I am very pleased to welcome Jory M. Mickelson to our blog. I want to take this opportunity to thank him very much for sharing his experiences and insights about  Idaho University's MFA Program.

Jory M. Mickelson is an MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Idaho.  His work has appeared widely in journals such as The Adirondack Review, New Mexico Poetry Review, PoetsArtists, PANK Magazine, The Cossack Literary Journal and Boxcar Poetry Review.  He won a 2011 Academy of American Poet's Prize.  His chapbook of poems Slow Depth was published by Winged City Chapbooks in March 2012.  He currently lives between Idaho and Washington.

Niche Magazine:  Tell us a little bit about what led you to apply to an MFA Programs, and how you came to choose Idaho?

Jory M. Mickelson: When I first started thinking about MFA programs, I went and saw my academic advisor at Western Washington University.  Oliver de la Paz is a great poet and has always told me the truth about my writing even when I don’t want to hear it.  I looked him in the eye and asked, “If it is a waste of time for me to apply for an MFA, please tell me. Just tell me the truth.”  We discussed the reasons that I wanted to attend an MFA program—to improve my writing and also to pursue a career in academia. His confidence in me lent me the confidence I needed to start applying.

How I went about choosing programs may be a bit unconventional.  My very first consideration for picking and MFA program was location, location, location.  If I couldn’t imagine myself living there, I didn’t bother applying.  Houston has a great program, but the city is far too large for me, and there are also hurricanes to consider.  I then gave preference to programs that were three years in length rather than two.  Some three-year programs, like the University of Montana, offer students the opportunity to earn an MA and an MFA degree.  If I am not mistaken, there is a trend now that several MFA programs are moving from a two-year track to a three-year track.  The extra time seemed important to figuring out my writing and adjusting to a program that may require me to teach for the first time.

What won me over about the University of Idaho were some of the faculty.  I met both Kim Barnes and Robert Wrigley at the Port Townsend Writers Conference in Washington State.  Although I have been a fan of both of their writing, seeing them teach classes and interacting with them over the course of the week settled things for me.  Bob Wrigley called me to let me know that I had been accepted to the program and that I had also received some funding.  (Yes, I did a little dance while we talked.)  I don’t know of too many programs where the faculty calls you personally to welcome you.

Niche Magazine: Is Idaho's program fully funded? 

JMM: It is not.  Although depending on the year, funding and graduate teaching assistantships are plentiful.  Of the four poets who entered the program last year, all of them got TA positions (which also grants instate tuition).  The same goes for the three new poets who entered the MFA program this year.  About 30% of the students do receive full funding, but I would hazard to say that a majority of students who attend this program receive some kind of scholarship, award, or fee waiver.

NM: Do graduate students get an opportunity to teach? If so, what types of classes do graduate students teach and do you find teaching a beneficial opportunity?

JMM: Not all MFA students get TA positions, but many do.  We all do our time teaching three sections of College Writing and Rhetoric (English 101 or 102) per year.  In the third year of the program, TAs get to teach a semester long introduction to creative writing in his or her genre.  I will be teaching Introduction to Writing Poetry in January.

I want to teach at the university level when I am done with the MFA program.  Teaching freshman composition gives me three years of hands on experience in the classroom when I graduate.  That is very valuable.  TAs know very quickly whether or not they want to teach upon graduation.  One fellow student decided after her first year, she didn’t really want to teach college.  

The danger of teaching is the amount of time it takes.  In the English department TAs are expected to create lesson plans, teach the classes, and grade the homework.  TAs in the sciences often only grade for a professor who teaches the class.  It’s time consuming.  There is a constant struggle to balance the workload of the classroom with your own writing.  I often have to remind myself that I am here for my own writing first, and as a TA second.

NM: How would you describe the atmosphere of Workshop?  What is the size of the Workshop?

JMM: Workshop can be wonderful or terrible depending on the mix of students and personalities that come together.  In a good workshop, everyone is working to make the poems, stories, or essays better, but at the same time respecting a writer’s vision for his or her own work.  

That last part is important.  Sometimes a writer can let his or her own tendencies, preferences, or biases cloud comments he or she makes about a piece.  In a negative situation, comments might come off sounding like, “Well, I changed your stanzas because I don’t really like couplets.”

Overall, the workshops have been awesome.  Folks are fearlessly honest, but kind about the feedback they give.  They see my bad habits and I am a much better writer for it.

NM: Which authors have you had an opportunity to work with?  How do you feel your aesthetic as changed as a result of being/having been part of this program?

JMM: Most of my poetry classes have been with Robert Wrigley and Alexandra Teague.  However, I have also had the opportunity to have workshops with Edward Hirsch, Linda Bierds, and Gabrielle Calvocoressi who have all been Distinguished Visiting Writers at the University of Idaho.

The MFA program here encourages “cross-pollination” and allows students take classes and workshops in other genres.  Right now, I am in a graduate nonfiction workshop with Brandon Schrand.

When I arrived at U of I, I was mostly writing narrative poems and poetry of place.  I was conservative.  Most of the poets in my first year were writing radically different kinds of poems.  Being in a hothouse of stylistic difference gave me exposure to new ideas and allowed me to take greater risks with my work.  I have become much more lyric in my writing and am willing to go out on a limb when it comes to finding the right form or structure for each poem. 

NM: What can you tell me about the UI & Hemingway connection?

JMM: The Ernest Hemingway Foundation and Society and the University of Idaho have worked together to publish the Hemingway Review since 1993.  In addition, the English Department has been active in organizing hosting an annual Hemingway Festival, which also features the PEN/Hemingway award winner.  This year it was Teju Cole, for his novel Open City.  More information about this festival can be found here: http://www.uidaho.edu/class/hemingway/connection  

NM: What can you tell us about The University of Idaho's literary magazine, Fugue?

JMM: Fugue, first published in 1990, is edited by graduate students in the MFA program.  It is a great way for writers to become familiar with the everyday mechanics of producing a literary journal.  We transitioned last year from producing two print issues per year to a single print issue and online content.  Fugue has entered the digital age.

NM:What opportunities does Idaho's program give their students that other programs might not?

JMM: The University of Idaho’s greatest strength is the access that students have to the faculty and the care that the teachers have for their students.  At another university, the star faculty may only be on campus every now and then.  If I send an email to a faculty member or administrative person, I almost always hear back from them within twenty-four hours if not the same day.  Some have given me their home and cell phone numbers in order to get in touch with them.    

I’ve heard from students in other programs that faculty can be very stingy with their time, and almost never interact with the students outside of the scheduled class time.  I have always felt welcomed at the University of Idaho and folks here go out of their way to answer your questions, often face to face.  When was the last time someone took the time to patiently answer your questions and didn’t make you feel as though they had better things to do?  Seriously, they are that nice here.

NM: Are there any downsides?

JMM:There are some downsides to attending the University of Idaho.  One of them is that Moscow is fairly isolated.  We are 85 miles from the nearest interstate highway and a six-hour drive from any major city.  While this keeps the pace of life from becoming too hectic, it is easy to feel cut off from the larger community of writers. 

And although MFA students here take almost as many literature courses as MA students, the variety of literature courses offered could be broader.  I earned my undergraduate degree at a university that had literature classes in afrofuturism, the graphic novel, trash cinema, queer literature, and the intersection of hip hop, slam and spoken word.  The classes offered at the University of Idaho are top notch, but nowhere near as diverse as what I was used to. 

When I first came to Moscow, I was worried that being a queer man would be a problem.  The university only had a Gay Straight Alliance my first year (which has since expanded to a full LGBTQI group), and I didn’t want to attend because I was probably teaching some of the freshman who would be there.  What I actually found here is a strong LGBT community, although smaller than people from urban areas may be used to.  There is an annual PRIDE celebration, a monthly drag show, regular drag bingo, and several other community events in town.  I am out in all the areas of my life here and have experienced zero harassment.  I’ve had to do some educating with people, but no one has ever been anything but welcoming.  If you are hesitant to apply because of Idaho’s reputation toward queer people, Moscow and the University of Idaho are the exception to the rule.   

NM:What advice would you give to current attendees and/or prospective MFA candidates?

JMM:I will pass on the best piece of advice that I was given: write wildly your first year. Take big risks.  Don’t think, “This doesn’t fit into my thesis” for your first two semesters.  Attending an MFA program means exploring a wide range of writers and writing styles. If it scares you, try it. 

Destroy your work.  Blow it up.  Get at least ten miles outside of your comfort zone.  Then head another ten miles further from there.  This may be the only time in your life you get the time and space to read, write, and think deeply about your work.  Use it.

NM: Since we have you here let's talk a little bit about Slow Depth. How did this publication opportunity come to you?

JMM: I attended AWP in D.C. two years ago and met the Winged City/New Sins Press crew while buying a chapbook they had published by Aaron Smith.  Winged City Chapbooks had a chapbook contest for AWP, so I entered and they ended up choosing my manuscript.

NM: How did you go about deciding which poems would go into this collection?

JMM: The chapbook had been growing and changing for three or four years.  I knew I wanted to put my poems about Montana together.  Not all of them fit, but this was a good chunk of my writing about where I grew up.

NM: Half of a Ticket's Length really spoke to me. Specifically the last two stanzas. Though the poems are obviously about very different things this poem reminded me of Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. Like Robert Frost's poems Nature seems to play an important role in your work. What was the inspiration behind the recurring images like snow and ice? Did that factor into the title of this collection at all?

JMM: I grew up in a rural Montana.  My hometown was 2,500 people and it was a 30 mile drive to the nearest movie theater or fast-food restaurant.  What I lacked in pop culture as a child got made up for in trees, animals, and mountains.  Landscape has always been a prominent theme in my writing, whether I am in the rainy Northwest or in the wheat fields of Idaho.  

When I was small, it wasn’t uncommon to have snow from Halloween until Easter.  Autumn will always be my favorite season, but winter speaks to me about the enormity of the natural world and man’s finite capabilities.  Also in some sense, snow stands in as a metaphor for the uncertain and quickly changing emotional world that can completely bury a person.

NM: know that having someone ask 'what's your favorite poem?' is like asking you to choose between your children. But do you have a favorite poem, and if so, which one, and why?

JMM: My current favorite poem has to be “Sainte-Marie” because of its shape.  It was the first somewhat successful poem that I broke out of my habitual forms.  I had not written anything as “loose” before, so in taking a big risk, I think I received a big reward.

NM: Which poets inspired you?  And then how did you learn how to glean what they could teach you, and then "overthrow" their influences and find your way towards your own voice?  How has your voice progressed from this collection to, say, something you're working on now?

JMM: That is a big question.  I would have to say that the three overarching poets who influenced many of the poems in Slow Depth would be Richard Hugo, Lorine Niedecker, and the ancient Chinese poet Han-Shan.  I think that they continue to influence me still, but in different ways.  Richard Hugo’s subject matter was what captured me initially, then his adept control of images.  Today, I appreciate the meter of his line.  He continues to teach me in some sense.  As I grow as a poet, I am able to see more and more.  

I think that I continue to find my own style with time and revision.  Many young poets are preoccupied with their voice and sounding original.  I think that voice is something that shows itself over a large swath of work.  It appears over dozens of poems in the way lines are broken, repeated images and concerns, or in how the mind of the poet is shown working on the page. 

A friend and good reader of my poems pointed out that my lines still need work.  So right now that is how I am developing my voice—I am looking at how to make my lines stronger and more interesting.

NM: What advice can you give to aspiring writers on writing images or description?

JMM: Specificity is everything.  I learned to name things as precisely as possible.  This doesn’t mean that one needs to be absolutely scientific in his or her writing.  

For me, it isn’t a tree.  It isn’t a bent tree.  It isn’t even a tree struggling against years of wind.  For me, it is a white dwarf spruce unpeeled by altitude.  

I rewrite my images obsessively and also consider the musicality of the description.  Spruce and altitude ring off of one another nicely.  It is an image, but it is also an ordered set of sonics.  

NM: What's next for you?

JMM: I am currently adding poems to and revising my thesis.  In May, I will graduate and will be back in world.  I am applying for fellowships and teaching jobs, but nothing is for certain. I will keep writing poems regardless of where I end up, whether as a host at Chile’s or teaching creative writing.