Science Fiction vs the university

I applied to MFA programs too—I know how he feels. There is a strong prejudice against genre fiction at universities. Honestly, I'm not sure if they would let me in now, and I'm published.

I've probably spoken of this before. A part of me gets frustrated, though another part can kind of understand. They don't understand SF, and want to focus on the types of writing that they DO understand.

Still, it annoys me. Some of you may know about my struggle at BYU to make certain that a science-fiction themed creative writing class is offered this winter. We've had one the last four years, and the administration tried to cancel it this year—our advisor retired this spring, and I guess they saw this as an opportunity to get rid of that embarassing genre fiction class.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Perhaps they simply wanted to cancel it because they couldn't find an appropriate teacher—all they have is me, and I don't have an advanced degree.

Anyway, maybe I should get to work on those letters of recommendation . . .