MFA in Creative Writing-Poetry
Distinctive Features
Core Poetry Faculty
Recent Visiting Faculty
Reading Series
Literary Magazine Editing
Graduate Student Instructors
Fellowships and Financial Assistance
Recent Student Publications
What Students Say
See also:
Sample course descriptions
Columbia College Graduate School
MFA Poetry Blog
"Columbia offered the opportunity to cast my net wide, try a variety of poetic styles, and experiment until I found out what worked for me. This program celebrates variety, but insists on craft, language, and intelligence."
— Kristen Orser, MFA ’08
Columbia College Chicago's MFA Program in Creative Writing-Poetry is one of the only single-genre programs in the country and one that will help you develop your writing at a high creative and professional level. You'll gain a sophisticated understanding of poetry as a contemporary and historical practice as you bolster your imaginative and critical abilities. In addition to Literature Classes and Craft Seminars, you'll take Graduate Poetry Workshops and in your pen-ultimate semester, a Thesis Development Seminar. You'll also have the chance to take electives in writing pedagogy and literary magazine editing and production. In your final semester, you'll polish a book-length manuscript as you work one-on-one with one of our nationally-renowned, award-winning Core Faculty members or with our Liberal Arts and Sciences Emerging Poet-in-Residence. Overall, the Program's specialized course of study will help prepare you for life as an artist, scholar, and creative professional and prepare you to participate in the worlds of poetry, publishing, and the arts.
Distinctive Features
- Small, cohesive two-year studio/academic Program with aesthetically diverse and caring faculty
- Editorial opportunities with Columbia Poetry Review and Court Green
- Availability of teaching instructorships and competitive fellowships
- Internship, volunteer, & work opportunities at arts & community organizations such as The Poetry Foundation, The Poetry Center of Chicago, and local schools & shelters
- Active reading series featuring renowned poets such as Rae Armantrout, Michael Burkard, Joanne Kyger, Tracie Morris, Harryette Mullen, Alice Notley, Ron Padgett, Michael Palmer, D.A. Powell, Ed Roberson, & others
- Vibrant South Loop setting in downtown Chicago close to The Art Institute, Millennium Park, Lake Michigan, Grant Park, the Chicago Public Library, & much more
Columbia College's Core Poetry Faculty members are Lisa Fishman, David Trinidad, Tony Trigilio, Arielle Greenberg, and Jenny Boully. Lisa Fishman is the Director of Creative Writing-Poetry Program and the author of five books of poetry, two of which are forthcoming: Current (Parlor Press, November 2010) and F L O W E R C A R T (Ahsahta, May 2011). She also has a chapbook, at the same time as scattering, forthcoming from Albion Books in Fall 2010. David Trinidad's most recent books are The Late Show and By Myself (with D.A. Powell), both published by Turtle Point Press. Dear Prudence: New and Selected Poems is forthcoming from Turtle Point in fall 2011. He is editor of A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos, forthcoming from Nightboat Books. His previous book, Plasticville, was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize of the Academy of American Poets. Tony Trigilio is the author of the poetry collections Historic Diary (forthcoming, BlazeVOX [books]) and The Lama's English Lessons (Three Candles Press, 2006); the chapbooks With the Memory, Which is Enormous (Main Street Rag Press, 2009) and Make a Joke and I Will Sigh and You Will Laugh and I Will Cry (e-chap, Scantily Clad Press, 2008); and the book of criticism Allen Ginsberg's Buddhist Poetics (Southern Illinois University Press, 2007). Arielle Greenberg is the author of two collections of poetry, My Kafka Century (Action Books, 2005) and Given (Verse Press, 2002), co-author, with Rachel Zucker, of a hybrid genre book, Home/Birth: A Poemic (1913 Press, Forthcoming 2011), and editor, along with Zucker, of the anthologies Starting Today: 100 Poems for Obama's First 100 Days (University of Iowa Press, 2010) and Women Poets on Mentorship: Efforts & Affections (University of Iowa Press, 2008). Another anthology, Gurlesque (Saturnalia Books, 2010), on a theory of feminist poetics she developed, is co-edited with Lara Glenum. Jenny Boully is the author of the forthcoming not merely because of the unknown that was stalking towards them (Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2011), The Book of Beginnings and Endings (Sarabande, 2007), [one love affair]* (Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2006), The Body: An Essay (Essay Press, 2007 and Slope Editions, 2002), and the chapbook Moveable Types (Noemi Press, 2007).
Instituted in 2008-09, the English Department welcomes an annual Liberal Arts and Sciences Emerging Poet-in-Residence. Prior to the Emerging Poets-in-Residence, visiting faculty included Joan Larkin, Ed Roberson, Karen Volkman, Laura Mullen, Tom Raworth, Diane Di Prima, Li-Young Lee, Clayton Eshleman, Nick Carbo, Stephanie Strickland, Rick Meier, and Danielle Pafunda.
We sponsor an active monthly reading series featuring nationally-recognized poets such as Rae Armantrout, Anselm Berrigan, Michael Burkard, Denise Duhamel, Elaine Equi, C.S. Giscombe, Kate Greenstreet, Matthea Harvey, Terrance Hayes, Dorianne Laux, Joyelle McSweeney, Harryette Mullen, Maggie Nelson, Alice Notley, Naomi Shihab Nye, Michael Palmer, D.A. Powell, and Jean Valentine, among others.
Students who wish to gain editorial experience may apply to join the staffs of our national publications, Columbia Poetry Review, Court Green, and Hotel Amerika.
Each year the English Department offers a limited number of Graduate Student Instructorships, which enable MFA students to gain experience in the teaching of Writing and Rhetoric at the college level. You can find information about how to apply here.
Fellowships and Financial Assistance
- Follett Fellowships and Departmental Merit Awards are offered to select incoming students
- Second-year students may apply for Graduate Opportunity Awards
- Getz Awards are offered by the Graduate School each semester
- Graduate Student Instructors receive a regular salary
- Tuition waivers are offered on a semester-to-semester basis to reward students for service to the program
• For more information, visit the Graduate Office Scholarship page
- Kristy Bowen: girl show (Ghost Road Press, 2009); in the bird museum (Dusie, 2008), Feign (New Michigan Press, 2007), The Fever Almanac (Ghost Road Press, 2006)
- Brandi Homan: Hard Reds (Shearsman Books, 2008), Bobcat Country (Shearsman Books, 2010)
- Becca Klaver: LA Liminal (Kore Press, 2010)
- Steven Teref and Maja Teref: Assembly: Selected Poems of Novica Tadić (Host Publications, 2009)
- Current and former students Kristy Bowen, Ryan Collins, Ian Harris, Jessi Lee, and Susan Yount have been featured recently on the websites Poetry Daily and Verse Daily.
- Student poems have appeared in recent issues of AGNI, Black Clock, The Black Warrior Review, Caffeine Destiny, can we have our ball back?, Caketrain, Coconut, Conduit, Cranky, CutBank, DIAGRAM, Elixir, The Hat, HazMat Review, H_NGM_N, Keep Going, The Kenyon Review, La Petite Zine, LUNGFULL!, Pebble Lake Review, Redivider, and Salt Hill, among others.