Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ph.Did

I can't believe it's been 10 days since I crossed that stage, was hooded by my advisor, and shook the Purdue president's hand. And today, finally, it said in the online transcript system that it was official--that a degree had been awarded.

It's real. I'm done. So they tell me.

I still probably won't believe it until I hold the real diploma in my hands, which should be in the next couple of weeks.

But I'm done. The dissertation was deposited and officially accepted by the university. I'm free to move on to push its research deeper, to seek publication in the academic realms for articles related to it, to move eventually to other related and unrelated research questions.

I'm free, now that the dissertation has been approved, to also immerse myself in other non-academic projects as well, when teaching permits.

And now that I've slept a bit more, have begun to come down from an incredibly stressful year, am beginning to see the fog clear around me, I'm excited to move into a new school year with new syllabi and lesson plans. And I'm beginning to get excited about some of these writing projects as well.

But I need to read some poetry first. It's been a long year with lots of words having been plowed out on demand--I need to remind myself that word play is possible.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congradulations!

Brian Phipps said...

Looking for poetry suggestions?

Deborah Leiter Nyabuti said...

merlene: Thanks!

Brian: Yes, please! I'd love some!

Brian Phipps said...

Ever read Eric Pankey? He and Scott Cairns are top two in my pantheon of favorite poets. I suggest reading "The Late Romances," and if you want more, then "Cenotaph" and "Apocrypha." Those three books form a triptych, with "The Late Romances" being the centerpiece and the best of the three.

Deborah Leiter Nyabuti said...

Love Scott Cairns! I haven't read Eric Pankey, but I'll have to find a copy. I spent some time today with good old Gerard Manley Hopkins. No one does word-mouth feel quite like Hopkins.