Creative Writing
Why should you come to Rocky Mountain College and major in creative writing?
“Go where light is,” encourages Theodore Roethke in his poem ‘A Field of Light.’ For RMC students, the light has been their own creativity. It is through increasing student interest that a creative writing major emerged at the College.
For the last twenty years, the English program has sponsored an annual student writing competition. Beginning with essay, poetry and fiction categories, playwriting and writing to theme were added as interest grew. In 1997, the student literary journal Soliloquy was reborn. Submissions rose from twelve in 1990 more than 180 last year. An art competition was added as a way of enhancing student writing. A senior seminar in writing was added three years ago, for the specific purpose of encouraging students to be writers, communicators and editors. Each year the English program sponsors an evening of ‘Voices’ for which students share their award winning pieces which have been selected for publication.
Two years ago fourteen student editors were asked what major they would have taken had they had all the choices in the world. The overwhelming response was creative writing. The English program developed a 42-credit major which combines a variety of writing courses with literature courses which show students the genres of writing, as demonstrated by quality writers from a wide range of cultures. The major appeared for the first time in the 2008-2009 RMC catalog. But before it was an official major, students were working with English professors to create their own Independent Programs of Study (IPS) majors in creative writing. One student combined creative writing with environmental science to pursue her dream of becoming an environmental writer. Another double majored in creative writing and psychology, using creativity as a way of enhancing her goal of becoming a therapist. Successful RMC writers have become newspaper editors, sports journalists, and government writers, as well as professors, attorneys and physicians.
In recent years, students on campus have used their writing skills to publish the literary journal, write for the student newspaper (Top of the Rock), initiate their own creative newspaper (Under the Rock) and do internships with local newspapers, television stations, the RMC publications office, and The Writers Voice of Billings. This year writing students have the opportunity to participate in the New York Writer’s tour, a three-credit May course focused on workshops and seminars on publishing, editing, magazine writing and project development. They will meet with professional writers, editors and agents who will introduce them to important aspects of writing and the publishing profession.
When the faculty approved the creative writing major in the Spring of 2008, it was honoring a light that students, faculty, administration and board members had helped to grow. “Go where light is,” urges Roethke. And we did.
