MFA Program Retreat

On September 9 and 10, 2011, the MFA students and the BYU creative writing faculty congregated in southern Utah near Capitol Reef National Park for a two-day retreat.  Using as home base September Cottage, the family cabin of Dr. Susan Howe, these participants hiked to Hickman Bridge, scrambled around cliffs, explored Spring Canyon, and observed the various landscapes of the area.  Each excursion involved a writing exercise that required experimentation with “place-based” writing.  The students first used a strong formal structure to organize details of a chaotic natural world; they then contemplated what they could learn about the human experience from a particular tree, rock, plant or landscape.  Next, they drew a visual representation of three related physical items as a means for focusing their attention on details, and finally, they each wrote to an absent person about a physical landscape as a means for exploring their relationship with that person.  Besides honing writing skills, these students and faculty established a camaraderie and rapport that will facilitate productive critiquing of each others’ creative work, a central strategy in the creative writing curriculum.  Commenting on the value of this two-day experience, Scott Morris and Bentley Snow, two MFA candidates, wrote, “Sometimes it’s hard to see our peers and professors as people outside of classes, offices, or their writing. But the retreat confirmed that the MFA students and professors produce interesting, thoughtful work because they are interesting and thoughtful people.”