Wednesday’s WiP: “After the MFA”

by Erika Dreifus on
10

so14_cover“There are several valuable lessons I’ve learned from my experience—none of which I understood before or even upon finishing my MFA—that I believe every writer considering a graduate degree in writing (or those who have recently received one) should know.”

Read the rest of my article/essay, just posted on the Poets & Writers site to accompany the September/October MFA issue.

Friday Finds for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
4

Treasure Chest
Writing-related resources, news, and reflections to enjoy over the weekend.

  • “We who love literature face an urgent crisis: a gruesome epidemic of articles worrying over the demise of literature, reading, English Departments, and apparently (along with them) culture, art, morality, humanity, and ALL KNOWLEDGE AND CIVILIZATION.” I’ll admit that I’ve wearied of reading those articles. But I enjoyed Tasha Golden’s Ploughshares blog post on “the problems with doomsday laments” themselves.
  • Speaking of we who love literature: David Abrams is one of our literary culture’s great heroes. The latest example of his goodliness: the new edition of his Front Porch Books column, “a monthly tally of books–mainly advance review copies (aka “uncorrected proofs” and “galleys”)” that have made their way to his Kindle–and the pile of packages on his front porch.
  • It may sound silly or self-evident, but, as The Renegade Writer cautions us, “If You Don’t Read Magazines, Don’t Try to Write for Them.”
  • “In Praise of Vacation Time.” I think we can all use this reminder.
  • And on a somber note: I’ve spent a lot of time this weekend thinking about and grieving for Robin Williams. I’ve also been prompted to revisit William Styron’s seminal Darkness Visible, which you can find in its magazine form on the Vanity Fair website.

    • Have a good weekend, everyone.