Coming Clean
Most writers have some kind of degree in something…..Creative Writing, English, Fine Arts, other subjects I can’t even name. As a self-taught writer, I have none of those things. The reasons I don’t are varied and, honestly, inconsequential to who I am now. Since I don’t have a formal education in subjects helpful (essential?) to writers, I’m constantly “discovering” writers, essayists, poets that everyone else has already read. For me, this is exciting because, at the age of 60-something, I am still learning. I often become aware of writerly things because of the online writer community, my community of writer friends. I am indebted to them. (You know who you are, tweeps.)
For a while, at first, I was very insecure about my lack of literary education. No, actually I wasn’t insecure for a few years because I was clueless about literary things. I was working, living my life, writing without a support system at all. When I began noticing people’s bio’s attached to published pieces I went through a period of insecurity. But I was being published myself regularly so I decided, What the hell? I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. If a litmag needs writers with degrees to accept a piece, it’s not the litmag for me. And that’s easy enough to figure out.
I was deep in the What the hell phase when I applied for Creative Nonfiction Editor at Citron Review. During the Zoom interview I told them up front that I didn’t have a degree, that I understood if that was an accomplishment they preferred their Editors possessed. I was assured it didn’t matter and, yep, they took me on. I’ve been with Citron for two years now and I can’t say enough about the welcoming, encouraging, supportive culture there.
And I just went on a jag here, huh. In my mind I was going to talk about the poem I wrote for NaPoWriMo today which was inspired by a Jane Hirshfield poem. Oh! That’s it. My point is that I only recently read and “discovered” her poetry and now I’m reading all her work I can find online. Do you see? I am learning and enjoying every day, all the time. What’s old to some is new to me. Fresh. Exciting. Inspiring.
Think I’ll stop now. Have a great week, y’all. Here’s a song dedicated to self-taught and late blooming writers.
History is replete with great writers without “degrees” or without degrees in “writing-related” fields.
I love this post, Charlotte. As someone with a graduate degree in English, I sincerely applaud your “lack” of a literary degree. While I was lucky to have a few supportive and encouraging professors, I also saw the flip side of the degree-seeking world: the favoritism showered on select students, the valuing of some genres to the exclusion of others. The flip side could and did make an insecure writer that much more insecure. I also had to spend an inordinate amount of time reading dead authors. The only contemporary writing I read was by my fellow students in class. In fact, despite my degrees, I feel like I’m now in the process of “discovering” writers new and wonderful to me. And I’m 65. It’s all about reading, reading widely and deeply. I don’t know if any literary degree provides that experience.