At around 55 – about 20 years ago – I went to Converse for an MFA in poetry. I wrote poems, then short stories, then a novel.

I took a job at Force Protection (now part of General Dynamics) writing training manuals for six to eight months. Then I decided to pursue the MFA seriously. My wife Mimi and I were fortunate – I could study full-time.

At Converse, I met Rod Smith, then editor of Shenandoah. After the two-year program, I worked with him individually as a poet and started getting published. At some point, I tried a short story; Rod said three-quarters of it was great, but I didn’t know how to finish.

I kept going to workshops – Kenyon, Sewanee, Bread Loaf. I met Lee K. Abbott at Kenyon; Stuart O’Nan at Writers in Paradise.