Your analogies. Your wizardry as a wordsmith. That’s why I’ve always admired you. The fact that you are shooting for an MBA is icing on the cake. Good Luck, Stef!
Absolutely loved seeing this vintage dress and reading the history about who wore it! Also, congrats on going for your MFA! I took a few poetry classes for my creative writing bachelor's degree, but was never all that great at it. I like to do it for myself, but wouldn't say I can make a career out of it lol. Love learning about it though! I probably learned the most from my poetry classes, honestly. What made you choose poetry specifically?
Hey Summer! It was odd seeing a museum-y dress in a vintage store, and when I had names to look up, I was like: OK! It's on. Getting an MFA is kind of a fool's errand, I guess, so why not make it the ultimate fool's errand and do poetry!? I think there are only two people in America (Rupi Kaur and Billy Collins) making a living as an actual poet. I think learning about it helps you read it, and I feel like reading it can change your brain cells. Like how they scientifically proved that fiction makes us more empathetic people. As soon as I get my legs under me, I think I'm going to start taking Spanish and French and look into literary translation as a career. There is so much out there that I'd love to see greater access too, including poets of the French diaspora. We shall see. In the meantime, here's an article about the world's oldest pair of pants: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/vintage-fashion-story-old-clothes-talk-point
Haha I loved that article! It really got me thinking about the oldest item of clothing I own. I definitely own some really old jewelry(my grandma is always passing down vintage jewelry she's either bought from thrift stores or that's been in the family a long time), but the oldest item of clothing I own would probably be a cardigan sweater my mom gave me that she used to wear when she was in her 20s :).
Lol! That's so true about poetry. It's hard to really make a living with it, but you can definitely learn a lot from it! I notice what I learned in my poetry classes affects how I read and write.
That's cool about going into literary translation though! I always found that really fascinating because of how just one difference in wording can change the overall understanding. Or how certain things just don't translate over in the same way. Definitely a challenge to translate works from other languages!
Missing from the newspaper story is the part where she was abandoned at a convent by her greedy aunt as part of a plot to take the family fortune. After slaving away in the laundry room all day, the future Mrs. McCord would stay up all night hand sewing the nuns discarded habits into a hot air balloon. It took eight long years of sewing before she she would be able to make her escape. She drifted on the jet stream for eight days and nights before running out of fuel and sandbags, ultimately coming to rest on the front lawn of the Masonic College for Women, where she was immediately accepted and given a full scholarship for "Extreme audacity in the face of personal hardship."
They also left out the part about her alchemy lab in the attic of the science building, and how she apprenticed in sorority where sister learned how to embroider the Eye of God on Scottish Rite Aprons. They also didn't mention her aspirations for becoming the First Lady of Masonic Manufacturing. Alas, J.P. Luther, and a bunch of other men, filled that niche, and she spent her adult years holding luncheons where the pink butter mints had to exactly match the roses in the table arrangements. Maybe she continued a secret society sewing practice into her old age; it was secret. So no one knows. But I know even in the hyper-efficient 21st century, E WALEY MASONIC MANUFACTURING would be producing nicer aprons than these guys: https://www.jpluther.com/2022-JPLuther-Catalog-Low.pdf
This Historiola! Is especially timely. A number of voices seem to be joining in harmony to call for more recognition of women who designed women’s clothes or are doing so now. Women designers is the subject of a show this winter at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Women Dressing Women, The Met 5th Ave., Dec. 7, 2023 to Mar. 6, 2024
Thank you, Jim! I subscribe to Vanessa Friedman's newsletter, but somehow missed this story. It's lovely. I want to read more about both Anne Lowe and Adèle Henriette Negrin Fortuny — I didn't know about either woman. This looks like a good excuse to make a NYC trip over Thanksgiving Break, with stops at the Jewish Museum and the Met. I posted another link above, but I was really tickled about this story on the world's oldest pair of trousers: https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/the-worlds-oldest-pants-are-a-3000-year-old-engineering-marvel/
Fascinating piece, Stef! And congratulations on your impending MFA--I feel like they should award you one as an honorary degree, on the strength of your existing work, but then you'd miss the fun and excitement of getting to workshop with a bunch of smart and interesting people. Anyway, I'm excited for you--it seems like a great way for you to make the connections you will need for wider publication.
Thanks, Rene! You are so sweet. I adore the people I've met so far, and the experience really is being in a micro-community of other writers and having the luxury to read deeply and have smart people point out what you're doing right (and more importantly, where your weak spots are). I love the University of New Orleans — it's a real underdog institution, which means no silly stuck-up pretentiousness. My poetry workshop prof is a technician, and very focused on the mathematical and structural aspect of poetry, which I feel like I'm missing because my undergrad workshops were so focused on voice. The second-year folks tell me he breaks poems down on a molecular level, and focuses on old-fashioned stuff like scansion. No one teaches that stuff anymore, so I feel like it's an opportunity to improve skills I'm weak in. Thomas and I went to the first grad-school reading last night, and it was just so open-hearted and jubilant and warm. I'm excited!
Another great story!
Aw, thanks Trent! You are a pal.
Your analogies. Your wizardry as a wordsmith. That’s why I’ve always admired you. The fact that you are shooting for an MBA is icing on the cake. Good Luck, Stef!
Thank you, fellow wizardy wordsmith (and brilliant artist!).
Absolutely loved seeing this vintage dress and reading the history about who wore it! Also, congrats on going for your MFA! I took a few poetry classes for my creative writing bachelor's degree, but was never all that great at it. I like to do it for myself, but wouldn't say I can make a career out of it lol. Love learning about it though! I probably learned the most from my poetry classes, honestly. What made you choose poetry specifically?
Hey Summer! It was odd seeing a museum-y dress in a vintage store, and when I had names to look up, I was like: OK! It's on. Getting an MFA is kind of a fool's errand, I guess, so why not make it the ultimate fool's errand and do poetry!? I think there are only two people in America (Rupi Kaur and Billy Collins) making a living as an actual poet. I think learning about it helps you read it, and I feel like reading it can change your brain cells. Like how they scientifically proved that fiction makes us more empathetic people. As soon as I get my legs under me, I think I'm going to start taking Spanish and French and look into literary translation as a career. There is so much out there that I'd love to see greater access too, including poets of the French diaspora. We shall see. In the meantime, here's an article about the world's oldest pair of pants: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/vintage-fashion-story-old-clothes-talk-point
Haha I loved that article! It really got me thinking about the oldest item of clothing I own. I definitely own some really old jewelry(my grandma is always passing down vintage jewelry she's either bought from thrift stores or that's been in the family a long time), but the oldest item of clothing I own would probably be a cardigan sweater my mom gave me that she used to wear when she was in her 20s :).
Lol! That's so true about poetry. It's hard to really make a living with it, but you can definitely learn a lot from it! I notice what I learned in my poetry classes affects how I read and write.
That's cool about going into literary translation though! I always found that really fascinating because of how just one difference in wording can change the overall understanding. Or how certain things just don't translate over in the same way. Definitely a challenge to translate works from other languages!
Missing from the newspaper story is the part where she was abandoned at a convent by her greedy aunt as part of a plot to take the family fortune. After slaving away in the laundry room all day, the future Mrs. McCord would stay up all night hand sewing the nuns discarded habits into a hot air balloon. It took eight long years of sewing before she she would be able to make her escape. She drifted on the jet stream for eight days and nights before running out of fuel and sandbags, ultimately coming to rest on the front lawn of the Masonic College for Women, where she was immediately accepted and given a full scholarship for "Extreme audacity in the face of personal hardship."
They also left out the part about her alchemy lab in the attic of the science building, and how she apprenticed in sorority where sister learned how to embroider the Eye of God on Scottish Rite Aprons. They also didn't mention her aspirations for becoming the First Lady of Masonic Manufacturing. Alas, J.P. Luther, and a bunch of other men, filled that niche, and she spent her adult years holding luncheons where the pink butter mints had to exactly match the roses in the table arrangements. Maybe she continued a secret society sewing practice into her old age; it was secret. So no one knows. But I know even in the hyper-efficient 21st century, E WALEY MASONIC MANUFACTURING would be producing nicer aprons than these guys: https://www.jpluther.com/2022-JPLuther-Catalog-Low.pdf
WOMEN DESIGNERS
This Historiola! Is especially timely. A number of voices seem to be joining in harmony to call for more recognition of women who designed women’s clothes or are doing so now. Women designers is the subject of a show this winter at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Women Dressing Women, The Met 5th Ave., Dec. 7, 2023 to Mar. 6, 2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/style/female-designers-metropolitan-museum-musee-des-arts-decortifs.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Thank you, Jim! I subscribe to Vanessa Friedman's newsletter, but somehow missed this story. It's lovely. I want to read more about both Anne Lowe and Adèle Henriette Negrin Fortuny — I didn't know about either woman. This looks like a good excuse to make a NYC trip over Thanksgiving Break, with stops at the Jewish Museum and the Met. I posted another link above, but I was really tickled about this story on the world's oldest pair of trousers: https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/the-worlds-oldest-pants-are-a-3000-year-old-engineering-marvel/
Fascinating piece, Stef! And congratulations on your impending MFA--I feel like they should award you one as an honorary degree, on the strength of your existing work, but then you'd miss the fun and excitement of getting to workshop with a bunch of smart and interesting people. Anyway, I'm excited for you--it seems like a great way for you to make the connections you will need for wider publication.
Thanks, Rene! You are so sweet. I adore the people I've met so far, and the experience really is being in a micro-community of other writers and having the luxury to read deeply and have smart people point out what you're doing right (and more importantly, where your weak spots are). I love the University of New Orleans — it's a real underdog institution, which means no silly stuck-up pretentiousness. My poetry workshop prof is a technician, and very focused on the mathematical and structural aspect of poetry, which I feel like I'm missing because my undergrad workshops were so focused on voice. The second-year folks tell me he breaks poems down on a molecular level, and focuses on old-fashioned stuff like scansion. No one teaches that stuff anymore, so I feel like it's an opportunity to improve skills I'm weak in. Thomas and I went to the first grad-school reading last night, and it was just so open-hearted and jubilant and warm. I'm excited!
That's fantastic! I'm really happy for you and inspired by your radical life changes!