Learning to write well is an important feature of a Davidson education and a special emphasis in the English Department, where all courses involve instruction in writing. While students at Davidson cannot major in writing, they can take a variety of writing courses throughout their four years. The English Department is pleased to offer a wide array of writing courses, made possible by both permanent staff and the visiting McGee Professor of Creative Writing.

The McGee Professorship
Through a gift of Davidson alumnus John McGee, the College hosts a writer in residence for one semester of each academic year. The McGee Professor is an outstanding writer of national stature, whether a poet, fiction writer, playwright, screenwriter, or essayist. Many McGee Professors are accomplished in several of these areas at once. While on campus, McGee Professors teach writing classes, help direct senior honor theses, and contribute to the life of the College through readings and other appearances. Recent McGee Professors have been Rona Munro, Terese Svoboda, Henri Cole, Diana Hume George, Stephen Sandy, Pinckney Benedict, Maxine Kumin, Robert Morgan, Davidson alumna Sheri Reynolds, Jill Ciment, Maria Irene Fornes, Josephine Humphreys, Al Young, Susan Allport, Douglas Glover.  The McGee Professor of Writing for 2009-2010 is writer Dorothy Allison, in residence this fall. 

A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Dorothy Allison is a self-described feminist, working-class story teller, and sometime poet.  She received mainstream recognition with her best-selling novel  Bastard Out of Carolina, a finalist for the 1992 National Book Award.  The novel has been translated into more than a dozen languages and was adapted to film starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Ron Eldard.  Allison's public reading was given to a large audience in the C. Shaw Smith 900 Room on August 31.

Creative Writing
The English Department regularly offers creative writing courses in four genres, in courses taught on the introductory and advanced levels. In introductory courses, English 202 includes the writing of both poetry and fiction, while English 203 focuses exclusively on poetry, English 204 on fiction, and English 205 on either screenwriting or playwriting. On the advanced level, English 301, "Writing Nonfiction Prose," is a class in the art of the creative essay, English 303 focuses exclusively on poetry, English 304 on fiction, and English 305 on either screenwriting or playwriting. All creative writing courses are taught by a combination of permanent faculty and the visiting McGee Professor of Creative Writing. Courses in creative writing at Davidson are workshop-based: they rely upon peer critiques as a fundamental aspect of instruction. Classes are limited to sixteen students at the introductory and intermediate  levels, and twelve students on the advanced (seminar) level. Permission to enroll in advanced creative writing courses is required prior to registration; the application procedure may include submission of a writing sample. For further information, contact Prof. Alan Michael Parker, Director of Creative Writing.

Composition and W-Courses
Every incoming student is required to take an introductory course in college composition either through the two-year Humanities Program,  through one of a group of first-year seminars offered by a variety of departments, or through English Composition I.  While every member of the English Department teaches English Composition, some sections take a topcial orientation - for example, "Food as Symbol and Spectacle," "The Architecture of the Essay," or "Environmental Writing" - while others involve reading a wide variety of essays.

English 101 W, "Instruction in expository writing and the research paper." Not available to students who are in Humanities or who have otherwise exempted the composition requirement, except by permission of the chair during Drop/Add.

English 201, "Intermediate Composition," is a follow-up course to English 101, providing instruction in writing across the disciplines and more advanced college essay-writing.

The Literary Life at Davidson College
View the 2009-10 Literary Calendar of Events

The 2008-09 Joel A. Conarroe Lecture was given by Russell Banks on Monday, January 26 at 8:00 pm in Duke Family Performance Hall.  Banks has authored 13 books of fiction, including The Sweet Hereafter, Affliction, and most recently, The Reserve.  A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, Banks is the founder and president of Cities of Refuge, North America, and the recipient of numerous distinguished awards and prizes.  
Pictured L, Banks and Conarroe

Alan Michael Parker and Brooke Parkhurst '02 read from their new books during the 11th Annual Davidson Reads on October 23.  Parkhurst is host of the James Beard House as well as a food writer for ABCNews.com; she is author of Belle in the Big Apple, a novel with recipes.  Parker (R) is director of creative writing at Davidson and author of a new book of poems, elephants and butterflies. 



The Conarroe Lecture brings contemporary writers to Davidson to lecture, read from their work, and interact with students. 
Three former lecturers, with Joel Conarroe, include Salman Rushdie, Annie Proulx, and Michael Ondaatje. 

Joel A. Conarroe Lecturer Michael Chabon visited Davidson College in February 2008.  The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist has authored many works including The Yiddish Policemen's Union, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, and Wonder Boys, made into a critically accalimed film starring Michael Douglas and Tobey McGuire.

Visiting Writers
Each year, approximately ten visiting writers come to Davidson College to give public readings, meet with students both in classes and informally, and participate in college life. The list of distinguished guests who have visited includes winners of the Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur Foundation "genius grants," and the Nobel Prize. Robert Frost gave a poetry reading at the college, as did Robert Bly. William Styron has visited on numerous occasions, as has alumnus Charles Wright ('56). A.R. Ammons, Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Seamus Heaney, Reynolds Price and Lee Smith have all come to campus to read and teach. Recent visitors have included Marjorie Agosin, Dorothy Allison, Aliki Barnstone, Tony Barnstone, Willis Barnstone, Frank Bidart, Ralph Black, Robert Olen Butler, Fred Chappell, The Hon. Martin Clark ('81), Lucille Clifton, Wanda Coleman, Michael Cunningham, Clyde Edgerton, Alice Fulton, David Galef, Diana Hume George, Nikki Giovanni, Garrett Hongo, Wayne Koestenbaum, Paul Krugman, Catherine Landis ('77), John Lane, Campbell McGrath, Joyce Carol Oates, Tim O'Brien, Jacqueline Osherow, Richard Powers, Anna Rabinowitz, Janisse Ray, Ishmael Reed, Salman Rushdie, Yevgeny Yevteshenko.  

Recent Reynolds Lecturers have included Anna Deveare Smith, Thomas Wolfe, Zadie Smith ('07), and Derek Walcott ('08).  Nobel Laureate Walcott met with students during two Q&A sessions and discussed his literary works and paintings. 

Pictured L to R, Nakia Long, Derek Walcott, and Charisma Loney

Writing Contests
The English Department sponsors three yearly contests for student writers, each judged by an illustrious visiting writer.  Diana Hume George will judge this year's Charles E. Lloyd and R. Windley Hall contests and offer a reading from her work on Wednesday, March 10, 2010; and novelist and poet Victoria Redel will select the Vereen Bell winners and give a public reading on Wednesday, March 31, 2010.  Both programs will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the C. Shaw Smith 900 Room of the College Union, and will be free and open to the public.

The Vereen Bell Memorial Award in Creative Writing
The Vereen Bell Memorial Award in Creative Writing is given annually to a member of the senior, junior, or sophomore class who has done the best work in fiction, poetry, or drama.  The award is given in memory of Vereen Bell of the Class of 1932, a promising and successful young novelist and short story writer who gave his life for his country in the second battle of the Phillipine Sea during World War II.

The Charles E. Lloyd Award for Nonfiction
The Charles E. Lloyd Writing Award is given to a member of the sophomore, junior, or senior class for excellence in the field of nonfiction. Essays submitted for the award may include both formal, scholarly essays and personal essays. The award is given in memory of Professor Charles E. Lloyd, Professor of English at Davidson for many years and twice coach of championship College Quiz Bowl Teams.

The R. Windley Hall Award for First-Year Writing
The R. Windley Hall Writing Award is presented to the member of the first year class at Davidson College who submits the best piece of fiction, poetry, or nonfiction prose.  The award is given by his family and friends in memory of R. Windley Hall, a graduate student of the Class of 1963 whose life was cut short on January 18, 1967, while he was a graduate student at Vanderbilt University.

Student Publications
Opportunities for students to write for student publications abound.  The annual creative writing magazine, Hobart Park, is student-run and edited, as are the student newspaper, The Davidsonian, and the alternative magazine, Libertas.

Informal writing groups, workshops, and salons are frequent, and student-run. Creative writers enjoy a dynamic and supportive community among their peers on campus.