Meet Chair Aimee Phan
I have always considered the relationship between creative writing and literature a crucial component in the development of a young writer. If you don’t read, and read a lot, your writing cannot grow. If you don’t write, and write often, your reading comprehension will stagnate.
Cultivating both skills requires time, patience, and a lot of hard work. Your eyes will grow tired staring at the pages and computer screens. You will engage in many discussions over the minutiae of an ill-placed adverb in a poem, or the story that continued a paragraph too long. Your backpack will grow heavy with your day’s assignment of readings. You will revise, and revise, and revise.
But hopefully, at the end of your four years with us, your commitment to the literary arts will result in a tall, fat bookshelf full of books, a polished manuscript thesis to call your own, and a deeper appreciation and enthusiasm for the writer’s life.
Our Mission Statement
The Writing and Literature Program at California College of the Arts combines the intellectual resources of students and faculty to build an environment focused on the study and practice of writing. The program emphasizes a historical knowledge of literature, interdisciplinary exploration, and critical inquiry to help students create a writing life.
We offer students the opportunity to cultivate their potential in an inspiring and intensive studio environment. Under the guidance and support of our talented faculty, students approach the study of writing and literature as a living art.
Writing and Literature Curriculum
Our comprehensive curriculum challenges students to think critically and develop their individual voice. Our writing workshops cover not only traditional prose and poetry but also drama, the graphic novel, screenwriting, improvisation, and more.
Our literature courses, ranging from the historical and foundational (Reading Walt Whitman, Romantic Radicals, Gothic Literature) to the contemporary and experimental (Mad Girls Bad Girls, Down the Rabbit Hole, San Francisco Reader) enhance skills in both critical analysis and creative writing.
Students graduate from the program with a polished manuscript thesis in the genre of their choice.
The Bay Area
Our location in the San Francisco Bay Area could not be more ideal for burgeoning young writers. Students will have their pick, on a daily basis, from a variety of readings and lectures, offered by the country’s most renowned writers and critics. While the undergraduate and graduate writing programs offer readings on both campuses, students will also have the opportunity to attend other literary events hosted by local bookstores and literary organizations.
Our Writing Community
Our diverse faculty of practicing writers (please see our Faculty page), and our current majors together have created a supportive and inspiring community where we can nurture and cultivate our art. Students are encouraged to participate in our monthly faculty-student Hearsay reading series and the student-run literary journal, Humble Pie. Students can also take advantage of resources associated with CCA’s MFA Program in Writing.
Additionally, Small Press Traffic, an organization housed on campus, presents a nationally recognized reading series featuring a wide range of visiting writers.
The Rewards
The writing life is not an easy journey, but as our faculty can attest, it can be incredibly rewarding, fulfilling, and inspiring. We look forward to welcoming you to our community!
