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havana5am

Feb 14, 2009, 1:57 PM

Post #1876 of 2528 (6562 views)
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Re: [pongo] Applying late [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks. I guess it's too late to worry anyway.

"Let them think what they liked, but I didn't mean to drown myself. I meant to swim till I sank - but that's not the same thing." -- Joseph Conrad

havana5am

Feb 14, 2009, 6:11 PM

Post #1877 of 2528 (6523 views)
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Re: [Roxaboxen2] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

The last straw was the one-on-one meeting with faculty. I watched students shuffle out after only five or ten minutes of the allotted thirty! During my own, I tried to chat about my serious career goals, and was then informed: “You should write essays, not poems. What you’re trying to do goes against the nature of the art. Maybe you should go to journalism school.” I consider this to be narrow-mindedness. Adrienne Rich or Tory Dent, anyone? (This would be why I’m interested in Antioch specifically; I know that my interests would be embraced, as they are directly aligned with the “social justice” element of their program.

Someone, an esteemed poet, said something similar to me in a workshop. Maybe it was the same woman! :) I never understood her point or intent. I just figured she was putting me down because I wrote in a style that she didn't like. "This isn't poetry!" She shouted. Funny, though, because another famous poet said something very different. I'm glad you got into a program that's right for you. The FDU experience must've been hell. Just reading your post makes me shudder.

"Let them think what they liked, but I didn't mean to drown myself. I meant to swim till I sank - but that's not the same thing." -- Joseph Conrad

PrivateI

Feb 19, 2009, 4:17 PM

Post #1878 of 2528 (6403 views)
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Re: [Pongo] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Pongo,

I tried reading those two critical essays you posted but they are like gibberish to me -- totally incomprehensible. Maybe I would need to be familiar with the work they're criticizing to understand them, or maybe the writers are just really good at bullshitting. Do you know of any other examples that might be a bit less pretentious? Would any book review pass as a critical essay?

(This post was edited by PrivateI on Feb 19, 2009, 4:18 PM)

PrivateI

Feb 19, 2009, 4:31 PM

Post #1879 of 2528 (6382 views)
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Re: [havana5am] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/books/06book.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=2012&st=nyt

Is that a critical essay?

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Feb 19, 2009, 4:50 PM

Post #1880 of 2528 (6364 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Private,

The best answer I can give you is that you need to respond to something in the text. Are you writing a crit essay for a memoir? CNF? Pick a literary device that the author uses and write a short essay (3 pages +/-) on how it works in the piece. Some things to consider:

How does the author use metaphor? Imagery?
For CNF, does the author use imagined scenes or "created" dialogue?
What is the POV? In CNF, think about the distance of the first person narrator. Is this an adult reflecting on a child's life? Is this a child's voice? Is the voice intimate? Distant? How does the author accomplish this?

How is setting used? Does setting become a character in the story? Does the author use setting to direct the plot or emotional changes?

What is the balance between narrative (telling) and showing (with dialogue and action)? Does the author rely on one or the other? Is it effective? Why or why not?

What about sentence structure? Is there any unusual coding in the text--abbreviations, capitalization, italics? Are the sentences long and fluid, descriptive? Or is the sentence structure choppy, broken into fragments (think Frey's A Million Little Pieces). What is the effect on the reader?

You just choose one literary device that strikes you about the work and write about it. I'm at Vermont for fiction, but the same basic rules apply. If it helps you any, I wrote an essay about the shifting perspective in Dubus's "A Father's Story." The author returned to the same scene of the accident several times, each time describing the scene from a different perspective/viewpoint. The reader "saw" the accident from the father's perspective, the daughter's perspective, and the victim's perspective. Each shift changed the reader's understanding of the event.

I was terrified of this admission requirement, but once I started, I realized it wasn't that hard. I just needed to find a story I liked and think about why I thought the story worked. I think the faculty want to know that you are a critical reader and that you understand literary terms.

Hope that helps.

Jeanne
http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

PrivateI

Feb 19, 2009, 5:00 PM

Post #1881 of 2528 (6356 views)
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Re: [jlgwriter] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thank you very much for that helpful reply. I am writing this for CNF. There is a great Rolling Stone article I thought was very creatively done, about an independent journalist who was killed as he filmed a riot in Oaxaca, Mexico -- he literally filmed his own death. The topic is obviously compelling, but the way it was written is what really excites me. If I write a critical essay about it, do I pick a thesis of some kind? What's the structure?

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Feb 19, 2009, 5:04 PM

Post #1882 of 2528 (6348 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yes, pick a thesis--just an opening statement about the piece and the literary device. Then expand on that idea. The structure is pretty flexible. I used quotes from the text to support and illustrate my opinions. I'd pick three or four quotes at most and put the page numbers in parentheses at the end of each section of quoted text. You don't need a formal bibliography if you're only working from one piece. Just identify the title and where it appeared in your opening graph.

That's about all there is to it. Good luck.

Jeanne
http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

PrivateI

Feb 19, 2009, 6:11 PM

Post #1883 of 2528 (6307 views)
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Re: [jlgwriter] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Jeanne,

I'm still stressing because this is totally unfamiliar territory. Do you have any links to examples of critical essays?

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Feb 19, 2009, 6:59 PM

Post #1884 of 2528 (6278 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

PM me.

Jeanne
http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

NickMcRae
Nick McRae

Feb 19, 2009, 7:20 PM

Post #1885 of 2528 (6259 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

If you PM me, I can send you examples of the kind of critical essays that are being written right now in university English Lit classes (read: essays I have written for classes in the past couple of years).

NM

"You got a song, man, sing it. / You got a bell, man, ring it." - Robert Creeley

Nick McRae
nmcrae1@gmail.com
http://nickmcrae.com/

PrivateI

Feb 19, 2009, 7:21 PM

Post #1886 of 2528 (6259 views)
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Re: [jlgwriter] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

If this critical essay about Salman Rushdie's latest novel is a good example of something suitable for an application, then I have an idea of what to do:

http://www.thenation.com/...20080915/deresiewicz

What do you folks think?

(This post was edited by PrivateI on Feb 19, 2009, 7:22 PM)

NickMcRae
Nick McRae

Feb 19, 2009, 7:47 PM

Post #1887 of 2528 (6238 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

The Rushdie article, I would suggest, is more in the vein of a very sophisticated review than it is a critical essay. Open to arguments to the contrary, of course. I just feel that the discourse in the article is a bit more descriptive (of the work in question and of Rushdie's authorship as a whole) than it is strictly analytical. Overall, I'd say it's Diet Critical. Not as rigorous as something one would be expected to write in a senior-level undergrad Lit seminar, but fairly involved and well-written nonetheless.

That's my take, anyway. And I won't pretend to know what kind of writing Low-Res programs are looking for. My perspective is admittedly limited.

NM

"You got a song, man, sing it. / You got a bell, man, ring it." - Robert Creeley

Nick McRae
nmcrae1@gmail.com
http://nickmcrae.com/

PrivateI

Feb 19, 2009, 7:50 PM

Post #1888 of 2528 (6236 views)
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Re: [NickMcRae] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

NM,

Thanks for your take. What makes it "diet"?

I am hoping they don't expect a high-level literary critique of the kind an English major would do, because I'm not capable.

A little birdie suggested that this is another possible example:
http://www.awpwriter.org/magazine/writers/djauss01.htm

NickMcRae
Nick McRae

Feb 19, 2009, 8:17 PM

Post #1889 of 2528 (6225 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

I would say the Rushdie article is "diet" because, among other reasons, it makes fairly broad claims about Rushie's work instead of focusing deeply on one question or phenomenon. While the article identifies themes in Rushdie's authorship, it doesn't interrogate those themes very rigorously in neither a textual or nor contexual sense. It's a good, interesting, well-written article, but simply lacks the deep rigor and focus of pure criticism.

The Jauss article in the Writers' Chronicle is much, much more along the lines of what you'll want to be doing, in my opinion. If focuses more on specific phenomena, and it incorporates outside sources to give it a little more contextual significance. While it is still not as focused and rigorous as what I think most senior college English majors would consider strong literary criticism, it comes much, much closer.

Like I said, though, I have no idea what Low-Res MFA committees are looking for. They may be looking for writing exactly like the examples you showed me. I can't claim to be an authority on the matter in any sense.

NM

"You got a song, man, sing it. / You got a bell, man, ring it." - Robert Creeley

Nick McRae
nmcrae1@gmail.com
http://nickmcrae.com/

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Feb 19, 2009, 8:20 PM

Post #1890 of 2528 (6221 views)
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Re: [NickMcRae] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

David Jauss is a faculty member at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Trust me. That model is fine for apps to low-res programs.

The critical essay sample is not intended to be a piece of rigorous research but your response to an element of craft in the work.

Jeanne
http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

PrivateI

Feb 19, 2009, 8:25 PM

Post #1891 of 2528 (6214 views)
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Re: [jlgwriter] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

I just wanted to let everyone know that I stumbled upon this amazingly helpful set of guidelines for writing a critical essay under VCFA's young-adult section. I don't know why they hid it there, but I think it probaby serves someone applying to CNF like myself s well.

http://vermontcollege.edu/mfawc/critical-essays.asp

PrivateI

Feb 22, 2009, 1:44 AM

Post #1892 of 2528 (6135 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

I gave up trying to write it. It was too challenging for me. Oh well. If I have to write this stuff for an MFA, then I guess it's not the right program for me.

pongo
Real men bake bread.

Feb 22, 2009, 8:34 AM

Post #1893 of 2528 (6113 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Remember that an MFA is, among other things, a teaching credential. You'll have to write some critical work in any program I've ever looked at. If you can't do that, consider a series of workshops or independent courses instead.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

Sibella
Pam, that is.

Feb 24, 2009, 3:13 PM

Post #1894 of 2528 (6017 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks for raising these questions, Private1.

I'm working on my Warren Wilson application. I've got the poems. My personal essay is OK--it needs another go-round or two, but it will work out. But I froze up on the critical essay.

I'm not ready to concede that the program (which has a strong component of literary analysis) is wrong for me. Maybe it is. But my more pressing concern right now is this: If I'm having such a damned hard time with the essay, will doing them get easier as I'm in the program, or am I expected to come in with a much greater arsenal of poetics and other tools than I have right now?

I'm really grateful for the people here, and some people I know from the WW program, who've sent me copies of their critical papers.

Now I just have to stop stalling and write the damn thing. I've got to FedEx it in two days if it's going to get there in time.

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Feb 24, 2009, 3:49 PM

Post #1895 of 2528 (5995 views)
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Re: [Sibella] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Can't speak for WW, but my first advisor at Vermont was great at gently steering me in the right direction with my crit. essays. I felt that my analytical skills improved with each essay. By the time I hit my second semester, I was in the groove, and they were easy. It's all about the feedback you receive.

Jeanne
http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

Sibella
Pam, that is.

Feb 24, 2009, 4:14 PM

Post #1896 of 2528 (5975 views)
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Re: [jlgwriter] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks. That's what I'm hoping will happen if I get into my program.

I've just been doing a sort of data dump--writing all sorts of impressions of the poem, but being as technical and detailed as possible. Then I'll edit, looking for a "through-line" to make it hang together.

I started back on it after writing my last message, and it was lovely to remember how much I like doing this sort of thing. I remember "explications de texte" in French classes in high school...I loved those, even when I thought that some of the analyses were pretty bogus. It was just great looking at a work from so many perspectives.

havana5am

Feb 24, 2009, 10:22 PM

Post #1897 of 2528 (5922 views)
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Re: [Sibella] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Pam, just to let you know you're not alone. I will be mailing mine out Thursday. :)

"Let them think what they liked, but I didn't mean to drown myself. I meant to swim till I sank - but that's not the same thing." -- Joseph Conrad

Sugah

Feb 25, 2009, 12:43 AM

Post #1898 of 2528 (5881 views)
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Re: [PrivateI] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Quote

I am hoping they don't expect a high-level literary critique of the kind an English major would do, because I'm not capable.

I had to send a critical essay with one of my apps last year. I sent them an off-beat feminist reading of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own I wrote as an undergrad, and though it was by no means high-brow, I was accepted.

Peace!
Sugah

http://sugahsshack.blogspot.com

Sibella
Pam, that is.

Feb 25, 2009, 5:51 AM

Post #1899 of 2528 (5860 views)
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Re: [havana5am] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Is it for Warren Wilson as well? If so, admissions told me that as long as it got there by Monday afternoon, I was in the clear. And they do have the capacity to receive Saturday FedEx deliveries, at least in the morning.

God, I stayed up late playing online games and then, when I was almost too sleepy to think, picked up my essay again. I wrote for about an hour and a half; I'm suddenly in far better shape than I was a few hours ago. (It's nearly 6 a.m. here in Maryland.)

Also, I was looking at the wrong thing on Word: I kept thinking I still had only one page. I switched to print preview and found I had four! I'll have no problem whipping this thing into shape. The trick will be getting some sleep before the next flurry of writing.

I'm reminded, somehow, of an experience I had at the University of Maryland, maybe 25 years ago. I was studying Beowulf in the original, and my assignment was to translate a passage about the dragon in my own language. As I did so, sitting in a dim study carrel in McKeldin Library, I felt as if I was coaxing the dragon from its den, as if I saw it drifting past me, all scales and fire. It was the best feeling.

So in 24 hours I've gone from thinking I wasn't suited for this--and looking into applying to another program I won't name, which looked suspiciously easy to get into and had a typo in the first paragraph of the application (and was slammed by a previous student elsewhere in this forum)--to remembering the joy I have in doing this sort of close reading.

"What I wanted to hear didn't exist, so it was necessary for me to go out and create it." --Richard Thompson

Joe A. I.

Feb 25, 2009, 8:24 AM

Post #1900 of 2528 (5846 views)
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Re: [Sibella] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Wait a minute... Does Warren Wilson require a critical essay? I haven't seen anything about that on the website!

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