The Stonecoast Difference:

A Message from the Director

I am often asked how the Stonecoast MFA creative writing program differs from other low-residency MFA programs.  What follows are some of my thoughts about the uniquely creative and stimulating environment that writers will find at Stonecoast.

Community and Diversity: Stonecoast students and alumni are part of a culturally and aesthetically diverse community that fosters a deeply-rooted creative life. Stonecoast is committed to a diverse panoply of voices and traditions in our faculty, student population, and curriculum, not only with the aim of enriching the future literary canon, but also because we believe that exposure to different kinds of voices will expand a student's writing to reflect a deeper, more resonant understanding of the global human experience.

Student evaluations tend to comment on the helpfulness and warmth of faculty and staff, and on the spirit of mutual respect, trust and friendship that cuts across differences. As one faculty member puts it, "The renowned 'Stonecoast Spirit' derives from an accomplished but friendly faculty who are generous and excited about teaching.”

Our faculty tend to stay on at Stonecoast, providing long-term connections and mentorship between students and faculty.  During the residencies, Stonecoast is proud to nurture the whole writer, with thoughtful details such as students who guide new students, workshops on reading your work aloud, an on-site bookstore and writing reference library, optional yoga classes, and much more.

Academic Rigor, Creative Excitement:  Stonecoast's educational philosophy honors and supports both literary tradition and innovative exploration.  Stonecoast's eclectic, energetic, award-winning faculty have translated Catallus and won poetry Slam awards, won the Pulitzer and been interviewed on ESPN, produced opera librettos, podcasts, newspaper columns, sonnets, and screenplays, and have had their work banned from libraries, translated into numerous languages, used as evidence in the courtroom, and made into Hollywood movies.  We encompass best-selling novelists and essayists, innovative cross-genre writers, eminent poets, and award-winning authors of popular and genre fiction. The flexibility of the curriculum (see below) allows Stonecoast students to concentrate on their own passions as they work with faculty, to build basic foundation skills in craft, and to grow from encounters with new ideas and practices. 

Each major genre at Stonecoast can be a complete creative writing education in itself, as is clear from a glance at the superb teachers and curriculum reflected in the genre home pages for poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and popular fiction. Yet each genre is also enriched by the wisdom of the others to an extent unusual in writing programs.

Cross-genre panels and classes focus on such subjects as narrative in poetry, the poetics of prose, what poets and prose writers can learn from screenwriting, and the borders of the experimental novel. Many faculty publish in more than one genre, and students frequently learn skills from colleagues in another genre that enrich their own:  the poet learns how to build character from the novelist (and maybe something about finding an agent!), while the novelist and nonfiction writer learn about language rhythms from the poet, and the writer of popular fiction learns from the memoirist how to deepen emotional complexity.

Flexible and Student-Centered:  At Stonecoast, we take pride in putting students' needs first and design our program with ongoing student input.  Unlike students in many low-residency programs who have little or no choice about which faculty writers they will work with, Stonecoast students meet with potential mentors during the residency about their upcoming semester projects, after which careful efforts are made to match students with their choice of mentor. 

Students also have the option to work on cross-genre projects and to switch genres for a semester with faculty approval, as well as the possibility of changing genres altogether.

During the residency, Stonecoast students have the choice to sign up not only for regular workshops in their genre, but also for focused, elective workshops in topics such as Novel, Prose Poem, Experimental Writing, Formal Poetry, Writing for Young Adults, Travel Writing, and Writing for Suspense.  And Stonecoast's two half-residency format means that each student can work with two different faculty workshop leaders each residency.

For their third-semester enhancement project, students have the flexibility to pursue an individual project in four innovative areas in addition to the traditional critical essay in craft or literary theory.  In addition to writing a critical essay, Stonecoast students may also pursue an internship in teaching, publishing, or community service, or a creative collaboration project with an artist in another medium.

Location, Location:  The Stone House is a truly inspirational setting for Stonecoast's workshops, presentations, and other activities. The stately mansion is located on the rocky coast of Southern Maine in beautiful Wolfe Neck State Park, surrounded by world-renowned heather gardens and an organic farm. 

The Stonecoast residencies in Ireland, located in Dingle (summer) and Howth (winter), provide the opportunity to spend time at another magnificent coastal location.

In the words of one faculty member, "With our lush Maine setting, I think the atmosphere at Stonecoast is correspondingly warmer, more fun and more free than at many programs-- while at the same time, like the ocean, deep and intense beneath the sparkling surface." In a word, Stonecoast combines the forward-thinking energy of a relatively young low-residency program with the solid educational excellence of the very best low-residency programs in the nation.

Thank you for your visit.  I hope you will explore this website and discover more about "the Stonecoast difference."  If you have any questions or would like more information, please feel free to contact myself, Associate Director Robin Talbot, or Senior Administrative Assistant Heather Magaw at stonecoastmfa@usm.maine.edu.

We look forward to hearing from you and to learning more about you and your writing!

With warm wishes,

Annie Finch

www.anniefinch.com

Related Links

Annie Finch on

Why an MFA?

Students Comment on Stonecoast

Sample Faculty Presentations

Genre Page: Poetry

Genre Page: Fiction

Genre Page: Creative Nonfiction

Genre Page: Popular Fiction