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Best Resources to DIY Your MFA in Poetry
Remote workshops, livestreams, books, and more.
*Update*: Hi Reader! I’m now publishing new essays, writing prompts, and updated lists of poetry publishing opportunities on my Substack, Effing the Ineffable. Subscribe for free!
Poetry MFA programs are hard to get into — and harder to afford. I love to learn, but with one half-finished master’s degree already, I’m more than hesitant to dive into another one.
Instead, I’ve spent the last several months traversing the internet to find resources that will help me learn and grow as a writer, without requiring $20,000 per semester and the blood of my firstborn.
I’m no expert, but I’ve found some gems that can do for you what they’ve done for me: provide elements of a poetry MFA, outside of academia.
*Note: None of these recommendations are sponsored. I also won’t be recommending basic sites like Poets.org. I’m only including things that have helped me to learn in an interactive way.
Skip ahead:
∘ Writing workshops
∘ Rattle’s Friday workshop stream
∘ Feedback from literary journals
∘ Books & essays
∘ Final thoughts
Writing workshops
Workshopping is a huge aspect of every MFA in poetry (I mean, I haven’t checked each and every one, but I’m 99% sure.) Most people find that the best way to improve as a writer is through workshopping and, of course, revision.
Getting feedback from an experienced writer — one who has read thousands of poems and published multiple books of poetry of their own — is invaluable.
What I didn’t realize until recently is that most of these instructors and professors also teach classes outside of the university…
