TshirtDome

There was (I THINK) a possibility that UMass wouldn't be taking a new cohort in this year and then it was clear that they would be which I THINK means that they saw that they had the necessary funding to do so??? Like they went from 'maybe not' to 'ok, yes we can take em.' I'm very curious about your question too, as I am being totally speculative.

Got the reject status from Denver (phd poetry) just now. I do not feel like Michael Jordan right now. But Umass acceptance got me feeling totes safe from any real kind of bummer life. Still pinching myself. 1a/1r/9p

I love bushwick in brooklyn best! Cheaper apts, the J/Z/M and L trains are much more reliable, fast, and interesting to ride than other BK lines in my opinion, lots of really funny/quirky bars, cafes, and restaurants, and an interesting mixed demography. BK is where most of the cool indy pubs are located too (UDP, A Public Space, Litmus, and others), although they are mostly clustered around Gowanus/Park Slope, but those neighborhoods are kinda snooty and there are a lot of people pushing strollers. BUT there are more TREES there lol. And Prospect Park. Also great bookstores (greenlight, unnameable) with tons of little presses waiting to be discovered. Also Mcnally Jackson Books in Lower East Side is fuggin cool...

You'll be back, just fiending for all this information that is only speculative, unfulfilling, inconclusive gossip!

Everything I have read consistently says that your sample is far and away most important. Unless you both write the same, I doubt it matters. And if demography is a big enough deal that they'll throw a solid app out then meh sounds like dumb place anyway in my opinion.

Word, like you think tons of folks applied because fuck it I'm stuck at home, let's do this? I wondered myself about that and then also that maybe the pool is smaller because no one wants to start a program when social distancing bummers are still happening.

Just curious why you believe app pools are exceptionally large this year. Do you mean in general—poetry and fiction—or only fiction?

I get that this takes a particular kind of enterprising spirit (which is hard for many of us to find rn), but I decided to create my own dorky sort of self-driven syllabus with texts and a poetry project that I hope will be enough for a book eventually. It's been good to return my attention to the craft and remember that the professional ambitions that accompany writing are only mechanisms for supporting the work itself, namely to feel this whimsy world and translate those messages into sexy poems lol.

Anyone have any opinions about CUNY's Comparative Literature academics? The program looks sexy to me, I like most of the profs, the courses look good, etc. I have been offered a spot in their MA program and also a slot in (don't ask me how I found this school, but it looks surprisingly great) Kent University (not the one you've heard of, this one is in the UK). Why are European programs so brief? Is this bad? Also, I checked out comp lit program rankings on phds.org and CUNY ranks at 41 of all 46 programs in the US. YEESH! However, their data collection methods are mysterious and cryptic (for me at least). Perhaps these surveys are incapable of grasping the nuances that actually make a comparative literature program good? I hope so! I don't want to rack debt up on a program that will earn me a nice shart stain on my CV. Any opinions?

I am faring pretty unpleasantly as well. My soul hurts. This is all interesting. Curious what you thought of Kent's program? I like their website and faculty; do you know anything about their reputation? They seem to have a pretty high acceptance rate; I am curious if anyone knows why.