Creative Writing at Idyllwild Arts Academy

OVERVIEW
For high school students interested in developing as writers, Idyllwild Arts offers a major in creative writing, which, combined with the academic program, prepares a student to pursue writing fields in college and beyond. The overall program for writers at IAA provides a general study of literature, arts and sciences, and fine arts; it also provides extracurricular experiences in public readings, publishing a literary magazine, and excursions to cultural and environmental experiences. Creative writing courses place an equal emphasis on the practice of writing craft and on the study literature by writers of many eras, continents, and sensibilities. Students gain the ability to analyze, appreciate, and create the components that comprise works of literature. A writer must also be a reader in order to master the difficult arts of poetry, fiction, and dramatic writing. IAA emphasizes a wide range of study in literature and other disciplines to provide a foundation to become resourceful in techniques, styles, models, ideas, and subject matter. The mission is to teach students how to read critically as writers and to give students the practice of writing frequently so that, by creating their own works, they may apply what they have learned. A faculty of publishing writers who are experienced teachers delivers this rigorous and diverse curriculum.

FACULTY
The Creative Writing teachers at IAA are a mixture of full and part time faculty who only teach creative writing courses. Their work has been published by nationally known, professional journals and presses respected by other writers, editors, and publishers. Teachers routinely make themselves available to students for individual conferences and participation in the school community. These teachers are in touch with their professional communities of writers, teachers of literature, and publishers around the country, including contacts in university undergraduate writing programs in order to provide current information to students applying to colleges. Distinguished and emerging visiting writers teach master classes and provide feedback to students. The core faculty includes experts in the specific genres they teach: poetry, fiction, and dramatic writing.

CURRICULUM
Within the department, students take courses that provide a wide-ranging background in literature and the fine arts, varied historically, intellectually, geographically, and culturally. A tiered curriculum provides introductory and advanced workshops, seminars, tutorials, a senior thesis, and a senior oral examination. Students are advised on the college application process. Because too much specialization too soon is generally not in a young writer’s best interest, students are required to take writing workshops and seminars in poetry, fiction, and dramatic writing. Classes are small, usually fewer than 10 students, with department enrollment no greater than 22 students. Courses include texts on craft, anthologies of literature, collections of poems, novels, plays, and non-fiction works that offer appropriate models for student writing. Lectures, readings, and workshops by visiting writers (especially those from outside an institution’s state or region) extend the regular faculty’s ability to present a variety of approaches to the art and craft of writing.

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
Students edit and design their own literary magazine, Parallax, with a faculty advisor who guides but does not censor their editorial process. The majority of published works are by creative writing majors, but work is solicited from the broader campus community. The editorial staff is not represented excessively among the magazine’s contributors. Students have regular opportunities to participate in public readings of their works, including small-group readings for students completing a senior thesis or project. Students participate in programs that promote and celebrate literature, writing, and reading, for instance giving readings in area schools, serving in the writing center, and creating other projects. Creative writing students are as academically competitive and qualified as students in other undergraduate departments. Financial aid for creative writing students is comparable to the support for students in other departments. Both the institution and the program work to enroll qualified students of different backgrounds, social classes, and races. A significant number of students continue their studies of writing in college, but are encouraged to find ways of continuing to write seriously while exploring additional professional routes.

OTHER ASPECTS
Birchard Writing Center, the core classroom and workspace for Creative Writing Students, is the oldest building on campus, a pleasant space with tall windows conducive to workshops and seminars, promoting an excellent atmosphere for concentration and focus. Students have access to a small but literature and fine arts concentrated library with holdings in contemporary, canonical, and non-canonical literature, which continues to new titles and is very responsive to the needs of the Creative Writing department. Students frequently travel to readings, workshops, festivals, and other special events away from campus, such as a recent joint reading with students from the Santa Fe Indian School at the literary center 826 Valencia in San Francisco. Students participate in literary competitions appropriate to their level, including the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the Arts Talent and Recognition Search, and the Faulkner Society High School Short Story Award. During the summer, students are encouraged to attend workshops and writing camps held on college campuses such as Duke, Sewanee, University of Iowa, and Kenyon College to gain additional perspective on preparing for the next step after Idyllwild.