Jeffrey Parker, the new face of the University of Tampa’s MFA program in Creative Writing, is striving to create a unique graduate experience both intimate and international, convenient and comprehensive.
“Our goal is to combine intense personal experience with the ease of being able to live wherever you want,” the director affirmed.
A native of the Sunshine State, Parker received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida. Parker went on to teach as well as write in communities as diverse and far-flung as Ontario, Canada and St. Petersburg, Russia before returning to Florida to help redefine the UT curriculum.
An accomplished novelist and editor in his own right, he has published well-received novels and story collections and participated in the editing of numerous works translated from Russian.
Not only has Parker been the recipient of an array of awards and grants, he has also taken part in the founding of writing-oriented programs both at home and abroad.
This wealth of worldly and program-building experience coupled with his impressive literary credentials makes Parker qualified to lead the MFA being established at UT.
A program that promises to be as dynamic as the individuals involved in its making, this endeavor is the first fine arts graduate degree to be offered by UT. Engineered for convenience and flexibility as well as instructive excellence, it will take the form of a low-residency course in which students can better balance academic endeavors with outside obligations.
Parker explained that participants will come to campus twice a year for a period of 10 days to engage in what he termed “an intense, personal workshop” and meet the writers who will guide them in attaining the degree. Once paired with an instructor, the students will return to their homes for the next four months and complete the rest of the course.
The intense and intimate work environment of the workshops and seminars on campus will be offset by an exciting array of outings to local attractions as well as parties, film screenings and beach barbecues. Parker was firm in his conviction that the building of friendships and professional camaraderie will be essential to the academic aims of the program.
“The primary goal of this program should be to build a community of writers,” he stated.
The international aspirations of the program will be blended with the local literary tradition of a writing tour of Ybor City with the participation of celebrated writers and students from around the world.
Although the initial wave of MFA students scheduled to arrive five days after the New Year is anticipated to be modest, the stimulating structure, convenience and renowned instructors of the program may well spark a new beacon of literary excellence in the south to burn for years to come.
Jeffrey Palmer can be reached at jeffrey.palmer@spartans.ut.edu.