Should I Submit This Poem On My Mfa Application

How can a brilliant poet be recognized without higher education?

My old teacher Thomas Lux used to say, “Good poems get written, and it doesn't matter who writes them.” I tend to agree. I know a lot of fine poets who have published books, etc, app don't have MFAs. That said they've all dedicated themselves to poetry.The first question is, who has recognized this person as a “brilliant poet”? A lot of people think they're talented until the time comes to be judged by a group of recognized authorities. This is what happens in early rounds of shows like Project Runway or The Voice, right?The other thing is that there are brilliant, “uneducated” artists of all sorts out there--painters, musicians, writers-- who make their art, sometimes recognized locally, sometimes working in obscurity, but doing what they love. That's not s a bad thing.And how many poets living today, formally educated or not, are recognized in this country?There are ways for poets without formal education to get recognized by the literary community. They are very similar to what poets do get MFAs do: become part of a literary community, join writers groups, participate in community workshops, do readings, send work to literary journals, send book manuscripts to publishers, read (and I don't mean read Instagram poets). And read more.The only things studying poetry in an MFA program provide are the following:Time to devote to reading and writing.Critics who are invested in your becoming a better poet.A community in which poetry and your writing of it is valued.A push to challenge yourself to grow as a poet and reader.Discernment.What it doesn't guarantee is that you're talented. It doesn't guarantee you'll get published, win a Guggenheim, or be recognized for being brilliant. That comes with dedication to craft, to wanting to always grow as a writer. The best poets care less about being recognized as brilliant poets and worry more about writing brilliant poems.

How can one get a collection of poems published?

In poetry, publishing a book can bring varying degrees of success depending on which press publishes you.Poets never have literary agents, but there is one organization I know of that does help emerging writers out with this sort of thing. They're called http://www.writersrelief.com, they have a website and you can contact them and for a fee they will help you place your work in venues. Also, I agree with previous commentors. "well-written" is subjective. Also, I'm not sure I know of many serious presses that consider "humorous" poems unless they come from someone doing Dr. Seuss type stuff. Regardless of this, most poets would never consider them marketable. Most poetry presses on average will print under 1,000 copies of their book. If a book of poems sells more than that, it's considered a moderate success. Also, there's no advances given to poets for publishing a book of poems. You can consider publishing a chapbook. Many poetry major poetry presses are affiliated with universities. Although there are a few major indie poetry publishers, but ideally you'd want to investigate what kind of books they put out. This could be expensive, but I'd recommend looking at the roster of authors and finding poems by those authors online and seeing where you fit. http://newpages.com has an excellent list of presses on their side bar. But as someone said before, you should send poems out individually to journals and magazines to build up a reputation. It's rare for books of poems to be published without the poems not being placed in magazines at least a couple of times.

I am about to send out my application to MFA programs in poetry. How should I arrange the pages?

All good answers here, and I agree that the poems that will make the greatest impression are those that come first and come last, since that's just how the mind works.Twenty poems is a lot of poems--I only had to submit six or so back in 1980 when I went through the same routine, so much easier then. Other folks have noted this, but one thing I would emphasize is to think thematically and about how the poems read in sequence--like how does the work as a whole cohere in terms of the movement from one poem to the next as well as the overall arc of the collection.I think Jenny Doughty's musical analogy is useful--I would agree that you should arrange your work in a way that has a certain harmony and order, with no discordant notes--unless of course you are doing that intentionally. The whole idea of "theme" is an interesting one--is it about the content of the work and how it connects, or about sense impressions, style and voice, or even about formal aspects? Perhaps if you look closely at the work of which you are most fond and consider what kinds of thematic elements inhere in those poems, the reflection might lead you to a sort of organizing principle.It's worth considering that 20 poems make a chapbook--in fact, they make a book (think Bishop's Geography III or Larkin's High Windows.) You might want to take a look at a few books like that to see how others have managed a collection of that size--since I do think you should think of it as a collection, not just a random sample.My guess is that everyone here who has said you should highlight your strongest work through placement is on the right track--ultimately, it's your best work that will get you accepted with the kind of deal that will make the degree worth it financially. But I do think that the question of what kind of sensibility and matter are displayed in the collection will also matter, and so you may want to spend some time and effort thinking not just of how you can showcase your best work, but also how you can represent who you are as a young poet. Ultimately, these programs depend on the future success of their students for reputation--along, of course, with the teachers they can bring in, which is a sort of symbiotic thing. So one thing to consider is whether you can find an arrangement that represents the aspirational side of your art and craft--that shows not just where you are, but where you are headed.Good luck!

Is it possible to get admitted to an MFA creative-writing program without an undergraduate degree in English?

Yes. MFA writing programs value the writing sample over all other credentials, including transcripts, degrees, and GRE score. Of course this flexibility varies from program to program.In my MFA program I saw a professor take under his wing a talented young writer who had only some community college work (but no degree beyond high school). The accolyte attended some of our workshops even though he wasn't formally enrolled in our program. Some letters were written; recommendations were made; connections were tapped; then he was accepted not into our program but into the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the queen of all writing programs. We were all terribly jealous.My hunch then is that if your writing sample shows some chops, then you can get into an MFA program with a non-related degree (a physics major, perhaps), without a degree at all, or maybe without even graduating from high school. But your best bet is to graduate.

If asked for a writing sample, what is an appropriate length to send?

One page is adequate. They are typically look for grammar, expression, and logical progression of the idea. All of which are demonstrated in an essay or a letter. And writing sample, most often then not, are writing that has been published or publicly used.

What are the top MFA poetry programs in the United States?

This article from Poets & Writers lists the top MFA programs for 2012.  They are listed in overall rank order -- the poetry rank is several columns to the right.  While rankings may have changed somewhat in the last year+, the top programs are still most likely the top programs.  2012 MFA Rankings: The Top Fifty