Hello and welcome to our final installment of Life After the MFA! Now that you have a plan for getting your writing career on track, finding publishing opportunities, and finding inspiration outside of an MFA program, you might turn your attention to literary citizenship. What exactly is literary citizenship? How do we go about practicing it? Why should we?

Defining Literary Citizenship

To define “literary citizenship,” we turn to Cathy Day, who teaches a course on the topic at Ball State University. On her website, she outlines her working principles of literary citizenship and argues that there are ways to be a part of a literary community beyond becoming a traditionally published author. Day writes:

Lately, I’ve started thinking that maybe the reason I teach creative writing isn’t just to create writers, but also to create a populace that cares about reading. There are many ways to lead a literary life, and I try to show my students simple ways that they can practice what I call “literary citizenship.” I wish more aspiring writers would contribute to, not just expect things from, that world they want so much to be a part of.

Practicing Literary Citizenship

There are many ways to practice literary citizenship, but if you’re looking for a place to start, we’ve highlighted a few practical steps you can take below.

1. Write Reviews

As Day points out, writing book reviews is an effective way to be a good literary citizen. She says, “Remember: no matter what happens to traditional publishing, readers will always need trusted filters to help them know what is worth paying attention to and what’s not. Become that trusted filter.”

Have you written a book review that needs a home? Check out Poets & Writers' database of book review outlets for guidance. Before submitting, research the publication so that you know whether it accepts unsolicited reviews or simultaneous submissions, what kind of reviews it typically publishes, and how to format particulars.

Emilia Philips gives us something else to consider before crafting a review. In "The Book Review in Review," published by Ploughshares, Philips questions our motivations for writing negative reviews in general, as well as the perspective from which we assess a book's merit. She says that whether a review is positive or negative, "reviewers cross the line when they make assumptions about a poet based on their work and/or when they make value judgments based exclusively on aesthetic, demographic, or other personal biases." In this important essay, she examines her own gaze as a reviewer and how her identity and experiences shape her response to a particular work.

2. Become a mentor

In our last installment, we discussed how to locate mentorship outside of academia and how recent creative writing graduates may want to consider passing on their own accrued wisdom to beginning writers. We might call the mentoring of another writer an act of literary citizenship. Remember, you can find these opportunities through programs like the Summer Mentorship Program run by The Adroit Journal or the Bridge, run by Brooklyn Poets.

3. Volunteer

Volunteering for a local organization is a great way to practice literary citizenship and give back to the community. For a list of places to volunteer year-round, check out AWP’s #WritersServe Opportunities page.

4. Engage in literary activism

One organization you might turn to is PEN America, which focuses on protecting free expression and “standing at the intersection of literature and human rights.” In “Freedom to Write? Our Obligation to Protect Expression” from the AWP podcast series, a panel of writers and representatives of PEN America ask and answer questions such as “Are writers being silenced around the world?" "Are our first amendment freedoms at risk here at home?" "How do current affairs affect the rights of writers to practice their craft?" and "What is the role of self-censorship in a culture of real or imagined threats to freedom of expression?” Listen to the podcast, and then find tangible steps you can take to support PEN America’s mission on the “Take Action” page of their website.

5. Create new opportunities

Even with all the wonderful organizations that exist for writers, you might still find gaps that need to be filled. In "Kurt Brown and What You Can Do for Poetry,” available at The Writer’s Chronicle’s Features Archive, David J. Rothman examines the impact Kurt Brown had on Rothman as a mentor; on the world of poetry as a poet, an organizer, and a critic; and on the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, as he compiled the first list of writers' conferences and centers, leading to a new department for AWP. Rothman's reflection is an inspiring read, recognizing how Brown "saw a need that no one had met, and he set out to meet it, because it would help our art and because it would help others make it and keep it vibrant."

Final Thoughts

We will leave you, for the last time, with wise words from Wendy J. Fox, who, in “Literary Citizenship: How to Handle Rejection and Nurture Emerging Voices,” published in The Millions, argues that one way established writers can be good literary citizens is to be open about their own experiences with rejection and endurance:

Perhaps the most transparent thing to say to emerging writers is to be open. Listen to the overworked editors who have taken time to offer a sentence or two of feedback—yours is one of hundreds if not thousands of submissions; it’s a big deal to get even nominal comments. And listen if you keep getting the same kind of observations; I definitely did not rewrite my first novel so that the protagonist was male instead of female, but I did rework it, several times, and while the main character isn’t more 'likable,' it’s absolutely a better book for this effort.

You don’t have to get numb to rejection, and you don’t have to accept that it’s always going to be the default response. You should certainly never feel ashamed by it.

If you believe in your work and you push yourself to make it better, if you’ve researched your markets, if you are an active reader, if you are paying attention to what editors ask for, your work will find a home. Maybe you’ll have to endure the one hundred rejections scenario, but I really hope not.

When you do get there, shout your wins, but don’t forget to be transparent—for instance, this essay has been through eleven drafts, and I’m still not sure it’s quite right—and loud enough in sharing your failures so that emerging voices can hear you.

That's a wrap on the Life After the MFA series! Be sure to bookmark any of these installments or resources that you might like to return to as you continue your post-MFA journey. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you can stay in the loop for all things AWP, and find out about exciting new opportunities for writers.

We wish you the best of luck and good fortune throughout your continuing writing journey!

Warm Wishes,

Your Membership Team