academiquennui
Ah, all it takes, it seems, to make me start hating academia again is an evening of reading writing samples and letters of reference. What glib motherfuckers we become when we become something in this business! And how disjointed and wrong-footed writing about literature by the newer generation (that is to say, my generation) has become.
My god, I write good letters for my students. I will not stop doing this, even though the bar has just been dramatically lowered.
Advice to future job seekers: it is ostensibly “unethical,” but if you at all can, get someone with the key to the cabinet to check your dossier letters for you before they’re sent out. Jesus. I wish I could go on about this, but I really can’t. To be perfectly honest, someone – a very kind woman who was especially kind to me – did this for me at some point early on. No problems with mine, but people can be dicks. Seriously. The business is hard enough without a unjustly toxic letter in your file.
I’ll reply to the new k-punk / poetix stuff once I get a second. I’ll even link to those that I talk about – how about that for class! Looks unlikely, though, that it’ll be tomorrow as I’m booked all day (see above) and I’ve got friends in town tomorrow night. Sociality comes to Ads’s house! The wonders never cease! You have no idea how bad I feel that I’ve not got the weedwacker out to shave our 10X10 patch of grass.
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