As I mentioned before, I'm in an MFA program in writing popular fiction at the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine in Freeport. Most of the students are from New England. It's a "low-residency" program, meaning we do most of the work remotely, and only have to go to Maine twice a year for about ten days each time.

For one of my workshops, I submitted a moose-hunting story. I expected to have to defend hunting when it came time for critiques.

To my surprise, my story was received well. No one bashed hunting or guns. The students and instructor were all interested in the details of hunting and butchering a moose.

This experience doesn't show that East-Coasters are in favor of hunting, but only that writers are more concerned with craft than politics.

Jim

Very nice.

They say that about 80 % of the people are neutral on hunting.

Well you must have had a good audience! And some good writing skills.

There is lots of moose hunting in Maine. New England was not always full of the liberal urbanites the coasts are so well known for. Remember the American Revolution began in Mass. The liberal urbanite mindset is a disease that has spread from Boston and New York City but it has not quite fully infected the northern areas of Maine, NH, and Vermont as yet.

Boston wouldn't be recognizable by the men who drafted our constitution.

Well, the workshop members were from Maine, Vermont, NH, New York City, MA.

Oh, and one from Seattle.

Jim