creative writing courses boston

"In poems at once profound and accessible, Nadia Colburn finds splendor and astonishment in a natural world—and a human world—that is deeply troubled yet still majestically beautiful. Both elegy and celebration, I Say the Sky addresses some of the most challenging aspects of human existence, from childhood trauma to environmental devastation, and discovers, in unexpected and clear-sighted ways, wisdom, wonder, and peace.

Colburn's brilliant second book charts a journey to meet the self. From girlhood to parenthood, loss to discovery, in poems that sing, the book explores how meaning is made. Claiming the female voice from silence, the poems find their grounding in the body and achieve rootedness and hope.

I Say the Sky is a meditative and ultimately inspiring book that will be savored by seasoned readers as well as those new to poetry." See more about the book here.

Join the I Say the Sky 7-Day Meditation & Writing Challenge — FREE with book purchase!

In this 7-Day Meditation and Writing Challenge!, we'll be going on a journey inward and exploring the roots of our creative voice and we'll be writing toward the light.  Join me and a community of hundreds of other mindful writers to unlock your creative voice .

For more details on this unique offering, click  below   to explore the transformative practice.

See the schedule of live and virtual book events here .

Nadia Colburn •   Writer, Teacher, Yogi, Activist. 

I’m so glad you’re here!

In my own writing, I explore questions of the body, motherhood, trauma, healing, social and environmental justice, and the power of narrative.

My full-length poetry collection, The High Shelf , was published in the fall of 2019. Chase Twichell wrote of the collection: “Spare, brilliant, and open-hearted, these poems do what we most need art to do in this perilous age: they show how the mind invents both itself and its world, and thus where our responsibility lies. This is a book that will reward both readers of poetry and those seeking insight into suffering and resilience. An exhilarating read.”

My second poetry book, I Say the Sky , was published in early 2024 by  University Press of Kentucky. Jimmy Santiago Baca writes of the book "Colburn connects words to earth, body to family, and family to nature. Here, language is sacred; uttering a word, composing a line, writing a stanza is a prayer of joy even if the context is loss; even loss can be an occasion to be grateful. Colburn has given poetry a breath that revives it, that urges others to see deeper and reclaim their humanity."

I also write creative nonfiction, personal essays and lyric memoir, where I explore the intersection of my personal stories with the larger social, historic, environmental stories around us. 

I’m particularly interested in how the literature we read helps orient us to the world. 

My poetry and prose have won awards and been widely published in more than 80 national publications including  The New Yorker, The Kenyon Review, LA Review of Books, Lion’s Roar, Spirituality & Health,  and  Boston Globe Magazine .

I’ve worked with thousands of students and offer in-person creative writing classes in the Boston area, and online writing classes that often bring together meditation, yoga and writing, in-person retreats, and one-on-one coaching.

I've seen again and again that we write our best work when we bring our full selves to our writing and attend to both craft and process, the mind and the body.

I bring together my more traditional academic background with a more holistic, mindful approach. I have a BA from Harvard and a Ph.D. in English from Columbia University and have taught literature and creative writing at MIT, Lesley, Stonehill College, and Grub Street. I've offered lectures and retreats at  Harvard Divinity School, Copper Beech Institute, and Mass Poetry Festival, and Omega Institute. I’m the writer-in-residence at Northeastern's Center For Spirituality, Dialogue and Service. I'm also a serious student of Thich Nhat Hanh, a certified yoga teacher, an activist for peace, equity and the environment, and mother of two.

I have a wide variety of programs and can develop programs suited to your individual needs. Please reach out to me with any questions!

Nadia Colburn is truly one of those very great teachers

One-on-One Coaching

Write your best work! Whether you are a beginning writer or a professional writer, whether you are writing for your own personal healing, writing a dissertation, or writing to publish, I will accompany you every step of the way.  From process to product, from first imaginings through the publication process, I will be your guide and companion. I work with only a handful of select clients for one-on-one coaching. See more below and contact me to see if we're a good fit.

ALIGN YOUR STORY SCHOOL

Mindful, embodied writing., a holistic approach to online creative writing courses, online writing classes for poetry, nonfiction, memoir, healing & more..

Students can log in here.  

Align Your Story for Women

A unique online writing class for women with yoga, meditation, close readings, and more to integrate mind, body & spirit. Bring your writing to the next level, trust your voice, and write your best work —with more power and more ease.

***Join the waitlist to be notified when the class reopens here !****

Write From Your Center : The Meditation & Writing Practice 

This mindful writing course is designed for writers and non-writers alike to help you jumpstart your writing, reconnect with your center, and access your deep creativity. Be guided in a transformative writing practice.

Poetry as contemplative Practice. Be more mindful, wake up, read, write, and live more fully. This class will take you deep into the craft and practice of poetry. Learn how to attentively read great poems as a writer and step into your own poetic voice.  Enrollment opens Fall 2024!

Taking Nadia’s class changed my life and I do not exaggerate when I say ​it was how I found my true life, my true self.

At last I discovered a writing mentor, Nadia Colburn, who dares to value both the craft of writing and one’s personal journey of body, mind, spirit and voice.

My Creative Writing Blog

Nadia colburn in conversation with paul hawken, jacqueline suskin and nadia colburn: poetry and the earth, writing, pleasure, and s&x, free workshop: writing as practice, listening to your body: writing, yoga, and a free class, make your story a gift (and free class), what to do with difficult stories–and why, access your creative voice on a deeper level.

Mindful tools for writers: meditations, writing prompts, publishing guides, and more.

Get unlimited access to my free resource library and weekly or bi-weekly emails with reflections, meditation, tips, and more. 

Copyright 2024 Nadia Colburn

Graduate Creative Writing (MFA)

Advance your storytelling skills in our MFA program

Genres to choose from: fiction, nonfiction, or poetry

Award-winning literary journals on campus

Credit hours

About the Graduate Creative Writing Program

At Emerson College, we understand that writing is your life. That’s why our on-campus Creative Writing MFA program focuses on the actual practice of writing, as well as its literary foundations. By the time you graduate, you will have completed a professional thesis, a novel or novel excerpt, a nonfiction book or excerpt, or a collection of poems, short stories, or essays—ready for consideration by agents and publishing houses or for digital publication.

Housed in the Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing in the School of the Arts, our MFA program boasts some of the most impressive faculty in writing and publishing. It is also home to two award-winning literary journals and is strongly connected to the Boston publishing community. 

Pursue your passion, choosing from the genres of literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and explore writing as both an art form and a professional career.

Program Highlights

• Explore different forms of writing through your electives, including poetry to screenwriting, digital to traditional publishing, and more
• Experiences outside of the classroom include teaching creative writing in our Writing Studies Program and editing on-campus journals such as Ploughshares and Redivider
• No GRE requirements to apply
• Full-time and part-time options; classes are offered in the evenings to fit your schedule

Request More Information

Program details.

• Curriculum Requirements
• Emerson Advantage
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The study of literature offers students a comprehensive point of view from which they can integrate the diversity of human experiences. Language reveals fascinating truths about the human mind and literature records its preoccupations—intellectual, aesthetic, spiritual, psychological, political, social, historical, and ethical.

The study of literature offers deep schooling in human experience. It is also superb training for any field in which understanding of behavior is valued. Students of literature consistently explore language and the forms of expression, valuable in any future work where precise and effective communication is important. English majors and minors can develop these skills to a considerable degree, and non-majors find that taking even a few well-chosen electives beyond the Core requirement can widen their knowledge of literature and sharpen their linguistic abilities.

The English major at Boston College is designed to introduce students to a wide range of expression in the literary traditions of the past and present. It aims to help undergraduate students develop a strengthened ability to work critically and sensitively with texts in poetry and prose, to write with clarity and grace, and to articulate judgments about literature with an awareness of various critical approaches. English majors will become familiar with some of the major developments in the history of literature in the English language and will have the opportunity to choose from an array of courses covering topics from the medieval period to contemporary cultural studies to a range of transnational literatures.

By the successful completion of the English major at Boston College, students will be able to demonstrate:

• An ability to write clear, coherent, organized, and stylistically correct papers;
• An ability to close-read, interpret, and analyze texts (including poetic texts);
• A knowledge of literary genres and appropriate use of critical terminology;
• A recognition of the historical specificity of literary works and/or other cultural products;
• An awareness that there are a variety of critical approaches to literary and cultural texts.

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Information for First-Year Majors and Non-majors

Major requirements, english minor, english courses for non-majors.

• Interdisciplinary and Other Programs

Creative Writing Concentration

Summer courses, information for study abroad, honors program, b.a./m.a. program.

The English Department has primary responsibility for two Core requirements—ENGL1010 First-Year Writing Seminar, taught entirely by English Department faculty, and ENGL1080 Literature Core, taught largely by English Department faculty. Because Core classes are restricted to first-year students, students should plan to take both courses during the first year. Courses offered through the Woods College may not be counted toward the English Core, major, or minor.

ENGL1010 First-Year Writing Seminar

The First-Year Writing Seminar helps students use their writing as a source of learning and a form of communication. Designed as a workshop in which each student develops a portfolio of personal and academic writing, the seminar follows a semester-long process. Students write and rewrite essays continuously, discuss their works-in-progress in class, and receive feedback during individual and small group conferences with the instructor. In connection with their writing, students read and discuss a wide range of texts, including various forms of non-fiction prose. In addition to regular conferences, the class meets two hours per week to learn and discuss writing processes and strategies, various genres and rhetorical situations for writing, the evolving drafts of class members, and various forms of conducting and writing research, including an introduction to using the resources at O'Neill Library.

ENGL1080 Literature Core

In this part of the Core program, students explore the principal motives which prompt people to read literature—to assemble and assess the shape and values of one's own culture, to discover alternative ways of looking at the world, to gain insight into issues of permanent human importance as well as issues of contemporary urgency, and to enjoy the linguistic and formal satisfactions of literary art.

Literature Core will strive to develop the student's capacity to read and write with clarity and engagement, to allow for that dialogue between the past and present we call history, and to provide an introduction to literary genres.

Courses for English Language Learners

The department offers Core level courses in language and literature for English language learners. These classes require department permission for registration. Interested students should contact the ELL Director, Lynne Anderson, for more information:  lynne.anderson@bc.edu .

Students ordinarily begin the English major in their sophomore year, after completing the First-Year Writing Seminar and the Literature Core. In addition to the two 3-credit Core courses, students take 30 credits (in the form of ten 3-credit courses) from the Department’s offerings. These must include ENGL2131 Studies in Poetry (3 credits) and ENGL2133 Studies in Narrative (3 credits), usually taken in sequence in the sophomore year. Both courses train students intensively in the close reading of literary texts and in writing with critical awareness about literature.

To provide a deeper understanding of the foundations of literary traditions, English majors are required to take 6 credits in  earlier literatures in English , to be distributed in the following manner:

• 3 credits in medieval or early-modern literature (before 1700)
• 3 credits in eighteenth or nineteenth-century literature (between 1700–1900)

Students are also required to take a course in Race, Blackness, and Language. This requirement is designed to encourage students to think about how the meaningfulness of literature emerges from the many forces shaping the world as we understand it, focusing on anti-black racism and racial difference. Students will examine issues of race thinking and global relations of power through lenses of ethics, social justice, respect for human dignity, and sustainability.

Students complete the English major by taking 15 credits in elective courses of their choice. Courses offered through the Woods College may not be counted toward the English Core, major, or minor.

During the sophomore year, historical survey courses such as Introduction to British Literature and Culture I and II and the American Literary History sequence may be useful to fill in students' knowledge of the development of English and American literature. Students who have a special interest in American literature are advised to take American Literary History I as a foundation for later courses. Please note that earlier literatures in languages other than English (such as cross-listed courses offered through other departments) will be counted as major electives and not historical distribution requirements. At this point, students should be in a position to begin making their own choices about how they will complete the major requirements, in discussion with their major advisor. They will have many options from among the 30 or more electives the Department offers each semester in English and American literature, in Irish Studies, in writing, in the different genres, and in particular themes.

All majors will be required to take one seminar prior to graduation. The seminar, with its small class size and intensive focus, is designed to foster an intimate learning community where students are encouraged not only to study an issue intensively but also to engage actively in an intellectual exchange with a faculty member and a select group of committed peers. These courses are intended mainly for juniors and seniors, and ordinarily, students are advised to have completed both Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative and at least one additional elective before taking a seminar. Students should expect to produce a longer seminar project or research paper (15–20 pages) as well as one or more shorter papers and make at least one oral presentation.

The English minor is comprised of six courses (18 credits) beyond the Core requirements in English. These must include:

• Either ENGL2131 Studies in Poetry or ENGL2133 Studies in Narrative
• A historical foundations course (pre–1700 or pre–1900)
• Four electives from the department offerings.  

Core and Woods College classes may not be counted toward the minor, though additional courses that fulfill the first two requirements may be counted as electives. Students may count up to two courses from study abroad toward the minor, though they must be approved by the department.

​For questions about the English minor, or to declare, please contact Marla DeRosa ( marla.derosa@bc.edu ).

Students majoring in other subjects have always been welcome in English courses for the diversity of viewpoint and variety of knowledge they often bring with them. From the students' point of view, English courses offer the enjoyment of reading good literature; insight into history, culture, and human character; and a chance to polish reading and writing skills.

Interdisciplinary and Related Programs

The English Department is connected to a variety of interdisciplinary programs at Boston College. For details about each program, you can go to the English Department website.

• American Studies Program
• Asian American Studies
• Creative Writing
• Irish Studies
• Medical Humanities 

Secondary Education Major

English majors who are also completing Lynch School of Education and Human Development majors must fulfill more specific major requirements to demonstrate a broad range of knowledge within the discipline. In addition to the First-Year Writing Seminar, the Literature Core, Studies in Poetry, and Studies in Narrative, these students must fulfill the following requirements:

• one pre–1700 course
• one pre–1900 course
• one course on Anglophone or Ethnic American Authors
• one course on Women Authors
• one course on the History of Language/Grammar/Linguistics
• one course in Adolescent and Young Adult Literature
• two English electives  

To acquire sufficient knowledge across this spectrum, Lynch students should consider taking more general survey courses (e.g., Introduction to British Literature and Culture I and II, American Literary History I, II, and III) to fulfill some requirements.

Students with questions about the ENGL/Lynch requirements should contact Marla DeRosa ( marla.derosa@bc.edu ).

The English Department offers a Creative Writing Concentration that allows certain students to intensify and focus their English majors by taking a series of practice-based writing courses along with their literature courses.

• The creative writing concentrator undertakes a 36-credit English major instead of the usual 30 credits. At least 9 of these credits must be writing workshops in any genre, selected with the help of the student's concentration advisor.

All concentrators also attend monthly social gatherings to read new work and share news about literary activity on campus. English majors may declare the Creative Writing Concentration up through first semester of junior year, after receiving a grade of A- or better in one of the Department's creative writing workshops. The period for declaring the Concentration runs through the end of add/drop week of each semester. Eligible English majors wishing to declare should see Marla DeRosa in Stokes S493.

A limited number of summer courses may be counted toward the English major or minor.

These include summer English courses taught abroad by our faculty through the Office of International Programs, as well as electives taught through the MCAS English Department. 

Please contact Marla DeRosa ( marla.derosa@bc.edu ) for questions about summer courses.

English majors should complete (at minimum) the required Studies in Poetry and Studies in Narrative prior to study abroad, while minors should complete at least one of those requirements. Majors will need to have their preliminary application for study abroad approved by the department. Majors may count up to six credits per semester abroad for the major (12 credits maximum); minors may count six credits total. These courses may fulfill historical requirements or major electives. All courses taken abroad must be approved by the department in order to be counted toward the major or minor. A course syllabus is required for major/minor approval. This syllabus must include the writing requirements for the course, and courses cannot be approved without this information. Please note that the number of credits awarded per course is determined by the Office of International Programs.

Students may study abroad for either or both semesters but must contact Marla DeRosa ( marla.derosa@bc.edu ). 

The English Department offers an honors program for English majors. Students admitted to the program will write an honors thesis senior year, either a critical study or a creative project, for 6 credits total toward the major. Students contemplating an honors thesis are encouraged to take a seminar during their junior year. A description of this program is available on the department website.

The English Department at Boston College offers a B.A./M.A. Program that allows selected students to earn both a B.A. and an M.A. in English in five years. Enrolled students will start earning graduate credit as a senior, then complete the M.A. in a fifth year of full-time study. The purpose of the program is to allow students a greater opportunity for concentrated study and research training.

Requirements

Students in the B.A./M.A. program must meet all the specific course requirements for the undergraduate major as well as the formal requirements for the M.A., including the completion of Introduction to Advanced Research or its equivalent, demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language, a theory course, and a comprehensive exam. This requires overloading courses in the senior year, when BA/MA students take four courses that count towards the MA, at least two of which must be designated as graduate, or hybrid graduate/undergraduate, courses. Please see the English Department website for detailed information about the requirements specific to this program.

Students interested in the program should consult the Director of the M.A. Program , to discuss whether this version of the M.A. is right for their individual goals. Admission to the program requires a GPA of 3.3 overall and a 3.6 in the English major. The Director will review the student's academic record and, if appropriate, facilitate the application process. Students in the program will not be eligible for TF/TA positions or graduate financial aid. Students in the program will not be charged graduate tuition for the two overload graduate courses taken in the senior year.

How to Apply:

Students must submit applications by March 31 of the junior year. The required application materials are a personal statement, a writing sample, three letters of recommendation, and an official transcript. The application fee will be waived. Please take a look at the  Graduate School of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Admissions  page for application instructions and e-mail gsasinfo@bc.edu with any questions on how to upload materials.

Do not send any materials to the English Department.

University Catalog Office of Student Services Lyons Hall 103

Academic Catalog 2023-2024

Creative writing, minor.

The creative writing minor allows students an opportunity to gain experience in a variety of forms of writing to better understand the writing process and the relationship between forms and genres. Students may use one elective course to study literature, technical writing, or writing in the professions.

Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Required Courses

Program requirement.

15 total semester hours required

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Welcome to the English Department

With a broad offering of programs, a strong connection to the community, and a socially-engaged faculty committed to their students, the English Department at UMass Boston is an exciting place to be!

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Academic Programs

Undergraduate programs.

• Creative Writing Minor
• English Minor
• English Teaching Licensure
• Literary History Minor
• Professional Writing & New Media Minor
• Race, Ethnicity & Literature Minor

Graduate Programs

• Creative Writing MFA

About Our Department

English Department programs focus on the intersection of literature, rhetoric and composition, creative writing, and visual culture. As an English major or minor, you will engage with the imaginative worlds and diverse perspectives that texts create—worlds and perspectives created and shared by dynamic writers, responsive readers, and innovative teachers.

The English major is flexible: it both gives all students an essential writing and literature base, and it allows students to explore areas of interest in the upper-and lower-level electives, including through concentrations in Creative Writing; Professional and New Media Writing; Race, Ethnicity, and Literature; and English Teaching . Or you might be interested in an English minor or a minor in one of our specialized concentrations.

We know that our students attend college to prepare themselves to be active, engaged members of society and to find success in meaningful careers. Our programs provide a wide range of skills and capabilities that enable students to find success and to make a difference.

Why Study English at UMass Boston?

What makes UMass Boston the place to study English?

• Learning opportunities with field trips to historical literary sites, visits to museums, and hands-on activities at local libraries and archives such as the Boston Athenaeum and our neighbors, the Massachusetts State Archives and the Kennedy Presidential Library.
• A unique “Experiencing Boston” course sequence that connects literary study to Boston history and culture, focusing on generating creative approaches to studying and experiencing urban space.
• A course sequence focused on Boston Harbor, the Harbor Islands, and the diverse coastal communities that surround them with a focus on environmental justice.  
• A Socially-Engaged, World-Class Faculty The English faculty is committed to the social relevance of literary study and the study of composition and rhetoric, and how they can be used to advance ideas—for better or for worse.  
• A Connection to the Community Partnerships with local organizations get our English students out into the community, where they work as interns, tutors, and volunteers, expanding upon their classroom learning.  
• A Diverse Student Body This variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences enable students to discuss course material in broader contexts.  
• A Commitment to Multi-Lingual Students The English Department directs the university’s ESL Center, which serves students whose native language is not English. The ESL Center offers coursework in speaking, listening, and reading and writing for academic purposes.

Why Major in English

Our English programs are built on the assumption that creativity is essential to the human condition and that we must understand the imaginative works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, film, graphic literature, and new media writing that our culture creates. In our courses, while you have fun engaging with these imaginative works, you learn essential skills of reading, writing, interpretation, critical and creative thinking—skills that are in high demand in all careers. 

What will you learn in the English programs?

As an English Major you will develop skills and abilities that are always in demand. An English degree on your résumé signals that you can read closely, write clearly, think critically, think creatively, and engage with complex ideas, which are skills employers want.

• See   English Learning Goals   for more specifics on what your English classes will teach you.

What can you do with an English Degree?

• See   Careers in English   for information on the wide range of careers and professional opportunities available to English majors.
• See   Alumni Spotlight   for stories on recent alumni.

Writing Center

We offer guidance on all forms of writing from class essays to cover letters to dissertations and much more.

Special program offered within the English department focuses on adapting to new writing contexts by knowledge and practices

• Resources for Students
• Graduate Student Assistantships

This CLA First! first-year course emphasizes the study of Boston culture, history, and literature, featuring exciting field trips into Boston. We focus on generating analytical and creative approaches to studying--and experiencing--urban spaces.

All of Boston’s a Stage

Chase Culler (center left) and Kevin Barents (center right) each teach a section of The Theater Now, a CAS Writing Program course that takes students to local theater productions. This semester, they’ve seen Hairspray and The Girl from the North Country .

The immersive BU Writing Program course The Theater Now brings students to local stage productions

Emily wyrwa (com’26), jake belcher.

Brandy Barents and Kevin Barents can’t remember how they got into theater—the love was always there. A lecturer and a master lecturer in the College of Arts & Sciences Writing Program, they fell for each other in high school when they were cast in an Edward Albee play and have been together ever since. Both studied English in college, but Kevin Barents, who joined the Writing Program faculty in 2005, says they spent more time acting in plays than reading books.

“People who are passionate about theater tend to be quite passionate about theater,” he says. “It’s one of those universal human experiences that everybody can connect with on some level.” 

Simply put, the two are theater people. These days, the husband-and-wife duo coteach the Writing Program course WR153: The Theater Now. 

Each year since the course began in 2012, its faculty devise a new syllabus, corresponding with theatrical productions playing in Boston during the semesters. With funds from the BU Arts Initiative , students will go to two shows each semester and complete projects and critiques based on what they see. 

According to Brandy Barents, who has taught in the Writing Program since 2007, getting students out into the city, where they can engage with the broader arts community, is key. Attending the theater in order to fulfill the course requirement forces them to see for themselves the important role theater plays in the city’s ecosystem. “It’s exciting to get to meet directors, actors, and people creating art,” she says. “It’s what makes [the course] worthwhile.”

The Theater Now was created in 2012 by Anthony Wallace, a Writing Program senior lecturer, and William Marx, a College of Communication master lecturer, who codirected the course until Wallace’s death in 2018. Brandy Barents took over in May 2019, and Kevin Barents joined her a year later. 

“When Tony and Bill started this, I always thought it was so cool and I always wanted to get in on it,” she recalls. “It was amazing that they created this whole course and that it was so popular.” 

When the faculty sit down to plan the course, they build every assignment, and the semester’s timeline, around the Boston theater production calendar. Sometimes they’ll see shows at Cambridge’s American Repertory Theater . Other times, it’s a touring show that’s visiting the city. The most important assignments each semester are to write theatrical reviews of the productions they attend, and to create a proposed film based on an adapted Broadway musical. This includes a pitch, a poster, a film trailer, and a final presentation that touches on the semester’s themes. 

The current semester is focused on musicals. Students first saw Hairspray at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theater, and after March spring break, they went back to the Colonial for the national tour of The Girl from the North Country, a jukebox musical featuring the songs of Bob Dylan. 

Chase Culler , a lecturer in the Writing Program, is teaching a section of The Theater Now for the first time this semester. He met his students just a day before seeing Hairspray with them. Kevin Barents didn’t have even that luxury—the first time he heard their voices was while handing out tickets in front of the theater. 

“It made me wonder how quickly a class could gel if we just immediately threw them into [the theater],” Culler says.

Pretty quickly, it turns out. Brandy Barents notes that the students have forged a strong community within the course; she is proud that they enjoy the work and that the classroom is a comfortable space for them to have critical discussions. Topics have ranged from social justice movements to queer films to protest songs. 

“I enjoy that the discussions are free-roaming around the class,” says Artem Vazetdinov

 (COM’27), a student in one of Culler’s course sections. “Literally all class members participate.”

Brandy Barents and Kevin Barents and Culler hope that students will gain a greater appreciation for theater through taking the course, in addition to strengthening their writing skills. In a day and age where it sometimes can feel like everything has been written, Brandy Barents aims to get students to see that theater is all about creation and forging community, whether it’s “a small town production where nobody’s getting paid or Broadway, where you see amazing things happening.” 

“Theater is supposed to be fun,” she says. “It’s supposed to make you think, but it should also be enjoyable. Anytime you can mix those two—make class fun and really enjoy something that you’re studying—you have so much more of a chance to learn.” 

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Coming-of-age story of immigrant child wins big at redstone film festival, does “tipping fatigue” justify paying minimum wage to tipped workers, student documentary explores the legacy of charcoal, a magazine by and about students of color, bu hosts first-of-its-kind queer food conference, men’s tennis team on a quest for first patriot league title, this year’s tedxbu talks: childhood, privilege—and fungi, a video tour of stuvi i and stuvi ii, the weekender: april 25 to 28, sunday in the park with george opens at booth theatre, bu student-athletes honored at 2024 scarlet & white awards ceremony, a rundown of the best thrift and vintage spots near bu, pov: the biden-trump rematch may mark the end of an era, combating loneliness and creating healthy relationships, five common sexual health myths debunked, global programs photo contest showcases bu’s worldwide adventures and experiences, book recommendations in honor of world book day, anonymous $1m gift bolsters american & new england studies program, waste watchers, as we celebrate earth day, a reminder of what cannot be recycled at bu, bu honors best student employees and supervisor.