Picking up Moby Dick again is, for me, like an old friend showing up unexpectedly. I might not quite be ready for it, but my friend is here, and for that I am blessed and happy. I downloaded the audio version that I have on the sidebar. As the audio book is a large file, the audio quality is not that great, but it works well enough. I will use the audio length of each chapter to determine how much reading to assign. My thought is to assign thirty minutes per night, and we'll do more reading in class.

For those of you who already started reading, I am sure it was not an easy start: new and often strange vocabulary, a narrative tone and style of writing from another era, and an almost obsessive attention to details in every scene, which, while annoying, is a big reason that Moby Dick is considered a classic of literature.  It is important that you begin this book with an open mind and a bit of determination to see it through. Make yourself "get it." If you are having trouble, it is your problem, not Moby Dick's; so figure it out by using whatever resources help you. I will add some links to chapter analyses and summaries to make this easier.

Lit Charts is the site I feel is best for a quick overview of each chapter and a good general overview of the whole novel. It is well-organized, readable, and geared towards an academic study of the book. Shmoops is fun and easy--and getting better every year, and you can always use Sparksnotes and Bookrags if it serves you well. The bottom line is that you will get out of the book whatever you put in.

Thanks. I'm psyched...

A mighty book requires a mighty theme
~Herman Melville

I am sorry I did not get this up yesterday. The paw was still a bit sore for typing, but it feels pretty good today--especially as I am home and sitting by the fire with a nice cup of coffee.

And a great book to start re-reading.

So we are starting to tackle what is arguably the greatest American novel of all time, Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Moby Dick endures because it is a great story well and fully told, and built into its foundation are some of the most enduring and profound themes of our existence.

But it is not a book for wimps. Really, it isn't. 

But it is a book for anyone who likes adventure, who has dreamed of doing something bigger and cooler than ever before, who are willing to set out on a personal odyssey into the creative unknown, and who are curious about why and how people become like they are.

Like Walden, Moby Dick was written in the mid-1800's. The language can be "harder to get" than reading "The Bleacher Report." You may need to use your dictionary more than usual, but the story line is pretty straightforward and imaginative.

...and you will never ever, ever, regret the time you put into reading Moby Dick!

This has changed as of Friday.

Weekend Homework:
~Create podcast or video of your WW Fenn piece and post to your blog
~Memorize first 30 seconds of piece/

We all have "things" that bug us, and it is a human need to get things off our chests; otherwise, we explode. The "One Minute To Get Rid of It" slam poem exercise is simply a new and different way to create a mini-podcast.

I honestly don't care if you call it a poem or not--as long as you follow these rules:

1. The podcast needs to be "exactly" one minute long. Set the metronome in GarageBand on your iPad to 60.  Your poem will need to be exactly 15 bars long with the last word coming in on the 60th beat. The metronome should be audible during the recording.
2. You have at least five specific images and actions
3. You utilize at least three similes.
4. You utilize at least two metaphors.
5. You use at least three different forms of parallel structure.
6. There is some kind of background music or loops.

• Create the podcast on garage band on the iPad. 
• Save it to Soundcloud. Upload to your blog as an embed code.  
  

Include the text of the piece below the podcast. Each line should be read as a breath; if there is more than a two second pause between lines, create a new stanza. If there is a change in subject matter, tone, or direction, then create a new stanza.  It is up to you to structure the poem so that it will be "read" the way you wish it to be read.

Class #1 Submit WW Fenn piece with reflection. 
~Intro to slam style "One minute to get rid of it." podcast
Homework: 
~Work on one minute slam. 
~Comment on classmate's poetry free verse and slam poems.
~practice WW Fenn piece

Class #2: Complete "One Minute to get rid of it." Post to blog.
Homework: 
~ Memorize first 30 seconds of WW Fenn Piece.

Class #3: present 30 second WW Fenn preview in class (graded assignment). 
~Intro to classic poetry
~Intro to essay teams

Weekend Homework:
~Read and study Norton Essay Writing guidelines
~Classic Poetry discussion thread

Blogging: Create a daily blog post each day of the week that gives a rundown of each day--including activities and metacognitions.

Discussion Board: read and comment on two "Classic Poetry" poems. Post all comments in a single entry.

I have updated your grades on Schoology. Please check them and post as needed.

Here's a few things to keep in mind:

1. Everything should be posted on your blog. You may also post in your portfolio page, but "everything" also needs to be on your blog.
2. Your Free verse poems and reflection need to be in a single post, and the reflection MUST be either a Fitz-style entry or follow the narrative paragraph rubric.
3. You need to post on the discussion boards. The 1000 poems discussion should include "four" poems that you respond to using the guidelines on the discussion board.
4. The "I'm for Sale" poems need to include a podcast or video along with the text of the poem.
5. You will need to post comments on all of your classmate's poetry by next Monday, so you can get started on that, too.

You have until Wednesday, or the grades will stay as they are. I am looking for passion, diligence in trying to use poetic techniques, and effort--not amazing poetry.

     By Tuesday, I want you to choose your WW Fenn performance piece. We will begin the memorization and performance process immediately--and it is a multi-step process! Performance implies mastery, not simply memorization.

This contest originally started out as a poetry recitation contest. Over the years, the original rules have been bent and distorted to the point where it is sometimes hard to tell that it is supposed to be a celebration of "greatness" in literature, not a mimicking of a speech seen on TV or in a movie; not a silly comic piece or sing-songing children's story, and not a shallow barrage of clever words set into a story. 

I want you to have an experience that will live on in you and for you through as many years as you walk this earth; I want you to remember your words for the power that gives those words timelessness.  I want to get back to the purity of the original source and lifeblood of the WW Fenn contest. 

If you need some sources, start here: (I'll post more tonight)

1. Poemminer: this is my site with a bunch of my favorite poems.
2. Poemhunter: this site has about every good poem on the planet.
3. Bartleby.com: this site has literature of all sorts
4. Great Passages: this site has super-meaningful quotes from literature, but you will need to go find the full passage on your own--but it will probably be worth it!

Guidelines:

• You may choose a poem, ballad, or a passage from a longer piece of classic or singularly great literature, which includes: novels, short stories, or essays; moreover, you may choose to recite a traditional myth or cultural story.
• The piece must be at least two minutes long and not more than four minutes. Less than two minutes cannot receive an A.

Expectations:

• Find a piece and post the words on your blog with a short reflection about "why" you choose your piece.
• Learn a portion of your piece each night, so that you can practice more in class and receive the feedback you need to do the best you can.

Grading: 

• Your grade will be based on the quality of the piece you choose.
  
• Your performance in front of the class.
• A podcast or video of your piece posted on your blog.
  
• On a personal narrative essay you will write after your performance is completed.
• On the feedback you give to your classmates.  

I can't believe I am not here--again!  Bad timing. I'm at the docs for my yearly physical.

But you are here and slamming away me-hopes.

Today is production day. It is the day to make your words go from the page to the screen.

Or it is the day to make your words weave in and out of a background of music (kind of like Margaret's) and create a podcast.

It is not the day to waste time, 

or screw around in the halls,

or to write more.

It should be done by now, so abandon it

now...

It is the time to "seriously" put your slam poem into slam form:
make it come alive on more than the page;
make it be something you are proud of--

something that will live

longer than 

you.



When you are finished, post to your blog--including the words.


Try to have it posted by tomorrow.

My 17 year old daughter Margaret rarely shares what she writes with me, so I was glad when I found this on my computer and she said I could share it with you guys. It is a raw and emotional poem, which is, above all else, very real. The recording quality isn't great, but I love the idea and the sound.

Love is more of a question than anything else.
and every single one of us,
whether we think it or not,
we are traveling through life
looking for the answer.

If you ever find me unpacking my suitcase again,
please ask me something else.
“Where have you been?”
“How are you feeling?”
“What color is the sky after you move on from a love like ours?”

But please,
I’m begging you,
don’t ask me why I’m coming back.
I couldn’t tell you.

I keep hearing,
“Only time will tell.”
as the only answer to this question.
And i’m using the hands on my watch
to try and touch you.

Birds float by in the wind in the shape of a V,
mimicking the top of the peach colored shirt 
I can almost see you wearing,
and I wonder why 
I can never sing back to them
in a voice big enough for them to hear me.

I wonder if my suitcase knows the way to your doorstep,
but I’m too busy buying plane tickets to France to notice.
I wonder if your suitcase has ever been unpacked.
If you ever let your toothpaste
end up in someone else’s bathroom.

Or are you always running away in the moonlight?
Trying to find a new place
to set your suitcase down.
Falling to your knees in the snow each night.
Praying to God you find someone to love
who doesn’t make you feel inferior.

The last time my suitcase and I both became empty
was when he came and held it open,
letting my skirts and dresses fall to the floor.
He said “promise you won’t leave me.”

and I did.

I’ve always hated packing anyway. 

But one day
I found my nail polish
hidden in the linen closet.
And wondered how often “I do.” 
becomes
“I can’t.”

I hated staying more than I hated packing.
I watched the sun’s illumination through the window
and thought about the way
I’d never have to see the dumb smirk
you’d always have
when I got an answer wrong on the crossword.
And how I would never wear your ring.

I thought about how the bed only creaked on my side,
making me feel
like I was a guest in a stranger’s home.

I thought about waking up at 2am with nightmares
about never doing anything
but loving you. 

I wrote “I can’t. I’m sorry.” on a napkin,
gathered my belongings,
and walked away
with my freedom and her bracelet.
Backpack, stilettos, and guitar in hand.

So here I am, 
gripping onto nothing but my freedom
this grief
your memory
and the absence of your eyes
locked with mine,
waiting.

So much for my knight in shining armor.

I’m starting to think maybe birds never sing, 
just cry out in heartache.
And maybe nightmares are more realistic than consciousness,
Maybe love is a question best answered with nothing at all.