Starting next fall, undergraduate English majors will have the option to pursue poetry as an established area of concentration within the department.
The program will allow undergraduates to focus on poetry writing. The program "honors the fact that students have concentrated in this area," said Lisa Russ Spaar, creative writing director and coordinator for the upcoming poetry area concentration.
English majors may apply to the program at the end of their second year and graduate students will recommend undergraduates from their introductory level courses. The department will allow upcoming fourth-year students to apply this year for the program. Spaar said she anticipates 10 accepted students each year.
As part of the program, students may elect to write a creative thesis as part of a two-semester independent study option. The program also will allow students to participate in poetry writing seminars.
While the University's graduate poetry concentration, ranked fourth in the country, is available to graduate Masters in Fine Arts students, University undergraduates have not had an official program.
"We had a huge culture of writing for undergrads ... but no formal way of sanctioning it," Spaar said.
The idea came from students who wanted the opportunity to focus their studies in poetry in a more formalized setting, she added.
The program is "really valuable for people who want to go on" to get their MFA degree, second-year graduate student Erika Meitner said. "This gives them more legitimacy than just as an English major."
Implementing the program will not cost the English department more money because it has the capabilities to accommodate the concentration, Spaar said.
English Department Chairman Michael Levenson said this is an opportunity for gifted young poets.
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