MFA Blog

Mailbag, Friday December 4, 2009

2009-12-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

How about a new mailbag for all your last minute, the-deadlines-are-upon-us questions!

I also wanted to draw your attention to this guide to personal-statement writing, drawn from the comments in the last mailbag.

Finally, I had an applicant contact me looking for information on playwriting MFAs - not a topic that seems to get discussed much around these parts. Does anyone know of any resources on this? Leave that info, and your other comments, below.

Click Happy

2009-11-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

There's a handy list of MFA related links if you click on "MFA Resource Database" over there: ==>

And I have also just compiled another set of links -- some funny, some scary, some just plain useful -- on the links page of my website.

Feel free to leave additional suggestions in the comments.

New Mailbag, Friday November 13, 2009

2009-11-13T06:57:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd start a new mailbag as it's close to the deadline for the first applications for many of you and I'm sure the questions are piling up.

You can hold off on lists of schools for now as that was part of Seth's research, which is on hiatus.

With Thanks

2009-11-09T07:21:00.000-08:00

I appreciate how supportive everyone's been over the past three years. I've decided to end my work on MFA programs. That means a number of things, including removing myself as an administrator (or having any special posting privileges whatsoever) for this blog. It's Tom's blog, in any case, and I know he'll continue to offer this blog as a service to all of you, so there shouldn't be any significant effect to this. I wish all of you the very best in the future. I apologize for the briefness of this message; I imagine anything I would have said I've said elsewhere here, or simply elsewhere, and better. I hope I've helped some of you, at least a little, over the years. And I hope I get to meet some of you in the months and years ahead. Be well everyone.

A Response to AWP

2009-10-30T21:06:00.001-07:00

The Suburban Ecstasies responds to the AWP's recent open letter here.

November Mailbag/Where Are You Applying?

2009-10-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

Anything goes, below. If you do happen to share your application list, please remember to mention your genre, too. And most importantly: Keep your spirits up! This tends to be a tough time for applicants; know that you're not alone, that things aren't as bad as they seem, and that you have the full support and best wishes of all of us who've already gone through the process. However you might be feeling right now, the reality is that with courage and perseverance you will reach the finish-line! Trite, I know, but I can say from experience that it's true. So screw the haters, hoist the black flag, and (as H.L. Mencken said) start slittin' throats.

Reaction to the Poets & Writers MFA Rankings

2009-10-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

Early reports suggest that by and large the rankings have been received extremely well, and seen for the probative starting-point they intend to be--however imperfect they are, and however much (particularly with the unscientific portion of the rankings comprised by the applicant poll) it will take years to continue refining the methodology for the project. As to that part of the rankings that constitute the first-ever hard-data funding ranking, selectivity ranking, and postgraduate ranking (and the handful of data-based assessments published also), there's been no criticism, and the consensus seems to be these will help applicants in the months and years ahead.

I want to thank all of you who've sent along words of support and encouragement to me in the past few days. As the P&W article says (several times), no ranking can or should claim to be a conclusive assessment of program quality, nor be a primary element in any applicant's matriculation determination--but I do hope these rankings can be one tool among many in a field where (for too long) critical admissions and funding information have been systematically withheld from the programs' most important and invested constituents: applicants.

[Poets & Writers rankings #1 to #52 can be found here, and #53 to #142 here; an excerpt from the methodology article is here].

Those interested in getting the programs' (much less circumspect than bloggers') reactions to the rankings can follow these links: Brooklyn College; George Mason University; Rutgers University at Newark; Southern Illinois University (2, 3); University of Wisconsin-Madison (2); University of Virginia (2, 3, 4, 5); University of Minnesota (scroll down); University of Oregon; University of North Carolina at Greensboro; University of North Carolina at Wilmington (2); Vanderbilt University; Indiana University; University of Iowa (2, 3, 4, 5, 6); University of Texas; University of Wyoming (scroll down); University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The rankings have also been covered by The New York Daily News & (among other online media) by Bookfox, The Rumpus (2), and Fiction Writers Review.

Best New American Voices 2010

2009-10-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

The VQR blog has a review of the Best New American Voice 2010 anthology, which came out recently. Best New American Voices, for those that don't know it, features work submitted by MFA programs and writing conferences across the country. It's a good way to check out the quality of work being produced by MFA students from various programs (though it's by no means the only indicator, of course).

The VQR blog post also mentions the "rumored demise" of the yearly anthology -- anyone know more about this?

Poets & Writers Releases Creative Writing MFA Rankings

2009-10-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

An abbreviated (free) version of the Poets & Writers rankings can be found here, and an abbreviated (free) version of the methodology article can be found here. See the print edition, or the e-book referenced below, for more.

Southern Connecticut State University MFA

2009-10-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

We're not sure when SCSU began offering the CW MFA. The first edition of TK's Handbook listed the M.A. and M.S. No MFA available back then. This particular institution now offers an MFA in poetry and fiction. This is good news for Connecticut applicants who don't want to move.

Where Are You Planning to Apply?

2009-10-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Post here to share your application lists! (And don't forget to mention your genre!).

October Mailbag

2009-09-22T13:15:00.001-07:00

Fire away. We're a week or so early, but hey, why not.

Announcing a New MFA Blog!

2009-09-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

[NB: The following note does not advertise a commercial service].

{For those looking to skip right to the link, you can find the new ALC MFA blog here}.

Chris Leslie-Hynan and I have decided to start up a new MFA blog to answer questions for applicants that are not covered by the for-fee services offered by Abramson Leslie Consulting. The new Abramson Leslie blog (link) is a free service for MFA applicants, and will be staffed by Chris, myself, and, as time goes on, a good portion of ALC's talented roster of poetry and fiction associates.

If you're wondering who Chris and I are, here's his bio and mine. I'm hoping that our particular backgrounds--my own, as one of the co-authors of The Creative Writing MFA Handbook, and author of the comprehensive MFA rankings forthcoming in November from Poets & Writers; and Chris's, as both a published writer, a recipient of the highest honors offered by the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and someone who actually read MFA applications for Iowa for two years(!)--will make this new blog one of the best MFA discussion boards around. We'll also feature polls, many spaces for current students to plug/discuss their programs, lists of MFA resources, news stories about MFAs (including insider looks at Iowa and news on Harvard's on-the-horizon MFA program), and of course regular Q&A posts.

Once again,you can find the Abramson Leslie blog here. And please vote in our first poll! While, as with every MFA discussion board, we'll be relying on you all to help one another out as well as offering advice and guidance ourselves, we're certain you'll find the answers you're looking for one way or another. And if you like the blog, please do spread the word. We feel it's high time someone created another centralized space for MFA discussions (right now there are still only a handful), and hopefully the ALC blog will serve that function and complement this blog nicely. Plus, this gives Chris and I a space in which we can continue to offer the sort of free advice we've been offering applicants privately for years.

September Mailbag

2009-09-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

Got milk--I mean, questions? How's your MFA application process going? Hit any road bumps? Get help here!

AWP Conference - Early Registration saves $

2009-08-30T12:27:00.001-07:00

This is a friendly reminder that early-bird registration for the AWP's annual conference starts September 1, 2009. Maybe, you're living on a fixed stipend (as an MFAer) or just pinching pennies. Either way, who doesn't want to save a little here and there in today's economic outlook? Happy writing and reading. There's still little time left to get back to the beach before summer ends.

Mailbag for August 18, 2009

2009-08-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

I think talking about resources for MFA applicants is important, but like everyone else I also don't want this blog to lose its focus. I know you all have questions for one another, and for moderators, so fire away.

MFA Resource Database

2009-08-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

As the number of websites devoted to MFA programs grows, I thought it would be a good idea to create a list of resources for MFA applicants and then post a link to this "database" in the right-hand sidebar of the blog. Please feel free to post in the comments thread below any resources not listed here, so that applicants can use this entire thread as a link-list. Make sure to indicate what type of website you're linking to, rather than just providing a link (i.e., try to say something about the link also). As time goes on I will continue amending the main post to include links that appear in the comment-thread.

MFA Rankings

The Suburban Ecstasies (Overall)
The Suburban Ecstasies (Funding)
The Suburban Ecstasies (Fiction)
The Suburban Ecstasies (Poetry)
The Suburban Ecstasies (Nonfiction)
The Suburban Ecstasies (CW PhDs)
The Suburban Ecstasies (Selectivity)
The Suburban Ecstasies (Genre Correlation)
The Suburban Ecstasies (Miscellaneous)
U.S. News & World Report (1996 Rankings) *

* NB (from Seth Abramson): The USNWR rankings are now widely considered obsolete, both because more than a third of the programs ranked at the time were not MFA programs (but rather M.A. or Ph.D. programs), and because thirteen years ago--when the faculty questionnaires which formed the entirety of the rankings were completed--many programs now extant (and widely respected) did not exist or had only just begun. Applicants rely on these rankings at their own risk, and they are provided here as a curiosity only. Please note that the website at this link wrongly cites a 2007 article in The Atlantic as providing MFA rankings; in fact (as indicated below) this article merely listed "some top programs" in several categories devised by Atlantic writer Edward Delaney.

MFA-Related Lists

The Atlantic (Some Top Programs)
The Suburban Ecstasies (All CW Phds)
The Suburban Ecstasies (All Application Response Dates)
Mira's List (Grants, Fellowships, and Residencies)

MFA Discussion Boards

Abramson Leslie Consulting (MFA/PhD Board)
Poets & Writers (MFA Board)
The Grad Cafe (Arts Board)
Live Journal: Who Got In (CW Board/2009)

MFA Consulting & Advice

Abramson Leslie Consulting [Advice]
Abramson Leslie Consulting [MFA Consulting/Portfolio Review]
Nancy Rawlinson [MFA Consulting/Portfolio Review]
The MFA Chronicles [Advice]
The Sackett Street Writers' Workshop [Workshop]

MFA Articles

Poets & Writers (On Funding)
Poets.org (On Teaching)
Google Knol (On History of Rankings)

MFA Blogs

MFA Confidential
The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog
The MFA Collective
The Practicing Writer

MFA Books *

The Creative Writing MFA Handbook
Portable MFA in Creative Writing
An Insider's Guide to Creative Writing

* NB (Seth Abramson): As a contributor to the first book on this list, I'm biased here. But I own a copy of the third book on the list as well, and (candidly) I would be absolutely floored if anyone preferred it to Tom Kealey's book. An Insider's Guide to Creative Writing is primarily just a list of programs with minimal additional content, in the same sense that The AWP Official Guide to Writing Programs (Link) is really just a directory of MFA programs. The Creative Writing MFA Handbook has rankings, essays, step-by-step instructions for applicants and new MFA students, and much, much more. In any case, I say this only because hundreds have said it before me: Tom Kealey's book should be the first (and likely only) MFA guide you buy, and it'd be a disservice to MFA Blog readers to imply anything else.

MFA Organizations *

Association of Writers & Writing Programs
The National MFA Association

* NB (Seth Abramson): I don't endorse either the AWP or NMFAA links, in the former case because some of the data available on the AWP website is either erroneous, outdated, or incomplete, and in the latter case because the organization is so new that its efficacy and indeed its legitimacy is still in doubt.

Mailbag for August 8, 2009

2009-08-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

Two things I'd like to highlight from the comments of the previous post: an observation that the general mailbags for this blog are not created with much regularity, and some questions about what kind of posts are most useful. So, in addition to all the usual general questions you might have, feel free to comment on those two issues below.

Mailbag for July 27, 2009

2009-07-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Today's mailbag comes equipped with enough room for your questions and concerns. Leave them here for everyone to ponder or answer. Summer rolls on.

Online Poetry-Writing Course at University of Iowa

2009-07-18T09:15:00.001-07:00

University of Iowa, in conjunction with the Iowa Writers' Workshop, will be offering this fall an intensive, graduate-level course for individuals with considerable experience in writing and reading poems. The course explores the tools and traditions of poetry, with the intention of increasing each student's own facility with poetic language. Lessons include reading and writing assignments that complement each other, providing insight into the issues that confront the poet, and strategies--both formal and imaginative--for dealing with these issues within a poem. This course requires a strong commitment to the study of writing poetry, and prior course experience in poetry writing or else a writing sample submitted to the course instructor, Dr. Jane Lewty.

As a graduate‐level course, a certain level of self‐motivation and familiarity with the basics of poetry writing on the part of each student is assumed. If a beginning poetry course is a bit like high school frog dissection, this is the course where we set out to understand that frog’s DNA. All frogs aside, any one of the lessons in this course could consume an individual for a lifetime. What is a line of poetry? What makes Shakespeare’s sonnets remarkable rather than formulaic? What do rhyme and rhythm do to us in our minds and bodies to make them persist? Likewise, how does a poem’s sensory data translate to an experience for the reader? How can a two‐dimensional page give us multi‐dimensional pleasure? Students in this course should plan to approach these questions not as scholars, but as writers, reading great poems with an eye and ear for what we can bring back to our own writing.

Please go here for additional course details, and here for information on how to access this Distance Education Course. The e-mail addresses for the UI Division of Continuing Education, if you have any general questions about application and enrollment, are:

credit-programs@uiowa.edu
credit-programs-register@uiowa.edu

The specific contact person for this course at the University of Iowa is Laura J. Sinn, who can be reached at laura-sinn@uiowa.edu.

About the Instructor

Jane Lewty received her M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and also holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Glasgow. She served as Postdoctoral Fellow in English at University College London between 2003-2005 and Assistant Professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa until 2007. She has been the recipient of a British Arts Council grant, an Iowa Arts Fellowship and the Ailene Barger Barnes Prize for Excellence in Poetry from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She is the co-editor of two academic essay collections, and has published widely in journals and anthologies.

Paying For The MFA: An New Approach

2009-07-14T05:33:00.000-07:00

25 year-old Denis wants to attend the MFA program at Hollins in the fall, but can't afford to go. Sound familiar? Denis's solution, though, is new. He decided to do some internet fundraising. He writes on his blog:

Instead of asking people to loan me money for school, I'm now asking them to simply give me money. To that extent, I've created a fundraising page on fundable, and if you can spare $10, please pledge towards my goal. Since I can't get a loan and there is no way my parents can pay my tuition, I'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers.

You can check out his fundraising site directly here. At time of writing, Denis only had $10 in contributions. Is this because his campaign is brand new (launched 7/13/09) or because there's a recession on, or because this idea simply isn't going to work?

There's also this article, over at Publisher's Weekly, about writer and blogger Deanna Zandt, who, after signing a deal for her first book that provided no advance, decided to "crowdfund" the money she needed to write over the summer. It helps that her topic is "...writing about the power of social media to shift perceptions and cultural values." She's been pretty successful so far, it seems - you can read her thoughts and feedback on the process (plus tips for others who are considering going the the same route) here.

What do you think? Are Denis and Deanna smart to try this approach? Is their initiative laudable? Do their requests for funds seem justified to you? And is this a sign of things to come?

Cross posted from Boolah.

Warren Adler Short Story Contest -- Deadline July 13th

2009-07-06T11:06:00.001-07:00

The Warren Adler Short Story Contest

Spring/Summer 2009 Contest Theme: Short Fiction in Varied Genres

Submit Your Stories Now!

The Warren Adler Short Story Contest is fast becoming the most prestigious online short story contest thanks to the extraordinary literary quality of our submissions. We are pleased to announce our next contest. The theme is simply short fiction in all of its varied genres. We are looking for original, imaginative pieces featuring compelling characters and creative plots. Whether you specialize in mainstream fiction, romance, horror, fantasy, science-fiction, satire, mystery, or any of their subcategories, we want to read your work.

Entries must not exceed 2,500 words. Stories from all the points of the globe will be considered provided that they are written in English. Mr. Adler will select which story will be awarded the Grand Prize of $1,000.

Although Mr. Adler will have already chosen the winner, the five finalists' stories will be posted on the Warren Adler website in July. The People's Choice winner will be determined by public voting.

Submissions will be accepted from April 13, 2009 to July 13, 2009. The entry fee is $15. Five cash prizes will be awarded.

1st Prize: $1000
People's Choice Prize $500
Remaining finalists receive $150 each

Authors retain worldwide publishing rights.

Contest Rules:

Contest is open for worldwide entries from April 13, 2009 until July 13, 2009
A $15 fee in advance is required for each story submission.
When you are ready to submit your story, make your payment below to proceed to the story submission form.
Each story can be no longer than 2,500 words and must be written in English and previously unpublished

To submit your story please visit www.warrenadler.com

Mailbag, June 18, 2009

2009-06-18T04:17:00.000-07:00

It's about time we opened up another general mailbag. Leave your questions, comments and concerns here.

New Yorker Article on Teaching Creative Writing

2009-06-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

This article came our way through a blog reader. Thank you Catherine. Passing it along.

Keeping in Touch

2009-06-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

Writing the words "keeping in touch" makes me think of my high schools days, printing that phrase (or its abbreviation K.I.T.) and some random anecdote, to my friends in the back of their yearbook.

In any case, I'd love for us all - current MFAers, past MFAers, those starting their research or reapplying to keep in touch via the world wide web.

So...post your Twitter names, Facebook names/profiles, here, if you want to keep up with all the creative folks online.

You can follow me: twitter.com/RainaL or friend me on Facebook: Raina Fields.