Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sophfronia Scott.
Sophfronia is a novelist and essayist whose work has appeared in Time, People, O: The Oprah Magazine, as well as many other outlets. Her first novel, All I Need to Get By, was nominated for best new author at the African American Literary Awards and Sophfronia was hailed by Henry Louis Gates Jr. as “one of the best writers of her generation.”
She is a prolific writer whose work spans both fiction and nonfiction, and her other books include Unforgivable Love, Love’s Long Line, and This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World, which she co-wrote with her son Tain. Her essays “The Legs On Which I Move” and “Why I Didn’t Go to the Firehouse” are listed in the Best American Essays series. Her next book is The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton, and is out now from Broadleaf Books.
The recipient of a 2020 Artist Fellowship Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, Sophfronia holds degrees from Harvard and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is currently director of Alma College’s MFA in Creative Writing, which is a low-residency grad program based in Alma, Michigan.
This interview is a little bit of a departure from our usual subject matter of authors talking about their latest books and instead Sophfronia and I will be doing a deep dive on MFA pedagogy. As you know, the DIY MFA philosophy is not anti-MFA, and we strive to complement what MFA programs are already doing quite well. And, of course, when I build new curriculum for DIY MFA, I draw from my own experiences as a MFA student, along with several other sources as well. I am beyond thrilled to have Sophfronia on the show to talk about writing, MFA programs, and a writer’s education.
In this episode Sophfronia and I discuss:
- How her background in journalism, ghostwriting, and her desire to coach other writers inspired her to pursue an MFA.
- What a low residency MFA program can prepare you for a full time career as a writer as well as the logistics and benefits of attending one.
- Why reading and building community are imperative to the DIY MFA experience as well as a writer’s life and growth.
Plus, their #1 tip for writers.
About Sophfronia Scott
Sophfronia Scott is a novelist, essayist, and leading contemplative thinker whose work has appeared in Time, People, O: The Oprah Magazine, and numerous other outlets. When her first novel, All I Need to Get By, was published, she was nominated for best new author at the African American Literary Awards and hailed by Henry Louis Gates Jr. as “one of the best writers of her generation.” Her other books include Unforgivable Love, Love’s Long Line, and This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World, co-written with her son Tain. Sophfronia’s essays “The Legs On Which I Move” and “Why I Didn’t Go to the Firehouse” are listed among the Notables in the Best American Essays series. Her next book, The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton, will be published in March 2021 from Broadleaf Books.
The recipient of a 2020 Artist Fellowship Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, Sophfronia holds degrees from Harvard and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is currently director of Alma College’s MFA in Creative Writing, a low-residency program based in Alma, Michigan but she lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut where she continues to fight a losing battle against the weeds in her flower beds.
Find out more about Sophfronia on her website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Goodreads.
The Seeker and the Monk
What if we truly belong to each other? What if we are all walking around shining like the sun?
Mystic, monk, and activist Thomas Merton asked those questions in the twentieth century. Writer Sophfronia Scott is asking them today.
In The Seeker and the Monk, Scott mines the extensive private journals of one of the most influential contemplative thinkers of the past for guidance on how to live in these fraught times.
As a Black woman who is not Catholic, Scott both learns from and pushes back against Merton, holding spirited, and intimate conversations on race, ambition, faith, activism, nature, prayer, friendship, and love. She asks: What is the connection between contemplation and action? Is there ever such a thing as a wrong answer to a spiritual question? How do we care about the brutality in the world while not becoming overwhelmed by it?
By engaging in this lively discourse, readers will gain a steady sense of how to dwell more deeply within–and even to love–this despairing and radiant world.
If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!
Link to Episode 351
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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!
