Can Creative Writing Be Taught?

I have been asked (or self-questioning) from time to time in my teaching career in the academy for over a decade: "Can writing be taught?" If the answer is no, then we can just reject such efforts from the very beginning. The more common response is: for writing, there are parts that are "teachable" (such as skills) and "un-teachable" (such as "spirituality"). But if you are not satisfied with this dichotomy, we can ask about more fundamental assumptions and aspects of writing, such as: Is writing (to the level of artistic creation) a privilege limited only to very few "geniuses" who are "chosen," or does it belong to the democratic public? What is creativity? What is the value judgment behind “originality”? Can writing experiences be taught (or should they be?) How should we discuss collective writing and the aspect of labour in writing? Instead of a yes or no answer, what are the consequences of incorporating creative writing into the classroom, what is brought to the students through the process in which they develop writing habits and produce certain kind of works? These are the speaker’s starting points for discussion.