Poet John Gallagher at his blog, Nothing to Say and Saying It, has posted two questions about MFA programs and solicited responses from MFA grads, in his post, The Top 20 MFA Research Q: What is it like there?
The questions Gallagher entertains are:
1. Is there an reigning, asserted aesthetic where you feel forced or seduced into writing in a “camp”? Is there a two-camp model being talked about, and do you feel you are being indoctrinated into one side or the other? What are your reading lists like? Who is ignored?
2. Is there talk of the “real world” in your MFA program? Is there conversation about this notion of the “professional artist”? How does the faculty talk about this? How do students talk about this?
So far he's had plenty of responses. So if you are interested (and judging from the number of "views" of my posts on DIY MFAs, many of you are), check it out.
3 comments:
Here, Michael Nye, managing editor of the Missouri Review, weighs in on the value of getting an MFA. His take is along the lines of my comment to your previous post on this topic...
http://www.missourireview.com/tmr-blog/2011/08/the-mfa-degree-a-bad-decision/
Hi Mari, thanks for this link. I've included it in a post of its own (on the theory that most people don't read the comments of posts) because it does a good job of summing up the problems and the plusses of the MFA degree, especially when the comment section is read.
Thanks for pointing it out to me.
You're welcome... : )
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