But what does he carry in his little black bag?

The scene is a third-grade classroom that smells of floor wax and sweaty boys. I'm the new girl with the funny name that starts with Z and exiles me to the bleak back corner of the room. I rarely speak but I write all the time, mostly sing-song verse rhyming "kittens" and "mittens." My teacher, Mrs. Davis, a firm but motherly sort with jewels on her glasses, a handkerchief stuffed up her sleeve, and white hair piled up in a bun on her head, stands beside my desk and wants to know why I'm not doing math problems, but I've finished my work and I'm writing a poem. Soon she takes me to the front of the class and makes me stand there while she reads my poem out loud to the class. My first brush with literary fame!

If Mrs. Davis ever asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I probably said "a poet" or "a writer," but I'm certain I never told anyone, "I want to be a Creative Writing Practitioner."

That's the phrase I heard this morning on a BBC radio interview with some expert in the art of letter-writing. I was driving at the time so I didn't catch his name but he was introduced as a "Creative Writing Practitioner" and he didn't deny it so it must be true.

But what is a Creative Writing Practitioner? "Practitioner" carries a therapeutic ring with medical or mental-health overtones, so perhaps a Creative Writing Practitioner is someone who uses creative writing to cure what ails you.

But no. Google "Creative Writing Practitioner" and you will find websites advertising typical Creative Writing Masters degree programs, such as one at the University of Wales: "This degree balances the study of English literature with the skills necessary to become an effective creative writing practitioner" equipped to pursue careers "from Scriptwriting, through Writing Fiction, to Poetry and Journalism." Nary a hint of any therapeutic purpose.

So how does a Creative Writing Practitioner differ from, for instance, a writer? Perhaps "Practitioner" is intended to distinguish the writer from those who call themselves writers without ever putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), and perhaps "Creative" distinguishes the writer from those who slam words into templates without ever engaging in creativity, but why would a genuine writer prefer to refer to himself as a "Creative Writing Practitioner" rather than a plain old writer?

When Mrs. Davis read my poem to the class, she gave me permission to think of myself as a potential writer, an aspiring writer, a writer in training, but it took years before I could refer to myself as a writer plain and simple. Again, a teacher led the way: I was talking to one of my college professors about wanting to be a writer and she said, "Wait a minute--you are a writer."

She was right but it took a tremendous act of faith for me to say it out loud.

I don't know what it takes to say "I am a Creative Writing Practitioner"--and at this rate, I'm unlikely to ever find out.