Creative Writing

Creative Writing Certificate

The Department of English offers a Creative Writing Certificate, with a focus on fiction and/or poetry, which can be completed as part of a degree program (academic credits counting towards degree completion), with or without a major/minor in English.

Students may also choose to take the Creative Writing courses as part of the English major or minor or as elective courses while pursuing a different major/minor, as long as they meet the prerequisites.

Creative Writing Courses

ENGL 372
Creative Writing I: Poetry

A seminar-workshop in the theory and practice of creative writing with specific emphasis on poetry. Prerequisite: Two 100 division English courses and two 200 division English courses.

ENGL 374
Creative Writing II: Fiction

A seminar-workshop in the theory and practice of creative writing with specific emphasis on prose fiction. Prerequisite: Two 100-division English courses and two 200-division English courses.

ENGL 472W
Advanced Creative Writing

An advanced seminar-workshop in the theory and practice of poetry or fiction. Genre varies from term to term. Students with credit for ENGL 472 prior to fall 2015 may not complete this course for further credit. Otherwise, course may be repeated for credit when the genre varies. Prerequisite: ENGL 372 or 374. Writing.

Faculty

Clint Burnham

Fiction and Poetry

Clint Burnham's novel Smoke Show was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2005, and his latest book of poetry, Pound @ Guantánamo, was published in 2016 by Talonbooks. Clint has written on art in ESPACE art actuel, fillip, Flash Art, Camera Austria, The Vancouver Sun, Canadian Art, Artforum, and The Globe and Mail. He co-edited Digital Natives (Other Sights) with Lorna Brown, From Text to Txting (Indiana U.P.) with Paul Budra, and an issue of Canadian Literature on 21st century poetics with Christine Stewart; he is the author of The Only Poetry that Matters: Reading the Kootenay School of Writing (Arsenal Pulp).

David Chariandy

Fiction

David Chariandy's first novel entitled Soucouyant was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2007, and was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award, and shortlisted for the Commonwealth Best First Novel Prize. His new novel, Brother, is out this fall.

Stephen Collis

Poetry

Stephen Collis' many books of poetry include The Commons (Talonbooks 2008; second edition 2014), On the Material (Talonbooks 2010; awarded the BC Book Prize for Poetry), and To the Barricades (Talonbooks 2013).

Jeff Derksen

Poetry

Jeff Derksen's books of poetry include The Vestiges (Talonbooks 2013), Transnational Muscle Cars (Talonbooks 2003), Dwell (Talonbooks 1993; nominated for the Alberta Writer's Guild Award), and Down Time (Talonbooks 1990; awarded the BC Book Prize: Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize).