MFA Students Speak: Is an MFA Worth It?
What/where were you doing in life when you decided “I’m going to get an MFA?”
I went straight from undergrad to Sarah Lawrence for my MFA in poetry. I was 20 years old. I knew I wanted to get out of Miami, and I wanted to come to the Northeast. I ran into a wonderful poet at university—Campbell McGrath—and he was a young, sassy, smart and funny poet. I had never met a professional poet in my life before, and he told me that I should do an MFA. He told me what the good schools were, and it seemed like the best possible world. I wouldn’t have done graduate school at all, at least not immediately. But McGrath liked my work and encouraged me to apply. I ended up at Sarah Lawrence, and I had no idea what I was doing.
Did you doubt your decision while you were at the MFA?
Well, I didn’t even think about not thinking my decision through. It was just exciting—it felt natural to be writing and discovering the city.
What did you do after?
I immediately got a job as a security guard at the Met, which was a great place. It was basically a bunch of artists and writers. I only did it for three months, then left to travel for about a year or two in Europe, and when I came back I got a job in the marketing department at the Post. I got my way in with the Travel Editor, and she started to give me travel writing assignments, and I got bigger and bigger assignments, basically writing about whatever I wanted. I left that job, and pitched an idea to Fodor’s about Spain, and they invited to me work on a travel guide for them. I spent a year in Spain, and then I did a New York City guide. I wrote about 40 books over 12 years for them.
And then you started Neighborhoodies.
I sort of stumbled upon that. I’ve always had ideas; some are business oriented and others creative. So I had this funny idea to make custom sweatshirts. I did a lot of research about the look and feel, and I made one for myself that said “Fort Greene” on it, which is where I was living at the time, and people would stop me on the street and ask me about it. I started to get orders after I put an ad in The Onion. By the end of the first year, I had 40 employees and over a million dollars in sales. It was overwhelming and surprising but, as it turns out, I was pretty good at it, and was able to make a brand out of it. Eventually it got a little monotonous, and I had to get out of it.
All MFA graduates have to contend with reality, perhaps with a sizeable amount of debt—was Neighborhoodies a way out?
Until I started Neighborhoodies, I was almost anti-money. I had no interest in making it, I thought it was a great distraction—which it is if you’re a writer—and it’s a constant, almost mythological battle inside me. The MFA has sort of set a permanent place in my life for an acknowledged need for creative outlet. It’s something that I’m always struggling towards, so even now, 17 years later, I’m still looking to create that lifestyle of ideal writing. Maybe, in part, because of the intense, wonderful two years the MFA. They were miraculous years. Almost sinfully joyous.
It’s so easy to get tied down with the business of living. We need reminders to keep disciplining ourselves. So, yes, business is a huge distraction for me, which is why I’m so deeply, soulfully thrilled for the book store. This is my window back into that world, and I envision the store as a quiet space surrounded by books, conversation about books. Hopefully, it’s not so successful that I can read and maybe write during the day.
How do you feel about the MFA now?
I side with my friend who says that it’s the Master of Fruitless Arts. It’s a terrible economic decision to be avoided at all costs. When people ask me for advice, I always say: “Go to a public school. Do not spend money on that degree.”
What about if it’s fully funded? Like tuition remission?
Like, free? Well, you can’t beat that. The experience is unmatchable. The economic component is burdensome and foolish. I owe a lot of money, and I assure you it’s the lowest financial priority in my life.