To me, a writer is someone who writes. The best thing to me is to read
eclectically, to go to readings, to have experiences, to live in the
world, to mix with all different types of people, to take some chances,
and to find some people and start a writing group. Or ask a writer you
respect to teach a class. I charge $40 a class, it's not that much.
Start your own thing. There used to be all these alternative schools,
the University of the Streets, the Brecht. There were these left-wing
places you could go and study outside of the structure of a university.
As we know, universities are becoming more and more corporate, and
universities themselves are gentrifiers. If you look at what NYU has
done to New York City, for example, it's been one of the worst
influences on the city. Now we are seeing universities that are selling
their brands to Abu Dhabi and repressive regimes in China. Universities are becoming more and more globalized, corporate entities. To rely on these people to determine the artwork or the cultural output of your own time is pretty dangerous. If they're asking you for something -- money -- don't give it to them.
