UC Creative Writing PhD Ranks Eighth in the US

The

Department of English

works hard to expand its national scope, and the efforts have not gone unnoticed. Students from all over the United States come to the

University of Cincinnati

for their PhD in creative writing, a doctoral program that ranks number eight in the country, according to Poets & Writers magazine.

“We’re thrilled to achieve this national recognition,” says Department Head Russel Durst. “I attribute our success in large part to the accomplishments of the faculty, who in recent years have produced prize-winning books and won highly competitive awards including the Fulbright, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award.”

The

McMicken College of Arts and Sciences

bolstered the English department’s faculty this year, hiring Chris Bachelder (fiction) and Danielle Deulen (poetry). Bachelder has written four novels and Deulen has won awards for her poetry, including the Miller Williams Prize for poetry.

“I also recognize the achievements of our graduate students, who are publishing their work with great success, winning major prizes, and going on to tenure-track faculty positions when they complete their degrees,” Durst adds.

One of those students, Marjorie Celona, a PhD student from Victoria, British Columbia, came to UC to write her second novel. “I chose UC because it’s a program that supports writers. It’s a program that gives you time to write. Of all the students I contacted while researching programs, UC’s PhD candidates were the most genuinely happy, successful and fulfilled. It was an easy decision to come here,” she says.

Her forthcoming novel, “Y,” is the story of Shannon, a newborn abandoned at the YMCA, who bounces around foster families as she struggles to piece together the story of why her mother left her and how to define her own place in the world.

The novel stems from Celona’s short story of the same name which has been anthologized in two books, “07: Best Canadian Stories” and “The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008.” The novel, “Y,” has a tentative publication date of autumn 2012.

“Marjorie Celona is a lavishly talented writer, and an unusually versatile one—she excels in a wide variety of tones and modes. She’s also a charming, delightful person. We’re not surprised by the news of the international acclaim for ‘Y,’ but we are thrilled for her—and we couldn’t be more pleased to have her here in Cincinnati,” says Professor Michael Griffith.