Tara's comments (member since Mar 04, 2009)

Tara's comments from the Small and independent press books group.

Yeah, I don't even know if I should jump in here--it's a pretty hot debate! But I do want to say that, at the writing studio I attend, all of the teachers continue to take writing courses even though they've had books published and their work appears in the most respected national magazines and journals. I think that's great. They never let go of their curiosity or their willingness to 'be a beginner again'. I love learning from them. I hadn't published my work until I began learning from these amazing writers. And even the director of the program, who has won the Pulitzer prize, loves to gasp at the wonderful new voices that publish for the first time, who use narratives in new ways. It's a delight to study, to get together with other writers, and to surround yourself with creativity. A creative writing MA can create that space for you if that's what you're interested in. It's not for everybody, that is certainly true, but it's a viable option. The point of an online group like this is just to share information and resources, give encouragement, some advice. Maybe someone will or has benefitted from the notice about the MA program.

I appreciate the post, Zetta. On a positive note, I think it's great to see programs that don't exclusively teach literary writing.