At the undergraduate level at WVU, students from any major can minor in creative writing. The coursework consists of fifteen credit hours of English classes (beyond the core requirements), which includes reading and writing in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. English majors who minor in creative writing do a little more: their work culminates in a capstone project in the genre (or a mix of genres) of the author’s choosing.

This fall, Mark Brazaitis taught the 418 capstone course. He, along with graduate-student mentors, worked with eleven undergraduates, workshopping and providing feedback as the students wrote, revised, and prepared their final collections. On Tuesday, December 8, each of the creative writing students read an excerpt from his or her collection after being introduced by his or her mentor. The students’ selections ranged from poignant to humorous and from fantastical to autobiographical, and all were exceptional.

Here’s a taste of their work in the form of a poem/story of sorts created from taking one line from each author in order of appearance:

• Freckles spotted his cheeks and red radiated from his shoulders in standard lifeguard fashion.
• The smell of cologne and cumin hung in the air, which he expected, but also lemon Pledge and flowers.
• Air got trapped in his throat and couldn’t make the trip to his lungs.
• Such denial produces repulsion, naturally.
• With what my days and nights have left me, I am destined to build my own wings.
• I would have given Sandy an extra point in my head if what she had said was true.
• I search for modern music, feet clanging to a tune—I find stairs.
• All I’ve had is one-and-a-half pancakes, and I really need to use the restroom.
• He dare not make another creature from a freestyle. . . . “Perhaps I can make a creature I can write with.”
• Ancestor, would you have picked up that tool if you knew?

Congratulations to the creative writers for completing their capstone and their minor—we look forward to reading your writing in the years to come!

Jacob (Max) Maxwell
mentored by Megan Fahey

Patrick Bush
mentored by Megan Fahey

Sara Burgess
mentored by Whit Arnold

Caleb Milne
mentored by Elizabeth Leo

Ethan Schnell
mentored by Elizabeth Leo

Alan O’Connor
mentored by Kelsey Englert

Joan Conte
mentored by Kelsey Liebenson-Morse

Christopher Henry
mentored by Sarah Munroe

Conar McVicker
mentored by Andrea Ruggirello

Victor Warnock
mentored by Kelsey Englert

You can hear the entire 418 Capstone Reading on the CLC Creative Reading Podcast page: http://literarycomputing.wvu.edu/projects/creative-readings-podcast