The English department provides you with the basis by which you can enrich your life through an ongoing contact with stimulating authors, evocative language, and significant ideas. You will also make connections among literary texts within and across historical periods, national literatures, cultural groups, and formal categories.

People read to be entertained, to be surprised or inspired, to learn about the world, to participate in our own literary culture. As writers, we will also read to glean what we can from the mechanics of the written word. We aim to understand how and why an author employs a particular technique or device—and to what effect. Writers learn from experimentation and practice, and from creative criticism and encouragement. At St. Mary’s we provide a close-knit community of writers and literary enthusiasts in order to nourish your skills and talents.