Teaching Philosophy

From twenty years of teaching sixteen distinct literature and writing courses, I've developed some central beliefs about teaching reading and writing as an art. Despite what teachers clearly can't do in the creative enterprise (implant talent where there is none; stoke the "fire in the belly" without the help of glowing embers), what they can do is invaluable - that is, actively nurture, through attentive challenge, the promise of apprentice writers. That dynamic involves clear expectations and mutual trust. Seamus Heaney's beautiful essay, "On Poetry and Professing," provides the best "mission statement" I know of for the creative writing program I direct: A fair and honest estimate of the student's gifts - good or bad - has to be communicated, but the communication must be done with respect and a care for the emotional tissues.