to rejoin a vibrant creative community. And with shuttle vans that take students to the Bronxville Metro-North train station seven days a week, commuter students in the Mid-Hudson Valley will also find that it’s easier than ever to make their academic home on campus.
“I had just turned 50 when I entered the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence,” says Jeffrey Williamson, a recent graduate of the MFA Writing Program in Fiction. “I was so relieved to find I was not the only non-traditional student. Far from it. The student body is very diverse in all ways, including age and gender expression, which was very important to me. I like how this diversity of thought, background, and life experience deepens our discussions around the art and craft of writing.”
The Possibilities of the Writing Life
In addition to foundational fiction, nonfiction, speculative fiction, and poetry workshops, courses offered this fall include “A Fiction Workshop to Make Revision Less Torturous” with bestselling novelist Myla Goldberg; “Raiding the Land of Make-Believe: Fiction for Nonfiction Writers” with essayist and cartoonist Timothy Kreider; and “Crossing Over—Speculative Fiction Craft” with Elvia Wilk, author of the 2019 dystopian novel Oval.
Alongside these workshops, students benefit from one-on-one biweekly conferences with faculty members that help students gain a stronger sense of their own literary aspirations and of the possibilities of the writing life. “The writing program at Sarah Lawrence College is uniquely collegial—it’s a program that fosters a spirit of mutual aid, of companionship within a lonely artistic pursuit,” says Heather Harpham, a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College. “Students aren’t just in class together, they are routinely at readings, craft talks, and thinking, collectively, about the big questions that face any artist at the beginning of their creative life.”
There are plenty of opportunities for students to read, hear, and share work on campus, including open mic events, a poetry festival, and an annual literary publication. Another hallmark of the program is its Literary Colloquium events, a weekly series of talks on the craft of writing given by writing faculty members, visiting writers, and publishing professionals. The events, many of which are open to the public, offer a glimpse inside the dynamic dialogue of its community of writers, and touch on every aspect of the writing life.
Among nearly a dozen events featuring contemporary writers this fall include this month’s events with bestselling author Dani Shapiro, an alumnus of the MFA program, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Sharon Olds. On Wednesday, October 18 Shapiro, author of the award-winning 2022 novel Signal Fires, will be discussing the power of the psychoanalytic term the “unthought known” in shaping creative work. The event will take place from 2 to 3pm at the Heimbold Visual Arts Center Donnelley Theatre and on Zoom, followed by an evening nonfiction reading and book signing with Shapiro at 6pm. Rounding out the month, award-winning poet Olds will be giving a poetry reading and signing books on Thursday, October 26 from 6 to 7pm at the Barbara Walters Campus Center.
“As I’ve been exposed to the voices of so many poets, I’ve been able to see my voice more clearly,” says Tangie Mitchell, a recent MFA graduate in Poetry. “I’ve been able to locate myself as a poet, in which lineages and traditions my work fits. Who I’m in conversation with. The program has given me the space and guidance to do that. And it’s held me because that can be very lonely. I’ve been so grateful for that.”
To learn more about the Master of Fine Arts in Writing at Sarah Lawrence College, visit the program overview page or follow @slcwritingmfa on Instagram.
