Mean
Mean Monday: Christy Call Talks Shit About(3) the MFA in Creative Writing (for personal reasons)
This conversation did no go as I ‘hoped’ it would. I wanted Christy to talk shit about people who talk shit about MFA programs, but instead she just talked shit about MFA programs. She is hard to control, I admit.
Enjoy, I guess:
me: what should we talk about next?Chris: hmmi dont know/me: mfa programs?poeple who make fun of mfa programs?Chris: that sounds goodor programs that pretend to be mfa programs but arentlike my programthat now has an mfa programme: ?oh rightthey faked you outChris: haha yafake out!me: fake out!now give us your moenyagainChris: lots of itme: all of it
The situation at her university is this: she is enrolled in an MA program in creative writing, but the university has just started an MFA program very recently. I believe the MA program is in the continuing education department or something and requires less credits in order to complete the degree.
So, what do people think? Comment on stuff or something: talk shit about the MFA or talk shit about the shit-talkers. Complain about how boring such a discussion really is. Post recipes. I don’t know. Don’t do anything.
What tattoos do people have?
Tags: MFA in creative writing, regret, shame, tattoos, uncontrollable siblings
is that POET tattoo real?
holy fuck.
is that POET tattoo real?
holy fuck.
i reall yhope so
i reall yhope so
oh, thats not your sis?
oh, thats not your sis?
oh no, just some image i foudn online.
ooops.
now i can see the possibility for confusion.
oh no, just some image i foudn online.
ooops.
now i can see the possibility for confusion.
thats funny.
cool pic nonetheless
hey, christy’s gonna let me use her “flowers” painting for the cover of the dogzplot 09 print issue. its pretty bad ass. im excited.
thats funny.
cool pic nonetheless
hey, christy’s gonna let me use her “flowers” painting for the cover of the dogzplot 09 print issue. its pretty bad ass. im excited.
so i heard. she is also very excited/honored/etc. im glad it owkred outfor everyone involved.
so i heard. she is also very excited/honored/etc. im glad it owkred outfor everyone involved.
for a second i thought it was boobs friday and got excited. we have had a dearth of bewbs.
for a second i thought it was boobs friday and got excited. we have had a dearth of bewbs.
that’s an awesome boobs friday pic, no?
I’m grateful for all my education. It is a privilege. I am grateful I got to go to high school, college and get an ma in creative writing. Does that mean all those experiences were one hundred percent great? No.
In grad school the good things were- focussing on writing, the ma part meant I had a heavy lit requirement, which was so great for me (my undergrad was in psych and anthropology) and I had great mentors/professors, who -half a century later(i’m exaggerating) are still in my life. I met other cool writers, some of whom I’m in touch with. I got good feedback. It was cheap and good and I focussed heavily on making writing a part of my life.
Here are the bad things: other dumb writers who say dumb shit to you. Yeah, you can brush it off, but man, it can also get under your skin. Hyper competitive writers who are similiar to the dumb ones – if you bring something noticably good in, they rip it to shreds with a personal venom. The somewhat practical uselessness of the degree unless you are fortunate to get a teaching job, which I was not. (thats a whole seperate post). Although, generally, all degrees are great. They are a real accomplishment. Even if I will probably never work in academia.
People who talk shit about MFAs? I don’t know those people. I guess I hear a squeak here and there, but I never paid any attention to that stuff. I do know many successful writers who don’t have an mfa, so clearly it is not necessary in anyway. But to mock someone for studying and dedicating themselves to what they care about? That’s just a part of being a human in this world- dealing with fools. It’s like dealing with any negativity and put down. MFAs and not necessary nor are they perfect.
I will say that when all the workshopping was done, I was relieved to not sit around in a room talking about my work with a bunch of people. I really, really needed a break from the workshop. Almost an endless break, frankly. You get to the point where you do what you do and that’s it. I did join a writers group a few years ago- friends sort of thing- and we got together once a month… I did that for two years or three. I stopped last spring I think. I do think we are our own best teachers in the long run and other people can actually ruin writers. I wrote a fiction about this once, about a very controlling writing teacher destroying his students…. Blablabla.
In fact, before I was in grad school, I took a bunch of workshops at this place….very culty. And I do think that the “guru” did not have the writers best interests in mind. It was fascinating- so that’s worth something right there.
I guess I could get in a rage about how certain programs– very specific few- do give someone an automatic in to the publishing world and not all of the writers seem worthy of that. But why put my energy there? It’s why I stopped reading the nytimes book review. Just makes me negative, so I try not to go there.
I have no tatttoos but I may get one. I like tatttoos.
that’s an awesome boobs friday pic, no?
I’m grateful for all my education. It is a privilege. I am grateful I got to go to high school, college and get an ma in creative writing. Does that mean all those experiences were one hundred percent great? No.
In grad school the good things were- focussing on writing, the ma part meant I had a heavy lit requirement, which was so great for me (my undergrad was in psych and anthropology) and I had great mentors/professors, who -half a century later(i’m exaggerating) are still in my life. I met other cool writers, some of whom I’m in touch with. I got good feedback. It was cheap and good and I focussed heavily on making writing a part of my life.
Here are the bad things: other dumb writers who say dumb shit to you. Yeah, you can brush it off, but man, it can also get under your skin. Hyper competitive writers who are similiar to the dumb ones – if you bring something noticably good in, they rip it to shreds with a personal venom. The somewhat practical uselessness of the degree unless you are fortunate to get a teaching job, which I was not. (thats a whole seperate post). Although, generally, all degrees are great. They are a real accomplishment. Even if I will probably never work in academia.
People who talk shit about MFAs? I don’t know those people. I guess I hear a squeak here and there, but I never paid any attention to that stuff. I do know many successful writers who don’t have an mfa, so clearly it is not necessary in anyway. But to mock someone for studying and dedicating themselves to what they care about? That’s just a part of being a human in this world- dealing with fools. It’s like dealing with any negativity and put down. MFAs and not necessary nor are they perfect.
I will say that when all the workshopping was done, I was relieved to not sit around in a room talking about my work with a bunch of people. I really, really needed a break from the workshop. Almost an endless break, frankly. You get to the point where you do what you do and that’s it. I did join a writers group a few years ago- friends sort of thing- and we got together once a month… I did that for two years or three. I stopped last spring I think. I do think we are our own best teachers in the long run and other people can actually ruin writers. I wrote a fiction about this once, about a very controlling writing teacher destroying his students…. Blablabla.
In fact, before I was in grad school, I took a bunch of workshops at this place….very culty. And I do think that the “guru” did not have the writers best interests in mind. It was fascinating- so that’s worth something right there.
I guess I could get in a rage about how certain programs– very specific few- do give someone an automatic in to the publishing world and not all of the writers seem worthy of that. But why put my energy there? It’s why I stopped reading the nytimes book review. Just makes me negative, so I try not to go there.
I have no tatttoos but I may get one. I like tatttoos.
bad teeth
bad teeth
pr:
we should get matching PR – BG tattoos on the bottoms of our left big toe. then nobody but us will know they are there and it will last forever………
pr:
we should get matching PR – BG tattoos on the bottoms of our left big toe. then nobody but us will know they are there and it will last forever………
Oh Barry..what a great idea….
Oh Barry..what a great idea….
should we just go old school and use needle and indian ink?
im gonna do it tonight. i’ll take a pic and post it.
should we just go old school and use needle and indian ink?
im gonna do it tonight. i’ll take a pic and post it.
you are the man.
you are the man.
i want a tattoo of gregory the terrible eater
i want a tattoo of gregory the terrible eater