So an article came out in Slate recently about MFAs, comparing them to some NYC writers community, that has been ruffling some feathers. There are a lot of articles that come out debating MFA vs. No MFA, cause as you know everyone has an opinion and should publish their thoughts no matter how insignificant. Which is why I am going to summarize my insignificant thoughts here, for the two people who stumble upon this blog to read.
Frankly this article’s pomp and pretension made my eyes bleed after the third paragraph so I couldn’t really read it. Sir, Put down the Thesauras and back away slowly. I don’t really buy into an NYC literary culture. I’m not saying there isn’t one but i don’t think there is an MFA culture and a NYC culture only. MFAs exist in many forms around the country and globe, NYC is a place singular and specific. There are a lot of places and a lot of writers. And frankly if the NYC writer’s culture is the alternative to the MFA, sign me up for the MFA school of thought. The article also seems to make a lot of claims based on the big MFA powerhouses. Iowa, Irvine, etc are not the begin-all-end-all models for MFA programs. There are a TON of MFA programs out there. I would bet anything that if the author of this article spent a few days at our MFA residencies he’d quickly change his mind. There is nothing tweedy or monotonous about that group. That is not to say a large group of them don’t have similar tastes and senses of humor, they are after all… all writers. Also they are not all 22 year olds looking to defer the real world a bit longer. The variety of age in my program was refreshing to me, a 22 year old tired of people my own age. I didn’t get an MFA to defer the real world or student loan debts (which I don’t have: i did college the old fashioned way–without a loan). I went straight on to get an MFA because I knew that was what I wanted and I didn’t want to go get a career and get so busy with life that I neglected to follow my dreams. I didn’t want to be the 50 something finally going back to school, I’m precocious. But there is nothing wrong with going back later in life and giving the MFA a try and many of my fellow MFA students were doing just that.
We also don’t all read the same thing. Sure there are some basic curriculum books they like us to read to give us a foundation but in my MFA program our professors tailored our reading lists to each student’s preference and writing style and they let us pick what we wanted to read most of the time. So automatons? Really mr author man?
He also says some rather unsettling things about those who teach in MFA programs. And coming from a program where most of the faculty I now count as close friends, I am offended. There is nothing wrong with wanting to teach creative writing. I mean being an author is not always the most profitable career choice. You have to diversify. That is not to say these are writer who’ve sold out. They just want to be able to put food on the table and afford rent in between sales. Also, most if not all of the creative writing professors I know arn’t teaching because they haven’t been able to write in years. Most of them balance their duties with their own busy writing schedule and are putting out books or articles all the time. One of the many reasons I got an MFA was that so someday I might teach. Not only to help make ends meat in my creative life path but because what could be more rewarding or more fun that getting paid to talk writing? Getting paid to hang out with people who are doing or want to do the same thing as you. What could be more rewarding than helping another person on their path towards realizing the story within them? If you get paid to do that, consider yourself lucky and everyone else big fat haters. It all comes back to writing, being in it for the act of writing. That is what most of the creative writing professors I know, are in it for. Many of them don’t need to teach in order to make ends meat, they do it out of love.
I am sure there are some valid points to his article but read them for yourself. Here is what you really need to know. Will an MFA make me a better writer? It could, if you let it. Do I need an MFA to be a writer? No. You don’t need a college degree to get a good job. It helps. It’s good in the long run. One of my closest friends didn’t get his college degree and he is doing far better than I am right now. Hell he owns two houses and he’s 26. A lot of people get published who don’t have an MFA, A LOT. I know a few people who got published before they had and MFA and then went and got an MFA. There are many reasons to get an MFA. Far to many for me to get into. A response my friend Elizabeth Crane, a faculty member at my MFA program but never my teacher, wrote sums up one of the best reasons though: “Most of us want to get out of our caves when we’re done, we want to be read, and we want to connect.” Connecting, yes. Getting an MFA will connect you to a community of writers in ways you cannot imagine. I will never regret getting an MFA at a young age or at the school I choose to go to (even though its not IOWA) because I met some of the greatest people I will ever have the privilege of knowing. And had a blast. Any other time and any other place, that might not have been the case. So I don’t get the debate. If you want an MFA, get one. If you really don’t think that is the route for you. Don’t get one. There is nothing wrong with either school of thought.
Now if you want a funny response you must check out Tod Goldberg’s video:
