...the magazine, not the ocean. There is an article about MFA programs in the fiction issue of the Atlantic, in which the program I graduated from is mentioned specifically because of the popular fiction track. Now, the head of this program is pretty ignorant when it comes to popular fiction. I truly believe that if she had her way, pop fic would be gone gone gone. You wouldn't believe some of the bullshit pop fic students have had to go through to get even a little bit of respect. (I had some of the lower forms of alumni threaten me with taking complaints to the university disciplinary committee and the police because I advocated for more student representation in policy decisions, going against the director. I don't know why either the police or the university's discipline committee would have any jurisdiction over the matter, but that logic didn't seem to stop these morons. Don't worry, I told each one of my "fans" to go fuck themselves and never contact me again. And, in case you were wondering, these are the people who turned their noses up at the pop fic track to begin with. Surprise, surprise. They're also so far up the director's ass that the only part of them you can see are their toes wiggling out of her sphincter). But I digress.
Anyway, here is a great opportunity for the Stonecoast MFA program to charge ahead of the crowded pack of other MFA programs. But will it happen? I really, seriously, completely doubt it, not until they get a new director who understands the potential popular fiction can bring. Pop fic has some great faculty (however, it could use at least one crime fiction instructor since about half of the pop fic students write mysteries) and some great alumni, it's a shame that it's treated like the redheaded step-child of the program. But hey, at least the Atlantic see the advantage if the administration doesn't.
Now, on to collecting states. Still no Wyoming. Let's see what I can come up with for today: "Any person who fails to close a fence in Wyoming is subject to a fine of up to $750. Neato fact. You know, unless someone from Wyoming visits soon, I'm gonna run out of things to write about. Maybe I should use some relatively suggestive words to capture some web search traffic. Here goes: Sex Wyoming, Love Wyoming, Porn Wyoming, Naughty Wyoming, Swingers Wyoming, Naked Wyoming, Penis Wyoming, Vagina Wyoming. You'd think that a state with a population of about 500,000 there'd be at least one pervert searching for that stuff.
2 comments:
I've been decidely quiet on this issue on the cabal. I'm one of those alums as you know that really struggled in the wishy washy years of Stonecoast almost popfic. I wasted one whole semester trying my hand at experimental fiction because no faculty member would work with me on horror. The kind words that Stonecoast's popfic program reveived is a definite plus but ill deserved as far as I'm concerned. But who knows, maybe today's Stonecoast has changed for the better in two short terms.
Well, the article just mentioned that Stonecoast had popfic; it didn't say anything about how well it's handled it. I cannot repeat it enough, but getting Jim was a HUGE plus for the program. I truly believe that if it weren't for his great work and those of us who continued to piss off the administration, popfic would have been long gone. I don't give a shit that I was labelled as a rabble-rouser, it kept popfic from evaporating from the program.
But I did see that the "popfic" mentor you had your first semester is now gone. But it sounds like the people they're bringing in are just hit or miss, like throwing things on a wall and seeing what sticks.
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