Hey guys, been a while since I posted here but I have been so stressed out and running around! Ok, Lets see, I have been here four days now. Wednesday we got here and they promptly made my life miserable by losing my luggage and then promising to deliver it the same day and then not even picking up calls for a whole day, while I walked around in Boi's home clothes. Thu was orientation and teaching fellow orientation and first class with Leslie. The TF thing made me a little panicky since so much SO MUCH information was thrown my way.
But I have some time and I think I will figure it out- which is fairly optimistic coming from me. Obviously they told us the usual things, the no's and what to do's etc etc.
The program co -ordinator is an amazing lady with great amount of patience for all my endless questions. She figured out all my scholarship and teaching money and I am so happy with how its worked out. In fall I will have to live a little tight but in spring I will live like a queen. :o or well, eat like a queen!
She also managed to have some spare money for me so that I can pay health insurance from the scholarship and I only have to put in a leetle bit of cash. Anyway enough of that.
Leslie is pretty amazing, his energy is very becoming and I so far agree with all his policies. He is of the school that when we learn to appreciate art, then we become better human beings and better writers and as part of that school of thought, we will be spending some time picking out a piece from the museum of fine arts and writing about why we were moved by it.
The Cohort are all amazing people so far from such diverse backgrounds and stories. Our first workshop story was handed to us- two people each time and so we all get to workshop three stories in Fall. I am going third and I am more or less ready. The two stories I read so far- amazing diction, so so well written but uhm.. how do I put it, it just didnt do anything for me. I didnt think oh my god, this is what I would have loved to write or wish I had written this, but I was very impressed with the use of words and the choice of phrases.
I am still scared of him, of making him think I am a mistake and so on but I think I will be Ok. He also made a valid point- this year will be easier if we all just learn to love each other a bit and as part of that we are all going out for drinks on Wednesday. I think my problem with socializing will have to be curbed somehow, I dont know how but I will have to make that effort.
I am also so excited with the library, its huge and well stocked and so far I love the structure of the program. Sigrid's class doesnt start till12th but its a revision and editing class and I think I will really need it. I am also trying to read more writers away from my comfort zone. I think I will need to spend some quality time reading slow because Proust and Baldwin are really not easy reads but if he thinks its going to help- I am going to buy it
Another thing I notice is that its probably easier for the people in my age group to accept what he says easier and adapt as opposed to the older writers who seem to be taking it with a pinch of salt. I am not saying I will blindly follow him, but if he thinks some other way of approaching a story is better, I am willing to make that effort to re write it up.
But at the same time, the older writers seem to disagree, a little stuck in their ways- for eg, he has a big problem with echoes, he expects you to go through the draft hawk like, taking out words that sound similar or repeated in the same para, obviously he says dont do it for the sake of it, as in dont use some terribly wrong word just so to get rid of the echo but make that extra effort to get rid of it, try all kinds of words in that space.
I am with him, but someone else was very quick to say how she couldn't care less about the damn echoes. He said - Oh I think you will.
I also dont think I will muster the courage to go against him like that, at least for a while and at least till its something that really matters to me.
Boston has been great so far, great food, amazing weather- partly cloudy and rainy in the nights. The campus is beautiful and I love our workshop room, where once Plath and Sexton had been. Its all too much if I think about it too much.
My place is in Brookline which is a very nice neighborhood, lots of nice little cafes in the village- not seen yet, but hear its really good and my room in a house is huge, like I dont need this much space and we got me a bed and other knick knacks. '
Abigail and her daughter seem such warm nice people, I think I will especially like the girl- she is a teenager but seems more mature than her age. The room itself is painted a light shade of violet and it has a small nice bathroom, with a shower stall, not a tub-thankfully, less cleaning. They are Vegetarians but they dont mind me making whatever I want.
Not staying there yet, at my Aunt's place. I love her place, its so warm and comfy in here and they are an amazing couple. And they take care of both of us so well and yesterday night we stayed up late arguing about what makes some people the way they are. How bad conditioning can be and whether science or religion is more close to one's heart.
Obviously we are all very loud and opinionated people and we all had different views and it went on for a while but it was good fun. I do love dinner table talk so much.
There are some movies we want to see- Contagion, The Debt. I think we might go with these guys. I think Leslie and my Uncle would get along so well, they both like the same music- Brahms and Bach and they might I think agree on some political issues too. Tomorrow is the Labor day picnic at Robert Pinksy's house- though I am asking them to tag along, they refuse, so it might be just me and my hot date. ;p
More on everything later.
S
But I have some time and I think I will figure it out- which is fairly optimistic coming from me. Obviously they told us the usual things, the no's and what to do's etc etc.
The program co -ordinator is an amazing lady with great amount of patience for all my endless questions. She figured out all my scholarship and teaching money and I am so happy with how its worked out. In fall I will have to live a little tight but in spring I will live like a queen. :o or well, eat like a queen!
She also managed to have some spare money for me so that I can pay health insurance from the scholarship and I only have to put in a leetle bit of cash. Anyway enough of that.
Leslie is pretty amazing, his energy is very becoming and I so far agree with all his policies. He is of the school that when we learn to appreciate art, then we become better human beings and better writers and as part of that school of thought, we will be spending some time picking out a piece from the museum of fine arts and writing about why we were moved by it.
The Cohort are all amazing people so far from such diverse backgrounds and stories. Our first workshop story was handed to us- two people each time and so we all get to workshop three stories in Fall. I am going third and I am more or less ready. The two stories I read so far- amazing diction, so so well written but uhm.. how do I put it, it just didnt do anything for me. I didnt think oh my god, this is what I would have loved to write or wish I had written this, but I was very impressed with the use of words and the choice of phrases.
I am still scared of him, of making him think I am a mistake and so on but I think I will be Ok. He also made a valid point- this year will be easier if we all just learn to love each other a bit and as part of that we are all going out for drinks on Wednesday. I think my problem with socializing will have to be curbed somehow, I dont know how but I will have to make that effort.
I am also so excited with the library, its huge and well stocked and so far I love the structure of the program. Sigrid's class doesnt start till12th but its a revision and editing class and I think I will really need it. I am also trying to read more writers away from my comfort zone. I think I will need to spend some quality time reading slow because Proust and Baldwin are really not easy reads but if he thinks its going to help- I am going to buy it
Another thing I notice is that its probably easier for the people in my age group to accept what he says easier and adapt as opposed to the older writers who seem to be taking it with a pinch of salt. I am not saying I will blindly follow him, but if he thinks some other way of approaching a story is better, I am willing to make that effort to re write it up.
But at the same time, the older writers seem to disagree, a little stuck in their ways- for eg, he has a big problem with echoes, he expects you to go through the draft hawk like, taking out words that sound similar or repeated in the same para, obviously he says dont do it for the sake of it, as in dont use some terribly wrong word just so to get rid of the echo but make that extra effort to get rid of it, try all kinds of words in that space.
I am with him, but someone else was very quick to say how she couldn't care less about the damn echoes. He said - Oh I think you will.
I also dont think I will muster the courage to go against him like that, at least for a while and at least till its something that really matters to me.
Boston has been great so far, great food, amazing weather- partly cloudy and rainy in the nights. The campus is beautiful and I love our workshop room, where once Plath and Sexton had been. Its all too much if I think about it too much.
My place is in Brookline which is a very nice neighborhood, lots of nice little cafes in the village- not seen yet, but hear its really good and my room in a house is huge, like I dont need this much space and we got me a bed and other knick knacks. '
Abigail and her daughter seem such warm nice people, I think I will especially like the girl- she is a teenager but seems more mature than her age. The room itself is painted a light shade of violet and it has a small nice bathroom, with a shower stall, not a tub-thankfully, less cleaning. They are Vegetarians but they dont mind me making whatever I want.
Not staying there yet, at my Aunt's place. I love her place, its so warm and comfy in here and they are an amazing couple. And they take care of both of us so well and yesterday night we stayed up late arguing about what makes some people the way they are. How bad conditioning can be and whether science or religion is more close to one's heart.
Obviously we are all very loud and opinionated people and we all had different views and it went on for a while but it was good fun. I do love dinner table talk so much.
There are some movies we want to see- Contagion, The Debt. I think we might go with these guys. I think Leslie and my Uncle would get along so well, they both like the same music- Brahms and Bach and they might I think agree on some political issues too. Tomorrow is the Labor day picnic at Robert Pinksy's house- though I am asking them to tag along, they refuse, so it might be just me and my hot date. ;p
More on everything later.
S
2 comments:
May I say how jealous I am? It all sounds amazing. Last month, I decided I need to do a creative writing programme and spent two days leching at all the programmes like they were porn. Then I went back to reality. One day... maybe.
:) One day, yes of course! Meanwhile send me, if you wish, I can use some of my newly learned workshop techniques :p
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