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deparkison

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    PhD -Creative Writing, Poetry

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  1. The notion of approaching a certain text without presuppositions is, I think, a pretty hard one to defend. Personally, I'm a fan of traditional-style close reading, I just think what matters is the audience you're intending to share the reading with. There has developed, I'm sure, a sort of hierarchy that is organized something like this: Theorists--> Critics --> Creative Writers --> Reading Public (assuming we still have one). Most productive thinking comes out of the continuity between theorists and critics, and a similar continuity between Critics and writers. But, theorists and individual writers rarely have anything to say to each other, except to dismiss the various claims of the other, outright. I tend to think that close reading is the common denominator between the three academic groups, and is the one that should be focused on to intentionally bridge those otherwise chasm-like gaps. It's definitely frustrated me reading some theorists, seeing them cite a particular passage, and use like three words from the passage and then motor on... Why invoke the piece if you don't use it to it's fullest potential? Take the logic of the individual sentences to their end, etc... But I'm equally miffed when I see an author talk about the total irrelevance of theory. So much theory has explanatory power beyond an individual text that it can't simply be coincidence.... Anyhow, to the original question: I point them in the direction of the two articles I've seen in the Chronicle of Higher Education: one notes that humanities students are better critical thinkers and retain more information, and the other discusses the enhancement of an individuals empathy through exposure to creative writing and its various characters and manifestations. There are solid social reasons for the studies of the humanities. That's about it. I'm a little philistine.
  2. This is all good advice, thanks folks. My main focus is creative writing/poetry, and the blog is a videoblog organized between myself and some other poets. We have a sort of "roundtable" style discussion, where we each chime in on a predetermined subject having to do with poetry ("What's up with speculative poetry?" Or, "What is/was Modernism?" etc). I don't know if that makes anyone come more firmly down on the side of it's inclusion, but... there it is.
  3. So, I feel that my CV is a little skimpy, since I don't have many publications to my name. I was wondering, would it be valuable to add a Blog project I'm working on, that correlates directly to the work I want to do, to my CV? Or is that non-professional enough that it shouldn't be considered? Thoughts? Recommendations?
  4. When I encountered this, it was from Berkeley. I think that they really are (or are trying to give the appearance of being) interested in how your full past informs your work -- as opposed to your academic past. I've started thinking of the SOP as a place to propose a project I'd like to work on, suggest what in my work history makes this project intriguing to me, etc, and the personal statement or personal history as being the place for the narrative we probably wanted in our first draft of our SOP's: "Ever since third grade when I picked up an R.L. Stine book, I knew..." etc etc. That is only my assessment of this particular writing situation. But, if I were you I would separate the two types of content along those lines.
  5. Hey. So, I know we all have to do these things, and that they can be pretty stressful to produce. I'm wondering if anyone else would be interested in "setting up" an email exchange/workshop. Maybe based around schools or areas of interest? Is anyone interested, or has anyone seen anything else like this that I could join in with? My schools: Duke UC Berkeley U of Southern California University of Denver UC Davis Maybe: Florida State University of Houston... Interests: Poetry (composition, teaching), 20th Century poetry, Working class poetry, Critical Theory, Marxist Theory. Let me know if you're interested. I would want to do this over the next 1 to two weeks.
  6. Duke is my dream school. If I'm being honest with myself, I don't think I have the intellectual accumen to make it there... But, I'm definitely applying! Jameson takes up quite a bit of room on my book shelf. I'm going through The Prison-House of Language right now. I'm also really impressed by what I've read of Frank Lentricchia.
  7. Hello. I'm looking to apply to more schools this year than I did last year. I'm broadening my scope by quite a bit, not giving up, but hedging my bets on the possibility of being accepted to a poetry composition PhD program. What I'm wondering is whether or not anyone knows of a grad school (or, preferably, schools) that has a faculty whose research is mainly focused in Marxist literary theory. I know it's out of vogue right now, but it's what I like. I'm looking for departments whose research methods, research subjects, or interests are mainly Marxist. Any help you folks can give would be great!
  8. Sorry, I should have given a little more context. I received my MA through the University of Rochester. My final project, the "Masters Essay," was a small collection of poems, written under the advisement of the resident poet, James Longenbach. I've been seeking feedback but haven't heard anything from the schools I applied to... I'll continue searching on that front. I didn't know if, perhaps, there was a hard and fast rule about this, or something like graduate applicant decorum... I've felt really lost with all of this... I'm the first in my family to receive my MA, and the first in my wider family to try for a PhD. I come from a lower/middle class background, and really feel like I'm simply (thanks Donald Rummsfield...) not aware of things of which I am not aware... I'm not sure if that alters your perspectives on what my course of action should be... but I do think the fuller context will help you understand where I'm coming from. Thank you, folks, for the replies! I really appreciate it.
  9. So, I was rejected by the schools I applied to last year. I'm applying to PhD programs focused in creative writing. Should I write a new critical sample, along with a new creative sample? Should I display my amazing revision skills? Start from scratch? Any feedback/suggestions would be awesome. If not on this forum, perhaps through my email: deparkison@gmail.com
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