“F--k it, I’m going to be a writer.” That’s what Shawn Shiflett, associate professor in the Fiction Writing Department, recalls telling himself while eating a Big Mac, two large fries and a soda at a McDonalds in the early 1970s after losing the chance to follow his other passion, baseball.Shiflett, who shared this memory on Feb. 28 with Columbia students, alumni and faculty, described himself as an average student w...
