<div dir="ltr"><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal"><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Highest recommendation to students interested in pursuing an MFA in Poetryto consider<span> </span></span><a href="https://creativewriting.gmu.edu/programs/la-mfa-cw/overview" target="_blank" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:none;margin:0px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:underline">application to George Mason University</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Vivek Narayanan, whose<span> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;margin:0px">After </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">was published </span><a href="https://www.nyrb.com/products/after?variant=40415307235496" target="_blank" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:none;margin:0px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px"></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px;color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline">this year by NYRB to strong acclaim</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">, has recently joined Peter Streckfus and Sally Keith as core faculty in the program! A few stand-out grads include Allison Cobb, of<span> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Plastic: An Autobiography,<span> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">J. Michael Martinez, who last year accepted a job at San Jose State University, and Michael Joseph Walsh, whose debut was selected last year by Shane McCrae. There are so many more successes to count, including winners of book competitions, Fulbright and residency fellowships, and students moving on to top PhD programs or, directly, to teaching jobs.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">From Sally Keith, "We know–of course–there are so many great options for MFA programs. I’d say the close work we do with students over the course of three years is a large part of what makes our program unique.<span> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">(The students also tend to be very invested in a friendly and inclusive community!) The extra year in our curriculum allows for a first-year forms seminar, a second-year exam experience that students almost universally find deepens their writing practice, and special topics seminars on subjects such as “Translation and Poetry,” “Wandering,” and “The New Mixed Form.”</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Although if you google (as the students say they do!) “full fellowship MFA Programs” you may not find Mason, the truth is<span> </span></span><a href="https://creativewriting.gmu.edu/graduate-program/mfa-funding-awards-and-research" target="_blank" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:none;margin:0px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:underline">we are now funding a majority of students</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">—in fact, for the past three years, all our incoming poets have received funding. We fund through teaching fellowships and also through our new Watershed Lit Graduate Professional Assistantships, which allow our students to work alongside us on<span> </span></span><span style="margin:0px;font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:underline"><a href="http://www.poems.com/" target="_blank" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:none;margin:0px">Poetry Daily</a> </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">while they earn, if they like, </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;margin:0px"></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">a certificate in Publishing and Editorial Practice.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">I’d be happy to receive any student questions. If you go to the </span><span style="margin:0px;font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:underline"><a href="https://creativewriting.gmu.edu/programs/la-mfa-cw/application" target="_blank" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:none;margin:0px">Mason program website</a> </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">you can find more pertinent details about the program and applications. The priority application due-date is January 15, and our funding deadline is February 15, but we also have a rolling system (and do accept late applications).</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Warmly,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Sally</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px"><br></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Sally Keith</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Professor of Poetry, George Mason Univerity</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px">Co-Editorial Director,<span> </span><i><a href="https://poems.com/" title="https://poems.com" target="_blank" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);text-decoration:none;margin:0px">Poetry Daily</a><br></i></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;margin:0px"><i><br></i></span></p></b><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i>Allison Adelle Hedge Coke</i></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i>2022-2023 Mellon Dean’s Professor</i></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i>Center for Ideas & Society</i></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i>Distinguished Professor</i></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i>Creative Writing, School of Medicine,</i></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i>& the proposed Dept. of Society, Environment, & Health Equity (SEHE) <br></i></font></div><div><a href="https://ideasandsociety.ucr.edu/fellowships/" target="_blank"><font face="georgia, serif"><i>2022-2023 Mellon Dean's Professor</i></font></a></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i><a href="https://ideasandsociety.ucr.edu/fellowships/" target="_blank">Center for Ideas and Society</a><br></i></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i></i></font></div><span><div><table style="width:100%;border-radius:10px;background-color:rgb(247,247,252)"><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding-left:16px;vertical-align:top;padding-top:18px"><br></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><i>Weird Times, Be Kind</i></font></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:garamond,serif"><a href="https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/allisonh" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Allison Adelle Hedge Coke</a></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:garamond,serif">Director, <a href="http://writersweek.ucr.edu" target="_blank">Writers Week 2021, 2022</a>, Co-Director in 2023<br></div></span><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:garamond,serif">Along the Chaparral, Sandhill Crane Fest</div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:garamond,serif">author/editor of 18 books<br></div><span><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:garamond,serif">Most recent release,</span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:garamond,serif"> </span><i><a href="https://coffeehousepress.org/collections/shop/products/look-at-this-blue" style="font-family:garamond,serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Look at This Blue </a></i></div><div><br></div></span><div><font face="garamond, times new roman, serif">She/her</font></div><div><font face="garamond, times new roman, serif">Surname is Hedge Coke, no hyphen</font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>