MFA Writers

MFA Writers The podcast where we talk to MFA students about their program, their process, and a piece they're working on. Hosted by Jared McCormack.

Excerpts from our recent conversation with the excellent writer and speaker, Ray Wise.
06/05/2025

Excerpts from our recent conversation with the excellent writer and speaker, Ray Wise.

NEW EPISODE. What happens when a tech startup employee starts taking online writing classes? They end up in an MFA progr...
06/05/2025

NEW EPISODE. What happens when a tech startup employee starts taking online writing classes? They end up in an MFA program, of course. In this episode, Ray Wise sits down with Jared to talk about finding writing in their 20s and the lessons they bring from the tech world to their creative work. Plus, they discuss Rutgers-Camden’s multi-genre emphasis, weekend writing retreats with the MFA community, and the pros and cons of a small program.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-ray-wise

Ray Wise is a multi-genre writer living in Philadelphia, where they are completing their final semester at MFA at Rutgers-Camden. Ray's work has been published in Passages North, Rose Books Reader, Barrelhouse, Hobart, etc., nominated for Best of the Net, and supported by Sundress Academy for the Arts. They are currently at work on a novel manuscript and a poetry collection. Find them on Twitter/X @/ray__wise and catch them reading in Philadelphia for the Rose Books Reader launch on April 26th at Clown Bar.

This episode was requested by Andrey Vinogradov. Thank you for listening! If there's a program you'd like us to cover, feel free to reach out and we'll do our best to find a guest who can speak to their experiences.

In the meantime, you can catch this conversation between Ray and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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Snippets from our most recent episode with of the University of Illinois.
06/05/2025

Snippets from our most recent episode with of the University of Illinois.

NEW EPISODE. After writing poetry for nearly 50 years, Jude MacAllen Tatman enrolled in an MFA program. In this episode,...
06/05/2025

NEW EPISODE. After writing poetry for nearly 50 years, Jude MacAllen Tatman enrolled in an MFA program. In this episode, he sits down with Jared to discuss what it’s like to revisit poems he drafted in the 1980s along with crafting new work. Plus, he discusses writing about his life’s most consequential crossroads, treating writing like work, and finding faculty who make themselves available to students even in a low-residency program.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-jude-macallen-tatman

Jude MacAllen Tatman is a poet from Missouri who is in his final semester at the University of Nebraska Omaha’s low-residency program (). MacAllen has been writing poetry off and on for fifty years while also serving as a deckhand on towboats, playing semi-pro baseball in West Texas, delivering pizzas, waiting tables, owning a bar, working as an historian in Missouri State Parks’ Historic Preservation Program, and even once participating in an episode of Jeopardy. His poem, “Salvation,” was published in the literary journal Envy’s Sting, and his chapbook, "Echoes: Selected Poems & Stories 1984-2023," is now available.

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NEW EPISODE. Poets are known for considering form in their writing, but form is also critical in prose. In fact, for Tyl...
22/04/2025

NEW EPISODE. Poets are known for considering form in their writing, but form is also critical in prose. In fact, for Tyler R. Moore, form tells us the most about the story. “It’s the structure, scaffolding, bones, and architecture.” In this episode, Tyler tells Jared about approaching each story with a different structure, including his recent piece told exclusively through voicemails. Plus, Tyler discusses how being a q***r writer from a pseudo-rural Midwestern town shapes his work, finding community across genres and faculty in his MFA program, and what he has learned from his editorial experience at Ninth Letter, like the do’s and don’ts (mostly don’ts) of a cover letter.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-tyler-moore

Tyler R. Moore is a fiction writer from Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin and is currently in his second year in the MFA program at the University of Illinois. He is the winner of the Hobart L. and Mary K. Peer Fiction Prize. He also holds the titles of current Associate Managing Editor and Associate Creative Non-fiction Editor for Ninth Letter. His work is published or forthcoming in Michigan Quarterly Review and elsewhere. Find him on Instagram and at his website, tylerrmoore.com.

This episode was requested by Alex Walsh. Thank you for listening, Alex! If there's a program you'd like us to cover, feel free to reach out and we'll do our best to find a guest who can speak to their experiences.

In the meantime, you can catch this conversation between Tyler and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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Excerpts from our most recent episode with Oli Peters of the University of Notre Dame
25/03/2025

Excerpts from our most recent episode with Oli Peters of the University of Notre Dame

NEW EPISODE. Integrating elegy, ekphrasis, and dance notation, Oli Peters’s thesis project is a multilingual, multi-genr...
11/03/2025

NEW EPISODE. Integrating elegy, ekphrasis, and dance notation, Oli Peters’s thesis project is a multilingual, multi-genre exploration in translation and lyric poetry. In this episode, she shares how her program encourages creative experimentation, even when she submits work that feels “absolutely unpublishable, verging on unreadable.” Plus, she discusses her courses in Medieval manuscripts and theater, university-funded opportunities in Paris and Ireland, and how being rejected from MFA programs right after undergrad led her to spend five years writing daily for no one but herself.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-oli-peters

Oli is a second-year MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Notre Dame. Her writing is forthcoming in Annulet, DIAGRAM, DREGINALD, and mercury firs. Her past work appears in Pleiades, New World Writing, Rain Taxi, Heavy Feather Review, and abobo zine. Her dance-performance piece "Body Glyph State" will be performed at the 2025 Iowa Choreography Festival. She is a MFA candidate at the University of Notre Dame. Find her at her website, oliupeters.wixsite.com/olipeters, and on Instagram .

This episode was requested by Marcia Bronstein and Brian Engles. Thank you both for listening! If there's a program you'd like us to cover, feel free to reach out and we'll do our best to find a guest who can speak to their experiences.

In the meantime, you can catch this conversation between Oli and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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NEW EPISODE. Speculative memoir allows Matt Homrich-Knieling () to lean into the subjective nature of memory and explore...
11/02/2025

NEW EPISODE. Speculative memoir allows Matt Homrich-Knieling () to lean into the subjective nature of memory and explore his experience with separation anxiety. Plus, he and Jared discuss how Matt created a specific list of experiences he wanted from an MFA, which allowed him to narrow his MFA application list to just three programs. They also talk about how the WCSU program requires students to choose both a creative and a professional genre, and how they develop community despite being a low-residency program.

Matt Homrich-Knieling is a writer and educator based in Detroit, MI. He is a second-year MFA student at Western Connecticut State University focusing on creative nonfiction and editing. Matt currently serves as editor-in-chief for Poor Yorick, the literary magazine housed at West Conn's MFA program. Matt is particularly interested in reading and writing speculative memoir. He has had essays published in Brevity Blog, Metro Parent, Edsurge, and elsewhere. For his MFA creative thesis, Matt is working on a speculative memoir that explores the connections between his family history and his experiences with separation anxiety.

Catch this conversation between Matt and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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It’s winter break! Strap on your snowshoes, brew a hot chocolate, and escape to the heat of the Vegas desert with one of...
17/12/2024

It’s winter break! Strap on your snowshoes, brew a hot chocolate, and escape to the heat of the Vegas desert with one of our favorite episodes from last season. Wishing you all rest, writing inspiration, and early-decision acceptances.

This week, an MFA with an international focus! Krista Diamond sits down with Jared to talk about UNLV’s required (and funded) study abroad component and its emphasis on translation. Plus, Krista shares lessons learned as a freelance writer, info on the Vegas literary community, and how her experience working and living in national parks informs her fiction and nonfiction alike.

Krista Diamond is a Las Vegas based writer whose work has appeared in or is forthcoming in The New York Times, Longreads, Hazlitt, Catapult, Electric Literature, Joyland, and elsewhere. Her writing has been supported by Tin House and Bread Loaf. Her essay “That Girl is Going to Get Herself Killed,” which first appeared in Longreads, was adapted for audio by Oscar-nominated actress Naomie Harris. She is currently a third year in the fiction MFA program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she is working on a novel about paparazzi. Learn more at www.kristamariediamond.com and on Twitter at @/kristadiamond.

Catch this conversation between Krista and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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Moments from our latest episode with guest extraordinaire .
14/12/2024

Moments from our latest episode with guest extraordinaire .

NEW EPISODE. In this instant classic episode, and Jared talk about the step-by-step process of getting an agent, what t...
03/12/2024

NEW EPISODE. In this instant classic episode, and Jared talk about the step-by-step process of getting an agent, what they do (or know they shouldn’t do) when a story isn’t working, how MFA programs are like basketball drills, and approaching craft discussions in ways that are more flexible and time-varying than declarative and concrete. Plus, Wilson discusses making lasting connections with faculty and visiting writers and shares the realities of living on an MFA stipend and pivoting to part-time to maintain a day job.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-wilson-sims

Wilson M. Sims is a behavioral-health worker and policy strategist in the final year of his MFA program at Florida Atlantic University. His work is published in Longreads, The Florida Review, Witness Magazine, and Virginia Quarterly Review. He is the winner of the 2021 Lascaux Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and his essay “Unknown Costs,” received a special mention in the 2025 Pushcart Anthology. Find him at wilsonmsims.com.

Catch this conversation between Wilson and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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NEW EPISODE. In this episode, PhD Candidate Mackenzie McGee talks about her process when writing speculative fiction, in...
20/11/2024

NEW EPISODE. In this episode, PhD Candidate Mackenzie McGee talks about her process when writing speculative fiction, including how she decides on topics and themes, how her process changes when writing flash versus her novel, and how writers are able to explore politically dangerous topics by leaning into speculative elements. She then tells Jared about her decision to pursue the PhD after finishing her four-year MFA program and how KU is particularly supportive of speculative writers.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-mackenzie-mcgee

Mackenzie McGee is a speculative fiction writer from the Midwest. A winner of the 2021 PEN/Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, her work can be read inPorter House Review, Nat. Brut, Alaska Quarterly Review, and Cease, Cows. Mackenzie earned her MFA from the University of Arkansas and is currently a second-year PhD student in English-Creative Writing at the University of Kansas. You can find her at mackenziemcgee.com.

This episode was requested by Alex Fraboulet. Thank you for listening! If there's a program you'd like us to cover, feel free to reach out and we'll do our best to find a guest who can speak to their experiences.

In the meantime, you can catch this conversation between Mackenzie and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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