course descriptions
Below are the official course descriptions as given in
the UM-St. Louis Bulletin.
Workshops
English 5100 Graduate Workshop in Poetry (3)
Prerequisite: Open to students in the MFA program and to
others with permission of instructor.
Consists of a writing workshop in which the poetry written
by the students enrolled in the course is discussed and
analyzed by the instructor and members of the class. Students
taking this course will be expected to write original poetry
throughout the course. May be repeated for maximum graduate
credit of fifteen (15) hours.
English 5110 Graduate Workshop in Fiction (3)
Prerequisite: Open to students in the MFA program and to
others with permission of instructor.
Consists of a writing workshop in which the fiction (short
stories or chapters of a novel) written by the students
enrolled in the course is discussed and analyzed by the
instructor and members of the class. Students taking this
course will be expected to write original fiction throughout
the course. May be repeated for maximum graduate credit
of fifteen (15) hours.
English 5130 Graduate Workshop in the Novel (3)
Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor, based on submission
of sample of novel manuscript, or sometimes based on the
student's plan for a novel.
A writing workshop in which a novel written by the student
is discussed and analyzed by the instructor and members
of the class, or a writing workshop in which students who
have a plan for a novel are encouraged and guided. May be
repeated for maximum graduate credit of fifteen (15) hours.
English 5140 Graduate Workshop in Nonfiction (3)
Prerequisites: Open to students in the MFA program and
to others with consent of the instructor. A variable‑topics
writing workshop focusing on one or more of the following
forms: personal essay, memoir, travel writing, literary
journalism, biography, or other types of literary nonfiction.
May be repeated for maximum graduate credit of fifteen (15)
hours.
English 5120 Graduate Workshop in Poetry and Fiction
(3)
Prerequisite: Open to students in the MFA program and to
others with consent of the instructor.
Consists of a writing workshop in which the poetry and
fiction written by the students enrolled in the course are
discussed and analyzed by the instructor and members of
the class. Students taking this course will be expected
to write original poetry and/or fiction throughout the course.
May be repeated for maximum graduate credit of fifteen (15)
hours.
English 5150 Studies in Magical realism: myth and
tale (3)
Prerequisite: Open to students in the MFA program and to
others with consent of the instructor.
Consists of a half writing workshop, half literary exploration
in which fiction writers and poets will be encouraged to
write magical realism. May be taken once.
Non-Workshop Courses
English 5190 Literary Journal Editing (3)
Prerequisite: Open to students in the MFA program who have
had at least two graduate writing workshops and to others
with consent of the instructor.
In this course students serve as the first readers of all
submissions to the university's literary magazine, Natural
Bridge. Students will read and evaluate poems, short
stories, and essays and recommend a body of work to the
editorial board of the magazine. The editorial board will
then consider the class consensus in its final selection
of material for publication. In addition to this primary
task of editorial selection, students will also be involved
in the production of an issue of the magazine. May be repeated
for maximum graduate credit of nine hours. (Taught by all
MFA faculty, and some of the distinguished visitors.)
English 5170 Techniques, Methods, and Effects in Fiction
Writing (3)
Prerequisites: Open to students in the MFA program and
to others with consent of the instructor.
This course analyzes the technical choices made by important
contemporary fiction writers in the areas of point of view,
tone, setting, form, and plot structure, and it examines
the effects of those choices. Close consideration is given
to fictional techniques that contribute to a story's characterization,
tension, interest, reliability, drama, irony, and humor.
The course is primarily for creative writers.
English 5950 Form and Theory in Poetry Writing (3)
Prerequisites: open to student in the MFA program and to
others with consent of instructor.
This course analyzes the forms and their arrangements in
poetry written by important poets. This course is primarily
for poets
English 5200 MFA Readings (3)
Prerequisites: Open to students in the MFA program and
to others with consent of the instructor.
This is an independent readings course. In consultation
with an MFA faculty member, students choose works from the MFA Reading List and
read them with the goal of broadening and sharpening their
technical skills as writers. Students ordinarily choose
works in one genre: poetry, the short story, or the novel.
Each week the student reads and reports on at least one
work. The course may be taken only once.
English 6000 Thesis (3-6 hours)
An independent writing tutorial taken by students after
they have completed all other creative writing course work.
Completion of the project requires a substantial body of
original poetry or fiction.
