WHEN I was invited to write about “what I learned the hard way,” my initial plan was to dash off an essay on the topic of not needing a graduate degree in creative writing to have a fulfilling life as a writer. Which is true! And is a perspective I like to share, as it is more and more often taken for granted that one must get an MFA or even a PhD to become a publishing writer. But then I had to get honest with myself. That was not something I learned the hard way: I believed from the start that I could make my way as a poet without an MFA. There are ways to learn craft and be in community with writers outside of degree-granting programs that…
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Poets & Writers (Digital) - 1 Issue, September/October 2024