Also, Buell says, "generally speaking it'sunwise to generate ultra-small academic units,"
Several creative writing teachers suggest alecture-format class that could accommodate morestudents than the intimate seminars.
"I've often thought what I'd like to do isoffer a lecture course for writers," Heaney says.
But such a large course would demand teachingfellows, and Harvard has no graduate program increative writing to supply them.
Heaney himself opposes such a graduate program,which he says would destroy the Harvard focus onundergraduates.
"Most other places concentrate on graduates,"he says. "They are [well known] because of theruthlessness of selection."
So the department will likely stick with thestatus quo, which pleases those students luckyenough to get in, but freezes out many who wish totake the classes.
"It's kind of a pity they don't have manyresources," Covalesky says, "but on the other handthe creative writing department does a great job."