It's true and they should say it
Feb. 28th, 2023 05:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingBy the way isn’t it funny how class is never ever mentioned with the whole “ownvoices” thing
https://tristealven.tumblr.com/post/694104285137485824
There’s less and less of the “spent a decade working as a pizza delivery guy, paint salesman, and window washer while writing scenes on napkins behind the pizza place” best-selling writers and more and more of the “graduated from an ivy league school, landed a $700,000 book deal at age 23 and is now a full time writer” best-selling writers
As a literature professor at an Ivy League school, let me tell you. This is true. It's not that these kids aren't talented, but it's also worth remarking that they're all privilege all the way down. "But this one is a queer writer of color," you may be saying, and sure. I get that. Still, their parents are literal millionaires. They have certain advantages that the rest of us do not.
Like this is a big problem with literary magazines, they try to publish writers that are “diverse,” but those writers are virtually all people that have the ability to pursue a MFA and/or a PhD in poetry.
Also true! I can't help but wonder how "diverse" an entire generation of literary magazines can be if all the writers and editors went to the same posh private high schools, Ivy League colleges, and fancy MFA programs. This is "diverse" writing created by people who have never worked a day in their lives, and it shows.
Obviously I am not saying that there should not be actual diversity in who gets published and who gets to participate in higher education. Rather, I think it's fair to say that the concept of "diversity" has been co-opted by the elite to promote their own cultural interests.
Although I should also say: Regarding PhD programs, there are actually a fair number of lower-income PhD candidates in Ivy League schools. This is because these PhD programs guarantee an annual stipend. This annual stipend often comes with research funding, travel funding, and paid internships that can add up to more than $30k a year. If $30k a year doesn't sound like a lot to you, you're right; but it does sound like a lot to a 21-year-old with upwardly-mobile ambitions but no connections and no real career prospects.
Don't get me wrong, though. Getting a PhD is still a terrible life decision. Case in point: These days I look back on a guaranteed income of $30k a year and sigh wistfully.
https://tristealven.tumblr.com/post/694104285137485824
There’s less and less of the “spent a decade working as a pizza delivery guy, paint salesman, and window washer while writing scenes on napkins behind the pizza place” best-selling writers and more and more of the “graduated from an ivy league school, landed a $700,000 book deal at age 23 and is now a full time writer” best-selling writers
As a literature professor at an Ivy League school, let me tell you. This is true. It's not that these kids aren't talented, but it's also worth remarking that they're all privilege all the way down. "But this one is a queer writer of color," you may be saying, and sure. I get that. Still, their parents are literal millionaires. They have certain advantages that the rest of us do not.
Like this is a big problem with literary magazines, they try to publish writers that are “diverse,” but those writers are virtually all people that have the ability to pursue a MFA and/or a PhD in poetry.
Also true! I can't help but wonder how "diverse" an entire generation of literary magazines can be if all the writers and editors went to the same posh private high schools, Ivy League colleges, and fancy MFA programs. This is "diverse" writing created by people who have never worked a day in their lives, and it shows.
Obviously I am not saying that there should not be actual diversity in who gets published and who gets to participate in higher education. Rather, I think it's fair to say that the concept of "diversity" has been co-opted by the elite to promote their own cultural interests.
Although I should also say: Regarding PhD programs, there are actually a fair number of lower-income PhD candidates in Ivy League schools. This is because these PhD programs guarantee an annual stipend. This annual stipend often comes with research funding, travel funding, and paid internships that can add up to more than $30k a year. If $30k a year doesn't sound like a lot to you, you're right; but it does sound like a lot to a 21-year-old with upwardly-mobile ambitions but no connections and no real career prospects.
Don't get me wrong, though. Getting a PhD is still a terrible life decision. Case in point: These days I look back on a guaranteed income of $30k a year and sigh wistfully.
