I never had an easy time at my MFA. I’ve written a little about it before. Part of the problem was how far Ithaca was from anything I knew. Part of the problem was my own depressive states, especially during those long winters. But part of the problem was the whiteness of Ithaca in 1992. Might not have been as shocking if I’d done my undergraduate somewhere else, but I was a Rutgers kid. Rutgers might have had its drawbacks but lack of pigment wasn’t one of them. There were more Dominicans at Rutgers than there were students of color at Cornell — or at least, that’s how it seemed to me.
Helena is a huge reason why I'm even a writer and have gotten as far as I have. And I'm one of like four people I know who could say the same damn thing. You all did well and made changes that have rippled across generations.
Sometimes people like your professor think they are teaching students a life lesson by holding them to conventional standards. I've seen that. To refuse a letter without a much earlier heads up about missing classes or talking to you about your perspective is as you portray, an act of petty vengeance. Mean. And...I never knew that certain programs had a in with Stegner. Same old depressing.
well that makes it just plain cruel. I had a poetry teacher who completely turned on me when I got a boyfriend. it was so devastating it took years to recover.
Looooved, “Anacona-level ass “ as in snake-level… were you purposely deleting the “d”? or just flying on the typewriter…? (i bet the latter, but hey, as an editor -who pays YOU, lol!), it’s my job to pick these up..
Terrifying story, Junot. Sadly, cowards cow-toe and bow-down to Mami la Institución, even while steppin on the heads of protegès. The same thing happened to me in an illistrious institutition of the Boston area that cost me the Big Knife. Trying to process still and write. I am in desperate need of help.
Wonderful J! xxx
This is nuts. Felt like I could see advisor's creepy fuckin smile as they turned the attendance book around. What a story.
I hope you share the big knife saga someday.
P.S. did you already have a job lined up in NYC when you left or did you just bounce and say screw it I'll figure it out when I get there?
i had no job at all, just a place to stay and that was its own hellishness.
Helena is a huge reason why I'm even a writer and have gotten as far as I have. And I'm one of like four people I know who could say the same damn thing. You all did well and made changes that have rippled across generations.
punk as fuck, Junot.
Sometimes people like your professor think they are teaching students a life lesson by holding them to conventional standards. I've seen that. To refuse a letter without a much earlier heads up about missing classes or talking to you about your perspective is as you portray, an act of petty vengeance. Mean. And...I never knew that certain programs had a in with Stegner. Same old depressing.
alice, it wasn't the program that had the 'in' - more like the individual in question supposedly had the 'in'...
well that makes it just plain cruel. I had a poetry teacher who completely turned on me when I got a boyfriend. it was so devastating it took years to recover.
Last question:
Looooved, “Anacona-level ass “ as in snake-level… were you purposely deleting the “d”? or just flying on the typewriter…? (i bet the latter, but hey, as an editor -who pays YOU, lol!), it’s my job to pick these up..
Re craft
This one-line paragraph was wicked!! - tipped me n upgradred yrsstack to annual
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people for weekly drinks and dinner so it didn’t seem to be a huge problem.
Cue the sinister music.
That third year I deci
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1 Rutgers might have had its drawbacks but lack of pigment wasn’t one of them.
Terrifying story, Junot. Sadly, cowards cow-toe and bow-down to Mami la Institución, even while steppin on the heads of protegès. The same thing happened to me in an illistrious institutition of the Boston area that cost me the Big Knife. Trying to process still and write. I am in desperate need of help.
Sounds like your family was messed up but your ancestors had your back