Lit Woes

So the second semester of the first year is shaping up much differently than my first one. First, I love getting variety in workshop instruction, getting something different, coming to understand how another professor looks at poems and guides us to look at poems. Because of the weather we've only met at Rita's house once so far and that sucks, but that's not supposed to be the point of workshop lol.

This is a two year program so some of the second years have been submitting poems more frequently in preparation for their final thesis. Just when you think you've gotten to know their work...boom...some sort of crazy leap happens and a huge progression is obvious (not that they weren't already great). I feel this way about pretty much all of their poems lately. It's pretty amazing and inspiring. I'll take some progression please. Yes, one large lump of it would do. As far as my progress, I think the biggest thing that my professors and classmates have helped me to focus on with my work is an economy of words and really tightening my language. So we'll see where that takes me.

My first semester was very easy academically. Which was a nice break. Not that the writing was easy, it never really is. But this semester is a challenge so far with my lit class. I was an undergrad English major and I'm taking a graduate level lit seminar. A lot of the people in the class are first year PhD students whom I assume were also undergrad English majors. So to kill my intimidation I assured myself that only one semester separates our knowledge base. This would work for me if UVA wasn't apparently storing first year PhDs in pods their first semester, feeding them knowledge and the ability to speak intelligently, read quickly and still retain all the key points to discuss in class. I don't feel like I fit in my lit class, I almost feel like it's their class and not mine, kind of how I might feel if they were in the MFA workshop maybe. They don't make me feel this way. The professor doesn't necessarily make me feel this way. I do think the professor recognizes there are things I haven't learned as an MFA student that the Lit kids obviously picked up in their pod infusions. When I said I wasn't familiar with something, she said, "Well, you're creative writing." I made it clear that I was in the class for the opportunity to learn though. I don't know. It's seriously an internal struggle. Probably why I write poems in the margins of my notebook all during class.