exvat

📣 "...in a specific way that appeals to MFAs." 📣

Ice cold 💀

Heard, felt, seen. After my first round of applications in 2017 (for aaaalll the wrong reasons), I just kept my nose to the grindstone and gave up the idea of an MFA altogether. Write more, and better. I collected increasingly "big" pub creds (esp for a "self-taught" writer). Eventually a top summer workshop—where my accomplished, insightful, trustworthy, and generous poetry workshop leader got me to again consider an MFA. Which I ignoooooreeeeeddddd. Until two years later, when others in my life (particularly at AWP) began encouraging me to apply. People with big credentials put their confidence in me under vaunted letterheads, saying they believed I could "Do The Thing™ at Lol University." So, here I am, at the tail end of round two, seven years apart, and sure of two things: 1. My writing is better than ever, and continuing to be, pretty much with every new poem. So I ain't stressing about poeting. I'm gonna keep doing the thing, and slaying at it. And, 2. Those folks with the fancy letterheads who know me, know my work, and went to bat for me aren't full of shit; so I can show them—and more importantly, myself—the respect of believing their highly sought professional opinions... which are quite favorable. It again ain't my year (98% of precincts reporting), and it doesn't feel great, especially given how sure my supporters seemed that I'd get something—anything. But also, I've learned a hell of a lot in the process, and feel way more confident in the outcome of a hypothetical third application cycle. Maybe that'll be another seven years. But at 47, who knows where I'll be? Or, for that matter, where MFA programs will be?

Wonderful perspective. Thank you for sharing!

Yowza. That... gives me pause... and kinda makes me reconsider my fit/tolerance for [certain] MFA cohorts. Especially as a middle aged survivor.

"What am I even doing here" — yup, pretty much sums up my second MFA app cycle. And, coincidentally, my life! 😂

Congratulations!!! 🎉 🙏

YES!!! Huge congrats and best of luck!!!

Don't know for sure, simply assuming for mental health convenience 😂

For my own NYU hopes, they're not dead for acceptance, but they're pretty dead for funding/attending

As my friend, whose postdoc applications are being steamrolled by this govt chaos, just texted me: "Lookit this one man ruining the lives of millions."

Yooooooo that's bizarre and completely understandable 😔😮‍💨

Wandering aimlessly and collecting adventures has pretty much been my life! Metaphorically speaking... Mostly. And will continue very literally once I get these final two rejections confirmed. Previously this looked like Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund — fucking around, then developing a skill/career, then imploding—which made me Interesting™, and fueled good poems, but left me deflated and confused and exhausted. (Although I did discover that manual labor is great for writing.) Now, I'm probably about to embark on another round of wandering and collecting, but with direction. Last year I really dove headlong into my Dharma practice, and would like to spend time studying and practicing at a monastery, so I'll do that for a bit. Then probably backpack around. Help my brother renovate his new house. Pick up work and finance my life how I can. Keep writing and reading. But unlike Goldmund, and the wandering me of past, I've got my shit together now, so I'm not worried about how this period will turn out, as long as I keep my wits about me.

Gimme my cake and let the band play, I wanna be done with this cycle 😂

This was so incredibly generous of you! Thank you for sharing with us!

Woohoo!! Congratulations!!

Congrats!!! On a roll!! 🎉🎉

Well, at 10:20 on this February 26, I felt my heart throw in the towel for this application cycle. The hope is gone. Not replaced by despair or negativity, cuz I'll be a-okay without grad school; but I can't attend without full funding, and my last two schools appear to be done with handing out big money, making possible acceptance moot. It's a liberating feeling, actually. My mind feels free to move about the cabin, so to speak, to get excited about other possibilities for the year/s. If my calendar isn't bound by starting school in Aug/Sep, then I can fill it how I like. Backpacking Europe? Spending time at a monastery? Helping my brother renovate his new house? I can do all of it and more—and still keep writing and publishing, as I have for the last 15 years. AKA keep being a writer.

Wishing everyone an acceptional Wednesday ✨

Last I heard, Sam Chang said she'd be calling ppl all week, but I'll let others confirm or refute that.

Looking at straight rejections here for the second cycle, unless NYU/Columbia bears out.

I haven't heard anything on here today about new acceptances, and I don't have a Facebook account to access Draft. "Waiting... Waiting... Waiting..." 🧘‍♂️

Alright, NYU/Columbia, let's make a deal. You're my last programs. Call me this week, regardless of decision. Gimme my life path. Acceptance? LET'S GO. Rejection? I'll thank you for the freedom ✨

Struck out on day one of NYU/Columbia poetry acceptances. Major congrats to those who got in—and at least one with funding!! Wishing the rest of us peace and phone calls...

Well, just did a long walking meditation labeling every sensation as just "seeing" or "hearing" or "feeling," and now it's just back to "waiting" like the SpongeBob coffee gif. Hit my digits, NY schools 😀