Since Fall 2002, Luke has been teaching in the brief-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. This program is directed by Sena Jeter Naslund (pictured at right with Luke), author of "Ahab's Wife", "Four Spirits", and other books.

The energy, excitement, and quality of this program are wonderful. Everyone gathers for a very intense residency for 10 days in November and again in May; this includes workshops, readings, lectures, and appearances by guest writers. During the semester between residencies, each teacher serves as mentor to five mentees. They may be accepted to the program in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and writing for children.

Recently Luke wrote the following brief statement of his teaching philosophy for the program:

I try to identify and celebrate each writer's gifts, then suggest strategies for more effective storytelling. These will include nuts and bolts matters like comma placement, medium-scale issues like "this character has already made this point," and big-picture questions like "don't you think your reader will want more revelation of why this character feels this way?" I often recommend readings to model a particular effort, and I try to help imagine how the pice will affect its intended audience. Many of my suggested changes end in (?), which means "but it's your call."

Student Papers

Below are some examples of student work in Science Journalism that have come through the workshop process.

A Ghost Among the Ruins of a World
by Lloyd Kelly