I'm a student again, I read My Trade Is Mystery: Seven Meditations from a Life in Writing by the Carl Phillips this term, and I have some thoughts. You can read these thoughts at the Substack here. You can also read some excerpt below. Will My Trade Is Mystery change your life as it has mine? Totally.
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To start, I should note that I am now a very part-time student in Roosevelt University’s MFA in Creative Writing program. I’ve also just finished my second semester, and at this pace I may never finish. That said, I’m having a lot of fun and I’m reading numerous pieces of writing I may have never encountered otherwise. This includes My Trade Is Mystery: Seven Meditations from a Life in Writing by the Carl Phillips, which I’m sure I should have heard of, and hadn’t. It truly bowled me over, in part because Phillips is such a fine craftsperson and in part because he has so much to say about so many things I want to say—and he does so in a manner and eloquence I aspire to. I read My Trade Is Mystery for a Poetry Forms workshop I took this term, which was a true pleasure, and as part of my final portfolio, I had to write an essay about the class, including the thematic focus/obsession of our work, in which I focused on home, more specifically Binghamton, New York, circa the 1970s and 80s. I want to share that final essay here, though please note I also produced thirteen poems, which I will not share at this time, a decision I believe is for the best.