MFA Writers

MFA Writers The podcast where we talk to MFA students about their program, their process, and a piece they're working on. Hosted by Jared McCormack.

NEW EPISODE. Spencer Robert Young sits down with Jared to talk about their path from punk music concertgoer to writing a...
08/10/2025

NEW EPISODE. Spencer Robert Young sits down with Jared to talk about their path from punk music concertgoer to writing a chamber opera. Plus, Spencer and Jared discuss pattern and rupture in poetry, the pros and cons of staying in academia versus taking time off, the beauty and collaboration of editing, and life in Moscow, Idaho.

Spencer Robert Young (they/them) is a poet, essayist, and editor. They write about embodiment, punk music, q***rness, climate change, and good books. Spencer holds an MA in Creative Writing and Literature from Kansas State University and an MFA in Poetry from the University of Idaho (). While earning their MFA, Spencer edited reviews and interviews for Fugue Literary Journal, and they currently judge chapbooks for the Cow Creek Chapbook Prize. A recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize, their work has been published in a handful of literary magazines and journals, and their original chamber opera, Let's Blow Up a Gas Station!, premiered with Seattle Opera in 2024. Find them at spencerrobertyoung.my.canva.site.

Catch this conversation between Spencer and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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12/09/2025

MFA Writers · Episode

Listen to the full conversation wherever you get podcasts.——
05/09/2025

Listen to the full conversation wherever you get podcasts.

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NEW EPISODE. In our Season 6 premiere, James T. Morrison talks about how creative nonfiction provides an opportunity to ...
05/09/2025

NEW EPISODE. In our Season 6 premiere, James T. Morrison talks about how creative nonfiction provides an opportunity to discuss challenging topics like drug dependency and justice system involvement that counter the stereotypical portrayal of the addiction redemption arc. He and Jared also explore revision as a process to find your voice, Morrison’s shift from a law school path to an MFA at age 40, the importance of accessible mentors over university prestige, and the underappreciated literary scene of Fresno.

James T. Morrison is a recent graduate of California State University, Fresno, where he received his MFA in creative nonfiction in June of 2025. He serves as the nonfiction editor at The Normal School literary magazine, affiliated with Fresno State's MFA. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Slate, Diode, River Teeth's "Beautiful Things," and Fugue. To hear him talk about his writing and American drug policy, check out his appearance on the award winning podcast, Death, S*x, and Money. James lives in California's Central Valley with his wife, Sara, their three cats, and brand new puppy (she is a real pistol). Find him at his website, www.james-t-morrison.com, and on Instagram .

Catch this conversation between James and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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Excerpts from our recent episode with Austin Tucker, PhD Candidate in Creative Writing at Ohio University. Catch the ful...
05/09/2025

Excerpts from our recent episode with Austin Tucker, PhD Candidate in Creative Writing at Ohio University. Catch the full conversation anywhere you get podcasts.

NEW EPISODE. How do voice-driven writers find their characters? Austin Tucker tells Jared how he uses collage and resear...
01/09/2025

NEW EPISODE. How do voice-driven writers find their characters? Austin Tucker tells Jared how he uses collage and research into his characters’ life histories to craft voices that are often “on the edge of collapse.” Plus, Austin discusses the pros and cons of a small program with 6-8 students in each poetry workshop, healthcare access as a PhD student, and opportunities to design and teach composition, workshop, and survey classes.

Austin Tucker is a poet and fiction writer who received his MFA from the University of Rutgers-Camden and is currently pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing at Ohio University. He is the current editor of Quarter After Eight and his poetry was selected for The Southeast Review’s 2024 Gearhart Prize by Kareena McGlynn, and has appeared in Pleiades, Frontier, and Four Chambers, among other places. His fiction won the 2024 Masters Review Flash Fiction contest and was a semifinalist for the 2018 Halifax Ranch Prize. He’s also a two-time finalist for The DISQUIET International Literary Prize in Poetry. Find him at r.austin.tucker [at] gmail [dot] com or via the Quarter After Eight IG (). He is represented by Julia Eagleton with Janklow and Nesbit.

Catch this conversation between Austin and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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Excerpts from our recent conversation with the excellent writer and speaker, Ray Wise.
06/05/2025

Excerpts from our recent conversation with the excellent writer and speaker, Ray Wise.

NEW EPISODE. What happens when a tech startup employee starts taking online writing classes? They end up in an MFA progr...
06/05/2025

NEW EPISODE. What happens when a tech startup employee starts taking online writing classes? They end up in an MFA program, of course. In this episode, Ray Wise sits down with Jared to talk about finding writing in their 20s and the lessons they bring from the tech world to their creative work. Plus, they discuss Rutgers-Camden’s multi-genre emphasis, weekend writing retreats with the MFA community, and the pros and cons of a small program.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-ray-wise

Ray Wise is a multi-genre writer living in Philadelphia, where they are completing their final semester at MFA at Rutgers-Camden. Ray's work has been published in Passages North, Rose Books Reader, Barrelhouse, Hobart, etc., nominated for Best of the Net, and supported by Sundress Academy for the Arts. They are currently at work on a novel manuscript and a poetry collection. Find them on Twitter/X @/ray__wise and catch them reading in Philadelphia for the Rose Books Reader launch on April 26th at Clown Bar.

This episode was requested by Andrey Vinogradov. Thank you for listening! If there's a program you'd like us to cover, feel free to reach out and we'll do our best to find a guest who can speak to their experiences.

In the meantime, you can catch this conversation between Ray and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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Snippets from our most recent episode with of the University of Illinois.
06/05/2025

Snippets from our most recent episode with of the University of Illinois.

NEW EPISODE. After writing poetry for nearly 50 years, Jude MacAllen Tatman enrolled in an MFA program. In this episode,...
06/05/2025

NEW EPISODE. After writing poetry for nearly 50 years, Jude MacAllen Tatman enrolled in an MFA program. In this episode, he sits down with Jared to discuss what it’s like to revisit poems he drafted in the 1980s along with crafting new work. Plus, he discusses writing about his life’s most consequential crossroads, treating writing like work, and finding faculty who make themselves available to students even in a low-residency program.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-jude-macallen-tatman

Jude MacAllen Tatman is a poet from Missouri who is in his final semester at the University of Nebraska Omaha’s low-residency program (). MacAllen has been writing poetry off and on for fifty years while also serving as a deckhand on towboats, playing semi-pro baseball in West Texas, delivering pizzas, waiting tables, owning a bar, working as an historian in Missouri State Parks’ Historic Preservation Program, and even once participating in an episode of Jeopardy. His poem, “Salvation,” was published in the literary journal Envy’s Sting, and his chapbook, "Echoes: Selected Poems & Stories 1984-2023," is now available.

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NEW EPISODE. Poets are known for considering form in their writing, but form is also critical in prose. In fact, for Tyl...
22/04/2025

NEW EPISODE. Poets are known for considering form in their writing, but form is also critical in prose. In fact, for Tyler R. Moore, form tells us the most about the story. “It’s the structure, scaffolding, bones, and architecture.” In this episode, Tyler tells Jared about approaching each story with a different structure, including his recent piece told exclusively through voicemails. Plus, Tyler discusses how being a q***r writer from a pseudo-rural Midwestern town shapes his work, finding community across genres and faculty in his MFA program, and what he has learned from his editorial experience at Ninth Letter, like the do’s and don’ts (mostly don’ts) of a cover letter.

https://www.jaredmccormack.com/mfawriters-tyler-moore

Tyler R. Moore is a fiction writer from Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin and is currently in his second year in the MFA program at the University of Illinois. He is the winner of the Hobart L. and Mary K. Peer Fiction Prize. He also holds the titles of current Associate Managing Editor and Associate Creative Non-fiction Editor for Ninth Letter. His work is published or forthcoming in Michigan Quarterly Review and elsewhere. Find him on Instagram and at his website, tylerrmoore.com.

This episode was requested by Alex Walsh. Thank you for listening, Alex! If there's a program you'd like us to cover, feel free to reach out and we'll do our best to find a guest who can speak to their experiences.

In the meantime, you can catch this conversation between Tyler and Jared on the latest episode of MFA Writers, available wherever you get podcasts.

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Excerpts from our most recent episode with Oli Peters of the University of Notre Dame
25/03/2025

Excerpts from our most recent episode with Oli Peters of the University of Notre Dame

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