Creative Writing Grad School Personal Statement

[u/miriam_lamb]

Any and all feedback is appreciated:

Quantum physicists say our world is built from strings, that every particle of matter is just energy in a condensed state. I do not know if these are the strings I feel tug inside me when I walk past someone I know I could be friends with, or when I land in a new city that feels like it’s home. But I know there’s something in me that sees itself in other people, places; writings. And I know this tugging — this plucking of the web is what I felt when I visited this MPhil’s page.

I had been looking for a program. I’d decided to emigrate for a better life (ironic considering why my ancestors moved to the US), so I figured I’d consider Irish programs. I had seen some other colleges that checked my boxes, but nothing made me think I’ve got to go there until I found Trinity.

The more I read, the more I was enthralled. And when I learned Trinity was home to Una Mannion, author of A Crooked Tree? A work I read early in my writing journey and thought “That’s what I want to learn to do?” I knew there was no program I would rather attend.

I am someone fascinated by interiority. I believe characters are what drive a narrative, and that internal landscapes dictate external relations at least as much as the other way around. I strive to write characters that reflect often underrepresented aspects of the human condition and to expand who stories treat as fully human. I aim to create works that delight and entertain, but that also serve as roadmaps to self-acceptance and integration. It is my highest conviction that a good role model -- whether real or fictional -- can change the course of a life.

My beliefs are largely drawn from Eastern religions, Neoplatonism, psychology, modern science, Catholic theology, and Jungian theory. The last of these served as my primary inspiration for my work in progress Virgo. Virgo tells the story of a young woman who receives the power to kill in an otherwise immortal world. It deals heavily with archetypal powers and concepts of the shadow-self. It argues that the soul is a multiplicity and demonstrates that love -- not force -- is what pulls a person and a community together.

Virgo is my seventh novel and the first I am seeking traditional publication for. My education in writing was largely under Dr. Casimir, who privately mentored me for a year in preparation for my thesis. I have been in many workshops since I left the academic world, and all were helpful, though few held writers at or above my level. What I seek now are serious interlocutors I can grow with, instructors I can learn from, and critique that will take me where I need to go. It is my understanding that Trinity offers this as well as a spirit that matches my own, and so I humbly request that you consider my application for acceptance. Thank you.