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debbielane2001

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    North Carolina
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    post master's degree

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  1. As an August 2011 graduate from the Bread Loaf School of English Master of Arts Program at Middlebury College and a current student in the Bread Loaf School of English Master of Letters Program, I would love to put in my own two cents worth. While many folks have good things to say about Bread Loaf, a graduate English program that has existed for nearly 100 years now, I feel that the program has not been accurately represented. Over the decades, Bread Loaf has succeeded in offering a graduate program that focuses primarily on English literature. There are courses in writing, digital technology, and drama as well. However, Bread Loaf is not an MFA program. The professors who teach at the four campuses are leaders in their fields and highly respected by their peers. I, for example, have had courses with Emma Smith at Oxford University in Oxford, England. If you want to know who she is, go check out her Shakespeare lectures posted on iTunes University under Oxford University. I had a class with Victor Luftig, a leading expert on Irish literature and poetry. Oh, the editor of The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, Jahan Ramazani, thanked Luftig in his forward to the most recent publication of the anthology for his invaluable editing help. Emily Bartels, the new director of the program, has a cutting edge book, Speaking of the Moor, from Alcazar to Othello, which focuses on the prejudice of being an "other" that was recently published. Paul Muldoon, the poetry editor of The New Yorker, teaches poetry classes there, too. Andrea Lunsford, who was instrumental in started writing centers, taught for many years at Bread Loaf. Robert Stepto, whose book, A Home Elsewhere, was on the NY Times bestseller list recently, teaches in Vermont every summer. In other words, Bread Loaf pulls the crème de la crème to teach in their graduate program, virtually creating an unrivaled brain trust. The classes are intense, mind expanding, and unlike any other academic experience I have ever had. The classes are not "just for English teachers," but for any scholar of literature. The classes are not just close readings, but do involve theory as well. Regarding Robert Frost, his Vermont cabin is indeed on the Bread Loaf campus. Robert Frost, who spoke often, was affiliated with Bread Loaf for more than forty years and held court in the barn frequently while there. Highly acclaimed authors come to the campuses every summer to speak and read. I just had the pleasure of spending an evening with Julia Alvarez, who often speaks at Bread Loaf. Other prestigious authors have spoken over the years, such as Tim O'Brien and John Ashbery, to name a couple. Off hand, one famous Bread Loaf alumni I can think of is Nancie Atwell, who is famous for her books about using writing workshops in the classroom. Bread Loaf alums have also contributed to their communities and to the world of education. For example, Lou Bernieri, who teaches at Phillips Academy in MA, runs the Andover Bread Loaf Summer program for teachers and students. His program has changed the lives of countless students through his dedication to using poetry as a motivator for at risk students, many from the Dominican Republic, in Andover, MA. He also uses student teachers, similar to what Gwendolyn Brooks did, to connect with these students and help them gain insight about what education can do for them. Now, what can Bread Loaf do for you? Sure, any MA program can open doors to a Ph.D. program if you have the right stuff; that's a given. However, my friends from Bread Loaf have been admitted into some of the most prestigious programs in the world. For example, one friend just completed an additional master of arts at Oxford University in England and is now working in the UK. Another student applied to Harvard University and recently finished an additional master of arts in music education. Right now, one on my classmates is packing to go to Oxford University as a Ph.D. student for several years. Other alums have been published multiple times, both scholarly and creative writing publications. Now, what about me? I am doing post master degree work, the Master of Letters, at Bread Loaf. I am also in the process of applying to multiple Ivy League Ph.D. programs, such as Emory, WashU, Duke, Columbia, and I might even apply to Oxford myself. I have recently finished writing my first novel and a Bread Loaf professor offered to edit it for me. I have been teaching English and creative writing for fifteen years now. I like to think I am an author and a scholar. Not bad for the first one in the family to graduate high school, go to college, and pursue even higher education. One milestone at a time! All I can really say is please give the program at Bread Loaf the attention it deserves. Two of my professors invited me to apply to their universities this summer, which means there might be some doors open for me soon. I do wish you all the luck! Go Bread Loaf! Yes, I am the penultimate cheerleader!
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