tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post7175839283063201322..comments2024-03-28T02:14:08.783-07:00Comments on THE MFA BLOG: Mailbag for Monday, March 31, 2008Tom Kealeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11913868167191023096noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-47860589803742407542008-04-11T23:11:00.000-07:002008-04-11T23:11:00.000-07:00Life circumstances right now are preventing me fro...Life circumstances right now are preventing me from packing up and moving to get my MFA and there is no program in my current city. Therefore, I am seriously considering Low Residency programs. However, I have a concern. I really want to write, but I also really want to teach. Do students who get Low Residency MFAs have an even harder time securing a professor job as traditional MFAs? I thought this might be the case because there are no teaching opportunities in a Low Residency program. Are there ways for low res. MFAs to give themselves an edge in the job hunt, such as mentoring underprivileged kids who want to write or even getting published? Your thoughts are appreciated!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032491668448610828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-21613751879584749042008-04-06T19:20:00.000-07:002008-04-06T19:20:00.000-07:00Murphy: I hope not, because I sent most of my samp...Murphy: I hope not, because I sent most of my samples in Palitino Linotype. I find it much easier to read.Pensive495https://www.blogger.com/profile/08405967097517904973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-70787705495343716152008-04-05T05:43:00.000-07:002008-04-05T05:43:00.000-07:00Now for something completely different... I've bee...Now for something completely different... I've been wondering about fonts after reading some posts on the Speakeasy. <BR/><BR/>Did I screw myself by sending all but one of my writing samples in 12pt Arial? Only one school actually required Times New Roman.<BR/><BR/>TNR is difficult for me to read, so I've preferred Arial for years. But now I'm reading that TNR is really the way to go and anything else stands out in a negative way. <BR/><BR/>What do you guys think? Is Arial somehow really distracting?Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13335101800175520824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-59120669490213358622008-04-04T19:04:00.000-07:002008-04-04T19:04:00.000-07:00Hello Miss J,For the university world, you should ...Hello Miss J,<BR/><BR/>For the university world, you should get the degree for the job you want -- a lit degree to teach lit, a creative writing degree to teach creative writing, etc. I'll talk about those first, then rhet/comp.<BR/><BR/>For both lit and crwr, the job market is very competitive, so schools can be choosy and go for the folks whose preparation fits their precise needs -- and at medium-to-large universities, at least, the areas are pretty well demarcated. A school needing a Victorianist will hire someone with a PhD in Victorian lit. If they need a creative writer, that's what they'll hire. In both cases, applicants will outnumber jobs.<BR/><BR/>For creative writing, here are some numbers to illustrate: Last year, there were 42 creative writing PhD programs in the country, and 131 creative writing MFA programs. That's 173 programs. Some graduate one or two people/year; most graduate considerably more. In 2006-2007, 167 TT creative writing jobs were listed in AWP. Not the best odds, especially given that many previous years' graduates will still be on the market.<BR/><BR/>Looking at similar figures for 2005-2006, <A HREF="http://www.awpwriter.org/careers/hahnscott01.htm" REL="nofollow">Kristin Hahn and Caren Scott write</A>: "Although 169 tenure-track creative writing jobs in 2005-06 represents a big increase in job opportunities as compared to the previous year, the number of job openings remains too few for the thousands of new graduates who have just earned advanced degrees in creative writing. <I>AWP estimates that, each year, 2,000 to 3,000 students earn advanced degrees in creative writing.</I>" Plus hundreds of grads from last year, the year before, etc.<BR/><BR/>I don't have literature track numbers handy, but it's a buyer's market there too (with the schools being the buyers).<BR/><BR/>So what about rhet/comp? Again, I don't know much about the smaller schools, but I can say pretty confidently that to get a TT R/C job in a larger university you'd need a R/C PhD. Yes, here are a *lot* of R/C jobs, especially compared to lit/crwr. However, there are more PhD grads in R/C each year, enough to mostly be meeting that need, and that means that the R/C jobs going to lit/crwr people are the post-docs, or the positions with a 4/4 or even 5/5 teaching load, or those in undesirable locations.<BR/><BR/>A lot comes down to what the degree says about your goals and your training. Just as lit and crwr programs don't see a R/C PhD as serious about lit or crwr, R/C programs don't get excited about applicants with lit degrees. In each case, the applicant has prepared for a different job.<BR/><BR/>When it comes to smaller schools -- college, and maybe smaller universities -- they do have flexibility to hire, and need for, generalists. If a four-year-college is your goal, you may do well with a crwr PhD and a secondary emphasis in a literary area. I don't know, though -- that's not my niche, and what I do know is anecdotal. You might want to identify some schools of the type where you'd want to teach and find out information about their recent TT hires: Who, when, with what degrees and from where and in what area(s)?<BR/><BR/>I hope this helps, and isn't too long-winded. I wish I had known a lot more about how the academy works back when I started the graduate school adventure -- but then, when I started it, I didn't know I was going to want an academic career. I just knew I wanted change, and time to write, and heaven knows I've gotten both!<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>SarahSarah & Orhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17575293822995582239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-59159444356661080892008-04-03T15:11:00.000-07:002008-04-03T15:11:00.000-07:00Thanks, Bolivia Red, that's heartening to hear!Thanks, Bolivia Red, that's heartening to hear!Maric Kramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12070525549703389003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-40870442103537573232008-04-03T14:41:00.000-07:002008-04-03T14:41:00.000-07:00miss j--We've had one MFA go on to do the PhD in R...miss j--<BR/>We've had one MFA go on to do the PhD in Rhet/Comp, and two others go on to do lit PhDs. It means probably an extra year or so more than doing just a straight lit or CW PhD, but it makes them completely marketable in both CW and Lit or Rhet/Comp. If you concentrated the lit courses for your MFA right, with the PhD in mind, you could probably get both degrees in the same amount of time it would take to do the regular PhD.<BR/><BR/>That said, most of the CW PhDs require a secondary field, so that would allow you to teach lit or rhet/comp at least at the undergrad level or in a non-R1 school. If you were smart and published some articles as well as some creative stuff, you'd have just about the same credentials as a plain old lit PhD.Bolivia Redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456888682134585210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-56735863253219414262008-04-03T13:25:00.000-07:002008-04-03T13:25:00.000-07:00Sarah-I'm curious about your insights into the aca...Sarah-<BR/><BR/>I'm curious about your insights into the academic lit/comp job market for folks who graduate with Creative Writing PhDs, or a PhD in English with a Creative Dissertation, which seems to be a slightly different creature.<BR/><BR/>A friend of mine says that I'll be a tough sell as a lit professor whether I do the CW PhD or the English/Creative Dissertation option, since universities base their employment decisions on the (critical) thesis. I have no desire to be a rockstar English professor/world-renowned theorist at a major university, but a job teaching literature and writing at a college (while still producing my own creative work) seems like it would be just my speed. Am I delusional to think I could teach literature and/or composition with a Creative Writing PhD?<BR/><BR/>Thanks in advance for any advice you (or anyone else here!) can provide!Maric Kramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12070525549703389003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-65702004789434900232008-04-03T13:02:00.000-07:002008-04-03T13:02:00.000-07:00m. douglas--Congrats and welcome!! You're going to...m. douglas--<BR/>Congrats and welcome!! You're going to be so happy!<BR/><BR/>The five days/week is not so bad (just keep thinking "Only 20 papers!"). It's only 50 minutes a day, after all. Two days a week are conference days with students, so you don't have any preps for those days. <BR/><BR/>email me directly (find my info on the CW webpage under students) and I'll give you the whole scoop. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.Bolivia Redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456888682134585210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-29182127057316446332008-04-03T12:33:00.000-07:002008-04-03T12:33:00.000-07:00Screwsan,Thanks so much for this advice! I'll def...Screwsan,<BR/><BR/>Thanks so much for this advice! I'll definitely take a look at the sites and programs you mentioned. (And the GRE Lit test! Didn't think about that one.) It's been hard to find info on the CW PhD since it does seem like the bastard child of the English department.Maric Kramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12070525549703389003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-9970916737878163462008-04-03T11:54:00.000-07:002008-04-03T11:54:00.000-07:00miss j,One more thing to consider: some schools as...miss j,<BR/>One more thing to consider: some schools ask that you take the GRE Lit exam. If you're applying to schools that ask for it, definitely take the time and study for this test. I didn't and bombed it and felt I couldn't apply to schools (like Missouri) that require it.Screwsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07151050620996337840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-51809893497767287732008-04-03T09:55:00.000-07:002008-04-03T09:55:00.000-07:00miss j,Location had a lot to do with where I appli...miss j,<BR/>Location had a lot to do with where I applied. I'm not the spring chicken I used to be and frankly, I didn't want to live in, for instance, Texas for 4-5 years. Nothing wrong with Texas, it's just not my cup o'. Same with Las Vegas. Um, actually, my list was quite short--I only applied to three programs (FSU, USC and Utah). Only now do I realize how foolhardy that was. I got lucky to get in anywhere as it seems these programs are even more competitive than I realized (I know this now from reading blogs and Speakeasy). <BR/><BR/>There's a list of CW PhD programs at Seth Abramson's blog (he did a ranking similar to the list he compiled for MFA programs). That's a great place to start. Once you have that list, just go to the school websites and start reading. Also, the Speakeasy message forum on Poets & Writers website has a board about PhD programs. It's under MFA Programs.<BR/><BR/>My sense is that it's a bit rare for programs to allow you to teach all different kinds of classes and not just comp. As far as I know, Houston and USC only let you teach comp. FSU and Utah let you teach comp, creative writing and potentially lit classes. <BR/><BR/>Because I was rather limited in my scope of schools (mostly because I didn't know what programs were out there--seriously, Seth's list was published after I'd sent my applications out and was like, "Damn, I didn't even know that program existed!"), so I can't tell you a whole lot about programs other than the few I applied to.<BR/><BR/>I will say that you don't necessarily need to have teaching experience (obvs: I don't) but they are, in essence, hiring you to teach for them, so speak as glowingly as you can about the opportunity to grow as a teacher. I think the USC app actually says, "give us 350 glowing words about teaching comp" or something to that effect. <BR/><BR/>Also, in re: critical work: FSU doesn't ask for any critical work. On the other hand, a friend of mine who now goes to Utah was wait-listed because the critical piece he sent in wasn't strong and he admitted to me that he hadn't really taken that part seriously.<BR/><BR/>In other words, it's not necessarily the same as the MFA app, which really boils down to the creative sample.<BR/><BR/>Hope this helps!Screwsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07151050620996337840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-86228746259959398832008-04-03T09:20:00.000-07:002008-04-03T09:20:00.000-07:00Screwsan:Do you have any advice for a potential CW...Screwsan:<BR/><BR/>Do you have any advice for a potential CW PhD applicant after your two years spent scraping the corners of the internet?<BR/><BR/>I put out MFA apps this year, but I've been rethinking my plans and am realizing that at the end of the day, I probably want to teach lit/comp/CW or some mixture of the three. But I don't even know where to begin looking for the right PhD programs to apply to. Any advice?Maric Kramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12070525549703389003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-57677668851510143182008-04-03T09:16:00.000-07:002008-04-03T09:16:00.000-07:00hi book nerd,i'm from south louisiana (new orleans...hi book nerd,<BR/><BR/>i'm from south louisiana (new orleans, and i attended college in baton rouge) and dated a guy from lake charles. it's got some pretty parts - although it's one of the major cities in LA, it's still medium rural. but there's also a lot of industry there, i believe, which kind of grosses me out. pretty much i wouldn't want to live in lake charles, but i'd probably find a comparable city in another state "charming" and it's just my "everything from my home state is worse than everywhere else" complex. e.g., i have heard good things about the mcneese program and i was surprised. what? there are good grad programs in louisiana? yeah, it's irrational, i know.<BR/><BR/>good luck with your decision!annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07538003682345627881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-7374606876910145032008-04-03T08:35:00.000-07:002008-04-03T08:35:00.000-07:00Bolivia Red,Thanks for the input! You're right abo...Bolivia Red,<BR/>Thanks for the input! You're right about writing time--try 2 hours per day if I'm lucky. Also--five days a week for one class! That's amazing. I'll bet it is fun though.Screwsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07151050620996337840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-2041034166355965482008-04-03T08:23:00.000-07:002008-04-03T08:23:00.000-07:00you are wonderful, lizzy. that comment made me fe...you are wonderful, lizzy. that comment made me feel a lot better. thank you.<BR/><BR/>one of the schools i'm considering is fsu (not the school i politely begged for money). if you're not too busy, i'd love to hear about your time there. my email is ksy979@gmail.comKSY979https://www.blogger.com/profile/13988997660753948767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-55414290201732817362008-04-03T08:11:00.000-07:002008-04-03T08:11:00.000-07:00bolivia red,I think I know what your school "B" is...bolivia red,<BR/><BR/>I think I know what your school "B" is (cause its the same midwestern school I will be attending this fall). In that case: 5 DAYS A WEEK???!?? I'm not sure I've ever heard of that. It is possible to teach that often, right?<BR/><BR/>M.MChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08813949155992507842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-44362201917439988302008-04-02T21:46:00.000-07:002008-04-02T21:46:00.000-07:00Hey, ksy,I would say don't feel anxious about havi...Hey, ksy,<BR/><BR/>I would say don't feel anxious about having sent that e-mail. I'm sure you'll be fine as long as you were polite. And if you're in a position of not being able to enroll if you don't get funding, it hurts nothing to lay your cards on the table, as TK suggests in that post. Wait and see what happens and let us know how it works out for you.Lizzyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01722516560885221073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-24124824252330109142008-04-02T14:52:00.000-07:002008-04-02T14:52:00.000-07:00screwsan,You want to go with School A if they give...screwsan,<BR/>You want to go with School A if they give you the opportunity to teach lit as well as comp and creative writing. That will make you much more marketable where ever you go. <BR/><BR/>Some thoughts about teaching two versus one class. I've done both. At the school where I had to teach two classes of frosh comp per semester, they had 25 students each, but the preps were exactly the same. That school dictated the book we used and the five papers the students were required to write, although we had a bit of say in the day-to-day lesson plans and topics of the papers. I didn't have to use a lot of time or brain cells coming up with original stuff. Those classes met three days/week for 50 min each. Also, I didn't have the opportunity to teach any other kinds of classes there.<BR/><BR/>At school B, I've only had to teach one class of composition per semester, 20 student cap, but the class meets 5 days per week. After the practicum semester, I've had complete control over the choice of book, the focus of the class, the kinds of assignments, and ultimately how many and what kinds of papers the students write. The extra two days in class suck, but it is so nice grading 20 papers instead of 50 papers. I do, however, spend a lot more time coming up with lessons, cool ideas for class projects, and such, so it's not *that much* less time than 2 classes, just more fun.<BR/><BR/>I've also had the opportunity to teach lit, advanced composition, and intro to creative writing at school B (I only availed myself of the last one, which I kick myself for now). The lit classes have more students, but only 24.<BR/><BR/>I would definitely choose option B given the choice, but option A still left me with plenty of time to get my own schoolwork and writing done.<BR/><BR/>If you've never taught before, teaching is going to take up a lot of time, but you get to set the hours outside of class time and you get to decide exactly how much to put into it. <BR/><BR/>And let's be real about how much writing time you really need. Most people are only good for a few hours of true writing time per day, maybe four hours max unless you're some wunderkind. If you need great swaths of time, you can do your class work and grading during the week and leave weekends for the writing, or you can figure out some daily or every other daily schedule that works to balance school and writing.Bolivia Redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456888682134585210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-80190555590126683752008-04-02T14:50:00.000-07:002008-04-02T14:50:00.000-07:00shannonr,I don't think it's a problem to use a dos...shannonr,<BR/><BR/>I don't think it's a problem to use a dossier service for rec letters--it's probably easier on your recommenders not to have to keep changing the salutation and filling out the different envelopes. The downside would be that the MFA programs are getting a generic letter that is not addressed to the individual program, let alone tailored for that school's interests (my recommenders personalised the letters where they knew someone at the school or knew something specific about the program). This may not be a huge negative, but it's something to consider.<BR/><BR/>As for services, if you Canadian school has a free or cheap service, by all means use that. The fact that the letters are flying in from Canada shouldn't be a problem. It wouldn't hurt you to use the AWP service. Student memberships are only $40, and would show a level of seriousness about writing that you're familiar with it (plus you get an excellent magazine and access to the joblist). I know there's an extra fee for the service, but it's probably comparable to any professional service you'll find in the world.Bolivia Redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456888682134585210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-53676189169559253702008-04-02T14:41:00.000-07:002008-04-02T14:41:00.000-07:00screwsan,You want to go with School A if they give...screwsan,<BR/>You want to go with School A if they give you the opportunity to teach lit as well as comp and creative writing. That will make you much more marketable where ever you go. <BR/><BR/>Some thoughts about teaching two versus one class. I've done both. At the school where I had to teach two classes of frosh comp per semester, they had 25 students each, but the preps were exactly the same. That school dictated the book we used and the five papers the students were required to write, although we had a bit of say in the day-to-day lesson plans and topics of the papers. I didn't have to use a lot of time or brain cells coming up with original stuff. Those classes met three days/week for 50 min each. Also, I didn't have the opportunity to teach any other kinds of classes there.<BR/><BR/>At school B, I've only had to teach one class of composition per semester, 20 student cap, but the class meets 5 days per week. After the practicum semester, I've had complete control over the choice of book, the focus of the class, the kinds of assignments, and ultimately how many and what kinds of papers the students write. The extra two days in class suck, but it is so nice grading 20 papers instead of 50 papers. I do, however, spend a lot more time coming up with lessons, cool ideas for class projects, and such, so it's not *that much* less time than 2 classes, just more fun.<BR/><BR/>I've also had the opportunity to teach lit, advanced composition, and intro to creative writing at school B (I only availed myself of the last one, which I kick myself for now). The lit classes have more students, but only 24.<BR/><BR/>I would definitely choose option B given the choice, but option A still left me with plenty of time to get my own schoolwork and writing done.<BR/><BR/>If you've never taught before, teaching is going to take up a lot of time, but you get to set the hours outside of class time and you get to decide exactly how much to put into it. <BR/><BR/>And let's be real about how much writing time you really need. Most people are only good for a few hours of true writing time per day, maybe four hours max unless you're some wunderkind. If you need great swaths of time, you can do your class work and grading during the week and leave weekends for the writing, or you can figure out some daily or every other daily schedule that works to balance school and writing.Bolivia Redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456888682134585210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-62254527851950388332008-04-02T14:26:00.000-07:002008-04-02T14:26:00.000-07:00Sarah,Thanks, I appreciate it! It's a difficult de...Sarah,<BR/>Thanks, I appreciate it! It's a difficult decision because there's not a ton of info out there about CW PhD programs. I know--I spent two years scraping the corners of the internet for info. I end up having to bother the MFA people on this website with my queries :)<BR/><BR/>Anybody in or graduated from a CW PhD program have definite opinions on teaching load while a student?<BR/><BR/>Thanks!Screwsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07151050620996337840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-25118567201747361272008-04-02T14:11:00.000-07:002008-04-02T14:11:00.000-07:00Screwsan,I mainly know about the other areas, but ...Screwsan,<BR/><BR/>I mainly know about the other areas, but <BR/><A HREF="http://www.awpwriter.org/careers/andrea01.htm" REL="nofollow">AWP suggests</A> that the creative writing job market is about publications, publications, publications. The article is from 2005, but (based on colleagues' recent experiences) I don't think there's been much change.<BR/><BR/>Also, the PhD in creative writing is still a bit of an odd duck in the academy as people try to figure out if the job candidate only needs to shine as a creative writer (a given), or *also* needs to shine in scholarly publications (since the PhD is considered a scholarly degree). From what I've heard, this can vary greatly depending on the school, on who does the searches, and on the composition of the faculty. (For example, a friend taught at a place where he was the only non-literature PhD, and he was held to lit crit standards even though he was hired as a rhet/comp person.)<BR/><BR/>I suspect this doesn't help much, but feel free to email me if you want to correspond directly.<BR/><BR/>Good luck deciding!<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>SarahSarah & Orhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17575293822995582239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-1158061644705422732008-04-02T13:54:00.000-07:002008-04-02T13:54:00.000-07:00Hello everyone, This is my first post to the mfa b...Hello everyone, <BR/>This is my first post to the mfa blog.<BR/>I was wondering what people's thoughts were on using a dossier service for recommendation letters. Do all MFA programs accept letters from dossier services? If so, could anyone recommend a dossier service other than the AWP one (which requires AWP membership) and those affiliated with particular universities? My alma mater has a dossier service, but is in Canada. <BR/>Thank you!ShannonRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04997532668893351347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-59896168782971128742008-04-02T13:33:00.001-07:002008-04-02T13:33:00.001-07:00*too**too*Screwsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07151050620996337840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15642985.post-25890333578588570162008-04-02T13:33:00.000-07:002008-04-02T13:33:00.000-07:00Hi Sarah,Thanks! I'm going to start a Creative Wri...Hi Sarah,<BR/>Thanks! I'm going to start a Creative Writing PhD and so would ideally teach CW (though at Program A I'd get to teach comp, CW, and lit). As for where I want to end up: anywhere I can land a job in this market, really. I'm more location focused than institution focused (now anyway, maybe that will change after I start the PhD). <BR/><BR/>Can you still help or are those answers to vague? :)Screwsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07151050620996337840noreply@blogger.com