In Fall of 2021, Marymount Manhattan College will officially be introducing a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. In 2004, when Dr. Jerry Williams first came to MMC as a tenure-track professor, there wasn’t even a creative writing minor, so he quickly put one together. Since then, the program has grown tremendously. Originally being a concentration in the English & World Literatures Bachelors of Arts, but now it has its own BFA program. The initial discussion about starting the BFA began in 2006 when the number of students interested in writing poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction was quite impressive. The number of students has been growing steadily since then. With this exponential growth in creative writing centric students, it seemed like the right time to expand. This resulted in Dr. Jennifer Brown and other colleagues of Dr. Williams’ in the English & World Literatures Department to organize the BFA last year. The BFA is very similar to the concentration, however it is more thorough. It increases the number of creative writing classes that students are able to devote towards a major. 

As of now, MMC is one of two colleges in NYC that will provide a BFA in Creative Writing, thus, putting the college substantially ahead of the curve. The hope for students that study in this BFA is to offer them the opportunity to sharpen their skills as writers and readers of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. The program additionally hopes to ensure that students have a solid foundation for future composition. Dr. Williams cited a great quote by poet T.S. Eliot at the end of our interview: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” This Creative Writing BFA will open up so many opportunities for aspiring creative literature writers and readers and it’s very exciting for MMC!