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Tag Archives: mfa
july, illustrated
the view from my desk
Greetings from the first sunny day here in the office in my apartment! Our skylight was covered with garbage bags for much of the winter, but here in the advent of spring, the bags have been removed and the light pours in!
My biggest news is that this summer I’ll be starting at Lesley University for my MFA in Creative Nonfiction. After last year’s foray into the MFA application game, I was redeemed this year when I got into three out of four schools I applied to. It was a super tough decision, but in the end I was charmed by Lesley’s low residency format, interdisciplinary nature, and the good experiences my friend Jodi Sh Doff has had there so far.
Recently I pilfered the library for any and all books by the Nonfiction faculty there. (But not the Muriel Rukeyser. That was an impulse take out, or maybe wishful thinking?)
Today I learned that the YA anthology I’m in, Truth and Dare, is shipping from Amazon three weeks before it’s publication date. I’m tempted to tell everyone to just hold tight until it appears at your local indie bookstore, but I haven’t received a copy yet and so am throwing some cash at Amazon to get my hands on one.
Kirkus also gave this awesome review (the full review will be published when the book comes out):
Truth-telling can be dangerous, as anyone knows who’s traveled the angst-filled terrain of adolescence. With remarkably few exceptions, the short stories in this collection exemplify the best of the form, drawing readers immediately into the lives of characters who confront the hard truths of alienation, love, trauma and sex..
And fellow contributor Saundra Mitchell has made these hot bookmarks for the occasion.
Spring! You never looked so good.
on blogs, book reviews, and pie
another autumn, another busy season. here’s a short list of what i’ve been up to:
* i’ve started blogging for afterellen. lesbian pop culture coverage, be still my heart!
* my review of the dark novella cut away is up on lambda literary
* i’ve decided to throw my hat into the ring for just a few mfa programs (for those who are curious: rutgers, city college, iowa nfp, lesley, fairleigh dickinson.) let it be said that it is SO MUCH EASIER to apply to graduate school after the first go ’round. screw you, gres! take that, transcript hell! i could ask for letters of recommendation in my sleep!
* i’m taking the nanowrimo plunge this month. just to keep things interesting. please note that i have a) never written a novel and b) have so many other things to do this month. but thirty days and nights of literary abandon? count me in!
* the deep dish pumpkin pie is back at birdbath/city bakery. BRING. IT. ON.
Rejection
From McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: An Objective Look At My Seven Graduate School Rejections As Compared To Other Historic Rejections.
…yeah, that sounds about right.
spring
My first book review for the incredible Lambda Literary is up here.
Also, I haven’t forgotten you. Also, I’m moving. Also, I’m not going to grad school this year. Also, I love you.
xo,
c
the view from March
So here we are, the month of letters and e-mails, phone calls, thin envelopes, apologies, and congratulations. I’ve heard from six of my twelve schools: four rejections, one acceptance, and one waitlist. The acceptance, to the University of Memphis, was the first school I heard from (O happy day). While it’s a terrific up and coming program, they cannot offer funding (their usual eight to ten TAs have been slashed to just one) until perhaps the second semester, or the second year. Out of state tuition runs upward of $19,000. When I set out to apply to MFA programs, I knew one thing was sure: I could not pay for it. I’m still paying off my undergraduate; getting into debt for an MFA is just impractical.
The incredible part? I’m not really bummed. Sure, nobody likes to get a rejection letter; and, yes, if a school accepted me and could give full aid I’d most likely go. But there’s a giddy sense of relief in knowing that I’m not done with Brooklyn and Brooklyn is not done with me. I knew in applying to 12 schools that anything could happen: I could not get in anywhere; I could get in somewhere; I could get in somewhere and decide not to go. And, yeah, I have six more schools to hear from; if, say, Purdue or U of Florida called me tomorrow and said, ‘You’re in! Full funding!’ I’d most likely be scouring for boxes to pack up my room and planning on good bye parties. (Side note: most schools, I think, have sent out acceptances by now, and what I might hear is only a rejection or a waitlist. Even without visiting the MFA Blog (my hiatus suits me well) I’m still pretty sure).But otherwise, my current life–a happy gig, grand apartment, swell friends, bike rides, dreamy urban grit, freelance gigs, the center of the universe–is the best plan b anyone could ask for.
My thinking now has turned to what a writing life in Brooklyn will continue to look like, with more discipline (lord how I need more discipline), more craft, more finished stories. In an offhand Facebook post regarding another rejection, I joked about creating a makeshift MFA for myself here. Now it sounds like not a bad idea. The DIY MFA, as I’d like to call it, is probably not so hard to whip up: a rigorous writing schedule, a workshop group, peer readers and revisers, a reading list, book club, craft discussions (The Paris Review Book of Interviews alone could substitute as an MFA in craft studies), field trips to the dozens of literary events in the city, organized readings, zine publication, lit mag submissions.
It could work, couldn’t it?
I’m also obsessing about Where to get more writing done (it’s avoidance, I know; the desk doesn’t make me a writer, writing makes me a writer). A new Brooklyn endeavor called PowderKeg, a women’s writing space, is inviting (albeit out of my price range). I’ve heard of some good space swaps between creatives: using your friend’s desk and less distracting space while they use yours. And as far as sharing work, there are promising spaces cropping up on the internet, like Fictonaut, a community of high quality fiction and other writing.
I know that just five months ago I was completely embroiled in applications and my MFA fate. It seems far away now, less weighted, just something I did. A marathon (an expensive and risky marathon). And while it’s not completely over (I’m anticipating more thin rejection letters, which I read in the bathroom with my cat Professor when I get home from work, then add to a haphazard pile of papers below my desk), I’m committed to just keep plugging along, writing, opening the mailbox, then writing some more.
grad school redux
ok, ok, ok, ok, ok. those thirteen mfa programs i listed? i have some revisions.
i cut two: indiana, being slightly harder to get into than purdue, got nixed.
i was beginning to question my fit for u of houston’s prograqm (their foreign language rec, which u colorado also has, requires at least two years of college level foreign language. my two semester stint in Spanish wouldn’t seem to cut it.) of the two schools with language recs, u colorado has a more viable acceptance rate, so i’m keeping colorado, and cutting houston (fantasies of peeking in on nick flynn’s office hours can float away).
and at the prompting of one of my old writing professors, i revisited hunter college’s program (how could i not put at least one new york school on my list?) and am throwing my hat into their ring.
here we go again. the 12 programs i’m applying to are:
ut austin
syracuse
u minnesota
u alabama
u arkansas
unc wilmington
purdue
u colorado
u kansas
u florida
u memphis
hunter
there. settled. next week i’ll be delivering letter of recommendation materials to two of my gracious recommenders, and that will seal the deal. meanwhile: the gres are in one month (!) next week i’ll be requesting transcripts from my undergraduate and graduate programs (lest we forget that i already have a masters in urban education). statement of purpose drafts have already started dancing around my googledocs. and the writing sample? that hefty tipper of my mfa fate? i’m going against tom kealey’s advice and trying to crank out something new (i know, i know, i know, i know), while also revising some already polished pieces that i’m considering. i’m pretty sure october and november are going to be the craziest months of my life.
xo, c
crunch time
tomorrow is the first of september, and according to the brightly colored reminders that decorate my google calendar, that means: one month and three weeks until the GREs, and three months and one week until MFA applications are due.
it is crunch time.
it’s hard to look back at a summer and deem it either successful or unsuccessful in terms of accomplishing all that one needs to accomplish to feel fully prepared for this marathon application period. will i ever feel that my manuscript is perfectly up to snuff? can i ever guarantee that i am applying to the right mix of top tier and higher odds schools? is this the year every twenty-something queer memoirist from new york applies to mfa programs? is this going to be a waste of several hundred dollars? am i really, really, really, really, really a writer?
let’s not even try to answer these, save for the last one: i’m a writer. there, i said it. i still feel selfish, guilty, insane, grandiose when i say this. (this probably means i’m due back for some time with julia cameron). a writer writes, and to the best of my ability, while also sailing through these months with rock camp, dancing, brunches, shows, bike rides, ice cream, and a few sweet dates, i’ve written. i have about five finished first draft new stories, and about five half-finished first draft stories. i’ve also cobbled together a handful of blog posts and interviews for various publications. as far as my manuscript goes: i’m expected to submit two short stories (more or less). one of these stories will be the story i had published in the full spectrum. and the second story? i’m on the fence, and will be soliciting the advice/revisions/tough love of any and all writer friends who are willing and able in the next week or two.
as the reality of applying to mfa programs truly sinks on (i’m doing this! i’m really, truly doing this!), i need to take a long, hard look at the schools i’m applying to. i am 95% sure that these are the thirteen (omg, thirteen) places i want to apply to. part of me thinks i should whittle this list down to ten or twelve schools; part of me is also still taking everything seth ambramson says as bible (such as his recent answer to an inquiry about iowa’s non fiction program as being ‘top’ for non fiction) and alternately doubting/loving my choices.
for those who haven’t already heard my rationale: i’d like to apply to three year programs, so i can maximize my time to write/develop relationships with faculty. i’m most comfortable writing memoir/essays, so am mostly applying to non-fiction programs, but also would love to attend for fiction (and just take all those memoirs, change some names, places, times, and call it fiction, right?). i’m definitely in need of full funding (or at least decent funding)–but really, who isn’t?
these schools are the ones i’ve researched, read about, perused, and can see myself at. most of this info comes from the creative writing mfa handbook (thank you, tom kealey et al), but also is what i’ve gleaned from the school’s websites and other’s experiences. it very may well have false information here and there, so for the love of god, don’t quote me.
the hopeful thirteen choices:
1.) UT Austin (Austin, TX)
*3 year program; fiction (with a minor in screenwriting, play writing, or poetry)
*full funding ($25 grand stipend; no TAs)
*2% acceptance rate
2.) Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
*3 year program; fiction
*partial funding (some fellowships and TAs; prizes and awards for consideration)
*5% acceptance rate
3.) University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)
*3 year program (4th year optional); fiction (with memoir minor)
*full funding (TAs; some fellowships)
*less than 3% acceptance rate
4.) University of Houston (Houston, TX)
*3 year program; creative non-fiction
*partial funding (TAs; fellowships)
*acceptance rate N/A (although it’s more of a top tier school than not)
5.) Indiana University (Bloomington, IN)
*3 year program; fiction
*full funding
*less than 3% acceptance rate
6.) University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)
*3 year program; fiction
*full funding (fellowships)
*7.5% acceptance rate
7.) University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
*3 year program; non-fiction
*full funding (tuition waiver; fellowships; TAs)
*5% acceptance rate
8.) Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN)
*3 year program; fiction
*full funding (TAs)
*4% acceptance rate
9.) University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)
* 3 year program; fiction (with non-fiction courses available)
* full funding (tuition waiver; TAs; GAs)
* 4% acceptance rate
10.) UNC Wilimington (Wilmington, NC)
* 3 year program; creative non fiction (with cross genre requirements!)
* partial funding (no fellowships; 40% receive TAs)
* 8.4% acceptance rate
11.) University of Colorado (Boulder, CO)
* 3 year program; fiction (cross genres encouraged)
* partial funding (TAs; 70% receive funding)
* “higher odds” acceptance rate
12.) University of Memphis (Memphis, TN)
* 3 year program; non fiction (interdisciplinary program!)
* partial funding (TAs; GAs; some fellowships)
* “higher odds” acceptance rate
13.) University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS)
* 3 year program; non fiction
* partial funding (GAs; some awards for consideration)
* “higher odds” acceptance rate
i’m never quite sure who’s reading these haphazard blog posts (dear friends? strangers? the twitterverse? my mother?), but i’m here to ask your honest advice. about my choices, my research, my writing, my manuscript, my anything. just tell me. what do you think?
