Frequently Asked Questions about the Creative Writing Minor
Q: Do I need any background or experience to take CRWR 218 (the introductory course in poetry and fiction writing)?
A: No. CRWR 218 has no prerequisites and assumes no experience on the part of students. It's a good course for total beginners as well as students who have written in one genre but not the other; it also, of course, welcomes those who have tried both and want to develop further as writers.
Q: Do I have to officially declare the minor?
A: No. But it is to your advantage to do so. Declaring the minor gives you preference in admission to creative writing classes, secures a minor advisor for you, and enables us to keep you informed of literary events on campus. To declare the minor, make your intentions known to Professor Susan Perabo (perabo@dickinson.edu) or Professor Adrienne Su (sua@dickinson.edu).
Q: How often will the required courses be offered?
A: Several sections of CRWR 218 are offered every semester. CRWR 317 and CRWR 319 are offered once every semester. CRWR 219 is generally available every semester. Always check the current course schedule, however, for possible changes in a given year.
Q: I took an advanced creative writing workshop and loved it so much, I want to take the same course again. Can I do that?
A: Yes! We constantly change the literature content of CRWR 317 and 319, and the student writing under discussion is always new, so you can repeat these courses as many times as your schedule, and space in the workshop, allow.
Q: What does "CRWR 219: Topics in Creative Writing" mean?
A: CRWR 219 is a creative writing workshop in a genre other than fiction and/or poetry. Recent offerings include Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, Screenwriting, and Creative Nonfiction: Writing about Food.
Q: Do I have to be an English major to do the Creative Writing minor?
A: No. The minor is open to all students, regardless of major.
Q: Can Creative Writing courses double-count for the English major and/or distribution requirements?
A: CRWR 218 counts as an elective in the English major. It also fulfills the Arts requirement for graduation. Certain versions of CRWR 219 count toward other programs; check Banner and talk with your advisor to confirm what counts for an individual course.
Q: Does CRWR 218 meet the Writing-Intensive requirement for graduation?
A: No.
Q: What about study abroad? Can I transfer classes from other institutions?
A: Yes. But courses taken at other institutions, abroad or domestically, must be approved in advance by Professor Su or Professor Perabo. In every case, the final determination of credit is the decision of the faculty, so be sure to secure approval before you take the course.
Q: Can I take CRWR 218 and CRWR 317 or 319 in the same genre simultaneously?
A: No.
Q: Can I take CRWR 317 or 319 even if I’m not completing the minor in Creative Writing?
A: Yes, provided there is room in the class (declared minors have priority) and you have taken the prerequisite (CRWR 218).
Q: If I took a creative writing course in high school, and/or have done a lot of creative writing on my own outside the classroom, can I skip 218 and go directly into the advanced workshops?
A: No. You must take 218 prior to 317/319, regardless of your previous experience in creative writing. Instruction in the advanced workshops builds directly on the instruction the introductory workshop.
Q: I have a score of 4 or 5 on the AP English: Literature exam. Can I count that as my literature course for the minor?
A: Yes, but we strongly recommend taking literature alongside your creative writing workshops when you can, to make you the best possible writer.
Q: Does the Creative Writing department offer prizes and awards?
A: Yes, the Creative Writing department awards the Moorehead-Timberlake Prize each spring to the student judged to have written the best short story, poem, play or piece of creative non-fiction.
Each spring, the department runs the Academy of American Poets University & College Poetry Prize. This contest is open to all currently enrolled Dickinson students. Our spring 2026 contest will be judged by poet Chanlee Luu, author of The Machine Autocorrects to I.
The winner will receive $100 and a one-year membership to the Academy. Winning entries will also be considered for publication by the Academy.
More information about the history of this contest and a list of prominent poets who won it in their early years (as well as recent winners from Dickinson) is available here.
The winner will be announced in May 2026.
ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS UNIVERSITY & COLLEGE POETRY PRIZE - SPRING 2026 WINNER
The winner of this year’s Academy of American Poets student poetry contest is Leo Burchell ’27 for the poem “Two Truths Per Lie.” Honorable mention goes to Jenna McCulloch ‘27 for the poem “Whale Song.” You can read their poems on the Creative Writing department’s FAQ page (scroll to bottom).
The winning poet in this annual contest receives $100 and a one-year membership to the Academy of American Poets. The winning poem is also published on the Academy’s website, and winners 23 years of age or younger are considered for the $1,000 Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank Most Promising Young Poet Award.
Poet Chanlee Luu, who judged, commented:
On “Two Truths Per Lie” by Leo Burchell:
Two Truths and a Lie is a game of invention, reserved for casual ice breakers and the rare confession of a deep held secret. Unlike Jenny Boully’s The Body, “Two Truths Per Lie” uses footnotes as a hesitation, an admission to perjury, a waking up from a dream cut short. With a visual feast of contradictions (a “citrus kiss”, “balms of peach and lime” against a “beat-up cruiser” and “stubbled jaw”), the poet builds a tight container for shame to sit, for tension to rise and fall, for the truths to crumple under the weight of lies.
On “Whale Song” by Jenna McCulloch:
Poetry, at its core, is an oral tradition, punctuated by breath. “Whale Song” deeply understands this from the first syllable to the last period. It is a calling to the external devastation of habitat destruction, death, and the daily chores of life and the internal desire of dreams that might not take flight. Both meditation and devotion, the poem “salto[s] gracefully” through couplets that illuminate the poet’s sonic prowess. Let us all “down blue, over dream, … dream coo.”
The winning poet in this annual contest receives $100 and a one-year membership to the Academy of American Poets. The winning poem is also published on the Academy’s website, and winners 23 years of age or younger are considered for the $1,000 Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank Most Promising Young Poet Award. More information about the history of this prize and a list of prominent poets who won it in their early years is available here.
LEO BURCHELL '27
Two Truths Per Lie
I steal the balms of peach1 and lime2 and bruise3,
the local thief of worn-out pharmacies4.
I pucker up in Steven’s beat-up cruiser5,
so he can taste this love-filled larceny6.
He strokes his hand along my stubbled jaw7;
I burst with citrus kiss8; allow my shame to melt9.
He is my engine10, rev11, my guiding star12.
He clutches me like I’m his seatbelt13, yes,
his sighing airbags14, his crumple zone15.
3The truth: I pick the hue of open wounds.
6His lips don’t touch my own–he sits up, blown–
9as flaming shame remains unthawed, cocooned.
12I would not let him lead me from this night.
13He slips his belt around his waistband, tight.
JENNA McCULLOCH '27
Whale Song
Coo, coo
out the window coo.
Breath captured blue, beam,
beam blue, on the cheek,
off the cuff, heartbeat
shrieking, a dream.
Down blue, over dream,
I dream coo.
Wash my wine glass,
wash, rewash, clear glass, over.
Darling deep, start me up,
whir, breathe,
dog from the machine,
fractured
heart, awash, start up,
just a whir, whirred, one word.
Yes, you, humble land whale,
little God, a word:
Good kill, bone deep,
asphalt grave leap,
salto gracefully, land
behind an eighteen-wheeler.
Gut me down the highway,
down high—
Oh, little God, I know this is
where you fail me.
Dancer heart, I want more,
well, seize me now, deep, deep.
Far blue wash sink, call me,
cold window, coo, deep.