Zarina Docken

Question:
In your opinion, how important is it for a writer to have a writing degree?

Answer:
For me, this is a hilarious question because I have published three novels and teach fiction writing at Yale -- and have no degree of any kind. I don't have a college degree, though I attended The New School for Social Research and Yale University, because I never finished. And I don't have a high school diploma, because I skipped twelfth grade to go to college at sixteen.The only diploma of any kind in my writing office is one from a Dog Obedience Diploma from Ken Picciuto's School for Dogs and I have to admit that Lester the Scottie isn't especially obedient. So I have absolutely no credentials, no official training, no certifications, and yet I have minted my own credentials as a novelist and writing teacher simply by DOING IT.

The irony that my Yale students turn to me not only for advice about MFA programs but also for letters of support is quite rich. I always quiz my students about their hopes and dreams and I always point out to them that whether or not they are admitted to this or that MFA program, they do not require a license in order to write a novel. It's not like going to medical school to become a doctor, or getting a law degree to practice law.

I do think that for certain writers, certain writing programs can nurture and sustain the writing. I am not AGAINST writing programs by any means -- some are outstanding, others are not -- and I do think that wonderful writers have come out of them. But I also think wonderful writers can come from anywhere. And I am quite cynical about the sense that an MFA confers some sort of "publishable" networky kind of credential and status. I am also dismayed at the number of people who complete MFA degrees in order to be employable as writing instructors. The MFA rarely begins to address issues of teaching per se, so there is something wrong with the system of the assumption is that the holder of an MFA in creative writing has some sort of instant qualification as a teacher. The ability to teach well and the ability to write well are two different things. Often they occur together in the same individual, but often they don't. I am sure we can each think of examples of great writer/poor teacher or, conversely, mediocre writer/great teacher.

So I always urge students to be clear about their expectations of an MFA program, and their expectations of an MFA degree.


Katharine Weber, author of THE LITTLE WOMEN, THE MUSIC LESSON, and OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.