<p>@qizixite: Well, the Harvard English department has creative writing courses that you can take but they are open by application =). If I am not mistaken, it is a program in itself where you can take courses on playwriting, fiction, poetry, nonfiction…even screenwriting!</p>
<p>@gunther and reach4thestars: Do you have a favorite writer?</p>
<p>Hurray, another lurker! its good that we are getting waitlistees from a broad range of locations because if I remember correctly, last year they called each geographic region separately. Welcome!</p>
<p>-Optimism!</p>
<p>Even though the question wasn’t directed at me, I’ll go with Thomas Mann or Alexander Dumas. How about you?</p>
<p>hey guys, waitlister from Australia here
sent in an update email to the intl. ad officer, not fileroom. fingers crossed!</p>
<p>qizixite, you are now officially my favorite person on this form. I love Dumas’ books. I recognize he probably isn’t the greatest writer out there in terms of style, or hidden meanings (Joyce corners the market on cryptic), but he can certainly write an addictive story. I finished count of monte cristo within a day of buying it, same with Knight of Maisson Rouge and Last Cavalier. (and I just assumed you meant the younger Dumas)</p>
<p>I will admit, I was really suspicious about The Last Cavalier, and the translation, of which there was only one because it had just been ‘discovered’, wasn’t the greatest. My favorites would have to be the classics: The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and Twenty Years After. The Count of Monte Cristo is awesome as well.</p>
<p>Cool fact! There is proof that Dumas plagiarized full paragraphs at a time from various historical non-fiction writers. </p>
<p>In fact, I think his skill is not so much the originality of his stories, but his character development and writing-flow.</p>
<p>Joyce is fine. “The Dead” was my favorite short story. I just hate how long it takes me to get through his writing. I’m an impatient reader.</p>
<p>Welcome to the thread Mikezy! How’s Australia doing? I just learned that everyone is required to vote or else they get fined; why can’t we do that?</p>
<p>-Optimism!</p>
<p>@MorganSimone I love Thomas Hardy’s style, and my favorite contemporary author write now is Elizabeth Strout. I read Olive Kitteridge this year in my Contemporary Lit class, and it changed my enter perception of literature and really helped me grow as a writer I think.</p>
<p>I already asked this but no one answered haha… if accepted off the waitlist, does anyone know how long we have to decide whether to accept their offer? thanks!</p>
<p>I loved the Count of Monte Cristo! But I do say (if you haven’t noticed my personality yet) that I have an intense affinity for Romanticism and any type of literature that transcends logic and reason. I am in the midst of the second part of Faust and it is AMAZING. I am humbled every time I read a line of it. I also was in the middle of Crime and Punishment. I STRONGLY recommend it to anyone. Dostoyevsky is a genius. His characters are so complex and enigmatic. </p>
<p>If accepted off the waitlist, I believe some students from last year said they had until June 1st which happens to be my birthday lol.</p>
<p>gcall. I’m kind of in the same boat as you. I’m from PA as well and would like to major in history but I’m not really sure yet. In the meantime I have enrolled at Dartmouth</p>
<p>That’s such a difficult question. Favorite author…hm…I have two categories. I love Robert Heinlein for my scifi fix (fun reading) as well as Asimov. That’s the fun stuff. But for quality reading, E.M Forster or Hawthorne.</p>
<p>yeah if you are eligible to vote but don’t, then you have to pay a $50 fine!
oh and the legal age for buying alcohol is 18 :)</p>
<p>The Last Cavalier was different, but I was still a fan. Do have to agree with you on the strength of his character development–by the end you absolutely need to know what happens to them. And, sad though it may be, I never actually read the Three Musketeers. I know they are his true classics, but…eh. </p>
<p>Have to disagree with you on the everyone being required to vote point though. While voter turnout is ridiculously low, honestly, I feel that if people can’t bring themselves to vote, I really would prefer they didn’t. They would likely be completely uninformed about candidates and issues, so I’d prefer they not go in and cast their ballots blindly.</p>
<p>(trying to catch up on my pointless posts count)</p>
<p>okay Gunther, we should be pals. Have you read any of the old Heinlein books? Double Star is a great one. On a non-Heinlein Science-Fiction note, I also recommend The Demolished Man and The Chronicles of Amber (hurray Zelazny).</p>
<p>F. Scott Fitzgerald all the way</p>
<p>gcall, never read The Three Musketeers? <em>I shake my head sorrowfully</em> I propose that we make that book a requirement for getting off the waitlist as well. I’m updating the waitlistee list because HurtLocker seems to be missing.</p>
<p>No, I haven’t read his old stuff. Give me some more titles to read. I have read maybe 8 of his novels. Love Friday and all the classics especially Stranger in a Strange Land, Time Enough for Love, and the Cat Who Walks through Walls. I LOVE Gatsby.</p>
<p>@Morgane I agree, somewhat, with you. I love romanticism as it tends to be very flowing and simple (more Romantic poetry than prose, however) Wordsworth is probably my favorite poet. Philosophically, I am a pragmatist and love the Stoics though. Still, from a literature standpoint Romanticism is wonderful. Favorite writer of all time is probably Cicero though. His philosophical writings are very deep and thought-provoking, while very well-reasoned. Plus, my favorite historical figure of all time. And you have to respect a man who would call Marc Antony a male prostitute in front of the Senate of Rome (The Second Phillipic Against Marc Antony is, in my opinion, the greatest speech/insult of all time)</p>
<p>gunther. Yeah Gatsby is my favorite book, closely followed by This Side of Paradise</p>
<p>I can never seem to get into Gatsby, idk why lol. Other great works of literature that I really do not like but perhaps will appreciate more in college are The Canterbury Tales and The Grapes of Wrath.</p>
<p>@gcall: Finally someone who “somewhat” sides with me! My AP English Lit class is studying Victorian poetry and I DESPISE it sooo much! And Cicero? Really? Hmmmm…<em>planning an all-day excursion to the nearest Barnes and Noble</em>. Wordsworth is beautiful too. My favorites are John Keats and Lord Byron.</p>
<p>I love Gatsby, the Grapes of Wrath, and Canterbury tales. All favorites.</p>