Thoughts on the MFA

First: I just realized I inadvertently stole Amy King's blog subtitle when I created multitudes. Two weeks out of the gate, and I already need to rethink the name of this place. Quel fromage.

I'll be starting the mfa program at NYU in the fall, and while I'm absolutely excited, I'm also a little nervous. Most of my friends in college were engineers, and I've only recently become moderately comfortable identifying and labeling myself as a poet. I've never really spent time with other poets, and while I've always done well in undergraduate workshops, I think I viewed them as being populated by college students with an interest in creative writing/poetry rather than... poets-in-training? I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I do wonder whether the mfa experience will be a little intimidating at first.

It's also been awhile since my reading and writing habits have been externally structured or formalized in any way, so I'm really interested to see how my writing evolves simply as a result of my being required to read certain texts, write certain (amounts of) material, and come prepared to discuss and dissect poetry a couple of times a week. Will I realize my writing is improving as it happens, or will it be a few months before I start to notice it? Will I see an increase in the number of poems I have accepted for publication? How long before I manage to land a book deal? &c, &c. I know a lot of this depends on me (hard work, ability, attention to craft, and so on), but there are a number of x-factors involved (including, but not limited to, dumb luck) and I'm just really curious as to where I'll be in May 2012.

Assuming the world doesn't end before then, that is.