Published Poetry In CV/SOP?

[GL551]

So I recently had some poetry published and I'm wondering whether it's worth mentioning in my CV or SOP. I did not get my degree in English and I'm only applying to grad programs in the social sciences. Given that: is it just a waste of space to mention something as arbitrary as a non-academic poetry publication?

Edited November 2, 2016 by GL551

[fuzzylogician]

No to the SOP, it's not relevant to your application and would be a waste of space that could be used to discuss your interests and fit. You could mention non-academic publications on your CV if you're proud of them, but you shouldn't expect it to help your application. 

[day_manderly]

I asked one of the professors I spoke with at my target school, and he told me to mention everything in a CV. I think it all boils down to organization of CV - mine has the section 'Skils and Interests' in the very end where I put my language skills, and my interests, which are competitive running (because it shows that I can be determined enough to run a half-marathon, and to train for a marathon), and creative writing (I stated the number of stories I've written, and the published ones, because it shows I have diverse interests). That being said, my CV starts with education, research experience, research interests, etc.

SoP - I would say definitely no, as it has nothing to do with you being a good researcher (even if writing poetry helps you relax after those long sessions of reading academic stuff, because so does shower ).

[glassleaves]

This is just the advice I got from my professors, so take it as you will, but I was urged to mention poetry publications & accolades in my SOPs for non-CW programs. There are reasons for this that may or may not apply to you:

1. I did a minor in creative writing, and for non-cw programs I'm applying to, I want to show that all those workshops weren't a waste of time.

2. My book was a finalist for a major award recognizable by people who are not in the poetry world.

I was told that mentioning publications will help show that you can treat your work seriously and professionally. 

I'd say it also depends where your poems were published - if you got into a journal like Tin House or Ploughshares or the Paris Review, etc, I think it's definitely worth mentioning. If you were published in an anonymous undergraduate student literary magazine, I wouldn't mention it. 

Edited November 4, 2016 by glassleaves
typo