Carl phillips craft talk palm beach

Paul Tran: One of the many reasons I found the MFA program in writing at WashU so enchanting was the possibility of studying with faculty who not only came from similar circumstances, but who also transformed what they were given into the lives they have now.

Carl, can you tell us how you grew up, how you became a high school Latin teacher, and the ways those experiences shaped your early thinking as a poet?

Carl Phillips: In college, I was initially studying to be a veterinarian.

But I had promised my high school Latin teacher that I would take one Greek class, and that was the only course my freshman year that I enjoyed. So, when I broke into tears one evening over an organic chemistry problem set, I suddenly thought, why not do what you enjoy and worry about what you can do with it later.

My senior year, a professor suggested a new master’s program his friend had started for people who wanted to teach high school Latin.

It helped you get certified in a bunch of states