Issue Three, January 2010

Letter from the Editor:

Welcome to Issue Three of MFA/MFYou, the journal that seeks to answer the question: is there really any difference between MFA writers and the rest of the hardworking writing community? Judging from the truly exceptional work coming from both sides of the great MFA-divide in this issue, the answer seems to be, as always, a writer is a writer, no matter how he or she learned the craft.

Representing our MFA writers we’ve got a perhaps disturbing but extremely engaging story by Rosemont College student Eric McKinley and a beautifully narrative dream poem by English professor Gale Acuff. The voice of McKinley’s narrator in his story, “Juniors,” successfully pulls you into the mind of a character you would never have thought you could understand, while Acuff’s poem, “Blessing,” sucks you into the vivid fantasy of a child and leaves you reflecting on the questions the poem raises long after you’ve reached the feverish dream’s end.

Our MFYous for this issue represent two very different sides of the MFYou experience. Caleb Stright received a bachelor’s degree in Creative and Professional Writing from Carnegie Mellon before going on to work as a journalist for The Record-Argus in Greenville, Pennsylvania. John Grey moved to the United States from Australia and dove directly into the workforce. Both have been able to hone their creative writing skills admirably. Stright’s story, “The Undertaker’s Son,” is elegantly crafted and poignant, and Grey’s poem, “Being a Large Girl in a Tiny House,” explores classic images from Alice in Wonderland in a new and intriguing way.

As always, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy these stories and poems as much as I do. Make sure you take a look at this issue's MFA/MFYou Experience page, where these wonderful writers share their experience as MFAs and non-MFAs.

Ashley Cowger,

Editor