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a certain slant of light.
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A teacher struggles with the paths her life takes--taking an in depth look through words and the lens of her camera at all things delicate, small, quiet, and wonderful in her life. This is her life documented, including budget cuts, a marriage, movement
Recent Posts Tagged With mfa
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20 of 24 seats
Click here. Scroll down a little and you'll see my name. I've officially gotten my schedule for next year, including the class I will be teaching. No, really. This is happening. Pinch. (And the classroom number... oh, how many classes I've had ...
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premonition
Last night I had a dream I was washing my hair (I could feel it too, my hands moving through the thick pile of hair, my fingers raking my scalp) outside the shower. This morning, my husband woke me in a bemused tone, "Um, this may sound strange, but...
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rest
This early spring, I cannot seem to turn over my internal clock, break the cycle of napping and staying up late in the evening. I have been lazy lately--reading on the sofa, distractedly patting the wriggling dogs, and falling asleep in the afternoo...
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snow diamonds
Last night's thunder and sleet brought me into spring. This is my favorite time of year, when I curl up on the floor, my cats nearby, watching the weather warnings tick by on the screen. It was certainly windy, pushing garbage cans over and shaking...
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speaking too soon
It appears my glorying in the evidence of spring may have been a bit premature. Today, winds press against the house, and when our dogs whine to be let out I ask, Do you really have to go, badly? And they return, dripping with murk from the yard--w...
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peers
They say, sometimes, it's not the professors that make the program, but the peer relationships you build. They said this is what you take away from it the most, those relationships, the community (and, of course, that time spent dedicated to writing...
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thrumming
The auditorium, with its ancient curlicues and busts, with the flopping seats and stuffy professors wandering in, gray hair winging, was thrumming. Thrumming with the noise of academics, of women gathered in herds, wanting to hear about that one wil...
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#11
Alaska called and accepted me into their low-res program. Nice to be able to say, "I was accepted into over half the programs I applied to."And keep that preposition at the end.Currently reading: Corelli's Mandolin and The First Indian on the Moon....
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sounding
I wanted to spend today's post ruminating about the gorgeous poetry reading I attended last night, tell you of how Mary Oliver's voice is the most soothing, of how I want to her to read me poems as I fall asleep every night, of how the world can flic...
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#9
I returned from New Orleans to a new message on the machine: someone from Bennington had some good news for me. With only two more verdicts out, I think it is time for me to make a decision. I am still on the waiting list at the U of MN, but I've ...
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and still it goes
#8 today: Antioch University, a low-res program in Los Angeles.And Annie Finch has called twice and emailed in hopes I will attend Stonecoast. (Nothing like feeling wanted!)This isn't to mention Vermont College, Pacific University, Goddard, and New...
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He said: "You were at the top of my list, way at the top."He said: "Congratulations on getting in. And congratulations for writing such good work."Number seven: Stonecoast officially called (and emailed) to accept me....
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it begins to melt
It's that time of year: the snow has really begun to melt in earnest now. The yard is swampy, full of fall revelation (having two dogs is deliriously wonderful at this point--can you hear the sarcasm?--and the regret at not being more diligent in t...
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CSA
Yesterday, we bought our first (half) share of a CSA, Kindred Spirit Farm, in a neighboring town. If you are interested in finding a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in your area, click here. Ryan (husband) and I have been trying to refocus ou...
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hope is the thing with feathers
I learned that I am at the top of the waitlist at the University of Minnesota. My gut roils in hope; I can hardly keep my hands still. It's too much to be so close. It would be such a perfect combination of all the things I want for next year. Pl...
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Green Week (3)
This is how my brain looks, I imagine: like the bottom of a pool when the light comes in, that laser circus, that gorgeous flickering, fleeting light. It's strange because I had applied to so many schools so that I could have options, but now I hav...
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!!!
This is where I tell you just how much my brain is buzzing.Came home today to an acceptance package from Pacific University (another one of those top-five low-res programs), which brought my tally up to five. :)Then, hopped on the forums (because I'...
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#3 + #4
Vermont College called me around noontime, when I'd snuck home to let the dogs out. (Long night of conferences ahead.) This is acceptance #3.Vermont College is ranked as one of the top five low-residency MFA programs on Atlantic Monthly's list. Of...
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waiting.
#5Another winter morningI'm expecting your callI stand close to the window and watchmy breath form a rose on the glassI scratch your name on itthen wipe it away with my sleevelistening for your tiresto crunch through the ice on the driveI notice how ...
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why caller id should be banished from this house
Evidence of Reading MosaicThe number on the caller ID came up as the University of Minnesota. My knees went weak and I thought, "This is it!" This is the phone call. Ah, the fates are cruel. The alumni association raising money. And a clear sign...
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bringing the tally up
One more official acceptance: Goddard College, a low-residency program in Vermont.Another letter from Emerson, this with contact information so I can figure out who to harass with my millions of questions.And an envelope from the U of MN; slim, and ...
