Creative writing students earn national recognition

Poetry is an integral part of many life events. Poems are often delivered at presidential inaugurations, used to kick off celebrations, and studied in a classroom setting. The lives of four University of Missouri-Columbia students recently were affected through their accomplishments in the genre, which doesn't surprise Sherod Santos, director of the Creative Writing Program and the Center for the Literary Arts.

"Our students are deeply committed to the art of literature, not just to making it but to learning it as well," Santos said.

Nadine Meyer and Steve Gehrke Jill Housh photo

Julianne Buchsbaum Dan Glover photo

Doctoral students Steve Gehrke and Nadine Meyer won the 2005 National Poetry Series. The two were among 50 finalists and only five recipients of the series, which is sponsored by five major publishers. HarperCollins will publish Meyer's book, The Anatomy Theater, and the University of Illinois Press will publish Gehrke's book Michelangelo's Seizure.

Gehrke and Meyer, who married last year, feel that their work has been influenced by the time they have spent at Mizzou.

"It's been a remarkable experience, being in such a warm atmosphere with supportive mentors," Meyer said.

MU sets the bar high for admission into the Creative Writing Program, which is the core unit for the new Center of the Literary Arts. Students can earn a masters degree in creative writing after 30 hours in the program, or a doctorate degree following the completion of 60 hours. For the doctoral program, only two students in each genre (poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction) are admitted each year, so the competition is intense, Santos said.

"Because our program falls under the English department, we're looking for students who see their reading and studies as supplemental to their work as writers who feel that the one nourishes the other," he said.

Gehrke and Meyer, along with doctoral student Julianne Buchsbaum, were all enrolled in Santos' course last spring. For the first part of the semester, poetry in general was discussed. The middle and end of the semester was devoted to student manuscripts.

"Each week, the class would look at one particular manuscript, making written and verbal responses and raising issues of theme and chronology," Santos said. "Knowing that they were going to be turning in an entire collection, the basis of what would be their first books for many of them, prompted students such as Steve, Nadine and Julianne to engage in the process more thoughtfully than they would have before."

Buchsbaum received the Del Sol Press Annual Poetry Award for her collection A Little Night Comes. All three students, in addition to fellow doctoral student Emily Rosko, will have their works published in the upcoming months.

Rosko won the 2005 Iowa Poetry Prize for her first collection of poems Raw Goods Inventory. After completing a fellowship at Stanford University, Rosko decided to enroll at MU.

"I chose the MU program because it has an impressive reputation for turning out award-winning writers in both poetry and fiction," she said. "I also liked that the program is small which allows for a more tight-knit writing community of teachers and peers."

To find a list of student works available in libraries, bookstores and on the Internet, visit the Creative Writing Program.

Additional links:

Creative Writing Program
Center for Literary Arts

National Poetry Series
Del Sol Press Annual Poetry Award
Iowa Poetry Prize