YSU Schools hook up for writing degree

It's the only program of its kind in the country offered by a consortium of universities.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University's newest degree program is prepared to take the art of creative writing into the "real world."
Philip Brady, YSU English professor, has been evaluating the first class of applicants for a master of fine arts program in creative writing, to be offered starting next month by YSU and three other universities in northeast Ohio.
"We're looking for people with a burning desire to fulfill a goal of cultivating their art," said Brady, the program's director. "We want people who are 'following their bliss,' as the philosopher Joseph Campbell says."
But at the same time, there's a practical side to this program for prospective authors, poets and playwrights.
"It's designed to prepare people to go into careers in the arts," Brady said. "That can include editors at university presses and grant writers."
The first class will consist of 25 students, with 30 more to be added in the fall of 2005, with an eventual goal of 100 to 150 students in the program.
Other universities
They'll take course work at YSU, Kent State, Cleveland State and the University of Akron in the only MFA program in the country offered by a consortium of universities.
"When resources are dwindling, consortium programs make a lot of sense," Brady said. "We'll have students from all over the country, but students in northeast Ohio will have the advantage of an MFA program without having to leave their particular locality."
Students will take courses at each of the four campuses, with the same access to all the universities' facilities as other full-time students, Brady said.
The program offers courses in several areas of emphasis, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, literary translation and play writing. Course work will focus on the writing process as well as looking at specific authors, genres and periods of literature.
But students will also have the opportunity to get hands-on experience in working in the arts through internship programs.
"Students are expected to become part of the community, and learn what it's like to work in this field," Brady said. "The consortium grew out of the communities [where the universities are located] and we want to give back. I think it's an enormous benefit."
A big concern
The internship program, Brady hopes, will also address one of the biggest concerns of students in any liberal arts program.
"They always want to know, 'What am I going to do with this when I get done?'" Brady said.
The faculty will consist of 16 professors -- including Brady -- with a total of more than 50 published books. Brady, in his 15th year at YSU, also directs the university's poetry center and the Etruscan Press publishing company.
He said he believes the program can develop people who are prepared to do a wide variety of work, even beyond the realm of creative writing.
"What we're seeing today is the business world looking for people who can think critically, learn and bring together different kinds of experiences," Brady said. "I believe the MFA cultivates that kind of mind."