Susan Choi ’90 may be the author of four critically-acclaimed novels, the recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, and a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, but that didn’t lessen the thrill that she felt when she was invited to return to her alma mater to teach in its Creative Writing Program.
Choi, who will be teaching four fiction writing courses in the Creative Writing Program during the academic year, is among numerous distinguished professional writers who are invited to teach in the program each year. Many of them, like Choi, are alumni who return to the university to act as contemporary role models for the students in the program.
The Creative Writing Program was established two years ago due to a growing student demand. “It was the best way to provide a structure for the faculty to be as successful and productive as possible and also to service the students in the ways that they really want and need,” says Richard Deming, director of the Creative Writing Program.
YaleNews recently spoke with Deming to discuss the “energy and insights” that these alumni bring to campus, and to Choi about why she believes that creative writing is “the most wonderful occupation” to pursue.
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