Vicarious MFA
Vicarious MFA: 3 classes & assignments.
The Vicarious MFA
School is in session! I got an email saying to go get “The Next American Essay” edited by John D’Agata and read a bunch of essays in it by Feb 2, when the Lethem masterclass starts. Hoorah. First classes for The First Book, Inheritance and Non/Fiction are after the jump….
The First Book: This class is being led by an FSG editor & author named Paul Elie, who seems so far to be a pretty smart guy. He once helped a very old Grace Paley ascend a set of stairs. He also wrote a book called “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” which is a borrowed title to a Flannery O’Connor story.
Discussed:
Writing your first book is both a literary problem and an existential problem.
Map of Misreading and The Anxiety of Influence, two books by Harold Bloom. The best works of art are “strong misreadings” of other works of art.
The act of creation is a high drama! Your influences are not always where you think they are!
Mystery of Manners by Flannery O’Connor
Assignment: Read The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. (I’m almost done with it. One sentence appraisal: Percy’s writing is similar to Yates, but more depressing and more entertaining because his characters are more believable.)
Inheritance: This is a graduate class in the Psychology Department and it seems to be insanely complicated. I understand that I might only understand 10% of what they are talking about. The Professor is Frances Champagne. What a name!
Discussed:
Some mechanisms of Inheritance are DNA, social habits, learned behaviors, language, etc.
Theories of Inheritance come from ideas of Evolution.
Jean-Baptiste Lamark 1744-1829: Early scientist interested in evolution. Proponent of the idea that our DNA changes based on environmental conditions, ie, Giraffes’ necks have grown longer over time because their food source grows high up.
August Weisman 1834-1914, Totally not digging Lamark’s idea about the giraffes. Thought that all inherited traits were transmitted via reproductive organs, which did not respond to enviromental factors. The Weisman barrier.
Pangenesis!
Assignment: Evolution in Four Dimensions by Eva Jablonka and Marion J Lamb. First 2 chapters.
Non/Fiction: Taught by the lovely Amy Benson, this class is about the blurring of the line between Fiction and Nonfiction and poetry.
First of all, go to Catherine Chalmers’s website and click “Play Safari Video” which is right under the picture of the snake.
Awesome. Great. Didn’t you love the part with the blue frogs? I loved that part, too.
Discussed:
Pamela & Shamela
Love Letters between a Noble-man and His Sister
Robinson Crusoe
What are the expectations of literature of our cultural moment and how can we bend them to our advantage?
Etc….
Assignment: “Shakers” by Daniel Orozco, “Werner” by Jo Ann Beard, “Essay on Where It’s From” by John D’Agata, and an excerpts from Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn and The Devil and the White City by Erik Larson
This is just a great idea for a series.
I like how that safari video makes you think of “insects going on adventures”.
Series as in: on HTML GIANT, if that wasn’t clear.
This is just a great idea for a series.
I like how that safari video makes you think of “insects going on adventures”.
Series as in: on HTML GIANT, if that wasn’t clear.
catherine, does your head feel like mush after classes? i only ask because my mfa is of the low-residency ilk, and when i finish a ten day residency it takes a couple months for me to make sense of all the information i was given during that period, i can’t imagine having to make sense of it in time for class the next day. that said, i look forward to following the progress of this series.
I agree. Please keep this going.
catherine, does your head feel like mush after classes? i only ask because my mfa is of the low-residency ilk, and when i finish a ten day residency it takes a couple months for me to make sense of all the information i was given during that period, i can’t imagine having to make sense of it in time for class the next day. that said, i look forward to following the progress of this series.
I agree. Please keep this going.
ryan,
I think the pace of New York keeps me going. Of course, some stuff doesn’t hit you until weeks or months later, and yes, mushy brains are common. There aren’t a lot of low-res mfa programs in nonfiction, so that route wasn’t really open to me. I bet it’s nice to really feel like you have plenty of time, but I know I would probably just waste it if I had it.
Where are you getting yours?
ryan,
I think the pace of New York keeps me going. Of course, some stuff doesn’t hit you until weeks or months later, and yes, mushy brains are common. There aren’t a lot of low-res mfa programs in nonfiction, so that route wasn’t really open to me. I bet it’s nice to really feel like you have plenty of time, but I know I would probably just waste it if I had it.
Where are you getting yours?
Also, it helps to be a workaholic.
Double also, andre, that safari video is truly awesome and everyone should watch it.
Also, it helps to be a workaholic.
Double also, andre, that safari video is truly awesome and everyone should watch it.
catherine,
i’m getting mine through Pacific University, outside of Portland. it’s where i got my undergrad and they happened to start the mfa during my time there, then suddenly the semester i started the program got mentioned in atlantic monthly and boomed. but i have noticed we are one of the few that offers nonfiction, which i think is too bad.
i like the low-res model, but i also realized i couldn’t be in a classroom on a daily basis anymore, so it fit for me. i don’t know that i feel like i have plenty of time, especially now doing my thesis and having to fit tons of work into every correspondence with my faculty advisor. but i could blather about this forever.
i’m glad you’re doing this series, i think mfa’s get a bad rap from some, and it’s nice to know there are others out there working their way through an mfa and actually talking about the experience.
catherine,
i’m getting mine through Pacific University, outside of Portland. it’s where i got my undergrad and they happened to start the mfa during my time there, then suddenly the semester i started the program got mentioned in atlantic monthly and boomed. but i have noticed we are one of the few that offers nonfiction, which i think is too bad.
i like the low-res model, but i also realized i couldn’t be in a classroom on a daily basis anymore, so it fit for me. i don’t know that i feel like i have plenty of time, especially now doing my thesis and having to fit tons of work into every correspondence with my faculty advisor. but i could blather about this forever.
i’m glad you’re doing this series, i think mfa’s get a bad rap from some, and it’s nice to know there are others out there working their way through an mfa and actually talking about the experience.
Catherine, this is SO great. It sounds like a bunch of awesome classes. I’m especially interested in the top one. I love Mystery & Manners. And let me know what the time-frame is for reading those 2 Bloom books. If I can swing it, I’d love to do a read-along.
Catherine, this is SO great. It sounds like a bunch of awesome classes. I’m especially interested in the top one. I love Mystery & Manners. And let me know what the time-frame is for reading those 2 Bloom books. If I can swing it, I’d love to do a read-along.
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City was a great read. Have fun.
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City was a great read. Have fun.
Great post. This MFA program looks good.
The way I heard the story though…Ms. Paley wanted to go hail a cab for a doctor’s appointment. Mr. Elie insisted she first accompany him from the lobby upstairs while he kvetched about not finding an agent.
Great post. This MFA program looks good.
The way I heard the story though…Ms. Paley wanted to go hail a cab for a doctor’s appointment. Mr. Elie insisted she first accompany him from the lobby upstairs while he kvetched about not finding an agent.
Well I ordered the Walker Percy book but I don’t think I’m going to be ready for next class. Can I get an extension?
The blue frogs were great but I think that was the only part of the video that broke form. My favorite part was when the fly got out of the flytrap and then got ate by the preying mantis. OMG that was so sad and gross.
Well I ordered the Walker Percy book but I don’t think I’m going to be ready for next class. Can I get an extension?
The blue frogs were great but I think that was the only part of the video that broke form. My favorite part was when the fly got out of the flytrap and then got ate by the preying mantis. OMG that was so sad and gross.
Actually, the 2 Bloom books aren’t on the syllabus. He just talked about their central ideas & how his book relates a lot to those books.
But you can/should read them anyway!
Actually, the 2 Bloom books aren’t on the syllabus. He just talked about their central ideas & how his book relates a lot to those books.
But you can/should read them anyway!