The Seamy Side of MFAs
By amy ross. Filed in writing |Tags: authors, frivolity, lionel shriver, MFA program, university of idaho
All right, here’s a hoary old subject that has been done to death: MFA programs — are they valid?
The most recent incarnation of this question has been brought to you courtesy of Lionel Shriver, who tells Big Think that, despite having gone through an MFA program herself, and having had what appears to have been a pretty good time, she considers there to be “something a little corrupt… something unwholesome” in them.
Corrupt and unwholesome? Why that’s… that’s… perfectly delicious. Frankly, it makes me wonder if I’m not getting invited to the right parties.
nobutseriously. I understand what she means, about teachers teaching students to become teachers who teach students and oh was there some writing in there? There is something slightly claustrophobic — incestuous, even* — about the idea of going directly from writing student to writing teacher without ever making one’s living as a, you know, writer.
But if her argument is that most MFAs don’t go on to become professional writers… well, isn’t that true of most aspiring writers of all stripes? Anyway, the truth is most MFAs won’t even go on to be teachers or professors, either. I’m not positive, but I have a general sense that most MFAs wind up shivering in squats and playing harmonica for quarters. Either that or they go to law school.
So yes, Shriver is right — this isn’t a pre-professional degree. Getting an MFA is totally frivolous, completely impractical. But that’s kind of the fun of it, isn’t it? When else in your life as a writer, a teacher, or a harmonica playing bum are you ever going to get a chance to focus on pure craft — on writing for writing’s sake, independent of the whims of the market or your editors or an employer? Sure, it’s a little self-indulgent, but no more so than the concept of art itself.
(for another smart take on MFAs, if you’re not sick to death of this topic, see here)
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*Wow, who knew MFA programs were so sordid?
Friday, April 23rd 2010 at 10:22 am |
I’ve always wanted an MFA. I’m not too keen on working toward one (see my Wednesday post for the type of professors I always seem to wind up with), but I do want to understand good writing on a higher level. The problem is, they are so frivolous that I can’t justify taking $30,000 out of my kid’s college fund to get one. I wish they did open more doors so I could spend that much without guilt.
Friday, April 23rd 2010 at 10:32 am |
Kristen, I could not in good conscience advocate that anyone pay for an MFA. People do, and that’s a choice they’ve made that I think is wonderful for them, but I would never advise anyone to do it. Luckily, most MFAs did not pay for the privilege. Most people I know (myself included) are given fee waivers and a small stipend in exchange for working for the school as teachers or, in my case, as a writing tutor.
If you’re really interested in an MFA, I hope you’ll apply — if you pick the right programs, you have a very good chance of getting funding, in which case *they* actually pay *you* to go to school. That doesn’t sound quite as frivolous, does it?