[Cwgrad-announcements] reminder for first-year MFAs

[cwgrad-announcements at lists.ucr.edu]

Andrew,

Sorry for the delay in getting this information to you.  I've just debated whether 
to state an emphasis and then realized I should just give you the update info 
and see what you think...

So far I've completed:

Special Topics in Fiction/Jayme/A-
Women in Theater/Dr. Jaffe-Berg/A-
Creative Nonfiction/Abani/A

Poetry Workshop/Herrera/A+
Comparative Lit/Stanley Stewart/A
Directed Studies/Hinds/Incomplete (Hinds has said he will offer the grade given 
to me by Russin--taking this quarter)

Currently taking:
Poetry & the Sacred/Herrera
Playwriting/Russin
Creative Nonfiction/Buckley

Progress: Writing progress has been most productive with Herrrera and Russin--
as far as producing new work as well as learning overall==and applying new 
techniques, form, etc.

Stanley Stewart's Comp Lit course was an incredible, outstanding, just beyond 
words, experience, actually.  He is brilliant.  I feel honored to have taken a 
course with him let alone successfully completed the course--that type of 
professor.

My emphasis:  it's now between Poetry and Playwriting, although Buckley has 
said I have a good way with creative nonfiction and that is tempting because the 
past journalism experience and my interest falls that way as well--but I dont' 
know that I see a thesis project within the genre.

Juan Felipe is great to work with and the poetry is also natural for me.  I can see 
a collection of poems as a thesis.

Russin says I've got a great way with dialogue and he's been impressed with my 
work.  I love the theatre department; those within that emphasis and the 
instructors.  I feel most comfortable and real in that part of town...I think I 
secretly hope that this could be my emphasis and knew that before I even got 
here.  I just worried that I don't have the experience with playwriting and 
couldn't pull it off in such a short amount of time.

The Gluck Fellowship was the highlight of this first year and thanks so much to 
Dr. Jaffe-Berg for inviting me to do that on behalf of the theatre dept.

I'm not sure if this is what you were looking for with this update, so let me know 
if you need any more information.  A bit of a rambling response, I think.

Also, Andrew, I have wanted to thank you again for listening and guiding me 
quite a bit this past year.  I realize that most of my peers don't struggle with this 
identity crisis and just write away.   I'm not sure why this has been such an issue 
with me.  I'm hoping this summer I will formulate my thesis idea and the content 
with begin.

Thanks.  Let me know if this is it--

Take good care,

Heather