On the Teaching of Creative Writing

One of America's finest writers talks about the difficulties, rewards, and importance of teaching creative writing.

Wallace Stegner writes ". . . the language itself is an inheritance, a shared wealth. It may be played with, stretched, forced, bent; but I, as a writer or teacher, must never assume that it is mine. It is ours, the living core, as well as the instrument, of the culture I derive from, resist, challenge, and--ultimately--serve. . . . nobody can teach anyone else to have a talent. All a teacher can do is set high goals for students--or get them to set them for themselves--and, then, try to help them reach those goals."

A half-century's wisdom on teaching and learning creative writing is distilled in this brief discussion by one of America's pre-eminent authors. Anyone who has taught or participated in a creative writing class will find Stegner's insights invaluable.

Wallace Stegner was founder of and for 25 years directed Stanford University's Creative Writing Program. Author of many books, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Angle of Repose (1971) and the National Book Award for The Spectator Bird (1976). One of his last books, before his death on April 13, 1993, was Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs (1992).