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Home→Writing→Life as an Author→Caught Between the MFA and the World

Caught Between the MFA and the World

Stefon Mears — Official Website Posted on by

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Newsflash: my poem “Society” has been accepted by 42 Magazine!

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When I was an undergraduate in Religious Studies* I ran across the word “liminal” and fell in love. Who knew that there was a word for that in-between condition, the transition between one state and another? Is any time more beautiful than dusk, when there is still enough light to see, but not enough to cast shadows? At dusk the world gains a crispness to the eye, a clarity obscured by the harshness of bright sun and the dimness of evening.

For a person, that liminal state brings development. In fiction it holds tension before resolution. In nonfiction it grants distance and reflection. I touch on it in most of my fiction, and the events of my essay “Between Plausibility and Truth” take place almost entirely in the liminal state (in fact, I think I have to write an essay about it. Pardon me while I pause to take notes).

I banged my head on that liminal space today.

My essay “Engineering Coincidence” is in the current issue of Cirque. That’s fantastic. It’s a great journal. What’s more, the editor is coming down from Alaska next month to host a huge reading in Seattle. One of the readers arranged for it to take place at Seattle’s ACT. This is a large venue, probably five times the size of anyplace I’ve ever read, maybe ten times. I might be reading my essay to more people than I’ve ever publically addressed in person for any reason.**

The problem: the reading is on August 13th. My graduation residency ends August 14th.

As a writer trying to develop a following, I should go to the reading. It’s a great opportunity. As an MFA student, I shouldn’t skip any afternoon sessions to make it down for rehearsal and prep, not to mention skipping out on supporting my fellow students at the student reading that night.

I don’t like skipping classes, even when I can afford to (I went to an “extra” residency this past January), and I like supporting my fellows. But it’s a good opportunity. On the other hand, it won’t be my last.

I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’ve got to think about this one.

*It’s a group major at Cal, so you have to choose an emphasis.  I chose two: ritual and mythology.

**Personally, that is. I’ve been part of Capoeira performances for large crowds, as well as on radio and television.

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Submissions update: since my last post, I have submitted pieces to Stupefying Stories, Electric Spec, 5×5 Magazine, Storylandia, and an agent.

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Posted in Life as an Author, MFA, Thesis Tagged , , permalink

About Stefon

Stefon Mears earned his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from N.I.L.A., and his B.A. in Religious Studies (double emphasis in Ritual and Mythology) from U.C. Berkeley. Stefon's short pieces have sold to magazines such as Fireside and Strange Horizons and anthologies edited by Otto Penzler, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kevin J. Anderson, Denise Little, Kerrie L. Hughes, and John Helfers. He has published more than thirty novels to date, including the Jumpstart Duchy series, the Rise of Magic series, the Cavan Oltblood series, and still others. Look for him online at https://www.stefonmears.com, on Facebook, or @stefonmears on Twitter. Sign up for his newsletter at stefonmears.com/join

Comments

Caught Between the MFA and the World — 6 Comments

  1. There’s no right or wrong in this decision, Stefon. Whatever you decide there will always be a sense that you should have done the other. But whatever that decision is, you know we’ll all support it.

    Think I’ll go shoot Bob now.

    Reply ↓

    • Joe Ponepinto :

      Think I’ll go shoot Bob now.

      Get in line.

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Joe. It’s funny – before I chose an MFA program, I was warned that the low-res programs don’t build community. I guess the speakers hadn’t heard about Whidbey. I’m always impressed at how supportive everyone is, especially when I start reading online writing blogs. Some of those comment fields get vicious, even for the internet.

      Reply ↓

  2. Is it a difficult choice because of graduation? Would you like a proxy at one event or the other?
    In summer, dusk lasts a very long time at our higher latitudes.

    Reply ↓

    • I like your point about dusk.

      It’s not the graduation event itself that makes the choice difficult, but the classes I’d miss and the time with classmates. I don’t know when I’ll get to see many of these people again, and my memories from the last nights of residencies are some of my favorites. If it had been August 12th or the 9th instead of the 13th, the decision would have been easier.

      I appreciate the offer of a proxy, but I think I need to make this decision and stick with it.

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this, Christine.

      Reply ↓

  3. Stefon, I’ll probably be shot for saying this . . . The reading at ACT is what (presumabably) your efforts into the MFA program were designed to create. Nobody at NILA doubts your heart, I’m sure. And though you’ll miss some opportunitites at the residency (it will only be for a few hours) you’ll miss fresh ones at ACT by not going. If you did go, you might want to limit any ‘after’ time the reading my bring, etc. to accomodate your sentiments.

    I am surprised to hear myself say this, but it is true: If you go for yourself, you’re going for me, too. I root for your success — which is pretty close to prayer for me.

    Asides: nice post, congrats on the publication and reading opportunity (whether you choose to go or not). I don’t need to say it’s ultimately up to you (you know me well enough, I hope) — good luck, have fun.

    Reply ↓

    • The funny thing is, Bob, that if the piece were fiction, I might not hesitate. Right now I have a completed novel to shop, so every bit of attention I can draw to my fiction can only help. Is this as true for my nonfiction, for which I do not currently have a book to sell? I’m not sure.

      Either way this is a tough call. I’m not sure that reason is the answer here, however much thought I put into it. In the end, I’ll probably have to got with the decision that feels right at the time.

      You do have a point that this is the sort of opportunity that my MFA efforts were designed to create (one of those sorts, anyway), but unless I believe I will never have another such opportunity, I don’t want to give it too much importance. Do you know what I mean?

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Bob. I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.

      Reply ↓

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