Creative Writing
In cooperation with the Department of Languages and Literature, the Center of Excellence for Creative Arts supports:
- The Visiting Writers Series, which brings writers of regional, national, and international renown to campus for readings, panel discussions, and book signings. Notable past participants include Richard Wilbur, Gary Snyder, Mary Oliver, Yusef Komunyakaa, Robert Haas, Carolyn Forché, Mark Jarman, Eavan Boland, Lorrie Moore, Stephen Dunn, Rebecca Walker, Ann Patchett, Michael Blumenthal, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Nicole Walker, Louise Erdrich, and Dorothy Allison.
- Zone 3, an international literary journal that sponsors annual awards in poetry, fiction,
and creative nonfiction.
- Zone 3 Press, a literary press that sponsors two book competitions, the Zone 3 Press First Book Award in Poetry and the Zone 3 Press Creative Nonfiction Book Award.
- The Red Mud Review, a literary magazine produced by APSU students.
The APSU Department of Languages and Literature
One of the largest departments on campus, the Department of Languages and Literature offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as core classes taken by all APSU students. Students benefit from small class sizes, classrooms equipped with smart technology and a diverse faculty whose members are widely published.
Critics say…
Unlike many literary magazines, whose quality ebbs and flows with the ages and regimes, Zone 3 continues to keep an even profile…What the reader gets is carefully crafted poetry and prose that ride close to the bone of life and truth.
Known primarily for its proximity to the Fort Campbell military base, Austin Peay State University hardly seems a likely hotbed for the contemporary poetry scene. But its Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts has been attracting heavyweight poets for years now—everyone from Gwendolyn Brooks and Allen Ginsberg to Galway Kinnell and Eavan Boland.
