Issue One Experience

MFA/MFYou

THE MFA EXPERIENCE:

Saeed Jones (Poetry) shares his experiences as an MFA Writer:

My decision to pursue an MFA had a lot to do with my undergraduate writing experience. While at Western I worked with a creative writing faculty that emphasized the value of the workshop and the importance of discipline. Since I'm a flighty person by nature, the structure of the program helped me create a lifestyle that was centered on writing as a day-to-day experience. Once I finished my BA, it made perfect sense that I would want to build upon that foundation.

Since I will begin the MFA this Fall, I can only express my aspirations for the process. I look forward to interacting with peers as well as experienced poets. Also, I think MFA programs give writers a safe haven in which they have the time they need to write without distraction (or at least, fewer distractions). It also doesn't hurt that I'll be a stone's throw away from Manhattan.

Yu-Han Chao (Fiction) shares her experiences as an MFA Writer:

Since I went to Penn State straight from being an undergraduate in Taiwan, they taught me everything I now know about the publishing industry, publications, and a great deal about the craft of writing as well. After graduating, I've done soulless full time office jobs as well as taught college courses part time, and now I realize that the most valuable thing an MFA program provides its students is the time and motivation to write. I have never been able to go back to the level of productivity I had as an MFA student, but I hope to continue reading and writing, submitting and publishing, things that too easily seem trivial and what's-the-point-anyways in "real life," when one needs to work, pay rent, pay bills, feed oneself, sleep, etc.

THE MFYOU EXPERIENCE:

Donald Illich (Poetry) shares his experiences as an MFYou Writer:

As a non-MFA writer, I 'm always thinking about whether I need an MFA. I feel doing a low-residency program might actually benefit me through the rigor of the classes, the networking opportunities, and gaining a terminal degree for teaching purposes. I might try for an MFA one day. On the other hand, it's expensive, I'm publishing a lot of work without getting an MFA, and it's possible I can learn what I require without it. Anyone can do the reading on his or her own, and the writing just takes elbow grease and tenacity. I've also taken advantage of workshops in my area, like the free Jenny McKean creative writing workshops at George Washington University. For right now, I'll stay a lone wolf, without the special MFA handshake, working my government job. In this economy it seems the best way to handle things.

J. A. Tyler (Fiction) shares his experiences as an MFYou Writer:

As a non-MFA writer I feel good about things. I don’t hold any resentment for the MFA programs out there or their participants / graduates, I just never had the money or time or desire to be a part of one. And in general, I think it is working well for me. I don’t participate in any writer groups but instead use editorial feedback to adjust and hone pieces. If multiple editors reject a piece based on the same circumstances, then I need to think about reworking it. Simple as that.

I have a healthy reading appetite too, and am willing to read anything either online or in print, and I think this leads me to grow and push my own writing on a daily basis. I also read book-length manuscripts for dzanc books, submissions for pindeldyboz, and run both mud luscious and ml press, and all this editorial work gives me a constant and ever-expanding education about the writing process. I don’t know how my experience compares to the MFA route, but I like what is happening for me as a writer.

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