New M.F.A. Students Even Older, More Overqualified than Current Ones (Spring 2003)
New M.F.A. Students Even Older, More Overqualified than Current Ones (Spring 2003)
note: U.C. Irvine’s Creative Writing M.F.A. program has been more highly esteemed than its English & Comparative Literature Ph.D. programs of late.
According to Administrative Coordinator Nancy Benay, next year's incoming class of MFA students are even longer in the tooth than their predecessors.
The mean age of the MFA program as a whole is projected to increase from 34 to 49. Benay cites the competitive nature of the application process to
explain the shift, "In previous years we accepted MFAs who had published in minor magazines and campus literary journals. This year we had to raise the stakes a little bit."
Incoming students include budding talents such as Thomas Pynchon, Toni Morrison, and J.D. Salinger. Says Salinger, "I've been having some trouble lately getting my work on track and I think the UCI program may be the solution." Newly hired MFA program director William H. Gass says that Salinger's sample
submission, "Franny and Zoey" won mixed approval with the selection committee. "It was better than some we got. The pacing was poor and it probably would have been tighter without all of that stuff about incessant prayer. But he has a lot of natural talent that hopefully can be polished."