MFALongshot
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Posts posted by MFALongshot
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1 hour ago, mjm7668 said:
Thanks for the support y'all! I applied 16 places, but my top are Michener, New Writers Project, Purdue, UMass Amherst, and UNLV. Looks like Purdue started notifying today ?
Ah exciting. Hopefully you hear back sooner rather than later
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2 minutes ago, SarahBuya said:
I applied to the low-residency NYU in Paris program. I don't believe that's funded.
Thank you!
Ah got it. Sorry about that.
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1 hour ago, mjm7668 said:
Hey y'all, just found this forum! I'm applying to poetry MFA's and this is my second round. Last year I got waitlisted at Michener and NYU but didn't get in anywhere. I'm starting to get super discouraged now that the acceptances are going out, but I'm glad I found a thread of people who are in the same waiting boat.
where did you apply this time?
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49 minutes ago, SarahBuya said:
Hello!
I'm here to suffer with you.
I"m a fiction applicant who broke the cardinal rule and applied to a bunch of non-funded programs.
Unfortunately, I can't move for school and there is only one funded program nearby (ASU). Obviously that's my top choice, but I don't have a ton of hope that I'll get in.
I've been accepted to several programs but I'm still waiting to hear from several of my top choices (NYU, Emerson, University of British Columbia Vancouver, and Spalding).
Looking forward to rotting along side you all!
Here's to hoping you get that fully funded program. Also, it's possible to get fully funded at NYU. Here's to that as well.
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1 hour ago, litty said:
R.I.P.
Devastating that his little girl also passed.
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https://thebluenib.com/a-poor-imitation-american-dirt-and-misrepresentations-of-mexico/
This is a great article regarding American Dirt. It seems like she really missed the mark.
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1 hour ago, litty said:
These two articles were illuminating.
I'm sure academics are already turning this into case studies -- so many layers!
I won't touch the political or social aspects of this (ok, maybe lightly), but what I'm fascinated by, and I hope to see more writing about, is how the quality of the writing is perceived dependent on how the work is portrayed. Meaning, all the critiques of the book that looked at it through the lens of literary fiction considered it lacking and not a good book. All the critiques looking at it through the lens of commercial fiction considered it a fun page turner. Add to that mix that white critics generally praised it while Latinx critics panned it. So you have this weird dichotomy of a book written for a white commercial audience is marketed as an ethnic minority literary masterpiece. And here's the most mind-blowing aspect of it all. If this book was not co-signed and championed by a black woman with 'respected' literary tastes (Oprah), this entire controversy may not have happened. But since the aggrieved parties are the subject of the work and not the audience for the work, the truism may certainly hold: controversy sells. This book has an initial first print run of 500,000 copies. most highly anticipated novels top off on initial run at 20,000. The publisher of this book is the same one that published the Oscar winning 'The Help', which was also controversial. The studio that made that has the film rights for this. There's a clear blueprint and audience for these types of works.
Thanks for the information. I'm reading the articles now and understanding why my LatinX brothers and sisters are so upset.
31 minutes ago, Ydrl said:@litty thanks for the brief explanation. I wasn’t about to dive deep into this issue (which I’m sure would make me angry). I think the thing that stood out the most was the fact that Oprah endorsed it which for a lot of people makes it okay?
Let me put it this way. Let’s say that someone is minority 1 and the book they’re endorsing is a controversial representation of minority 2. Just because they’re both minorities, doesn’t mean they are in the exact same boat on every single issue that the majority don’t have to deal with. Oprah, and any one POC celebrity, isn’t the be all end all to let everyone know that something is or is not okay.
I’ll get back to this if anyone responds.
That's very true. Being a minority doesn't mean you're automatically open minded, empathetic etc. on every issue.
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1 hour ago, rbr542 said:
It's such a complex issue that's also fuzzy in nature. It isn't like movie casting a white actor in place of an Asian one for example., where the 'wrong' is so clearly defined. I was willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt, but then, I saw the barbed-wire centerpieces of their book launch party. That was super disgusting.
https://twitter.com/lesbrains/status/1219985319648301056
Holy smokes, I hadn't seen that (I deleted twitter). That's super messed up. Thanks for illuminating me.
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6 hours ago, Ydrl said:
I mean, poetry is ultimately what you get out of it. There can be a lot of confusing layers in a short poem (based on a lot of techniques) like “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams.
I enjoy all of those poets, but to really get the most out of poetry, I read pretty wide.
Billy Collins is a good introductory poet, he exemplifies what I like most about precise imagery and creative topics, two of the things that really make poetry so wonderful to me.
The things is, no matter who you ask, you’ll probably get the same answer of imagery, and then something different. Poetry can also be fiction or nonfiction, or have a hand in each pot.
What poetry isn't very good (subjective but I’m trying to encompass literary (as opposed to Instagram) poet opinions here): Always rhyming for no reason. A lot of things in poetry need a reason, the form is too short not to have a reason for most of the things you do (even line breaks). It’s also not just a thought broken up into a few lines without imagery or context to back it up (I’m not a fan of most instagram poetry for this reason, but let them do what they will).
Sorry for my ramble, I’m a poetry nerd with opinions. Thanks for listening!
Side note: I had a dream where I was accepted into Syracuse and I woke up ugly crying about it only to realize it didn’t actually happen.
Thanks for all of the information. I'll look up Billy Collins as well. And I hope that dream becomes a reality.
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5 hours ago, Ydrl said:
I’m also a poet. I’m somewhere between surrealism and commentary (not always political or social). Think of me as the incomprehensible person muttering to themselves and when you get closer the words oddly resonate with you. I like to think my writing is like that anyway. Sometimes creepy, sometimes depressing, sometimes oddly specific.
I just started reading poetry last year and I can't say I understand poetry per se, but I enjoy it and have tried my hand at writing it. My favorite poet so far is Terrance Hayes but I also enjoy Natasha Trethewey, Mary Karr, Ada Limon and many others. I guess I'm writing all of this to ask the poets out there, what makes a poem good in your eyes?
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2 hours ago, litty said:
Has anyone been following the American Dirt controversy?
#WritingMyLatinoNovel on twitter is hilarious!!
saw it before I decided to deactivate my twitter along with all other social media (except this and youtube). They were digging into that author. Haven't read her book so Idk how much of it is deserved but I feel like people enjoy mob mentality and pouncing in groups. Some places I saw constructive criticism though.
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2 hours ago, MFAhopeful57 said:
way too many places to confess (over a dozen), but I'm really excited about Gainesville and Stony Brook.
If I had the money, I'd probably have applied to 12+ as well. And hopefully you make it into your dream school
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10 hours ago, MFAhopeful57 said:
Hey y'all,
Just found this thread and wanted to wish everyone well. I'm starting to stress a bunch as we get closer to decisions and it's nice to see I'm not alone in that.
Good luck!
Where'd you apply (if I'm allowed to ask)?
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2 minutes ago, Ydrl said:
I really hope so too. On Friday night they’re getting snow for a long time which would push notifications back to February again.
lol. guess i can wait then
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1 hour ago, Ydrl said:
It seems that there was a wicked snowstorm last year that caused the results to be that late, they’re usually in late late January. And I really hope I get into a school with someone from gradcafe so I have someone to talk to.
oh that's awesome. I thought we would have to wait until February. Hopefully they alert people this week then.
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6 hours ago, Ydrl said:
I’m always scared I’m gonna see Syracuse acceptances without ever getting anything. I’m starting to think I really want to go to Syracuse (or Cornell).
based on last years results, syracuse should start sending their letters out mid february. If we both get in syracuse we can CELEBRATE!!!! Fiction odds are crazy low though. We'll see.
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btw there are more results posted in case anyone missed it
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42 minutes ago, Ydrl said:
Guys, I think I wanna do something crazy. I’m thinking of reading my writing sample. I know this will most likely hurt me, but it might help me to remember the things I like about my poetry. Thoughts?
Go for it. Try not to be too hard on yourself. If you feel you could do better, simply try to write something better. No pressure. Good luck.
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39 minutes ago, rbr542 said:
If I had to pick a category, I would say 'family.' I have always focussed less on the theme itself and picked what I felt comfortable writing about, what allowed for expression and experimentation rather than what's attractive or 'current,' which I do think a lot of litmags tend to publish regularly(litmags associated with MFA prpgrams.)
I think "family" is a very serious topic and is a world issue since it applies to nearly everyone on Earth. You shouldn't worry about your subject matter, it's great. I love family stuff.
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1 hour ago, rbr542 said:
Other than the 'regular' things that adcoms look for, that the writing is dynamic, displays raw talent, polished at a certain degree etc., Etc., I'm afraid that they might look for things that have 'high stakes'. You know? 'serious topics' that address the problems in the world in a certain way, which I know my writing doesn't do. ☹️
Would it be too intrusive to ask what kinds of themes your writing touches on?
24 minutes ago, Ydrl said:Maybe we shouldn’t worry if our writing says something or not. I don’t know if this is going to help any of us be any less worried.
Also I got a call from a 315 (Syracuse) number and was so excited only to find it a spam call. Fml.
That spam call story...lol. That's happened to me while job hunting.
2020 Applicants Forum
in Literary
Posted
Hopefully the places I applied to start soon. I'm excited to know.