Founding class of creative writers graduate from HSPVA

May 29, 2015, by

HSPVA Seniors 3259This week saw the emergence into the wider literary world of the first graduating class from the four-year Creative Writing program at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA).

When Judith Switek was appointed Director of Creative Writing in 2010, she also took on the challenge of designing the new writing curriculum.

croppedJudith Switek - main - 3273“I went to visit a couple of other fine arts schools,” she says, “and of course, I talked to the other art form department chairs at HSPVA to see how their programs were structured. For example, for the first two years in Art, they give the students a taste of lots of different styles. Then as juniors and seniors, they can decide what they want to focus on. I knew I wanted to do that with my program too. I studied playwriting at NYU without ever having written a play before, but if I’d never had the chance to try playwriting, I would never have known how much I loved it. This way, the kids are able to try everything out and see what they feel strongest in. Continue reading