shadygrove

I'm in a similar situation—four years graduated, and I only had two poetry professors in my undergrad, one my final year and one my first. I've already been trying to connect with my most previous poetry prof, but he's super aloof. I'm gonna visit his office hours as a last-ditch effort and hope I'm not annoying him. I just sent an email to my first one, too. I do think that (in general) professors can be difficult to get a hold of and that (in general) they enjoy hearing from former students. I've heard some say they consider writing recommendations solidly a part of their job. So even though it's been a number of years, I would reach out to some former professors you feel understood your work, because you never know! Definitely mention in the email that you're game to have a conversation about how your work has developed, how their instruction helped you, etc. so they can refresh their memory on you and your writing. Apart from that, I'd also love to more advice 👀 I think Leeannitha shared some good tactics that I may try myself! ETA: I got my degree in the US, so I'm not sure exactly how different it is from the UK in terms of prof/student relations, but I'll also say I feel like I'm particularly bad at forging mentorships with people and keeping in touch, so maybe that evens things out

Thank you so much! I appreciate the honest opinion. I think it'd be too tough for me to exist in Texas haha, so I guess I'll count out MCW. The stress of grad school on top of that environmental stress would be difficult. Ideally I'll end up either in New England (where my folks are) or in Iowa. I'm trying not to get too hung up on location—Notre Dame is one of the programs I'm considering, along with John Hopkins; both faculties look great, and John Hopkins offers a pretty sweet fellowship on graduation. I think you're right about IWW! I had a conversation with an old friend who graduated from there a year or two ago — though she went for nonfiction, she said she had a great time with her cohort and that it's worth any drama/competition that might arise. My friend really emphasized how useful the prestige is, as she's about to start a full tenure track position after teaching abroad for a year. It also sounds like the program is large enough that you'll be able to find a couple cool people regardless of genre. I'm glad I did a little digging. I keep hearing great things about Oregon! Too bad I'm living in the PNW currently and a bit sick of the climate... but I'll have to look into it more earnestly nonetheless :—) Thanks again! V glad to have found this forum!

Hello all! I'm so glad to have discovered this forum! What a comfort to have some community in this process :^) I'm sweaty shaky nervous at the prospect of sending applications out — it's my first year applying to any MFAs (have half a MA in teaching lol) and it's been my dream since I was little. I want to write poetry all day, every day. So far I know I'll be applying to John Hopkins, Brown, U of Arizona, and U of Michigan. I'm also considering Cornell, IWW, the Michener Center, and U of Illinois Urbana-Champagne. I'm skeptical of living in Texas, honestly, which is why I may not apply to the Michener MFA. But I've also heard that the cohorts of IWW are terribly competitive and that it isn't necessarily a supportive environment — has anyone heard differently/similarly? I don't want to count out an excellent school based on rumor. Also, if anyone has recommendations for any other fully funded programs for poetry that emphasize formal experimentation or have faculty who do so, please let me know!