A Thought and a Little Help

Hello--

I hope that this message finds you well.

Below is a link to World Literature's 2008 blog:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3774123752252978846&postID=899634237375650432

If you would like to see examples of how people were answering these questions--there word limit was much shorter than yours; however they exploded the notion of limits because most (if not all) wrote responses that doubled, or tripled, what was asked.

Also--Elkins and Bouchard, your second posts are very, very strong--good job. These are also excellent examples to use.

See you soon,
AK

An Example of an UM Poem

A Glimpse Underground

Basement of a derelict apartment complex,
Astoria, New York, 29th street.
One room is worn-out, lived in.
A bed with a table
A table with a man.
One florescent light drones and click...click...clicks.
The floor is sprinkled with tired calculator batteries
and castaway pencil nubs
and dusted pink eraser crumbs.
The table is strewn with tired notebooks
and yesterday's Chinese cartons
and yesterday's fortunes.
Calculator numbers click...click...click.
He spends his birthdays on a barstool
He spend each Christmas in bed.
Right now he counts
he sighs
he rubs his eyes and closes calculations for the night.
Hour hands wave goodbye...tick...tick...tick.
He lays quietly in a twin bed without turning the lights out.
He registers a lullaby of one florescent bulb.
An Ambulance cries outside.
A couple laughs through the wall at his head.
He closes his eyes slowly and whispers:
"There is no problem I can't solve."

A Little More Help

A Smoke Signal or An S.O.S Message

From A.B. Kasprzak

It is imperative that you do the following as soon as possible, meaning today:

-check your BA email of have it forwarded to another address

-log on to our class page on portal, so you can get to the blog

-establish a username on our blog, and check the blog at least once a day.

I have been trying to get in touch with many of you for the past couple days—and the email thing does not seem to be working…so I sent you a message via the pony express but am also trying this.

For the second blog post:

-By Monday please transform one of your journal entries into a more formal blog response. These entries should be:

-min. of 600 words

-be clear, direct, contain depth of thought, and ooze a sophistication of expression.

-use your real name as your username (no surfbrddrawerdude19)

-Own a thought and be proud of your idea…want to display it in this public form.

-Last, in the words of Win Butler, “take it from your heart and put it in your hand.”

Please let me know if you have any questions—but it is imperative that you give these assignments your utmost attention, effort, and thought…these are our first ‘real’ (whatever that means) assessments.

Good luck,

Fydor Camus

A Link To Help

Below you will find a link that should answer some of your questions about logging and posting your entries:
http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=12457

Again, please let me know if you are having problems--and please continue checking the blog for further updates.

Best,
AK

One of Your Choice

Please place your second blog entry here....again, you should transform one of your Notes From Underground journal entries into a more formal response.

Good luck,

AK

Underground Man Poem

Robert Frost mused, "writing a poem is discovering."

So by writing a poem about the UM, we can, or attempt to, better understand his complex viewpoints and opinions.

Please write a poem that addresses a central theme present within "Notes from Underground." Your poem should highlight your essential understanding of one of the main ideas Fydor is attempting to present.

"Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." But that is a daunting challenge, so I will simplify that task by offering you two thoughts from Jack Kerouac:
1.) Something you feel will find its own form
2.) No time for poetry, but exactly what is.

Simply put, don't worry about form--just worry about 'feeling' your answers and writing about the ideas that breathe, that are life like, and about the words that chill and burn you.

Good luck see you soon--well not soon enough, so see you next week.

Best,
AK

I am, I am, I am

Thank your attention and effort during today's class. I hope you found enjoyable, insightful, and 'educational.' One of the lines I love from the podcast is "I learned I wasn't stupid, I just wasn't educated."

This prophetic line coming from a man with a third grade education too--in my humble opinion, I don't think PhD. candidates, in all their infinite wisdom, at at all the great educational institutions could craft a thought as succinct, humbling, and provoking as that one.

But, I ramble, and now back to the assignment:
Please transfer the notes from your journal into a more structured reflection. Please feel free to answer the five questions I posed at the start of yesterday's class or you may write about something else that moved you or spoke to you.

If you need more than the 35 minutes, please feel free to continue working on these over the weekend.

I am Laureates--to be or not to be?

Good Luck,
The Blue Whale

PS--please check the blog at least once a day for further assignments.