Decisions of a Poet
12/21/2004 02:05 a.m.
Since I've written, I attended the other MFA's poetry reading. I was blown away by P's poetry. I thought he was so blaze (blahzay) and sarcastic, then he pulls out this highly emotionally-charged stuff and it just stunned me.
I was so proud of my fellow MFA-ers. This semester that just ended last week was our last workshop together. Unfortunately, the beginning of the workshop sucked because our teacher was just horrible. She openly said in conferences that her tactic was to humiliate students in front of each other and that she was going to be the "bitch." Because we had to encounter them sometime.

Oh, I encounter plenty of that sort in daily life, thank you very much.

A hoard of us went and complained to the higher-ups and each told her what problems we had with the class.

It took a few weeks, but suddenly she seemed to be a different person. She had a sense of humor, she wasn't so mean and vindictive.... by the end of the class, I realized that I had learned a lot about form (namely, I need to start thinking about it more) and I would miss that class. Especially since it's the last official one we'll be in together.

Next semester, our last one, is when we focus on our theses - our books. Or "pile of best stuff."

I wrote about going to the Vermont Studio Center next June. I'm still excited, but I have to come up wtih $2500 by the end of May.

One of my instructors emailed me (we are very good friends besides this) and told me I was too talented not to get a full scholarship there and to try next year. Meanwhile, she said, I should go to a place such as Ragdale in Lake Forest, IL, where you'd pay $25 per day to do the same things. For 2 weeks that approximately $300-something dollars. Quite a difference...

But I dream about going to Vermont... it's the prestige... oh, I don't know. I don't want to turn down a good opportunity...


I am currently Blessed
I am listening to silence at work