Information: reinhardt.edu/Graduate/MFA-CW or 770-720-5582.
Amy McGee is sure she has a book in her.
“I’ve wanted to be a writer my entire life,” said the life-long Waleska resident, who spends her days among other authors’ works as the librarian at Reinhardt University. “For years, I’ve made many aborted attempts to write something but never have been able to finish anything of the quality I’ve wanted.”
McGee is now closer to fulfilling her dream. She is among the first students to enroll in Reinhardt’s new Etowah Valley Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, a terminal degree that launches this month. It’s already drawing attention across the region with three particular features: It requires little time on the Cherokee County campus; it draws on a community of southern writers to inspire those learning the craft; and it aims to have each student finish with a book.
“Our late dean wanted Reinhardt to focus on regional studies, so we got the idea of a regional creative writing program that focuses on southern writers,” said Donna Coffey Little, the program’s director. “Our biggest focus is on writing place – telling stories about the South that could be regional and environmental. We’re very careful to say we’re ‘new South’ – we’re not looking backward to a lost ideal but to the inclusive, multicultural, ever-changing South.”
Students will have the opportunity to select published authors to work with one-on-one. The list of participating instructors includes noted names such as Tony Grooms, Ann Hite and Georgia Author of the Year winner Raymond Atkins.
In addition to the personalized attention, students will take classes online and will required to be on the campus for just 10 days in mid-July.
“The low residency requirement means people who work can do this and still keep their day jobs,” said Little, who added that the program can be completed in seven semesters.
The ability to earn a degree remotely while still being connected to a circle of writers was a major consideration for Katie Fesuk Hartsock, a poet and English teacher at the Walker School in Marietta.
“The biggest thing for me is the community – being surrounded by other writers of all genres,” she said. “I’ve been missing that as a teacher, mom, wife and writer. When I looked at this program, I thought it was exactly like one I would design. And having that 10-day residency in the summer is very unifying. It’s like going to a writers’ retreat and immersing myself. But at the same time, I’ll have the independence to still do my day-to-day work.”
The program also extends opportunities to those who are not seeking a degree.
“We are opening the classes during the July 7 to 16 residency to community members,” said Little. “And there are free readings every night that are open to the public.”
McGee is already anticipating the outcome of earning an MFA. “My thesis is going to be a book,” she declared. “If this program teaches me anything so I can have a finished book in my hand, then I’ll have achieved my goal.”
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