At Exeter, we believe that the ability to communicate and express oneself is critical to gaining self-knowledge and participating in society.
We focus on developing in students the skills of expression, listening and understanding.
Our writing program invites you to start with personal narratives. As you find your confidence and voice, you’ll move to more complex essays, journalistic profiles and literary analyses. You’ll gain self-knowledge and learn to communicate with clarity through thought-provoking discussions of poetry, fiction, drama and creative nonfiction.
Seniors choose from more than 50 electives, including author immersions (more than 20, from Milton to Morrison) and genre-based courses.
Students own the book. They get to decide the questions and problems that matter to them. They bring them to the class and you, as the teacher, are guiding them through the process of exploring those problems. You come into a class thinking ‘Oh, they’re going to talk about this.’ And they then go somewhere you just didn’t realize they were going to go.
Barbara Desmond, chair of the Department of English
Phillips Hall
Study English in recently renovated, media-equipped classrooms.
The Common Read
Our incoming ninth graders read the same text before the school year begins. The “common read” is part of a program intended to connect new students and prepare them for life at Exeter.
Featured Courses
ENG503
Creative Writing: Poetry
“Poetry,” wrote Robert Frost, “is a way of taking life by the throat.” From its origins in oral tradition and tribal lore, as well as its role in incantatory spiritual practice, poetry has carried in its rhythms the deep longings of humanity.
ENG585
Utopias & Dystopias in Literature
Fantastic societies have held a fascination for writers from Thomas More to the present day.
ENG572
Literature and the Land
In this course, students will participate in outdoor excursions that prompt them to contemplate their relationship to the natural world.
Lamont Poetry Series
This program brings two poets to campus each year to give readings of their poetry and to attend English classes. The Lamont Fund, established in 1982 by Corliss Lamont, class of 1920, and Jacquelyn Thomas, former Academy Librarian, supports the Lamont Poetry Series.
