Spokane<\/a>\u00a0is a vibrant and energetic city, with shopping, diverse dining, and numerous entertainment venues of all kinds. Spokane is also a great place to live if you love the outdoors. Within minutes of downtown you can find yourself relaxing by the beautiful Spokane river. Spokane is the second largest city in Washington and is situated in the Inland Northwest, east of the Cascades, which means that it has a much dryer climate than Seattle; summers in Spokane are not to be missed. The MFA program,\u00a0located in Spokane\u2019s\u00a0U District<\/a>\u00a0bordering downtown, is close to both the river and the main student residential area of Spokane. The MFA program is a large part of Spokane\u2019s\u00a0thriving arts community<\/a>, as we host\u00a0many literary events like\u00a0Visiting Writer<\/a>\u00a0readings,\u00a0VoiceOver<\/a>\u00a0(a student-run monthly reading series for MFA candidates, faculty, and alumni), and of course the yearly\u00a0GetLit! festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition to what the MFA program has to offer, there are many other local events to choose from all year long.\u00a0We like to think there is something in our beautiful river that creates such a\u00a0literary buzz<\/a>, but it could have more to do with the large numbers of\u00a0alumni<\/a>\u00a0who have continued to live in Spokane post MFA. These alums include international best-selling fiction writer\u00a0Jess Walter<\/a>. Many of our alums have gone on to start local small presses, literary magazines, arts organizations, and even become both\u00a0city<\/a> and\u00a0state\u00a0poet laureates. These\u00a0graduates of our program are just a handful of the people\u00a0who help make Spokane the literary city we love.<\/p>\n","blocks":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","module_background_color":"white","copy":" Spokane has many great\u00a0neighborhoods<\/a>\u00a0to choose from.\u00a0Many students in the MFA program live in\u00a0Browne\u2019s Addition, a residential area less than seven blocks from the center of downtown. Students also often choose to live in the\u00a0South Hill, South Perry, and Peaceful Valley neighborhoods. See our frequently asked questions<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n Public transportation, which is free for students, is very efficient; many students take the free bus to both their downtown classes and to Cheney (home of the main campus of EWU, and where TAs will teach their classes.)<\/p>\n All in all, Spokane is a great city to live in. The climate is dry and temperate and the rents are affordable. Spokane features all the major amenities of the largest metro areas without all the congestive traffic, crowded plazas, or major crime. The city is home to championship sports teams, a revived city center, highly-rated hospitals, and almost 3,500 acres of parks. Concerts, Broadway shows, plays, First Friday art-walks, night markets, and much more.<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":4909,"id":4909,"title":"BowlAndPitcher","filename":"BowlAndPitcher.jpg","filesize":183918,"url":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/english-philosophy\/creative-writing\/mfa\/bowlandpitcher\/","alt":"View of Spokane River at Bowl and Pitcher State Park","author":"121","description":"","caption":"","name":"bowlandpitcher","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":6303,"date":"2019-10-04 17:27:04","modified":"2021-07-08 18:48:49","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1024,"height":455,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher-300x133.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":133,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher-768x341.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":341,"large":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":455,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":455,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":455,"gform-image-choice-sm":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher.jpg","gform-image-choice-sm-width":300,"gform-image-choice-sm-height":133,"gform-image-choice-md":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher.jpg","gform-image-choice-md-width":400,"gform-image-choice-md-height":178,"gform-image-choice-lg":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/BowlAndPitcher.jpg","gform-image-choice-lg-width":600,"gform-image-choice-lg-height":267}},"youtube_video_id":"","video_orientation":"horizontal","image_alt":"","secondary_image":"","background_vertical_alignment":"center","background_horizontal_alignment":"center","background_crop":"chevron","component_options_toggle":true,"component_options":{"disable_component":false,"nickname":"Living in Spokane","identifier":"","navigable":false}},{"acf_fc_layout":"destination-eastern","module_background_color":"white","title":"Local News & Events","subtitle":"","features":[{"icon":"newspaper","image":false,"feature_title":"The Spokesman Review","feature_content":"Spokane's daily newspaper","link":{"title":"Read the Spokesman","url":"https:\/\/www.spokesman.com\/","target":"_blank"}},{"icon":"chat","image":false,"feature_title":"The Inlander","feature_content":"News and information for the Inland NW","link":{"title":"Read the Inlander","url":"http:\/\/www.inlander.com\/","target":"_blank"}},{"icon":"community","image":false,"feature_title":"Downtown Spokane Partnership","feature_content":"Spokane's hub for events and services","link":{"title":"Explore Downtown","url":"http:\/\/downtownspokane.org\/","target":"_blank"}}],"show_details":false,"details_title":"","copy":"","second_column_type":"quote","copy_2":"","quote":"","component_options_toggle":true,"component_options":{"disable_component":false,"nickname":"Local News","identifier":"","navigable":false}},{"acf_fc_layout":"two-column-explicit","module_background_color":"off-white","include_header":false,"include_images":false,"intro_title":"","intro_title_style":"","sub_heading":"","intro_title_position":"","include_intro_copy":false,"intro_copy":"","columns":[{"image":false,"title":"Recreation & Travel","heading_tag":"h2","show-hr":true,"copy":" The EWU Spokane campus<\/a> is part of Spokane\u2019s University District inside the Catalyst building, located near the heart of downtown along the beautiful Spokane River. All creative writing faculty offices and classes will be held in the Catalyst building. Learn more about the Catalyst building.<\/p>\n The river can be reached easily by bikers, walkers, and roller-bladers via the Centennial Trail that runs along the river from beyond downtown into neighboring Idaho. A paved footpath runs just behind the program offices and is a favorite of joggers practically year-round. The tree growth along the river allows for both shade and wind-break, depending on the needs of the season, while still affording a view to the water below.<\/p>\n Bus Routes & Parking<\/strong><\/p>\n All EWU Students ride the bus for free. There are several routes that go directly to the Catalyst. Free street parking is available on Sprague Avenue and neighboring streets. Paid parking in the Catalyst parking lot is also available.<\/p>\n Bus Routes & Parking<\/a><\/p>\n"},{"image":{"ID":7036,"id":7036,"title":"GatewayBridgeSunset","filename":"GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1.jpg","filesize":863438,"url":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/?attachment_id=7036","alt":"View of the Gateway Bridge in downtown Spokane at sunset","author":"121","description":"","caption":"","name":"gatewaybridgesunset","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":13387,"date":"2020-07-15 15:53:20","modified":"2021-07-28 23:17:08","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1-1536x1152.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1-2048x1536.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1536,"gform-image-choice-sm":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1.jpg","gform-image-choice-sm-width":300,"gform-image-choice-sm-height":225,"gform-image-choice-md":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1.jpg","gform-image-choice-md-width":400,"gform-image-choice-md-height":300,"gform-image-choice-lg":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/cahss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GatewayBridgeSunset-scaled-1.jpg","gform-image-choice-lg-width":600,"gform-image-choice-lg-height":450}},"title":"Library","heading_tag":"h3","show-hr":true,"copy":"Our Favorite Events & Organizations<\/h2>\n
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