Dear Dead Beat,
Why university? And why E.W.U.?
Dear Anonymous,
Dead Beat reached a point where he could not see the woods for the trees (Literary Agony and the Business of Rejection) He deduced that a more academic and crical analysis of his writing was necessary.
Why Eastern Washington University?
Well Dead Beat got a scholarship to the EWU Dublin Summer School and met the inimitable James McAuley (fellow Irish man who helped set up the program) who took a shine to Dead Beat and his work and vice versa. Dead Beat mentioned his interest in a university degree in Creative Writing and Jim promised to put in his two bits for him. Dead Beat was flexible and made the two year journey.
Writing needs this - journies, committment.
Old D. B. is the first to admit, he got lucky. Not just Jim McAuley, a fountain of knowledge, friendship, and educator, but John Keeble. Both have the big picture in mind, the connection between writing and life, life and writing (see
Inventing Constellations in the Black Emptiness and its links)
MFA programs are not for everyone. You need to be strong in voice and style for they will try to change you to a generic writer. But if you have the know how, you can avoid this and make it through and be all the better for it.
Go ahead, in the comment section ask me why?
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