I have neglected posting

I realize that I promised to post and have not done so. For that reason, I will make the last post worth a few extra points, as a reward for those who have gotten to the end...

Here is my book (Five Quarters of the Orange) post today:

She uses anecdotes to explain the village culture. For example, when talking about feelings about the War (WWII) she gives the story of a girl who’s parents locked her in the attic for 50 years after finding out she’d collaborated with the Germans. “She was sixteen. Fifty years later they brought her out, old and mad, when her father finally died.” Now that is a story that paints a picture of the culture! Anecdotes like that—true or not—can tell more than any amount of explaining.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

I really like this book, and it has gotten a lot more sequential sort of, and easier to read. It's very interesting the way she tells the story. She doesn't complain, or whine, even though her childhood was pretty grim, and her jokes are very understated. She just sort of tells it like it is. She's extremely honest, and since her childhood was so fascinating she can pull it off.
I especially like the part where she's talking about her mother. She says her Grandma told her and her brother Bailey that her parents lived in St. Louis and California (where they can eat oranges whenever they want). But since she believes that they're both dead, she says even the thought of her mother can make her cry. She says when she imagined her mother, she was lying in a coffin, with a brown O for a head and "Since I couldn’t fill in the features I printed M O T H E R across the O, and tears would fall down my cheeks like warm milk".
I just thought that was powerful, and I think most people can relate to that sort of childhood imagining (poor wording, sorry).
Anyways, hope you all are enjoying your books as much as I'm enjoying mine!

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Sooo, my parents decided for me that Catcher in the Rye was no good for me to read since I already read it (like five years ago!), and my mom picked out a new book for me. Gr.
However I am enjoying the book. It's by Maya Angelou or however it's spelled, and I really didn't expect it to be that great, but so far I really like it. It's got good voice, and good grammar, and the stories are very... not really involved, but you feel like you're there, and when a conclusion comes up you feel the relief or sadness, or whatever it is you're supposed to feel, quite vividly. It has been a little disjointed up to this point, but I'm hoping that as I keep reading the beginning/middle/end type thing will begin to show itsself.

Well, my last entry got erased, I think, but here is the quote that I really liked just recently:
"Take most people, they're crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, and they're always talking about how many miles they get to a gallon…I don't even like old cars. I mean they don't even interest me. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake."
Says Holden.
Hilly, I thought you'd appreciate that. And I just liked it.

Your Creative Writing: Important Message

I am not sure that everyone is clear on the requirements for this unit. If you are confused, please look on my webpage for the link to the syllabus. Also, I just wanted to remind you that there is another creative writing project (or a coninuation of your first project). The second project is not due until December 9, but there is a workshop that will be REQUIRED on Weds. of next week.

Hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving.

The blog would be a great place to post what you are thankful for.

Laaa!

Um, so I didn't know that we were supposed to write 5 times a week, I thought we only had to post once a week, so I... well, yeah, but anyway can I just post ten times this week and then make up for it that way?
Catcher in the Rye's good. It's nice that I can really relate to Holden.
"I said old Jesus probably would've puked if He could see it."
--Holden about a corny Christmas pageant
Hm. I really love this book. And how could the voice be any better?

Catcher in the Rye

An excellent book, I suggest everyone in the world read it. Definitely has excellent voice, I especially like the words and phrases he uses and repeats. It makes Holden more real. I also like the depth of Holden's character, and the subtle way it's incorporated in the text.
Ummm, that's all. Basically, one of my favorite books in the world.

Book Blog Entries

I know that some of you have questions about what is required in the weekly blog entry. I want you to be reading your books, not just to read, but also to see what makes good writing. To that end, your blog entries should reflect what you have found profound or skillful in the books you are reading.

I will be posting every week as well.

The book I am reading is called The Five Quarters of the Orange.

She talks about a boy that she has helping her on the farm. A boy from a nearby town, not one of “the Families.” The thing I noticed, was how the small thing—capitalizing the word “Families,” made such a difference in meaning. To say “the Families” is institutionalize them—as if they were the church. “The Families” are legend—purveyors of righteousness. She could have easily explained who they were—that this young man was not from the town that rejected her, not from one of the families that might know her secret. But, she didn’t have to. That is the beauty of words—she simply named them, the Families. (from Five Quarters of the Orange p. 15)

I Am Full

I am full of warm water
and warm water surrounds me
I float for hours, and no one sees me, or notices
everyone walks by silently, peacefully
and I’m content to mingle and float

I am full of warmth, soaked into me by time
I’ll never stop being warm
I am hardened and dense like petrified wood
but I feel soft, look soft, and I still can float
I drift to the shore,
it’s bright green, with tiny leaves on tiny plants,
they softly cover the mud and dirt completely

I am full of peace, I’m growing slowly
to cover the ground with the green plants
the people left long ago
and I sleep and grow for years alone
with the tiny green plants

I am full of green, bright green
life
invigorated and bright I have much to do
but still inside I can be warm and green and peaceful

I'm on

I'm on

hi