shadygrove

Hi @Tazz are you able to take an online workshop between now and the application deadlines? You can always try that to get connected with someone who would be able to give a recommendation. I would also look at any local writing groups in your area. Other recommenders can be anyone from work that can attest to your character/ability to work with others. 

Howdy @shadygrove!! Welcome to the nerve party--
As someone who's spent half their life in the northeast and the other half in southeast Texas, I'll just say that the hesitancy to apply to a TX program is 100% understandable (I had some reserve on putting MCW on my list too). The dominant politika is gross and is felt in the cities, though less so in Austin; the roads don't make sense, and there are several other reasons for agita. But there are definite real havens, both literary and not, that are always eager to accept another person. Houston has an incredible nonprofit literary org (Inprint) that has hosted everyone, from Tokarczuk to Cartarescu to Erdrich to Ishiguro. I know Austin always has local readings/open mics dottling the calendar. If you want to, I'd be happy to go in further on MCW and Texas in general:^}
There's a really neat book by an Iowa prof which talks about the conception of the IWW and its history of stars, titled A Delicate Aggression, which I recommend. It goes over that bad blood atmosphere that has trailed the program, and how past and present directors have taken it down different paths. According to the book and most other accounts, Iowa seems like a much warmer and less toxic environment than what it was in the past, and its class size has lent itself towards students finding their people. The writers I've talked to who are recent Iowa alums have said the same thing, and that the professors really go out of their way to maintain a supportive atmosphere (what with the softball game and the potluck, but more importantly the workshops). I also think any poetry program with Kaveh Akbar in it will just naturally possess a more compassionate spirit.
Brown and UMich are amazing choices! I would also look at Notre Dame, less so for the school/location, and mostly for Joyelle McSweeney and her outrageously Swedish husband. Oregon's program has a powerful poetry lineup that's based in an affordable town catering towards grad students. UMass-Amherst's faculty is strong. I'd also give Denver's PhD a look: Jennifer Soong brings a really dynamic poetry which feels both forward and rooted.

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! 

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!