Creative Writing Programs :: NewPages Guide

New England College

Low-residency MFA in Poetry

98 Bridge Street

Henniker, NH  03242

Website: www.nec.edu/graduate-and-professional-studies/mfa-in-poetry

Program director: Jacqueline Gens and James Harms

Program contact: Jacqueline Gens

Phone: 603-219-9172

Email: jgens@nec.edu

Degrees offered: MFA

Genres: Poetry

Type of program: low-residency

Length of program: 2 years

Enrollment: 20-40

Total credits required: 64

Application deadlines: rolling admissions

Scholarships available: yes, Joel Oppenheimer Scholarships

Core faculty: Carol Frost, James Harms, Brian Henry, Ilya Kaminsky, Malena Morling, Paula McLain, Eleni Sikelianos

Visiting faculty: Anne Waldman, Jack McCarthy, Lynn Emanual, Jack Gilbert, Maxine Kumin, Jean Valentine, Galway Kinnell, Charles Simic, Grace Paley, Kimiko Hahn, Fannie Howe, Martin Espada, Forest Gander, Toi Derricote, Russel Edson

Assistantships: yes, for regional students who can work on campus

Publishing/editing courses: yes

Literary magazine: yes, Tygerburning Literary Journal

Reading series: yes

Program description: The New England College MFA Low Residency Program in Poetry offers a rigorous yet innovative focus on poetry taught by an outstanding faculty dedicated to mentoring each student according to their interests and aesthetic. Founded in 2002, we are a diverse community of poets working together in a collegial program that recognizes the importance of close listening, critical acumen, respectful response, and what Marianne Moore called “a place for the genuine.”

More than a graduate course of study, the New England College MFA program strives to teach its students how to become better poets by providing a transformative experience in the study of creative writing and poetry that will enhance their professional goals.  The distinguishing features of our program include a single genre focus on poetry, as well as specialized study in memorization and recitation, collaborative performance, translation, new media poetics, prose writing for poets and teaching opportunities. By combining short-term residencies with faculty mentor -student semesters, the program is designed to help students develop strong poetic and critical skills, as well as to take bold risks in their writing. Matriculated students already in the MFA program may elect to take the online winter residency option.