“Most of us are not compelled to linger with the knowledge of our aloneness, for it is a knowledge that can paralyze all action in this world. There are, forever, swamps to be drained, cities to be created, mines to be exploited, children to be fed. None of these things can be done alone. But the conquest of the physical world is not man’s only duty. He is also enjoined to conquer the great wilderness of himself. The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose site of its purposes, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place.“
James Baldwin – “The Creative Process”
Welcome!
We are an MFA Program that values community, encourages risks in craft,
and promotes crossing boundaries through imagination and language.
Join us and see how far you can take your writing.
Crossing Boundaries is Key
Situated in one of the most diverse communities in the world, we at the Queens College MFA Program in Creative Writing & Literary Translation play seriously with language. Small classes and conferences make for individually-guided work. Cross-genre classwork can make translation as much a metaphor for exploring one’s craft as it is a unique opportunity to learn.
Exploration is Key
The literary study you’ll do in your craft classes and literature electives is just one way you’ll have to explore new areas of study and bring them into your own writing. Opportunities such as our fellowships with the Louis Armstrong Museum and our library’s civil rights archive are another. Writing from knowledge can expand your point of view–our faculty members have done this in their own work, whether using testimonies from the Salem Witch Trials or science articles from The New York Times.
Another is leaning into the culture of this city. Queens is the most linguistically diverse place on the planet–more languages are spoken here than any place else, which is exactly why we wanted to start a dedicated translation track here, so that the world has a voice here.
And, because we are in the New York metropolitan area, students have access to some of the most important cultural and political organizations in the country.
Community is Key
All our faculty members are active in their writing lives–publishing, giving readings, and promoting literary citizenship. We partner with other writers and organizations to bring new events to campus and opportunities to our students. We want you to succeed. You can lean into our networks, work with fellow students, or bring your own connections to launch projects and build a literary future.
Furthermore, our school’s English Department welcomes our writers into graduate literature classes, and they are keen on having current students teach undergraduate courses.
If you wish to work intensively on your writing, even crossing the boundaries of genre to develop your vision, join us.
If you want to read widely and bring the things you study into your work, join us.
If you know that being part of a community, both on campus and on this planet, is a way to grow stronger, join us.
Take a look at our application, and if you have any questions about the program, feel free to contact us.
