Get the core knowledge of a prestigious MFA education without the tuition.
Have you always wanted to get an MFA, but couldn’t because of the cost, time commitment, or admission requirements?
Well now you can fulfill that dream without having to devote tons of money or time. The Portable MFA gives you all of the essential information you would learn in the MFA program in one book. Covering fiction, memoirs, personal essays, magazine articles, poetry, and playwriting, this book provides you with:
- Inspiration and tips on revision, stamina, and productivity
- Clear instruction on the craft behind the art
- Detailed reading lists to expand your literary horizons
- Exercises to improve your writing endeavors
By heeding the advice in The Portable MFA, you will gain the wisdom and experience of some of today’s greatest teachers, all for just the price of a book.
A Book for Pros, not Academics Just finished THE PORTABLE MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING by NEW YORK WRITERS WORKSHOP. It impresses me as a book for the pros, not the academics. No dull jargon, no preposterous theory, just the straight dope on writing in five different forms. Since I’m primarily a poet, I spent the most time with Rita Gabis’s section — it’s like Mary Oliver’s POETRY HANDBOOK meets THE ARTIST’S WAY. You can’t read this book without developing the habit of writing, and in the ten-to-twelve days that I’ve had my copy, I’ve seen my work improve. This book is indispensable.
Inavluable writing guide I’m a graduate, or maybe I should say survivor, of what was considered a prestiguous MFA program, and Ican truthfully say that not only would The Portable MFA in Creative Writing have helped me then, but it certainly would have proved invaluable if I had decided to forego the MFA experience and write on my own in a cabin bya lake in Ontario.I knew Tim Tomlinson in a former lifetime and I’m happy to see that he has become a wise, helpful guidein leading readers through the section on fiction writing in The Portable MFA. There definitely is a craft tofiction writing, which goes along with a writer’s innate ability, and Tim approaches the subject as one whocould almost be considered a friend trying to offer sincere advice from experience, experience which includes years of teaching.Likewise, Charles Salzberg comes off as a natural born teacher in offering practical advice about the craft of magazine writing. As you read his insights, you can’t help but feel that Salzberg is a three-dimensional personand extremely dedicated teacher who wants what’s best for each individual reader,There are many good books on the craft of writing but I rank The Portable MFA certainly up within the top five.I am not a poet or a playwright but the sections on these disciplines in The Portable MFA are also interesting and enlightening. In short, this book is a great investment for both beginning writers, as well as experienced writers with many publications to their credit. One can always learn new things and The Portable MFA refreshed my creative drive and also prompted me to see truths I knew from a new perspective well worthmany, many times more than the cost of this great book.