The creative mind might be wired to resist the rigid schedule and curriculum of a university setting. Registration, midterms, required texts: these are not phrases often associated with fostering creativity. However, for the past 10 years, the Kidd Tutorials Program has existed for one purpose: inspiration.
The Kidd Program is a year-long creative writing session unlike most university classes. According to Kidd Director Robyn Schiff, prospective participants play an active role in the entire learning process — guiding the progression of the sessions from their initial application into the program to their own final written works.
Schiff said the interactive approach to the process distinguishes the program from other courses. Undergraduates interested in the Kidd Tutorials must complete introductory 200-level and intermediate 300-level courses in creative writing.
However, these prerequisites alone are not enough. Applicants must also submit a personal statement, a letter of recommendation, transcripts and a writing sample — a process that whittles the applicant pool down to a few.
“It’s really an opportunity for writers to work with other committed writers,” Schiff said.
Success within the Kidd Tutorials hinges on commitment. The program accepts about 30 applicants a year, then separates them into groups of four to six. Each group is teamed with a graduate student whose function is to cultivate an environment of discussion and creativity within the realm of poetry or fiction writing. Over the next three terms, the tutors slowly guide students from an appreciation of established artists to the creation of their own works.
Fall term presents students with a series of lessons and reading assignments focusing on philosophers and art critics, poets and novelists, as well as cultural and literary critics. The groups are led through texts of varied genres.
“These are often materials not found in other classes,” Schiff said.
Winter term gives students an opportunity to work within a completely self-guided curriculum. Participants devise a series of questions and a list of readings, visual arts or films — a collection Schiff describes as a “summary of their obsessions.” The class uses these chosen preoccupations to promote an environment of independent thought and study.
Creative writing graduate teaching fellow and poetry group tutor Liz Harlan-Ferlo said some students are initially taken aback by the reading-intensive portion of the program.
“A lot of my students said they didn’t expect such a high level of reading in the class,” Harlan-Ferlo said. “But if you want to be a writer, you have to know about the community you’re joining. And all my students totally rose to the occasion.”
Schiff describes spring term as a traditional workshop.
The program sponsors a creative writing competition every spring, awarding up to $4,000 in total prizes to undergraduate poets and fiction writers — not just members of the Kidd
program. The first round of the 2002-03 competition took place on April 15. Schiff said the open competition is an important outgrowth of the tutorials.
“It’s one way the Kidd Program influences the community,” Schiff said.
The Program in Creative Writing also brings a nationally known poet or fiction writer to the University for the final prize announcement. He or she reads from his or her work and acts as one of two final judges.
Schiff and Harlan-Ferlo said the benefits of the program can pay off in many ways. Each year, scholarships are awarded to especially talented students within the tutorials. At the end of each fall term, Kidd tutors nominate students who demonstrate serious potential in the many facets of the program.
Schiff said the program’s year-long duration is what ultimately makes it beneficial to novice writers.
“We’re able to share a journey that you just can’t get in 10 weeks. That’s what makes the difference,” Schiff said.