I teach one semester a year, and this year I’m just teaching one course during that semester, a writing workshop for older students in their late 20s and early 30s, people in our graduate program who are already working on a manuscript and trying to bring it to completion.

In this remark Wolff describes a deliberately limited teaching load focused on advanced, older graduate students who are already deep into book-length work. The emphasis is less on introductory instruction and more on mentorship: helping writers finish, revise, and shape a manuscript for publication. Implicitly, the quote also signals how Wolff balances his identity as a working writer with his role in academia—teaching selectively, in a workshop format, and prioritizing students who can benefit from high-level editorial attention. It reflects a pragmatic view of creative writing programs as places where completion and craft refinement are central goals, not merely inspiration or experimentation.