<p>[Faces</a> of Princeton: Jeffrey Eugenides](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S32/01/66G01/index.xml]Faces”>http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S32/01/66G01/index.xml)</p>
<p>In his new novel “The Marriage Plot,” Princeton creative writing professor Jeffrey Eugenides takes the reader into a college classroom where English major Madeleine Hanna is trying to carve out a life for herself in which literature is a guiding force. Eugenides, who himself was once a student with similar aspirations, hopes to help Princeton undergraduates also engage deeply with writing in his own classroom. Teaching, he says, is one of the toughest challenges he faces.</p>
<p>Teaching “is in a way the most difficult thing I do,” Eugenides said, who talks about his writing and teaching in the accompanying video. “I have a much easier time standing up in front of 500 people and giving a lecture or reading my work than meeting the 10 faces around a seminar table and trying to say something that’s useful to them. It’s a hard task, and one I certainly haven’t mastered. . . . (continued)”</p>
<p>[At</a> Princeton and in fiction, Eugenides dives into classroom](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S32/01/60S19/index.xml?section=featured]At”>http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S32/01/60S19/index.xml?section=featured)</p>
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<p>For those who have tended to think that Princeton has only recently put such emphasis on the creative and performing arts, its good to be reminded that the Creative Writing Program has made such a large impact for so very long. It is, quite simply, the best in the country, said Paul Muldoon, Howard G.B. Clark '21 University Professor in the Humanities; Professor of Creative Writing, Chair of the Fund for Irish Studies and Chair of Lewis Center for the Arts.</p>
<p>While Muldoon, an internationally-celebrated Irish poet, might be showing a bit of hometown pride, he is not far off. With well-known faculty members in creative writing such Joyce Carol Oates, Chang-rae Lee and Jeffrey Eugenides, Princetons creative writing program has turned out a steady stream of promising young poets and novelists. Nobel prize-winner Toni Morrison (now Professor Emeritus) is still involved as well.</p>
<p>For those interested in creative writing and the arts at Princeton, you might enjoy the following links:</p>
<p>[Creative</a> Writing at Lewis Center](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/arts/arts_at_princeton/creative_writing/about_the_program/]Creative”>Creative Writing - Lewis Center for the Arts)</p>
<p>[Arts</a> at Princeton](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/arts/arts_at_princeton/]Arts”>Academics - Lewis Center for the Arts)</p>