"We'll teach students how to pass through humble details into grand questions, how to poeticize dirt into stardust – how to see the unseen in the seen." – Joshua Hren



NEWS PROVIDED BY
University of St. Thomas-Houston
May 19, 2021

HOUSTON, May 19, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- University of St. Thomas announces its newest program, the first of its kind and one that seeks to transform the life and spirit of contemporary literature. With the founding of its Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, UST proposes nothing less than a revival of the literary arts in our day, one that will recommit them to the serious achievement of craft and scope of spiritual and intellectual depth worthy of the tradition we inherit and the reader’s attention for which we call.

Online Program Founded by Renowned Catholic Literary Writers

This complete 30-hour online program with two optional, low residency opportunities including a summer writing institute, was founded by renowned Catholic literary writers James Matthew Wilson (poetry) and Joshua Hren (fiction.) They bring to the MFA classroom extensive experience both as prolific authors and as important publishers of contemporary literature. During the short, intensive winter or summer residencies and summer writing institute, participants will meet scholars and noted guest authors. They will receive writing guidance and be published.

"We shall complement their offerings with an extensive number of distinguished visiting faculty and lecturers who are among the great writers and scholars of our time," Wilson said.

Our visiting faculty and lecturers include such accomplished writers and scholars as Sarah Cortez, Dana Gioia, Jessica Hooten Wilson, Robert Royal, Ryan Wilson, Adam Kirsch, Kevin Hart, Abigail Rine Favale, Randy Boyagoda, Catharine Savage Brosman, Glenn Arbery, Christopher Beha, A.M. Juster, Rod Dreher, Sohrab Ahmari, Frederick Turner, Ron Hansen, and David O'Connor, with many more still to come. To learn more about the program or apply, go to www.stthom.edu/MFACreativeWriting.

Affordable Program Begins in fall 2021

The MFA in Creative Writing begins fall 2021, can be completed in as little as two years, and is currently the most affordable such program in the country. To apply go to www.stthomedu/mfa.

Taking Virgil, Dante and Flannery O'Connor for Guides

There are more than 200 MFA programs in the United States. The MFA at the University of St. Thomas is the only one committed expressly to a renewal of the craft of literature within the cosmic scope, long memory and expansive vision of the Catholic literary and intellectual tradition. With Virgil, Dante and Flannery O'Connor as guides, we aim to enter into that tradition and to shape its future.

"Too often, devotion to art and commitment to the faith is kept separate, compartmentalized. This severance has immense consequences for both culture and religion; it forestalls the fullest expression of the mysteries and meanings that riddle our lives, reducing our apprehension of reality to the shallowness of the secular," Wilson said.

Program Open to Every Faith & Background, Those Who Care About the Power & Beauty of Literature

The Catholic literary tradition is rooted in the heart of the Church but genuinely universal in its achievement and its appeal. It is literature that serves and speaks to everyone and serves as a leaven for culture and society as a whole. In that very spirit, our program welcomes applications from anyone and everyone, of every faith and background.

Wilson said, "We welcome students who wish to master the craft of writing; to apprentice themselves to the art; and to restore to contemporary literature those spiritual and intellectual dimensions that have made the art valuable in every age, and which give it the power to change the lives of readers—all such people will find a home, a refuge, a symposium and a training ground in our company."

Apply Now

To learn more about the program or apply, go to www.stthom.edu/MFACreativeWriting

Background on James Matthew Wilson & Joshua Hren

James Matthew Wilson has published ten books, among them four collections of poems, including "The Strangeness of the Good." His poems, essays, and reviews appear regularly in a wide range of magazines and journals. The winner of the 2017 Hiett Prize from the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, Wilson also serves as Poet-in-Residence of the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship, the poetry editor of "Modern Age" magazine, and series editor of Colosseum Books, a new imprint that publishes the best contemporary poetry and literary criticism of serious craft and spiritual depth.

Joshua Hren is the founder and publisher of Wiseblood Books, perhaps the most distinguished and ambitious small literary press of our day. He has published two collections of short stories, "This Our Exile" and "In the Wine Press," as well as "Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good: J.R.R. Tolkien and Political Philosophy." His first novel, "Infinite Regress," is forthcoming from Angelico Press, his introduction to Catholic letters, "How to Read (and Write) like a Catholic" will appear shortly from TAN Books.

CONTACT: Sandy Soliz, Director, Communications, 713-906-7912, solizs@stthom.edu
 
Related Links

www.stthom.edu

www.stthom.edu/MFACreativeWriting