English Literature: Creative Writing – (M.Sc.)

Contents

Students elect to study either poetry or fiction. They spend two semesters in a programme of seminars, workshops and readings, during which time they also study one literature option course per semester. In May, the group spends a few days in rural Perthshire (at the University´s `outward bound´ centre on the shores of Loch Tay) to mark the end of the first phase of the course, and the beginning of solo supervision. Students then work with their individual supervisor until September and submission of their dissertation.

During the two semesters, the aim is to create an environment where students can hone their skills by means of:

* practice, through weekly stimulus sessions and/or set assignments to raise awareness of technical issues (SET EXERCISES)
* criticism, through weekly workshops, where listening skills, close reading and coherent expression of ideas develop (WORKSHOPS)
* theory, through weekly seminars, where the group examines specific ideas about literature and its context, often as creative writers have expressed them, and how they relate to the practice of writing (CORE COURSES)

Through the two teaching semesters (weeks 3, 6 and 9) we host a series of readings by established writers. We also organise an end of semester reading for students to present their work at the Pleasance Cabaret Bar. In the final part of the second semester, we host a series of seminars focusing on the business of publishing, with visiting speakers drawn from the field.

Throughout the year, tutors will provide information on writing-related events - readings, lectures and performances - taking place elsewhere in the city, competitions and opportunities for publication.