Friends, the University of Wyoming has proposed eliminating our wonderful MFA program. This is the same program that has been home to writers like Joy Williams, Brad Watson, Alyson Hagy & @ninawyo, and produced writers like @KaliMaFaja, Caleb Johnson & @adrianshirk.

MFAs are different for everyone, but I can confidently say that without the Wyoming MFA, I would not be the writer I am today. Those of you who have read my column for @Catapult know this. I certainly wouldn't have been able to start writing my novel (or believe that I could).

Our program is small, fully-funded, and encourages experimentation & exploration. It's set against the Snowy Range mountains and fights on in a state that people forget exists. We were and are a small band of writers creating in the most unlikely of places. Call it magic.

I went to Wyoming because I needed time & space to write. I wanted to look at the mountains. I wanted the extreme cold to shock me awake. And it did all that, and more. This MFA wasn't just a 2-year ordeal for me, it was an entire experience.

I think every writer deserves the chance to have that. To experience the magic for themselves - in a way that's financially supported, intimate, and filled with faculty who care not just about your writing, but also your wellbeing.

I don't think the Board expected that we would have so many allies, but I guess that's what happens when you threaten art! If you could, please sign this petition to help keep the program alive: https://www.change.org/p/university-of-wyoming-save-the-uwyo-mfa-in-creative-writing