Two O'Clock And All Is Well

Finally, the long-promised update on my mfa experience thus far—

For those not familiar, New York University's mfa program is (full-time) two classes per semester for four semesters. Four workshops are required and no more than one workshop can be taken in one semester; further, at least one craft course is required, although up to four craft courses can be taken for credit toward the degree so long as they're all taught by different instructors.

In short: if you're enrolled full-time, you have to take four workshops in four different semesters, as well as at least one craft course. The remaining three courses can be craft courses, but needn't be. You can take any graduate-level course as long as both the creative writing program and the department in which that course is offered approve. Being a big fan of intellectual cross-pollination and interdisciplinary work, this was a huge draw for me when I was applying last year.

Also, before I get into specifics: I'm enrolled full-time and working full-time, so it's definitely possible to earn your mfa at nyu without quitting (or precluding the possibility of) a full-time job.

So!

This semester I'm taking a poetry workshop with Breyten Breytenbach and a craft course with Anne Carson. Breyten's workshop has helped me tremendously with my writing in the nine weeks I've been attending. My cohort is tremendously talented and helpful, Breyten is a fantastic workshop leader (as well as an attentive reader and incisive critic), and the workshop environment (complete with deadlines! Real deadlines!) has revitalized my writing schedule, despite my being fairly regimented in the years between my undergraduate and graduate writing classes.

Anne's craft course is an interesting animal: highly collaborative, chiefly performative, and very much hands-off in terms of instruction. I think I've only written one or two poems for her class so far, but the class has 1.) gotten me to work closely with other writers, which I've never done before, and 2.) forced me to think in ways I generally don't via exposure to other artists' creative processes. Both have been, I think, healthy for me as a writer, though I suspect I have yet to realize the full benefit of the course, which may take months or even years. I've also learned a thing or two about other artistic disciplines (performance art, painting, dance, theater, &c), which has also been to my advantage.

The program in general hosts a reading series and a number of literary events throughout the semester and academic year; I've had the pleasure of introducing poets such as Howard Altmann and D. Nurkse, attending events co-sponsored with The Academy of American Poets, and working on the graduate creative writing program's literary journal, Washington Square Review.

I love the program at New York University so far and am tremendously glad I decided to attend; if anyone has any questions about the program, please don't hesitate to leave a comment here or e-mail me at eric [døt] q [døt] weinstein [åt] gmail [døt] com, and I'll be happy to answer them as best I can.