Arcadia’s new Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program kicked off on July 31 with 14 students traveling from around the United States to attend the first residency. The weeklong residency, which occurred at the King of Prussia Campus, gave poetry and fiction students a chance to interact and workshop face-to-face before embarking on their online work.

“The first residency of the MFA in creative writing was a big success,” says Joshua Isard, Program Director and Visiting Assistant Professor. “During the week, I saw a group of students get to know each other and each other’s writing. They learned to trust one another in the workshop environment, which will be invaluable as they progress as a group through the two years of the program. I’m excited to see them continue their work in an online environment and to help each of them utilize the next two years to become the best writers they can.”

Students participated in workshops, lectures and discussions with visiting writers Paul Elwork ’04M and Paula Raimondo ’06 M.Ed as well as Isard and Quincy Scott Jones, who leads the poetry cohort.

“The inaugural Arcadia MFA Poetry residency infused my work with tremendous possibility,” says Rosemarie Bradley Koch ’91, Associate Director of Marketing for The College of Global Studies. “The intensive nature of the residency combined with the insight of the professors, visiting writers and other students provided the perfect basis for my studies over the next two years.”

“I am excited about the opportunity to work extensively with such a serious and dynamic group of writers over the next two years,” adds Monique Clark ’10M. “We are all so excited about having the opportunity to enhance our own writing style, while helping the others in the cohort enhance theirs.”

In addition to workshopping and writing, students got to know one another while exploring Philadelphia, touring the Rosenbach Museum and enjoying dinner at Marathon on the Square on Aug. 2. President Carl (Tobey) Oxholm III stopped by on Aug. 3 to introduce himself to the students and answer their questions about Arcadia. Later that night, students listened to performances from their professors as well as Elwork and Raimondo at the M.F.A. kickoff reading.

Cohort 1’s second residency occurs next summer in Edinburgh, Scotland. Learn more about the MFA in Creative Writing.