Professor helps students find voices

 

By Sedona Liming - intern

Mischa Willett, head of Whitworth's new master of fine arts (MFA) in creative writing, inspired by his own passion for English and poetry, seeks to help students find their own voices, the joy of writing in their unique ways and a love for each other as they create.

As a five-year-old, his fascination when his mother read the King James Bible to him was more about the poetic words than the stories of theology.

Now writing free verse, he feels his poetry is like "doing cartwheels" that allow him to "live in the sentences" he writes.

Whitworth University brought Mischa on staff in July 2025, opening its doors to the writing community for the first cohort of the MFA in creative writing. The program follows a two-year, low-residency format.

Students chosen for the program work mostly remotely with mentors scattered across the world, who are well-known writers in their fields. Twice a year, they will come to campus for a nine-day residency where they attend workshops and master classes, listen to guest speakers, and write and edit each other's work. Over two years, they will visit Whitworth five times for the residency portions.

The coursework includes reading and writing responses to about 50 books that are chosen for the students. Mischa said, "The program is tailored not only to each class or year but each person."

The concept was adapted from an MFA program previously offered at Seattle Pacific University (SPU). It was cut due to budget reductions.

Mischa, who previously taught in the MFA program at SPU, wanted to continue the Christian-focused creative writing community. The SPU program was well known in the writing community and produced many published writers.

Mischa noted one graduate now works for the New York Times as a film critic.

When the SPU program's end was in sight, some faculty presented the program to universities across the country. They chose Whitworth to continue the program because of its approach towards differing faiths.

"I really feel the faith here. People have massively different opinions about matters of theology, but everyone still gathers together and loves each other," he said.

The program expands Whitworth's broader literary and creative community by providing the opportunity for students to take classes from all over the world over video calls.

Many graduates from the previous SPU program still hold it close to their hearts and send donations to contribute to the program's funding and well-being.

The hope is that it will also help strengthen Whitworth's undergraduate program for English writing and encourage students to further their education at Whitworth by continuing into its master's program.

A bachelor's degree in any field of study is the only academic requirement to qualify for the program.

Past students have ranged from recent undergraduates and teachers to empty nesters, retirees, pastors, veterans and stay-at-home parents.

The common thread is that students are dedicated Christians and excited to grow their writing skills.

The course's Christian focus is highlighted in the curriculum through the guest speakers, who for the most part identify as Christian, the texts students read and the discussions professors lead.

A distinctive part of the MFA's nine-day residencies is that a chaplain is hired to begin each day with Scripture and prayer alongside students.

"Because the cohorts are made up of Christians, the students encourage each other and pray for each other," Mischa said. "Many of the students stick together even years after the program."

Faith has always been an important focus in Mischa's life.

"I took my faith seriously. From the time I could speak, I was praying seriously," he said.

His family never had a denomination they identified with but would find churches that "seemed like the spirit was there" wherever they lived.

This led him to seek out a faith-centered education at Wheaton College in Illinois. He also was the first person in his family to attend college.

After reflecting on the spiritual lives of people who were influential to him, he noticed that most were a part of the Evangelical Anglican Church. As a result, he found his home in that church and was confirmed in the Anglican Church of North America.

Mischa enjoys the practices and communion that Anglicanism has and the ability to go to any church and hear the same gospel and worship service.

He incorporates his faith into his writing through the underlying messages in his poetry. In the classroom, he fosters conversations about how each reading can be related to faith.

Mischa found his calling for MFA mentorship after teaching in Seattle Pacific University's program, specifically with the poetry cohort.

"Immediately it was the most fun thing I'd ever done in my life," he said.

"I found that there were these things I knew that I couldn't give to anyone because I didn't have people asking and because I was not working with people of that level, but the graduate students just wanted everything, everything I knew and anything at all."

As a child, Mischa moved frequently because his father worked as a bowling alley mechanic. After living all over the country, he felt the most at home in the Northwest, which brought him to Seattle.

He lived in the Seattle area for about 18 years while attending the University of Washington's MFA program and teaching at Northwest University and Seattle Pacific University. He was excited to continue teaching in Washington when he moved to Spokane to create Whitworth's MFA.

His love for writing had always been present even from a young age.

As an undergraduate at Wheaton College, Mischa entered as a freshman majoring in Christian education with the intent to become a pastor. After jumping around in different fields, he studied abroad in Oxford and discovered a love for education and writing, which led him to decide on English as his major.

Poetry was always something Mischa had a passion for even before he pursued it as a career. As a freshman, he found himself printing poems on a classmate's printer, the only one in the dorms.

"I would go into his room late at night and type poems and print 50 copies of them and fold them up in the middle of books and stuff like that."

The transition to writing poetry in a more serious fashion was sparked after hearing poetry readings at Wheaton from Dana Gioia and Li-Young Lee, who are prominent authors in the poetry world. Mischa was inspired by their work and saw that poetry writing could be a realistic career.

As a seasoned poet now, Mischa has written three books.

His most recent book, "This Gift Card Has Already Been Redeemed," was published in early October. The book is a collection of poetry that addresses "faith, prayer and church, but also disappointment, displacement and deep reading."

The first cohort for the program included students working in four genres: poetry, fiction, nonfiction and spiritual writing.

All the spots for the January 2027 cohort have filled, but the program is accepting inquiries from applicants for future cohorts.

"The goal is that everyone becomes the best writer they have in them to be," Mischa shared, "but secondary, what I want is that they love each other."

For information, see whitworth.edu/mfa.