Re: [New-Poetry] An Era of Détente for Creative-Wri ting Programs

[Halvard Johnson]

I know nothing of MFA programs. There I said it.

Hal

"Those who cast the ballots decide nothing.
Those who count the ballots decide everything."
                          --Joseph Stalin


Halvard Johnson
================
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On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 1:28 AM, Judy Prince <jbalizsprince at googlemail.com>wrote:

> "An official literary culture tends to exclude."  And plenty of MFA-gotten
> folk have, like Anny Ballardini, found much creative joy and practical use
> in the programmes, which, as you rightly point out, Mark, is largely a USA
> thing.
> One of my mantras:  Few situations are not helped by more information.
>
> Hence, at the understandable risk of a deepened/widened excluding "official
> literary culture" [I completely agree with Mark here], we may as well be
> finding that MFA students who may not otherwise have discovered their own
> poetry-writing power will go on to develop it and open further networked
> doors to others.
>
> Will those poets become---and grow---the fairly rare poem-writing giants?
>  Yes, in the same way that conservative training has always done---and in
> the opposite way of excluding many, of whom a precious few become recognised
> for their poetic gifts; namely, a Dickinson and a Shaksper who emerged from
> [past? through? beyond?] a similar excluding conservative mix.
>
> Am I backing MFA programmes?  Yes.
>
> Would I like to see other options?  Most definitely.  As just one example
> of many, I'd like to see childcare centers, elementary schools, middle
> schools, high schools, city colleges, universities, as well as public and
> private libraries, encourage poetry-writing groups.  One brilliant mentor,
> like Philip Hobsbaum at Belfast and Glasgow, can hone a generation of
> poet-geniuses.
>
> As another example, I see NP and other poetrylists as loaded with mentors.
>  Nice, that.
>
> Best,
>
> Judy
>
>
> 2009/7/2 Mark Weiss <junction at earthlink.net>
>
>> An official literary culture tends to exclude. We're developing an
>> official literary culture.
>
>
> <snip>
>
>
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