as part of the Master of Arts in English at Southeastern

 

CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM MISSION

 The Creative Writing concentration at Southeastern is dedicated to supporting the
intensely personal act of creating literature. Incoming students encounter an open,
respectful community of writers/faculty and a curriculum that embraces the full range
of writing experiences through intensive workshops, independent studies, and literature
classes; internship experiences; and close contact with Southeastern’s visiting Writers-in-Residence.
The Creative Writing program at Southeastern simultaneously challenges students to
extend the possibilities of their craft and offers them a safe place to take risks
as they develop a body of finished work.

 

CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Students who plan to concentrate in Creative Writing will need to meet with, and gain
the permission of, the Coordinator of Creative Writing.

Students must complete the following coursework:

ENGL 575	Introduction to Contemporary Criticism
ENGL 582	Intermediate Poetry Workshop
ENGL 583	Intermediate Fiction Workshop
ENGL 645	Creative Writing
ENGL 770 [6 hrs]	Thesis in Creative Writing

Students must also complete at least 15 hours of coursework in English at the 600
level. With the approval of the Advisory Committee, students may take a maximum of
six graduate hours in a related field.

FACULTY 

 

David Armand

Assistant Professor, Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction

Education:

M.F.A., University of Arkansas, Monticello, AR

M.A., Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA 

B.A., Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA

Notable Achievements: In 2010, David Armand won the George Garrett Fiction prize for
his first novel, The Pugilist’s Wife, which was published by Texas Review Press. He has since published three more novels,
two collections of poetry, and a memoir. His latest book, Mirrors, is forthcoming from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, and a full-length
poetry collection, The Evangelist, is forthcoming from Mercer University Press.

 

Dr. Jack B. Bedell, Poetry

Professor, Concentration Coordinator, and Editor of Louisiana Literature

Education:

Ph.D., University of Louisiana at Lafayette

M.F.A., University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

M.A., Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA

B.A., Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA

Areas of Expertise: Modern and Contemporary Literature and Creative Writing.

Notable Achievements: Dr. Bedell has published poems in the Connecticut Review and
The Hudson Review. His books include Sleeping with the Net-Maker, At the Bonehouse, What Passes for Love, and Greatest Hits.

Affiliations: Dr. Bedell is a member of the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing
Teachers.

Other Information: Books which Dr. Bedell highly recommends for everyone are James
Dickey’s Poems 1957-1967 and J. D. Salinger’s Nine Stories. His favorite quotation
is, “Pain come from the darkness and we call it knowledge. It is Pain.”–Randall Jarrell.

 

Dr. Reine Bouton, Creative Non-Fiction

Assistant Professor

Education: 

Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

M.A., University of New Orleans

B.A., University of New Orleans

Areas of Expertise: Modern American and British Literature, Travel Writing, Southern
Literature, Composition and Rhetoric, Eudora Welty.

Notable Achievements: Dr. Bouton’s recent journal publications have appeared in Arkansas
Review, The Teaching Professor, Literature in Wissenschaft und Unterricht, and Teaching
in the Two-Year College.

Affiliations: MLA, The Eudora Welty Society, The Two-Year College Association, National
Association for Developmental Education.

 

Dr. Tim Gautreaux, Fiction

Professor Emeritus. Southeastern’s first Writer-in-Residence

Education: 

Ph.D., University of South Carolina

B.A., Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA

Areas of Expertise: Dr. Gautreaux has published two novels, The Next Step in the Dance and The
Clearing, and two collections of short stories–Same Place, Same Things and Welding
with Children. His fiction has appeared regularly in Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, GQ
and other places. He was once awarded the National Book of the Year prize.

 

Dr. Richard Louth, Creative Non-Fiction and Fiction

Professor

Education: 

Ph.D., University of Virginia

M.A., University of Virginia

B.A., Brown University

Areas of Expertise:  Louisiana Literature, Living Writers, Modern American Literature,
Southern Literature, Composition and Rhetoric, William Faulkner, Technical Writing.

Notable Achievements: Dr. Louth is the founder of the New Orleans Writing Marathon,
has led over 100 Writing Marathons across the country, and recently led a Virtual
Writing Marathon for the National Writing Project’s “WriteAcrossAmerica” program.
His most recent publications have appeared in Louisiana Literature, Assay, and Country Roads.

Affiliations: National Writing Project and National Council of Teachers of English.

 

Alison Pelegrin

Distinguished Writer-in-Residence

Education:

M.F.A., University of Arkansas

M.A., Southeastern Louisiana University

B.A., Southeastern Louisiana University

Areas of Expertise: Creative Writing, Poetry, Hybrid Forms in Poetry and Prose, Creative
Non-Fiction, Publishing Studies, Creative Writing Pedagogy, Generative Writing.

Notable Achievements: Alison Pelegrin’s publications have appeared in journals such
as Poetry, Ploughshares, The Southern Review, Crazyhorse, The Gettysburg Review, and dozens of others. Her books include Waterlines, Hurricane Party, Big Muddy River of Stars, and The Zydeco Tablets. She has also published four chapbooks and won multiple awards for her poetry.

Affiliations: National Poetry Society, Poets and Writers, Associated Writing Programs.