graduate
Creative Writing program hosts poets Didi Jackson and Patrick Paridee Samuel
Dec. 4, 2025—Vanderbilt’s Creative Writing Program hosted a salon on November 13 with assistant professor Didi Jackson and fellow poet Patrick Sharidee Samuel. They discussed their recent collections, My Infinity and And Another Thing. Following the salon, graduate and undergraduate students participated in a book-making workshop and produced their own work. For upcoming events, visit the...
Marie-Helene Bertino joins Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series
Nov. 14, 2025—Novelist and short story writer Marie-Helene Bertino joined the Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series on November 6 with her novel Beautyland, an American Book Award winner and National Book Critics Circle finalist, which follows Adina Giorno, born with unusual perception to a single mother in Philadelphia. The arrival of a fax machine enables her...
2025 Creative Writing newsletter now available
Nov. 13, 2025—The newsletter can be viewed by clicking here. The PDF version can be found here.
Poet and anthropologist Nomi Stone features as H. S. Vanderbilt speaker – November 14
Nov. 3, 2025—Friday, November 14th 12:30 – 2:30 PM Kissam C216 Lunch will be provided, and a selection of Nomi Stone’s book will be available for attendees. Nomi Stone is an award-winning poet and anthropologist. She is the author of two full-length poetry collections, Stranger’s Notebook (TriQuarterly 2008) and Kill Class (Tupelo 2019), which was a finalist...
Amy Quan Barry joins Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series
Oct. 31, 2025—Novelist and poet Amy Quan Barry joined the Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series on October 16 with her new novel The Unveiling, which chronicles the struggles of Striker, a Black film scout, who, along with a group of wealthy white tourists, becomes stranded on a remote island in the Antarctic Peninsula during a...
MFA poets perform at Southern Festival of Books
Oct. 23, 2025—Several students in the MFA Creative Writing program appeared on October 19th at the Southern Festival of Books. Poets Ayesha Asad, Kinsale Drake, Alexandra Green, Athena Nassar, Lana Reeves, and Kanchi Sharma read from their latest works, joining more than 175 regionally and nationally recognized authors at the festival. This year’s event was titled “Vanderbilt...
Vanderbilt Creative Writing Announces MFA Student Reading at The Southern Festival of Books
Oct. 10, 2025—Vanderbilt Creative Writing and The Nashville Review will host an MFA Student Poetry and Fiction Reading at The Southern Festival of Books on Sunday, October 19. Featured writers include Ayesha Asad, Alexandra Green, Kinsale Drake, Athena Nassar, Eliana Reeves, and Kanchi Sharma. The reading begins at 11:30 on the side lawn of the Tennessee State...
Vanderbilt MFA students featured in Cheekwood Exhibit
Sep. 16, 2025— MFA faculty, students, and alumni are currently featured in the exhibition Verse & Visions at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. Visit Cheekwood and read the ekphrastic poems of Sydney Mayes, Carson Colenbaugh (MFA ’25), Ajla Dizdarevic, and Assistant Professor Didi Jackson. Verse and Vision,...