Tag Archives: graduation

MFA Monday

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I’ve been trying to decide what to do next with MFA Monday. I knew, at some point, I was going to have to figure out when to start moving it towards completion. I think we’ll be moving towards graduation more sooner than later!

So, in lieu of a class, I want my regular participants (although anyone can participate) to consider what they need to do for “graduation.”

Consider today as a class where we meet to discuss those remaining items which will be:

  1. A book review. This can be on a book of poetry (or other genre you are focusing on) or on a craft book. These do not have to be long, but I’d like them to be posted in comments next Monday when I post the MFA Monday blog.
  2. The Monday after that I want a small reflective essay about your writing. Tell me what you have learned, want to learn still, or a technique you’ve been studying. It can be any number of things and can be as short as a blog comment or a bit longer and posted to the MFA Blog group (feel free to ask questions about any of this in comments). This will count more as your final “paper.” This can also be emailed to me if you want to keep it more private. If you don’t have my email check the sidebar!
  3. I want to see 3-5 poems as a mini chapbook of sorts in the third week (again I’ll post the topic and let you know). These can be emailed directly to me versus posting in the blog group. This will count as your thesis.
Then, perhaps, we will do a small wrap-up but I think it is time to finish our mini blog MFA and to move on to other topics. I’ll still have our regular writing prompts and Thursday Poem Share’s and Friday’s to report in on what you are working on, submitting etc but the Blog format – I think – has run its course.
Thanks for participating in it and let’s finish up this remaining work!

My MFA Reading

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After a lot of aggravation, that does not need to be recapped here, I was finally able to upload the video of my reading that was a portion of my graduation from the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte.

I had a terrific two years and if you see me twitching in May because I’m not on campus anymore, you will know why :)

(on and as I was typing this up more issues came up so there will be TWO videos)

The intro:

The actual reading (if you are here early it may still be processing so check back):

Near the Finishing Line

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Had my final graduating student seminar yesterday. Gave away my lunch tickets. Hung around until time for fabulous readings at night and a rollicking (spelling?) dinner before finally heading home and passing out at 10 last night so I could get up and muse on my final day.

I’m up and preparing to head to campus to drop into a poetry class then go to the afternoon panel and in general hang out until the graduating festivities. Hard to believe this is it…
Easy to believe how much work I have next week to do to catch up on the rest of my life!

Another Day in the Books…

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I turned in my thesis. It is officially in the hands of the school and will eventually be bound and put up in the library. Even though I am sending my manuscript out in that current version, I doubt it will ever be published exactly as it appears in the library but still fun to think it will be there. Now if I could just ever settle on a title. One I’ve been toying with is “Route 1, Box 574″….

We had a special lunch with faculty yesterday and I went out (with some other poets) to the Non-fiction writers dinner at Pie Town here in Charlotte. It was a lot of fun! But, I ended up flaking on coming back to the 8:15 faculty reading. :( It was cold and I was exhausted. As I am this morning. 14 degrees outside! And I really am tired and not feeling terribly well, but looking forward to hanging out again with my fellow students because I won’t be on campus Saturday except to go to graduation.

The slow week has gone and sped itself up!

Another Day Down…

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Yesterday was another long day but I’m glad I stayed for all of it.

In the morning we had another special seminar for graduating students before getting to watch a great student seminar about technology and non-fiction writing. Well done Lorrie!

Then there was the gap..like a 5 hour gap between that class and dinner. I was feeling awful–achy, sinus, bleh. Went and got some medicine then finished reading 50 pages of a book while sitting in my car before I finally felt better.

Still feeling a bit strange but managed to get in a mall walk yesterday before destroying that by eating lots of wonderful food at the all program dinner at Providence Cafe. What a great time that was! I guess I shouldn’t have chickened out all the years in the past :)

Today is kind of a more official day and it will also be long. The handing in of the thesis and more readings tonight from students and faculty.

I think I’ll need a recovering from MFA week next week!

Whew! Survived Teaching and Reading!

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Well Tuesday was my busy day and I survived it all, although I feel really tired and headachy this morning which is funny since I didn’t drink any alcohol or anything?  Release of adrenaline perhaps?

I had a great class in the morning on Food Writing presented by Peter Reinhart who teaches at Johnson & Wales, oh yeah and is widely published as well as owning a really nice upscale pizza place in Charlotte named PieTown.

After the class I had to find ways to not think about the fact I was teaching in an hour! But I think the class went pretty well.  I had about 15 people who seemed interested by the topic of “Is it Over?  Trying to Find Poetic Closure.”  I felt like I babbled a bit and/or repeated myself during some of the questions but if I teach the seminar again, I think there is even more material I can add to the class.

I also watched another great student class “Novel Beginnings” weren’t we a pair :) Before just sitting around discussing life and poetry with my fellow grad Robbin during the 3 hour gap we had before the first round of graduate readings.  

Between that reading and my own I got to hang out with my best friend from junior high and high school who drove two hours (one way!) to hear me read and videotaped it for me.   I also had a few people in the audience from the local community. Thanks for coming out guys!

I think the reading went pretty well.  I hope to have the video up sometime next week when I have more time to be with my computer then these few minutes I catch in the morning.  I can’t believe it is only Wednesday.  My obligations for the week are mostly done (or at least the presentation based ones) but still so much going on for the next few days.  I’ll continute to report in.

Today is not a hump, its a pebble.

YouTube Haters

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I’ve had this video on my mind for a while, and after meeting with fellow blogger and poet Helen Losse this morning I thought I’d go ahead and make the video.  I’m posting the link now even though it is still updating (cause who reads this anyway?) and then I have to go take a copy of my thesis to be printed onto the correct paper and to make other copies of things I will need for Monday and Tuesday and to well prepare to GRADUATE!

I am also going to go and weigh-in today (restarted weight watchers) and while I might not have lost much because I weighed in on Friday last week, I really wanted to work with the leader who is actually there on Wednesdays.  She was filling in on Friday. 

I actually got caught up on some of the cleaning that didn’t get done over the holiday weeks and won’t get done next week during my final residency at school.

What a busy week?  More to do tomorrow and hopefully more to report.

Now to get blown away in the crazy strong wind! You’d think I’d moved to the Midwest or something?