Welcome

Our Chair’s Welcome

El Paso-Juarez is a locale where the Americas meet. Our university is located in the center of a unique ecotone where elements of U.S. culture connect and mix with elements of Mexican culture creating a vibrant social and political environment that enriches the intellectual and imaginative lives of our students. Taking advantage of our geographic and cultural space, we have developed a unique graduate Creative Writing Program that is bilingual in nature and seeks to include the many literary traditions of the Americas as the foundation for our students’ literary development. Our program seeks to bring together talented young writers from all over the Americas in order to be a catalyst in the production of a future literature that will remind us that we all speak a common language.


Bienvenida de nuestro Jefe de Departamento

La región de El Paso-Juarez es el punto de encuentro de las Américas. Nuestra universidad está ubicada en el centro de una singular zona de contacto donde los elementos de la cultura de los Estados Unidos se mezclan con los elementos de la cultura de México, creando un vibrante ambiente cultural y político que enriquece la vida intelectual y la imaginación de nuestros estudiantes. Aprovechando las ventajas de nuestro espacio geográfico y cultural, hemos creado un singular Programa de Creación Literaria bilingüe cuya meta es incluir las diversas tradiciones de las Américas como la base del desarrollo literario de nuestros estudiantes. Nuestro programa aspira ser el catalizador donde los nuevos escritores de las Américas escriban la literatura del futuro que nos recuerde que hablamos una misma lengua.


Latest News

MFA student wins short-story contest: Silvia Aguilar Zeleny, MFA candidate, won the "Concurso de Cuento Ciudad de La Paz, 2012," sponsored by The Institute of Culture of Baja California (ISC), with her book Nenitas, to be published later this year.

Poetry Reading at Blumberg Auditorium: The Department of Creative Writing hosted poet Howard McCord. Blumberg Auditorium at the UTEP Library. Thursday, April 19. 2012. 

Words on a Wire on iTunes: Words on a Wire, a weekly show hosted by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and Daniel Chacón, is now available on iTunes. Listen to Words on a Wire on KTEP 88.5 FM every Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

Poetry Reading at Rubin Gallery: The Department of Creative Writing  hosted poet Corrinne Clegg Hales who read from her new book To Make It Right. Ruben Varona, current MFA candidate, read excerpts from his work in progress. Rubin Gallery at UTEP. Friday, March 30, 2012.

MFA students release new literary journal: Daniel Ríos and Daniel Centeno (MFA candidates), and Diego J. Bustos (MFA) released Coroto, a literary journal, on March 22, 2012, at the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso, Texas. Congratulations!

Former student wins award: Juana Moriel Payne, former student in our MFA in Creative Writingprogram, won the Publicaciones 2012 Award, sponsored by the ChihuahuaInstitute of Culture (ICHICULT), with her novel Trigueña which will be published later this year.

Our Chair publishes new book: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Simon& Schuster Children’s Publishing) is the new novel by Benjamin AlireSáenz, Chair of the Creative Writing program at UTEP.