Faculty Spotlight: Jennifer Militello

Jennifer Militello—Program Director, Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing—joined NEC in 2015 and started directing the program a few years after that. Learn more about her story below.

“I was born in New York City—in the Bronx—to parents from the Italian and Greek neighborhoods of Brooklyn. I’m Sicilian and Spartan. I went to North Carolina to earn my MFA and Bath, England, to do my PhD. That in itself is a pretty cool experience, but I’m also a certified scuba diver, have been spelunking out west, spent time rock climbing in the Needles, and have been on safari in South Africa.

“I’ve published five collections of poetry and one memoir. My work has appeared in Best American Poetry and some of the best magazines in both the U.S. and the U.K., including The Nation, The New Republic, and The Paris Review.

“NEC is an incredible community. From the time I started here, I’ve felt at home. It’s like the best version of a family, where the people around you see who you really are and want to help you be your very best. The NEC MFA in Creative Writing program has always had an excellent reputation—not only because of its award-winning faculty, but also because of that sense of closeness and acceptance that supports students even as they are challenged to explore new things and push themselves to grow as writers.

“There are so many reasons people should join the MFA in Creative Writing program. As I’ve said, we are like a family. Students work one on one with some of the best writers in the country. We have a gorgeous campus with open green spaces and a river running through it and a covered bridge. We bring Pulitzer Prize winners and MacArthur geniuses to campus every year during our residencies. And we believe in writing that challenges expectations and crosses genre boundaries.

“This is a program that changes people’s lives. I’m always amazed at how the writing of our students develops during the two years they are with us, how they begin to publish even as MFA students, and how they maintain the close bonds they formed within the community well beyond their movement out into the world.”

Learn More
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