[stylist] April and a Poem Submission

Thu Apr 12 21:10:14 UTC 2012

Jackie, I will try to answer your questions about the MFA programs.

A person can do their MFA in whatever way they have created to do it. 
However, you will work with a committee during your entire process. 
Everything you do goes through your committee and has to have their 
approval.
It is quite different in every way than doing an undergrad degree. The MFA 
is a terminal degree in literature and in fine/studio  art.

 My background in poetry goes back to the anceints though with studies in 
Greek and Roman literature; Medieval, Renaissance, Romantic, etc. Along with 
the literature preparations you had previously,  you will have had intense 
studies in philosophy and history so that you have a good foundation on 
which to understand the works of writers and artists.

Competition for a spot in any  MFA program is fierce -   very competative. 
Only a select  few spots are offered in most programs each year for new 
students. You have to figure out what universities have the faculty who  are 
philosophically where you want to be in your own work. For each of my 
degrees, I cnose universities because of the faculty I would have the 
opportunity to work with. These people will be your mentors through the 
program, your committee that sits in judgement of everything you say and do, 
and often times will be life-long friends and professional colleagues.

The other interesting thing is that even though a person gets into a MFA 
program, I have seen quite a few not make it past the first year.  Or, I 
have also seen some who worked through until the final day of their program, 
and then be denied the degree. That means, if they want to continue on with 
their career, they must try to get into another university, and begin all 
over again, from scratch.  This happened to two of my friends. One 
eventually went to a different university and made it through. the other 
called it quits and just left for the west coast where she built a new life 
and she never did get that degree she had worked on for so long.

the work on my own  MFA spanned the distance from the ancient past (the 
marks left in ancient pre-historic caves) to the present and my focus was on 
the collective memory. My thesis work is titled "A Commemorative 
Recollection."   Memory has always been of interest in all my studies. When 
I wrote my tenure project at the college where I taught, the title of it was 
"Abstraction:  The Power of Memory."

The other thing is that to get an advanced degree in English at just about 
any university I know of, you must be able to write and read in at least two 
different languages. You are tested in the languages of your choice and that 
is a prerequesite for applying.

I had the privilege today to attend a lecture given by my former professor. 
It was so wonderful to be seated there in her classroom (she is now retired) 
and hear her lecturing again.  Yesterday, it was I who was lecturing at a 
different classroom at a different location.  Lecturing is a very important 
part of everything we do when working and in our retirement. It just keeps 
on going! It is a very good life and I have not regreted my path in life for 
one moment.

I do not believe in ever having a "plan B."  Because if you do, I can 
guarantee that is exactly where a person will be going. If there is only a 
"Plan A" than that is the only place where you will go - you have closed off 
all other doors. I knew from the first day I entered college exactly where I 
would be going in my career. My goal was to be a professor and there was 
never any other plan for me. When I advised students i told them to do what 
they love to do most of all, and to never leave that path behind and not 
allow anyone else to ever take them away from their goal.

Lynda

 Lynda Lambert
104 River Road
Ellwood City, PA 16117

724 758 4979

My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 3:18 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] April and a Poem Submission

> Lynda,
> I wanted to mention that this an enlightening definition of post-modern
> poetry. I have had difficult accepting poems that I cannot understand. 
> That
> is, until I read your words about what it is really is. Is this the main
> focus of an MFA in poetry?
> You are the person I have needed to expand my understanding of this craft 
> in
> all of its manifestations up to and through the present.
> Jackie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
> Sent: Monday, April 02, 2012 8:02 AM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] April and a Poem Submission
>
> thanks for asking, Barbara.
> It is a Pantoum form, originating in Malasia.
> It is written in quatrains - they are repeating throughout the poem which
> gives it the structure    of a weaving and brings movement and life to the
> poem.
>
> Many of my poems are written in Pantoum, Villanel, and Sestina. the 
> Sestina
> is my favorite form, and I write many of them. Otherwise, my poetry is in
> post-modern configurations requiring the reader to create as they read.
> Because of the structure of post modern works, the reader has decisions to
> make continually while reading the poem. The reader becomes part of the
> creative process - the poem is not complete without the reader's
> participation, and no two readers will make the same decisions while 
> reading
>
> so the poem is ever changing each time it is performed or read. But, even
> when I am writing in a particular form - there are always post modern
> references throughout the text that continually bring the reader back to 
> the
>
> exact moment of the writing itself - always references to the ACT of
> writing, while writing. You can find those things in the poem as well, 
> even
> though it is a Pantoum. The poem, for me, is a weaving on numerous levels
> simultaneously.
> Writing is first of all a physical ACT, a movement of the body, mind, and
> spirit all working in tandum.
>
> Hope this helps as you read it - like looking at a painting, the colors 
> and
> strokes all done in layers upon layers.
>
>
> Lynda Lambert
> 104 River Road
> Ellwood City, PA 16117
>
> 724 758 4979
>
> My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
> My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Barbara Hammel" <poetlori8 at msn.com>
> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2012 10:47 PM
> Subject: Re: [stylist] April and a Poem Submission
>
>
>> What type of poem is this?  Is it a made-up structure or does it have a
>> name?  Tomorrow when the twins are in school, I'm going to hook up my
>> Braille display so I can run my fingers through it and truly absorb it.
>> It's pretty.
>> Barbara
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance. -- Carl Sandburg
>> -----Original Message----- 
>> From: Lynda Lambert
>> Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2012 8:20 AM
>> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] April and a Poem Submission
>>
>> Ah, here it comes!
>> It's just around the corner.
>>
>> It is nearly April.
>>
>> I have attached  a poem I wrote in 2001 - "In the Storms of April -
>> Plunge"
>> (An excerpt from my book _ Concerti:  Psalms for the Pilgrimage_
>> I wrote it in response to a friend who had sent me a poem he wrote.)
>>
>>
>> April is  National Poetry Month!
>> April brings fresh new  experiences and inspirations for our writing.
>>
>> Poetry is in the spring sunshine and cast shadows of my Zen Meditation
>> Garden this morning.
>>
>> My white cat, Angel, is curled up in a little bed of green leaves, He
>> sleeps there  among the thick Periwinkle vines like a bright furry bird 
>> in
>
>> his expansive nest.
>>
>> I thought I heard Poetry  in the woods, quietly moving about behind the
>> delicate green buds of the thickets today. I walked my eager and hungry
>> dogs early this morning. I paused at the top of the cliff and let the 
>> dogs
>
>> sniff it out. They were at full alert. They barked and growled. Scratched
>> the rich black earth beneath the limp leaves, the debris of winter that
>> lines the floor of the woods. It  had vanished.
>>
>> April is National Poetry Month.
>>
>> Is there anything you will be doing to celebrate this month?
>>
>> For Poetry Month I pledge to spend my early morning hours here in my
>> office. I'll enjoy my  cup of Puerto Rican coffee, as I work to capture
>> some of the images from my daily life through poetry.  There will be
>> nothing here but the sounds and smells of the early morning hours wafting
>> in through the open window.  I'll try to capture the flight of fancy that
>> fills my fingertips as I type.
>>
>> Lynda
>>
>>
>>
>> My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
>> My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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