Naropa University, Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics

The program hosts the Summer Writing Program, which brings in more than fifty guests each year and offers students the opportunity to be in dialogue with a community of writers and artists. The program includes workshops, lectures, panels, readings, special events, and more.

The Kerouac School regularly hosts several readings and events, including the 5x5 student reading series (cohosted with 4 other graduate programs in the Front Range), the Fall Symposium, the Allen Ginsberg Visiting Fellow, the Spring Symposium which includes the Scalapino Lecture in Innovative Poetics, and Women of Naropa. The Symposia coincide with the MFA Creative Writing residencies, creating opportunities for cross-pollination across MFA cohorts.

The program also offers space in the curriculum to explore contemplative practices in tandem with their writing such as meditation, yoga, ikebana, or Contemplative Poetics. Other features include a seminar in pedagogy, where students gain the experience needed to teach undergraduate courses or work in the Naropa Writing Center. The Kerouac School is also the home of the Harry Smith Print Shop where students can take classes in letterpress printing and book arts.

The program’s deadline for priority applications—meaning guaranteed consideration for the full fellowships—is February 2. After that, general applications are accepted on a rolling admissions and students are still eligible for the many forms of partial funding.