MFA Writers

Jared talks to O. Henry Prize winner Adachioma Ezeano of the University of Kentucky about finding her love of literature through Nigerian novels and folktales, learning craft from strong women, and workshopping without the gag order in favor of Crystal Wilkinson’s wild card critique musings.

Adachioma Ezeano is a 2021 O. Henry Prize recipient. She is a second-year fiction candidate in the MFA program at University of Kentucky. She is an alum of Purple Hibiscus Workshop. Her fiction appears or is forthcoming in McSweeney's Quarterly, Flashback Fiction, Isele Magazine, Best Small Fictions 2020, and The Best Short Stories 2021. She is Igbo, from Nigeria, and worked with First Bank Nigeria before moving to Kentucky for her MFA. She tweets @adachiomaezeano.

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

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Natalie Warther of Bennington College talks to Jared about the potential of flash fiction to introduce literature to nonreaders, making the writer’s life work with a full-time job in advertising, and pursuing a dual-genre degree at her low-residency program.

Natalie Warther is a senior writer at 72andSunny and a recent M.F.A graduate from the low-residency program at Bennington College where she was a dual major in poetry and fiction. She is a prose reader for GASHER Journal and a recent finalist in the Smokelong Grand Micro Contest. Her most recent fiction has appeared in Hobart After Dark (HAD), X-R-A-Y, and Maudlin House. Find her monthly flash fiction on Instagram @NatalieWarther, follow her on Twitter @warther_natalie, and find links to all her work at her website: nataliewarther.com.

This episode was requested by Philip Clapham. Thank you for listening, Philip!

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

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Twitter: @MFAwriterspod

Jared and Ashley Sojin Kim of the University of Florida discuss learning about suppressed historic events through poetry, adding form restrictions to enhance the creative process, and networking with publishers at UF’s annual Visiting Editors weekend.

Ashley Sojin Kim received her MFA from the University of Florida and her BA from The Johns Hopkins University. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Literary Matters, Faultline Journal, RHINO Poetry, Spoon River Poetry Review, Gulf Stream Magazine, and elsewhere. Her honors and awards include a Pushcart Prize nomination and fellowships from Kundiman and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. Find her and read her poems on Instagram @ashleysojin.

This episode was requested by Victor DeBianchi and Amy Peltz. Thank you for listening, Victor and Amy!

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

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— Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, or Podcast Addict.

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Twitter: @MFAwriterspod

In this episode, Jared talks with Katie Schorr of Hunter College about overcoming rejection and the failure to sell her first novel, finding her voice through the writing and revising process, and navigating the MFA while raising two kids.

Katie Schorr earned her MFA in Fiction from Hunter College. She’s written for McSweeney’s and Motherly and she has also written and performed one-person shows at the UCB Theater, Ars Nova, and Joe’s Pub. She is an audiobook narrator and the mother of two young children, both of whom wish her stories were scarier. Find her at katieschorr.com.

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

BE PART OF THE SHOW

— Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, or Podcast Addict.

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Twitter: @MFAwriterspod

Welcome to Season 2! Jared is joined by Shreya Fadia of Indiana University Bloomington to discuss incorporating genre elements in literary work, making a career change from law to writing, and how editing Indiana Review has helped Shreya cope with rejection.

Shreya Fadia is a third-year fiction candidate in the MFA program at Indiana University, where she currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Indiana Review. Her fiction appears or is forthcoming in Black Warrior Review, Cream City Review, and The Florida Review Online. Before beginning her MFA, she practiced law in New York City. She is originally from Mumbai, India.

This episode was requested by Jacie Juliana Andrews. Thank you for listening, Jacie!

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

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With deep gratitude, we have reached the end of Season 1. The pod team is taking a little vacation and launching Season 2 in two weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this rebroadcast of Music at Midnight, a podcast published by Hobart's Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo. You'll hear an interview between Jared (as interviewee!) and past guest Evan Fleischer (as interviewer!). They discuss MFA programs, what has surprised Jared about making this show, and graduate student unionization. Plus, Lily MacHugh reads an excerpt from a story. 

Thank you for tuning into Season 1. Regular programming will return on August 17. Until then, take care of each other. 

Subscribe to Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo: https://buffalobuffalobuffalo.substack.com

Revisit Evan's episode of MFA Writers

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

Twitter: @MFAwriterspod

Drawing attention to American and Israeli occupation in the Middle East, Tarik Dobbs of the University of Minnesota crafts experimental poetry based on extensive research and personal experience. Tarik joins Jared to discuss the role of poetry in shaping political perspectives, writing as a collaborative process, and how universities can create a more inclusive and diverse academic community.

Tarik Dobbs is an Arab American queer writer born in Dearborn, MI, on stolen land of the Chippewa, Ottawa, & Potawatomi people. Dobbs's poems appear in AGNI, APR, Best of the Net, Missouri Review Online, & Poetry Magazine. A 3rd-year MFA student at the University of Minnesota, Dobbs is Assistant Editor of Great River Review and founded Poetry Online, a nonprofit web magazine. Their poetry chapbook, "Dancing on the Tarmac," was selected by Gabrielle Calvocoressi (Yemassee, 2021). Find them at tarikdo.com.

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

Twitter: @MFAwriterspod

How do emotional pacing and narrative structure influence one another in a story? Jared talks to Aggie Stewart of the Newport MFA at Salve Regina University about her memoir, a braided narrative examining family trauma. They discuss embracing false starts and taking the scenic route to her MFA, a low-res program that lets students practice pitches with agents and editors, encourages cross-genre experimentation, and offers a residency in Havana, Cuba.

Aggie Stewart is a Rhode Island-based writer and is going into her final semester in the Newport MFA program at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Her MFA focus is creative nonfiction. She is currently writing a memoir about growing up in the shadow of her mother’s sister’s murder, an event which occurred when her mother was pregnant with her and that was kept a closely guarded family secret throughout her childhood. Aggie has a BA and MA in English Literature and worked as a technical and business writer and editor for many years before beginning work on her MFA. A certified yoga therapist and meditation teacher, Aggie also teaches others how meditation can support and facilitate the creation of literary art.

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

Twitter: @MFAwriterspod

Fantasy. Sci fi. Literary absurdist fiction. Keith Enterante of San Diego State University’s novel excerpt has it all. He joins Jared to talk about the support and warmth of his program, the importance of starting and finishing pieces, and how the best writing lights up your nerve endings.

Keith Enterante is a writer with an MFA from San Diego State University, where he spent three years drafting his third book, an absurdist fantasy titled Man-so-called-kind (previously titled Phooka Road). The opening chapter received an Honorable Mention for the AWP Intro Journals Awards; the book will be going on submission to agents later this summer. Find him on TikTok @k.enterante.

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

Twitter: @MFAwriterspod

Pursuing an MFA is not only about improving your own writing, but also that of your peers. Evan Fleischer of Emerson College talks to Jared about how the workshop is like teaching, how editing at Hobart benefits his work, and how the best writing is full of surprises. He also does a pretty good Bob Dylan impression.

Evan Fleischer is set to graduate from Emerson College with a MFA in fiction at the end of 2021. He has been a fiction editor at Hobart Pulp for two and a half years. He has also worked as a ghostwriter, a research assistant, and as a freelance writer.

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

Twitter: @MFAwriterspod