Portable MFA in Creative Writing
(New York Writers Workshop) by New
York Writers Workshop
The Portable Mfa In Creative Writing
Writers can get the core knowledge of a prestigious $50,000 MFA program
without paying tuition. With sound, nuts-and-bolts instruction and real-
world career advice, The Portable MFA in Creative Writing is the only book
speaking directly to the tens of thousands each year who dont make it into
MFA programs. Topics include magazine writing, memoir and personal
essay, poetry, fiction, playwriting and more: *Inspiration and tips on
revision, stamina and productivity *Clear instruction on the craft behind
the art *Detailed reading lists to expand writers literary horizons Those
who heed its advice will gain the wisdom and experience of some of
todays greatest teaching minds, all for the price of a book.
Personal Review: Portable MFA in Creative Writing (New York
Writers Workshop) by New York Writers Workshop

MFA's are alright if you get them for the right reasons. Along with some
great craft instruction, practice and encouragement, this book brilliantly
elucidates both the flaws and perks of MFA programs:
The Flaws:
1. The pretense that MFA candidates are already full-blown artists.
2. Teachers who purport to believe that writing can't be taught.
3. Teachers with a Moses complex.
4. Bias toward the pantheon of prejudice against the marginal. [A tendency
to have tunnel vision for the classic to the exclusion of all else]
5. An elevation of the lyrical writer as opposed to the narrative. [On page
26 of this book the author writes, "Florid or virtuoso language, too, can
keep a reader involved. However, a common workshop pitfall is the writer
with language but no story. One without the other diminishes the fiction. In
relations the Coen brother's filmmaking team, the critic Stanley Kauffmann
wrote that they appeared to have become articulate before they became
mature. That is the case, I'm afraid, with a lot of voice-driven, 'Look Ma, I'm
writing diction-fiction!' that crowds the pages of the small presses and that
is championed inside many MFA workshops. Keeping the reader engaged
with an idea is tricky. Most ideas are better expressed in forms like the
essay, the tract and the monograph...."]
6. A focus on immediate product rather than literary process. [As if anyone
can just excrete a good manuscript on demand]
7. A failure to establish any critical vocabulary with which to assess
manuscripts.
[Jerry Cleaver, founder of the Writer's Loft of Chicago, as well as author of
the brilliant book "Immediate Fiction" wrote of writing teachers as follows:
"Of all the arts, writing is taught in the vaguest and most inconsistent and
disorganized way. My friends who were painters were given all kinds of
guidelines and principles (line, compositions, color theory, sketch classes).
Art classes went way beyond the draw-a-picture-and-we'll-tell-you-what's-
wrong-with-it approach..." If no other art or even any other human
discipline is like that, why would writing be any different?
In addition, Mr. Cleaver also said of MFA's that far too often such are to
writing as visual art or music appreciation is to learning how to paint or play
an instrument. The former only teaches how to analyze and deconstruct
the effects; whereas, the latter teaches you the causes--how to actually
paint or play. And so, if you aspire to be a writer and not merely a critic,
you need to concern yourself with the CAUSES of writing which is
otherwise known as craft. Indeed, for Mr. Cleaver further notes that many
of his students, despite their conspicuous MFA degrees, still didn't grasp
how to actually write a story. See the book Immediate Fiction for more on
this.]

8. A highbrow disdain for anything not in (or deemed destined for) canon...
[As if anyone is that arrogant to think that they have the monopoly on "real"
art, the license to inflict it on others, and even worse, demand money for
the privilege!]
9. Writing by committee or by consensus. [BOR-ing!]
10 Damage to the psyche facilitated by all of the above. [There actually is
psychological help for this; it's called cognitive behavior therapy]
The Perks:
1. Time. [Full time student + no job = lots of time to write. It's called being a
teenager or unemployed]
2. Community [All the perks of a like-minded group with hopefully a
minority of pretentious arty jerks]
3. Connections. [Perhaps the best argument as it's not what but who you
know quite often]
4. The degree itself. [Helps get a teaching job for tuition of 30K to 50K or
perhaps in publishing corporate--editing or whatnot]
5. Progress.
[Many writing programs have addressed many of the aforementioned
flaws, many requiring CRAFT as part of their program. Apparently
Hamline's in Minnesota is one such, but it's hard to get into, private and
therefore *VERY* spendy. So ask yourself: When will you quit merely
preparing be a writer, and instead actually BE one. If you want to teach or
work in corporate publishing then good for you. Go for that MFA. But if not,
you can learn all the craft from library books for free, and you can get all
the necessary feedback, again for free, from a writers' group. Then you
can save that 30- to 50K formerly for MFA tuition for something potentially
far more tangible and relevant.]
Enough said.
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