Getting people to come to meetings is like getting cows to piss in toilets

So, I'm starting a Art & Literary Series here in Honolulu. Because UH doesn't have a MFA program, I suppose no one thought how important it was for MA and PhD students who are pursuing degrees in creative writing to be able to show their outside of workshops. So here I am, a first year PhD student, who just got her funding cut, trying to reach out not only to the English department at UH, but to other departments as well.

Tonight was the M.I.A. Art & Literary Series information session where students, faculty, department heads, etc. were invited to hear about M.I.A.'s mission of creating a bridge between genres rather than separate them, as well as to create a bridge between the academic artistic community and the local artistic community.

C'MON NOW, DOESN'T THAT SOUND AT LEAST MILDLY INTERESTING?

Apparently nothing like this has been done before at UH...which is all the more reason to put your energy into a program like this. My friend Nikki and I walked into Kuykendall 410 at ten 'till five, after a department meeting, to set up for our M.I.A. meeting. We were armed with Safeway snacks, expecting a smallish legion, but only four people out of the committee showed up, 2 from the English department.

I do hope things pick up and the graduate students at UH realize that this is as much for them as it is for the community.