Internship Opportunity with Poets & Writers

Poets & Writers is very pleased to announce the launch of a new, paid Fellowship program designed to develop future leaders for the literary field.

Each year, two individuals will have an opportunity to work with Poets & Writers, 20 hours per week for 10 months. One Fellow will work with the editorial department and one with the Readings/Workshops program. (This year, the R/W Fellow will work in our Los Angeles office.) These paid positions will provide exposure to literary programming or publishing, along with unique opportunities to learn about the field.

While the program is perhaps best suited to a current graduate student, or someone who has recently completed a graduate degree, we welcome applications from other qualified candidates as well.

We are currently seeking applications for the 2010 Editorial Fellowship, which will begin in September. The application deadline is June 15. I've attached the full description, which is also available on our Web site at www.pw.org/about-us/career_opportunities. Please make it available to your students and colleagues. We would be especially appreciative if you would bring this opportunity to the attention of prospective candidates you think have the potential to make an important contribution to the field, and who would benefit from this unique opportunity.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at mgradel@pw.org or by telephone at 212-226-3586.

Best regards,
Melissa Ford Gradel

Evaluation form Correction

Sorry--the post below had the forms reversed. Please see it now for corrected instructions on filing your evaluations.

Faculty/Course Evaluations

If you are enrolled in any course this semester, please download, complete and return evaluation forms from the MFA web site. These forms are an important part of our program review process and are crucial for faculty in their performance reviews.

http://www.wcsu.edu/writing/mfa//Student%20Forms.asp

Please complete the Program Course Evaluation Form for ALL mentors; you may email it to me or Laurel or mail it to the MFA office. If your mentor is Briggs, De Los Santos, Clements, Witkavitch, Cohen, Hagan, Clements, Steinmetz, Misercola, Lowe, Kosek, or Holub (all of whom have taught, are teaching, or will teach in traditional courses on campus and thus undergo faculty performance review), please ALSO complete the Departmental Course Evaluation Form ONLY if your mentor asks you to do so; that form should be emailed or mailed to Sharon Foster in the Writing Dept. office.

All evaluation forms must be received in the MFA office no later than May 22 or they will be discarded.

Office Hours for Thesis Turn-In on Friday

If you plan to bring your thesis (2 copies) to the office on Friday, please plan to do so between 9 am and 1 pm. The office will be closed the rest of the day.

"In Praise of the Short Story"

The latest issue (June 2010) of The Writer is out, and includes my essay, "In Praise of the Short Story." Originally, I'd called the essay "Why Write What Nobody Reads?" (good question, eh?) and after a talk with the editor we moved toward "In Defense of the Short Story" but finally we went with an up title. So, if you're interested in short stories and looking for a mentor, well, uhm, *koff koff* ahem...

The issue also includes an essay by Jane Yolen from 1973, a piece by Daniyal Mueenuddin, and an interview with John Berendt.

The Writer is one of the best and certainly the oldest (founded in 1887!) magazines for writers and aspirants. I hope some of you check it out.