Since its creation 50 years ago in 1967, Knox’s Program in Creative Writing has grown in both size and prestige. Creative writing is consistently one of the top majors at the College, and faculty members are widely published and awarded in their fields of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and playwriting. Its students produce award-winning work in and out of the classroom, and its alumni receive fellowships from top graduate programs and have been awarded the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. There’s clearly something special happening here on the prairie.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove even recognized this during her visit to campus last March: “The creative writing program at Knox is actually pretty phenomenal,” she told our local NPR station, Tri States Public Radio. “When I think of the number of students who’ve come through it, and the quality of their work...I don’t know if any other university can boast of having such an amazing program.”

So how should Knox Magazine celebrate the program? Well, we decided to touch upon what we consider to be three elements that are vital to the success of creative writing at Knox: Its faculty (one in particular), its students, and its alumni. And we hope that after reading the following articles you'll recognize that special something, too.