Graduate Student Comments
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Sara Kaplan
MA, 2004
“I entered the M.A. poetry program in 2002, with a general idea of the line and language. But at Miami I read and read and read and began finding my own poetic voice and aesthetic. . . . I consistently left workshop feeling both exhausted and inspired to revise and write something new, pushing the boundaries of what I thought I had completed when I walked through the door.”
Sara is currently pursuing an M.F.A. at the University of Idaho where she serves as poetry editor of Fugue.
Jordan McMullin
2003
“I am currently working toward an M.F.A. degree in fiction at the University of Maryland. I am forever grateful for my time at Miami University. I learned more in two years than I would have thought possible, and I entered the M.F.A. program with a strong sense of myself as a writer.
“Miami University draws talented, committed writers to its M.A. program, and its dedicated faculty inspires them to become ever more thoughtful producers and critics of literature. Being a writer at Miami means more than rigorous workshops and literature classes; it means participating in a real community of artists and learners.”
Evan Kuhlman
MA, 2002
“My two years at Miami were incredibly prolific. I wrote a novel (a throwaway where I learned the form), and about fifteen stories, some of which have been placed with journals such as Glimmer Train, Salt Hill, The Madison Review, Third Coast, and other publications. What’s more, a story I wrote in Keith Banner's fiction workshop I later developed into a novel titled Wolf Boy, which will be published by Random House in 2006.
“I attribute much of my success to the love of great writing that permeates the Miami English Department. There's plenty of talent here, both among the professors and students, and oodles of enthusiasm about the art. Eric Goodman advises, "Write like your hair is on fire," and I would add, 'and only words can douse the flames.' You will be encouraged at Miami and pushed. Writing exercises in workshops and sprint courses allowed me to move outside my writing comfort zone, and led to several successful stories. I also have an interest in screenwriting, and despite the tight curriculum I was able to pursue this interest by way on an independent study course on screenwriting and by auditing an undergraduate film class. And I was supported financially, though I choose tuition waivers and loans instead of a teaching assistantship so I'd have more time to write.
“Importantly, the writing professors are actively writing and publishing, and will encourage you to send out stories and poems as soon as they are ready. (Non-stingy graduate student access to copiers and free mailing helps). I submitted stories like a madman while at Miami, and finally one of them was accepted by Zuzu’s Petals Quarterly, my first publication credit. The profs are also highly accessible. Besides periodically meeting with my fiction workshop teachers, I also spent many happy hours talking about writing and films with David Schloss, a poetry professor. You may also find some of your professors on the basketball and volleyball courts, at student readings, and at Eric Goodman’s annual party. Don’t worry about professorial stodginess at Miami, at least in the writing program. These are friendly, good-natured folks who will treat you more like a colleague than a newbie.
“Oxford is a writing-friendly environment, and that part of Ohio with its farmland dips and rises is one of the most attractive areas in the state. If you’re more into trees than skyscrapers, bird songs than taxi horns, you may be happy in Oxford. Note, however, that like in all college towns it can get quite noisy on Friday and Saturday nights. If you’re not heavily into the party scene you might want to scout out a few locations (especially at night) before signing a lease.
“Yes, it’s an M.A. program, but based on my own experiences and the experiences of friends, I’ll dare to day that the Miami program is stronger (and more rigorous) than many M.F.A. programs. Look at it this way: two years is not enough of a writing apprenticeship no matter what the degree. So get your M.A. at Miami and then your M.F.A. or Ph.D. somewhere else. With a combined four or more years of writing workshops, talent will likely be seeping from your pores, and you’ll probably be published or even have a book deal in the works by the time you’re ready to apply for a teaching job or otherwise enter the working world. Such publications and/or deals and multiple degrees will help you land a sweeter job. (In my case I went on to get an M.F.A.). If you decide to pursue multiple graduate degrees, or if you’re just looking for an M.A. and teaching experience, or a quiet and pretty place to write for two years, Miami would be an excellent place to start or finish or continue.”
Christopher Coake
1995
“I’ll cut right to the chase: My first workshop story at Miami, way back in the fall of 1993, was a mess. A colossal mess. I used a swan as a central symbol, and a phone call as a deus ex machina and — as one of my classmates astutely guessed — I’d named my main character Jeremy while listening to Pearl Jam on my headphones in the third-floor computer lab.
“My second story? A mess. Programmatic, moralistic, and full of filler to boot. So I wrote a third — a mess! and a seventh — a mess! And that one was a novella, to boot!
“But gradually — and gently, and sternly, and all adverbs in between — the excellent writers and teachers at Miami taught me why. They wrote me critiques, and line-edited me, and listened to me whine and moan my way through interminable office hours. But at every turn they left me feeling stronger, and hopeful, feeling that I had to go on and write another one. And another.
“And then what everyone wants to have happen to them in a writing program, happened: I got it. And so — even though it took a little while — my last workshop story became my first published piece. And now, lo these many years later, I am proud to include it in my first published book: We’re in Trouble, a story collection due from Harcourt in the spring of 2005.
“While at Miami I learned about my art, I learned about my field, and — I can’t understate this — I had fun. The faculty, the program, the school, the town of Oxford itself, all see to this. Eight years later, I still maintain contact with the good folks teaching at Bachelor Hall, and with a number of lifelong friends (and, I can tell you, the two groups are not mutually exclusive).
“Bottom line: In two years at Miami University, I transformed from a young man with only a few shapeless ideas into a publishable writer with a handle on both his style and his subject. I owe the program at Miami boundless thanks, and of course I recommend it to any young writer without reservation.”
Christopher Coake obtained his M.F.A. in fiction from the Ohio State University. He lives in Reno, Nevada where is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nevada. We’re in Trouble, a collection of short stories, was published by Harcourt in 2005. In 2006, Christopher was named the winner of the PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowship for Writers ($35,000). His website is at http://www.christophercoake.com/
Kenneth Clarke
MA, 1994
“Throughout my career, I have gotten the chance to work closely with many of the literary artists that I studied about while taking courses at Miami University. My M.A. in Literature/Creative Writing provided me with an excellent literary foundation upon which to further my work. Ten years ago I was studying all the writers and theorists who are currently in vogue now. Anyone doing course work at Miami will definitely be intellectually ahead of their peers at other institutions.”
Kenneth Clarke is the Executive Director of the Poetry Center of Chicago
Eugene Gloria
MA, 1990
“Coming to Ohio from San Francisco [California] was a watershed event in my life. I was born in Manila [Philippines] and raised in San Francisco. When I enrolled in the Master of Arts program in English in 1988, I didn't realize that I was going to switch my emphasis to poetry writing by the year's end. This was my beginning and also my first time living in the Midwest.
The writing program at Miami nurtured my curiosity, gave me permission to be open to possibilities. My classmates were serious scholars and gifted writers and poets. They were rigorous readers of each other's work, but also wonderful folks to hang out with. As far as my development as a poet and student of literature is concerned, I owe a great deal to my teachers who always gave me honest feedback and encouragement.
James Reiss, David Schloss, and Keith Tuma were my kind and patient mentors. When people ask me when I began writing poetry, I never hesitate to say that it started during my years as a graduate student in the Midwest at Miami of Ohio!
In October, 2000, I was invited by James Reiss to give a formal reading from my first collection of poems, Drivers at the Short-Time Motel (Penguin Books, 2000), to an audience of mostly graduate students from the writing program, just like me a dozen years before. What a sweet homecoming that was for me.”
Eugene is currently an Associate Professor of English at DePauw University
in Greencastle, IN.
Bryan Voell
" If it had not been for the creative writing program at Miami University and its stalwart poetry faculty, I don't know what, or even if, I'd be writing now. My writing skills and confidence skyrocketed during those two years, and I often think how fortunate I was to have been in those workshops. To this day, now eight years since graduation, I still build on what I learned from David Schloss, Keith Tuma and James Reiss. Those workshops were like literary mountain-climbing. More than just slabs of critical theory, as far as poem-writing and craft are concerned -- what's that on my back, propellers? Rest assured the creative writing faculty at Miami University will enable you to grow new arms as a writer."
Thomas Bligh
“Miami University's creative writing program is just the right size. I studied with everyone I could and the folks there knew what they were talking about. There was an awful lot of talent around the long table where we sat for workshops. The program offers plenty of chances to seek advice and criticism from the faculty, the opportunity to observe working writers, and a variety of reading events on campus and off. Big time writers visit campus and often teach week-long courses to grad students -- a unique experience that few other writing programs provide. Students coming to Miami with a hankering to write fiction won't be disappointed.
“Oxford, Ohio is a super place to write. Its quiet afternoons let you get your work done, and its proximity to Cincinnati means the cures for cabin fever are numerous.
“At night the B&O railroad chugged past my apartment, hinting of other
places beyond Miami and Oxford, reminding me to hit the pages —that my time in the creative writing
program was limited, and therefore precious.”
Thomas is a doctoral candidate at Florida State University
Bret Johnston
“I got the degree in spring of 2000. The collection Corpus Christi will be out September 2004, and the novel, In the Minor Keys, will be out in 2006. I've also had stories accepted recently to Paris Review and Open City.
“Miami's creative writing program is nothing less than ideal. The faculty is first rate, generous with their time and knowledge; the opportunities are vast; and the students are talented, dedicated, and — well, let's face it — getting published. My time there was indispensable — to my education, to my career, and most importantly, to my writing.”