The Second Century Campaign has revamped many of Dedman programs. (Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus)

For 50 years, SMU’s creative writing program has remained steadfast. Founded by professor Emeritus Marshall Terry, the program offered students the choice between specializations in fiction writing or poetry. However, this semester, the department is making the transition toward territory that takes students out of their comfort zones and into a changing creative world.

Changes, proposed by creative writing director David Haynes have lead the program now boasts four specializations to prepare students for the world post-graduation. Students majoring in creative writing can either pick from craft-based workshops, new media, publishing and editing or writers in the world. Each track focuses on a specific aspect of creative writing outside of academia.

“Part of the change in the curriculum was related to the fact that all of the senior members of the department have retired or passed away. It was clear that I was going to be the remaining member of the department,” Haynes said.

To combat this change, Haynes brought in Greg Brownderville and Cara Diaconoff to strengthen the program’s faculty. Both will be instructing specialized genre courses dealing with poetry publication and documentary work.

Brownderville, who heads the poetry workshop, knew from an early age that he had an aptitude for language.

“When I was a little kid I just loved words and words were my favorite toys. I was always thinking about words, delighting in certain of them and getting obsessed with some of them until my mother would catch on to what I was doing and think I was strange,” Brownderville said.

This initial obsession grew into a career as Brownderville published his first book Deep Down in the Delta before pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Mississippi. After graduating in 2008, Brownderville went on to become co-director of a creative writing program at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo.

However, the teaching load often came in the way of his work as a poet.

“I was teaching four classes a semester, which is quite a lot if you’re trying to write as well. I really wanted a job that would accommodate my writing. I wanted to work in an English department that would view my writing as part of my job,” Brownderville said.

Job postings for positions in the creative writing program at SMU appeared in fall 2011, attracting applicants like Brownderville and Diaconoff.

“We were particularly interested in young writers who had some ideas about new media or about publishing and editing and taking writing out into the world. We hope to continue to add to the faculty,” Haynes said.

Haynes’ choices for the faculty positions reflect the changing momentum of the curriculum. For those looking to take a path more in line with the original curriculum, the Craft track hones in on producing fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction work.
“When I came to SMU, I had the idea of taking both fiction and poetry. But now it’s great, because both are combined in the Craft track,” sophomore Emily Le said.

Overall, the changes within the program are designed to flexibly mirror changes in the wider world of creative writing. The increasing use of social media and technology presents professional writers with more avenues to explore.

“The possibilities are endless once you move from print to a tablet. That’s going to change the way people experience literature,” Brownderville said.

The new track also deals with the fact that many students involved in creative writing move on to careers outside of authorship, including law, public relations and marketing.

“The new curriculum is designed to really allow the students with interests beyond professional authorship to be able to engage in the curriculum,” Haynes said.

Despite changes in the creative writing world and the program at SMU, Haynes maintains that the core of the craft will always remain the same.

“Good writing will always be good writing. Readers will always be looking for good stories, good poems, and good nonfiction,” Haynes said.