Creative writing students work with faculty mentors to shape their own original work and to engage our vibrant Buffalo literary community.
Creative Theses
Creative writers who are members of the English Honors and All-College Honors Program have the option of writing a substantial creative project: a collection of poems or stories, a one-act play, even a novel. The faculty mentor meets with the student weekly, suggests helpful readings and possible new directions for the work, and offers encouragement and advice throughout the whole process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting the thesis.
CEEP Grants
The Canisius Earning Excellence Program (CEEP) pairs students with Canisius faculty or off-campus supervisors for educationally rewarding experiences. Creative writing students have worked with a faculty mentor on the Contemporary Writers Series, researching visiting writers and assisting with the author visits, and also to plan and host student-centered literary events.
Our Literary Community
Our faculty bring students into the vibrant Buffalo literary scene as well. They attend events together, including Just Buffalo Literary Center's BABEL series, which hosts internationally acclaimed writers such as Zadie Smith and Salman Rushdie, and to the Irish Classical Theater to see performances of plays by writers such as William Butler Yeats and Sean O'Casey. They also share meals with visiting writers and share the podium at our seasonal and coffeehouse readings.
Ignatian Scholarship Day
Each spring, English faculty encourage their students to present outstanding creative writing at a campus-wide academic conference called Ignatian Scholarship Day. Presenting students are nominated, mentored, and introduced by a sponsoring faculty member.