Literary Arts and Studies

Fuse the arts of creative and critical writing.

Programs in Literary Arts and Studies Paths will show you how to write creatively, read closely, and think critically through the rich resources of language and written expression. You'll develop your voice as a writer and thinker as you study a diverse range of literary traditions in community with other writers.

With an interdisciplinary, theme-based curriculum exploring writers from different historical, cultural, and aesthetic traditions, you’ll examine the depths of the literary world. You'll learn to focus on your writing from a blank page to a finished manuscript while sharpening your knowledge of literary theories, stylistic choices, and narrative genres.

Skills you’ll gain on this Path include:

  • Written and oral communication 
  • Critical thinking 
  • Close reading 
  • Research and analysis 
  • Editing and manuscript preparation

Highlights of this Path

Inspiring faculty

You'll work closely with faculty who know creative process and critical inquiry inside and out. You’ll learn directly from their expertise, build close working relationships with them, get detailed feedback on your writing projects, and gain skills that will help you in your pursuits after college. 

Faculty are published authors with a range of expertise in poetry, fiction, non-fiction, theory, translation, multimodal composition, and more.

Team teaching and learning communities

Great writers learn to seek inspiration from everywhere. That’s why programs on this Path are all about making connections across different disciplines. You’ll expand your knowledge of the world and build a learning community with students you wouldn’t have met any other way.

Diverse curriculum

Read and discuss a wide range of literature across history and around the world. Experiencing the thoughts and voices of others through fiction, nonfiction, poetry, theory, and more will broaden your perspective on society, human nature, life, death, and literature itself.

Writing workshops and seminars

Programs on this Path host regular writing workshops designed for compassionate, constructive feedback on your work. You’ll learn to assess different styles and genres of writing while building a learning community you can trust.

Seminars at Evergreen will deepen your understanding of texts and contexts through collaboration, discussion, and application. 

Literary research and capstone projects

As a writer and researcher, you’ll have the support and freedom to pursue what you’re passionate about. With the guidance of expert faculty, you’ll get to do your own scholarly research and learn what it takes to complete ambitious literary projects that will look great in your portfolio.

Guest writers and scholars

In addition to the inspiring faculty on this Path, world-renowned guest lecturers are a regular feature. From poets and novelists to translators and theorists, you’ll learn from experts working at the cutting edge of their field.

Field trips and study abroad

Inspiration can be found in both texts and real-world settings, which is why programs on this Path often take field trips to museums, nature, local events, publishing houses, and more. 

Study abroad opportunities are also a regular feature. We offer recurring study abroad programs that travel to France and New York.

Showcase your talent

Whether organized by students or faculty, reading events give you a chance to showcase your work and be a part of Evergreen’s literary community through open mics, in-class readings, or events organized in partnership with the greater Olympia community.

This Path can prepare you for careers in

  • Communications 
  • Education
  • International Studies
  • Journalism
  • Law
  • Library sciences
  • Non-profit organizations
  • Publishing
  • Writing

Graduate school opportunities beyond this Path

  • American studies
  • Comparative literature
  • Creative writing
  • Cultural studies
  • Education
  • Film studies
  • Gender and sexuality studies
  • History
  • Interdisciplinary humanities
  • Literature
  • Performing arts
  • Rhetoric and composition
  • Translation
Faculty on this Path
Title Expertise
Blakeslee, Steve English, writing, literature
Coffey, Kristin creative writing, historical fiction, ethnic american literature
Featherly, Lynarra creative writing, philosophy, critical theory
Hardy, Tara
Hendricks, Steven book arts, literature, creative writing
Katsanis, Vuslat writing, comparative literature, film and visual culture
Mellis, Miranda fiction, nonfiction, and contemporary literature
Ocampo, Catalina Spanish language, Latin American literature
Reece, Andrew classical art and literature
Simons, Suzanne poetry and literary arts, community studies/Middle East studies, journalism
Steinhoff, Eirik English
Towles, Stokley performance art, public art, urban systems
Wolach, David creative writing, poetics, aesthetics, media/performing arts
Yannone, Sandra writing theory and practice, poetry, women's/LGBT studies
Catalog Offerings for 2022-23
Title Paths Class Standing Credits
Art of Critical Writing
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
4
Autobiography, Story, and Poetry: Dancing with Words
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
8
Comparative Literature and World Cinema: Reading Globalectically
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
16
Creative Writing: Playing with Words and Worlds
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
14
Fables, Fairy Tales, and Other True Stories
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
8
Forest, Farm, Shellfish Garden: Experiential Learning
  • Freshman
8, 14, 16
From the Ground Up: Natural History Writing and Experiential Learning
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
8
Literary Arts & Studies Path: Writing Retreat
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
2
Literary Arts: Capstone
  • Junior
  • Senior
12, 16
Poetry New York
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
16
Student-Originate Studies Poetics: Word and Image
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
12, 16
Stylistic Choices: Reading the Works of Hemingway and Woolf
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
16
The Art of Critical Writing
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
4
The Fine Art of Revision
  • Junior
  • Senior
8
The New American Poetry: 1945 to Present
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
16
Undergraduate Research with Eirik Steinhoff
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
16
Undergraduate Research with Eirik Steinhoff
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
16
Unmasking the Material World: Constructing Narratives in Archaeology and Creative Writing
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
16
What Think You of Falling in Love? Writing, Literature, Storytelling, and Cultural Perspectives on Love
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
8, 12
Writing as Experimental & Ecological Practice: Eco-literature, Fiction & Cross-Genre Workshop
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
8, 12, 16
Writing Resilience
  • Freshman
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
8
Writing Visual Culture: the Image in Cultural and Critical Theory
  • Sophomore
  • Junior
  • Senior
8, 16

Programs planned 2021-25

Foundational

  • Literary Arts Foundations: Texts and Context
  • Literary Arts Foundations: Water into Wine
  • Literary Arts Foundations: Decision/Making

Intermediate

  • Re/Mix Re/Verse Re/Mediate: Creative Writing, Environmental Literature, Media Studies
  • Shakespeare: Literature & Performance
  • Writing in Translation
  • Making Meaning: Autobiography and Memoir

Advanced

  • Advanced Writing: Capstone in Literary Arts and the Humanities
  • Advanced Literary Arts: Narrative Silences
  • Advanced Literary Arts: Creative Nonfiction

Fields of Study related to this Path