Creative Courses: Writing on Cold River

In the last decade, the number of creative writing programs at colleges and universities has nearly doubled, according to figures published by Associated Writing Programs, a non-profit organization based at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
In 1992 there were 55 master's of fine arts graduate programs in creative writing in American colleges. Now there are 99. The number of universities offering creative writing degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level is 330, up from 175 a decade ago, reported David Fenza, Associated Writing Programs' executive vice president.
Moreover, the vast majority of the nation's 2,800 college English departments offer courses in writing fiction and poetry, he added.
Little wonder, then, that the dorms and quads are alive with the inspired clickclackclick of typing on computer keyboards--not to mention the gnashing of teeth, an inevitable byproduct of the search for the perfect adjective.

Searching For Words