Muñoz Directs Arizona MFA
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21 POETS & WRITERSTRENDSQ & A
This fall Manuel Muñoz will become
the new director of the creative writing
program at the University of Arizona in
Tucson, succeeding writer Ander Mon-
son. Established in 1972, the fully funded
program recently switched to a three-year
model and offers degrees in poetry, fic-
tion, and creative nonfiction, as well as
opportunities to work with small presses,
literary journals, and arts organizations.
With more than ten years of experience
on the faculty, Muñoz has a clear vision
of how to create a collaborative and inclu-
sive community at the program, which
counts Francisco Cantú, Jos Charles,
Antonya Nelson, Alberto Ríos, Agha Sha-
hid Ali, Richard Siken, and David Foster
Wallace among its graduates. Muñoz re-
ceived an MFA in creative writing from
Cornell University and has published a
novel, What You See in the Dark (Algon-
quin Books, 2011), and two story collec-
tions. A few months before the start of
his position, Muñoz discussed his new
role and offered advice for prospective
students.What is an overlooked benefit of attend-
ing an MFA program?
Community connections—both within
a supportive program and in the larger
region in which it is situated—are cru-
cial to how we shape ourselves as art-
ists. Solitude at the desk is necessary,
but collaboration is just as essential.MFA programs have been criticized as
spaces that are not safe or helpful for
writers of color. How can programs cre-
ate spaces that honor diversity of race and
background?
In the past few years we’ve made strides
in speaking about these issues as a
program, rather than leaving it to theautonomy of the individual workshop.
That’s the major difference between my
MFA experience twenty years ago and
the expectations now. As someone who
is both queer and brown, I don’t know
if safe is a word I will ever be comfort-
able using, but inclusivity, empathetic
responsiveness, and deep engagement
are all goals that we aim for. Every year
a new cohort comes in, and it is our
responsibility to set the expectations
for the community we hope to create.
This is hard work. Yet creating—and
maintaining—spaces for all writers
can’t always fall on faculty of color or
queer professors or women. When it
does, the resources need to be there.
This year the directorship stipend was
cut in half, which puts a damper on the
pride of being one of the few writers
of color to lead an MFA program. As
more underrepresented groups enter
the academy and assume administrative
duties, university leadership will have
to honor their stated goals in diversity
hiring and retention efforts and commit
the resources. Budgetary restrictions
are real and dire at many universities,
that’s true. But so is the importance of
visibility when underrepresented writ-
ers see themselves reflected in leader-
ship roles and that those faculty are
respected by the institutions that ask
them to do this work.Why is full funding so important?
It alleviates some of the competitive-
ness or feelings of favoritism that can
distract from the work. More impor-
tant, it sends a strong message about a
university’s values regarding literary
activity and the place of writing, read-
ing, and thinking in our larger culture.
We need to fi nd way s to en s u re t hat st u-
dents are not crushed by the staggering
debt that is affecting this generation.Any advice for MFA applicants?
In their artistic statements, manyapplicants comment on the time they
ne e d t o w r it e. T h at i s c er t a i n l y v a lu able ,
but our best writers have been the ones
who can articulate how they are ready to
transform and grow once they get here,
rather than stick rigidly to their initial
understandings. –JESSICA KASHIWABARAPW.ORG
Read an expanded version of this
interview.