Graduation

I just got the official word today that I have finished my MFA degree with the University of Texas at El Paso. It has been at interesting process, and as with any worthy educational endeavor, it has changed my perspective as well as expanding my knowledge and skills. In many ways, it was similar to my experience in the MA program, in that the quality of the faculty far exceeded the reputation of the program (which ought to say something about the competitive nature of academic jobs in the humanities). Going through the process of writing my thesis, in particular, raised many questions about the effect of the "program" mentality on writing in general and why exactly writers feel the need to be validated in terms of educational credentials as well as publication. (Once you're writing a thesis, it feels too late to really ask such questions seriously; it seems just as easy to finish the degree.) But I am setting aside those questions for now and trying to enjoy the sense of accomplishment in finishing this degree, which is in one sense a "second master's" but in another sense an entirely different kind of degree -- a terminal degree that is perhaps supposed to signify that I am a much better writer than I am. But all writers -- or at least all writers of any worth -- are writers in progress, writers who are constantly working at their art and improving in complex ways. We have often seen the problems faced by famous writers once they accept their greatness; perhaps it is far better, artistically, to accept that one is always learning and striving toward greatness with the acute awareness of the elusiveness of this goal.