How can I prepare for a tenure-track job (or even a visiting professorship) that really does let me teach cw?
The first answer: publish.Creative writing is wickedly competitive. Youve really got to get your work out there and its very hard to be a viable job candidate without major publications (a book or lots of stuff in journals). Its not all that unusual to hear about someone getting a great job w/o an MFA or teaching experience (for example, poet Bob Hickok at Virginia Tech). Its very unusual to hear about someone getting a tenure-track job w/o publications. So, get your work out there.Do readings (at this point, think bookstores and coffeehouses). Think about chapbook contests if youre not ready for book contests. Find ways to teach cw even if youre not doing so full-time: offer a community workshop, teach in summer programs (especially those for high school writers), apply for a state arts grant that includes writer-in-the-schools work.
