Marion

Second section:

Marion seems to have a crush on Jack, but it seems as if Jack also had eyes on the narrator. She says "when he glanced at me, I turned and hunched my shoulders". She also mentions that she never went out in the swimsuit which he saw her in again. This makes me wonder if he made her uncomfortable? If it did, then why exactly? Had something happened between them? Did she also like him?

Sensual Writing

The property was scorching hot when noon struck. The sun burned down on the marble entrance steps heating them up hot enough to fry an egg. The shade offered no comfort. The only comfort to be sought was from a gust of hot wind courtesy of a motorcycle whizzing by. That is, before being met with the slap of diesel pollution through your nose after. The black pine trees that lined the street now sweat their scent out. Their scent stained the air piney and woodsy.

I pry my fatigued eyes open, centimeter by centimeter. They are bloodshot from the heat. I lay in the shade on my back with my limbs spread out.The dirt beneath me is hardened yet extremely dusty. It seems the sun has not moved an inch since I last saw it. The heat radiates off of the ground thus engulfing me from above and below. It's aggression is stronger at 1. I'm hot and lazy. I stretch and yawn. It is completely silent. I hear no animals. No dogs, no cats, no birds. Not even a passerby or a car now. The humans are taking their daily siestas. We all are too hot to speak.

I'm thirsty so I muster up some energy to stand up. Only my front legs seem to work and now I'm siting upright while sitting down. I yawn again. In one smooth movement I move my legs to the side and stand up on all fours. I shake all of the dry dirt off of me. Then, I head over to my bowl that is set in the shade. My drinking water has heated almost enough to burn my tongue. With a slow and lazy pace I walk on over to the watering hose and nudge the handle with my nose. I slurp up the chlorinated cool water. I dip my head under the dripping water and shake that off too.

The tiny black kitten brown spotting jumps up onto the fence and meows. I glance her way and let out a snuffle from my snout. She gracefully jumps down and hurries to me with her tail in the air. She enjoys some cool water as well. We both lay back down, me on my back, her sprawled on her side facing the street. We both let out a big sigh and gently close our fatigued eyes.
 

under the sky

At first Paul Bowled describes the place that he was in , which was the cemetery. I got the sense that he was his was high throughout the story maybe because he was morning someone. I thought it was weird when he took the lady and told her he was going to kill her friend was his purpose was just so he didn't feel lonely since we was just staring at the sky and watching the vultures  at first I didn't really understand that there was dead people around him, I thought that their was literally dead people until I understood that he was at a commentary and that he was laying in the ground. but I don't get the ending when the old lady from the town came up to him and said " he has lost his mother:" Since earlier in the story he had mention that a lot of crazy people get out of the train , was she one of them? and was he trying to fit in the town when he said that he was going to kill the lady's friend?
Was the whole purpose of this short story , was to say he was morning and all he wanted was to fit in and what clamed him down was the sky ?  

Pastor Dowe

I think that Pastor Dowe did not realize how difficult his journey was going to be.  Bowles opens up the story with this man who seems to be very passionate  Also, he seems unaware of the obstacles he will face while attempting to lead this village.  Even in the beginning, when Nicolas is trying to fill him in, its as if Dowe's character can not come to terms with what he will face.  However, I think Dowe does a very good job at trying.  He is stubborn, but not so stubborn that he will not take Nicolas' advice.  There are times where I feel bad for Dowe, and times I feel badly for the villagers.

I think that the progression of Pastor Dowe's character is very important.  He starts off stubborn and confused, and although those two qualities do not leave him, he becomes more willing to work with the villagers.  I like that he chooses to pray with them to their god.  I think it shows courage on his end.

Pastor Dowe at Tacate

In the beginning of Pastor Dowe at Tacate, the pastor seems like he is well respected as the story states that almost a hundred Indians attended his sermon even though he is a stranger to them. They seemed to be welcoming of him. As the story progresses, he seems to come off a little aggressive for a pastor that's on a mission/missionary to "save" the villagers from their sins and just overall aggressive. This seems to occur when he realizes his audience does not seem interested in what he has to say, and he is seen trying to push his beliefs and etc on them. I think it's unfair because they already have their own sets of beliefs and religions. Because of this, he tries different ways to get the villagers more interested in what he has to say. He turns to different techniques in order to change the behavior of the villagers such as using music. The use of salt is also mentioned in the story. In the story he has three sermons.

pastor dowe at tacaté

Pastor dowe would attempt to get Nicolás attention again. He would not stop trying to get his attention until he has it. Pastor Dowe wants Nicolás attention because he is suppose to be one of the most intelligent and influential men in the village. If the pastor have Nicolás attention the other people in the village will follow. He came to the village to preach to the people who live there. He believe the people are sinners. The pastor does 3 sermon. In each sermon the pastor offer something important to him and his belief. The pastor is trying to get the villagers to believe in his belief.

Pastor Dowe seems to want the village to follow in his belief. He wants them to admit that how they do things and view things are wrong. He has come to save them for themselves and show them the right way to live. Maybe that's why he becomes so easily frustrated when Nicolas doesn't seem to agree with his view point and no one seems to be listing to him.  

Pastor dow

            The  Pastor felt as if the Indians didn't really pay attention to what was delivering to them, he believed that they were silent out of respect to him but not because they were interested and understood him. This is why the pastor stopped them  to see what the Indians got from his sermon but Nicolas answered very vaguely. The pastor is planning to make the Indians become interested in his sermons by explaining  it with things they like. The three are music, Salt and A young girl who they said that was now going to be his wife.
        Pastor Dows thought that his sermons would be easy and that they would understand the meaning of Jesus but in reality they didn't really care what he had to say, he began with a passion but when he realize that even if he played music it wouldn't change their mind or the way of thinking, at the end he ended up giving up and leaving the village he decided that no matter what her said nothing would change their thoughts on hackakyum , even Nicholas told him there was no such thing that they believed in metzabok and all the things he had said about this "god" weren't true. 

Paster dowe at tacate

      I believe the sermon was given three times to symbolize the 'Holy Trinity'. In Christianity or Christian literature the number three is a reoccurring detail. The Pastor's performance allows us to have a spotlight on him. It helps us to see the Pastor in a 'nurturing' light. This is an odd word to use . I use this because the Pastor, behind all his lecturing and whatnot, tries to pass his light to them. This is an old and selfish way of thinking. We soon see that the tables have been turned and the Pastor is the one being 'nurtured' into his new life.

Pastor Dowe at Tacate

I believe Pastor Dowe is trying to see if his sermon is making any impact. For a person of religion they hope their words resonate with the church-goers. Pastor Dowe must feel like he has been placed here with people who don't understand the meaning of religion. The people just don't seem to understand what he is trying to convey or maybe they just assume he is a person in power so they have to listen to him. Pastor Dowe probably feels underutilized. He more so feels misled because these people just are from a different world. He was brought there to "help" these people but they can't be helped because they have their own civilization. As a reader, I feel like I am seeing a hazing. He reflects on how everyone said no you're going to be great there but he comes to realize that his training did not prepare him for this type of situation. Marta being offered up as a prize just proves his sermons aren't really touching anybody rather being heard but not listened to. I feel like i am watching a novella reading these stories. And! Why are the natives painted as the savages or immoral beings. What I don't appreciate is how Nicolas seems to always be on his feet when consulting with Pastor Dowe. That in itself just promotes inequality.

pastor dow

I feel like just in the beginning of the entrance you can see how passionate pastor dow is about how much he wants to change the people in this town. After preaching whatever he was saying he felt like he wasn't reaching anybody because he said he saw more respect in peoples eyes then interest which bothered him you can tell right there that the Pastor cared about his work not was he not satisfied about the turn up of people that just came to listen but he wanted them to listen enjoy and understand. He went as far bringing up the smarted boy in the village for a short quiz where ended up backfiring because it seemed he got frustrated that he wasn't answering the way the pastor wanted.

Pastor Dowe at Tacate

Bowles is showing us in this opening the disconnect between Pastor Dowe and the Indians. Pastor Dowe seems to think that the indians do not understand him. But that isn't what is going on. The indians actually understand enough of what he is saying. Bowles shows us this during Pastor Dowe's questioning of Nicholas. Nicholas is able to answer the Pastor's questions but Nicholas has a sort of indifferent attitude towards his questions. I think that Bowles is setting up a scenario where the indians have very little interest in what the Pastor is saying. There may be a disagreement in philosophies.

Pastor Dowe realizes that he has this disconnect with the Indians. So he picks up on their interests and their beliefs and manipulates them into being interested in his sermons. He originally thinks he is making this great connection with them. But it backfires on him. He doesn't succeed at changing their beliefs but he does make a connection with them. To the point where Nicholas gifts his young daughter to Pastor Dowe. This creates this point of tension. Pastor Dowe does not want to accept this gift. Nicholas seems to be offended of Pastor Dowe's less than thankful response. The inplication here is that Pastor Dowe does not really have a choice in he mater of accepting the gift of Nicholas' daughter. Pastor Dowe succeeded in capturing the interest of the Indians but failed at converting them from their beliefs to his. This creates this miscommunication; a point of contention where he is gifted Nicholas' daughter.

Pastor Dowe

The introduction sets up a conflict between Pastor Dowe and the people-  there is tension resulting from their inability to converse with him and it creates a separation between him and the people he is trying to reach. They are silent when he speaks, but out of "respect rather than of interest."
Pastor Dowe is frustrated by this, as "being a conscientious man he was troubled to discover this." It is also evident in the way he speaks to the "most intelligent and influential" men in the village, as he asks him like a child to repeat the lesson of the day.
Throughout the story Pastor Dowe gives 3 sermons to varying receptions.
Before first sermon he recognizes that the indigenous people listen to him out of respect, but are not grasping the literature. Nichlas says that they would prefer to have music, but the music on hand is "music for dancing" and Pastor Dowe tells them they will not use it. For the second sermon he incorporates salt, as he is asked to incorporate salt into the sermon.
For his final sermon he incorporates music, salt, and alters the bible verse to contain phrases and locations that are more familiar to the townspeople.

Pastor Dowe remains a protagonist in the light of his ignorance towards the indigenous people because the way he attempts to reach them, albeit misguided, he attempts to reformulate his approach instead of forcing them to attend the classical Christian ceremonies. It is with this that you are led to believe that he has a genuine wish to "save" these people.

At Paso Rojo

This is the story of two women adjusting to life after the passing of their mother. Both women had remained unmarried in devotion to their mother. Lucha tends to be more conservative, while Chalía tends to toe the line (red nail polish, wanting to accompany her brother on his trip both somewhat sexual images) Chalía experiences a sort of sexual awakening, flirting heavily with the cowboy that accompanies them. After having her advances refuted, she remounts the wilder of the two horses which takes off, and she is unable to control it, the saddle slipping. After viewing the cowboy naked she again experiences a violent reaction to her sexual desire, perhaps after years of abstinence she can't control the sexual yearnings she feels. She sets the boy up to her brother to appear as if he has stolen in a move that suggests that she can not handle the sexual desire but that she does not take kindly to refusal.

Bowles

As I read At Paso Rojo i noticed when the autho did write in Spanish. On page 15 he writes "Que calor", she murmured. The translation is it's hot. I found this interesting in his writing. I recently wrote something like this in one my recent papers. I find that to make the reading more interesting because it makes you wonder what is being said and when you look it up and find out what it means it becomes fun to read. He did this several time in his writing. So far I think his writings are interesting and fun to read and I enjoy it because it's different than what I read in Stein.

At paso rojo

The beginning of this story wast straight forward. In the first paragraph the autho says "it was with complete understanding of his two sisters that Don Federico suggested they leave the city and go down to paso rojo for a few weeks". I can relate to this and I can see when someone passes away the best thing to do is be surrounded by company. Don Feserico was watching or for his sisters and the time down there they can spend with him will be helpful because when you don't have slot of people around to comfort and support you it can be harder. The sisters will be able to go through this moment to of theirs a little be better in a way being companied by their brother and spending time on the ranch.

Starting Bowles

Paul Bowles traveled a lot all over the world. You'll see that he has stories set in North America, South America, Africa, the Middle East. Because not all of his characters speak English, he has to find creative ways to represent these others language w/out losing us as readers. Do you note moments in the stories where he does this?

Other questions:

• Violence is important in Bowles--and important in fiction--it's often tied up in conflict. Not all violence in Bowles is physical violence. How does Bowles use violence in these stories?
• What does sex do in these stories? (We're interested in reading like writers. So how does Bowles use sex?)
• How does Bowles make us aware of the setting? How do we learn where these stories are set and how important is setting to them? 
• Just based on these first three stories, what would you say a Paul Bowles story is like? 

Pastor Dowe @ Tacate

In "Pastor Dowe at Tacate," we see the Pastor giving a sermon to the Indian villagers three times. What does the progression of these sermons do over the course of the story? How does this performance change and help us to see Pastor Dowe as the protagonist, both as a man and in relation to the villagers he is supposed to "save"?

Human Snowball

First of all, I love Christopher. He is just seems like that one friend who will always be the first to help you out with something stupid.  I love how the story starts out with what seems like a cliche romance and that kind of seeps into the background. I would loved to hear more about each of the characters he introduces because they all seem like they have their own stories to tell. I am trying to figure out what makes this story nonfiction and I cannot seem to think of anything. Both Marion and Human Snowball are memories with characters. But Human Snowball seems pretty basic in its format. I do love the metaphor in the title because he starts out with one person and just adds more people onto his night. The title is probably the most original part of it all.

Marion

The beginning of this story seems to be setting the place of the story and introducing the characters. Reading about the two children seemed a little inappropriate being that they were only twelve and thirteen years old and one giving the other massages with her body being exposed. The narrator explains and provides a very detailed and vivid description of the setting. The end of the first section introduces us to a conflict between adult and children sexuality because we find that the Marion father kisses both girls on the mouth when going to bed.

As we read the second section we can tell that it goes into more about sexuality. Marion is more confident and comfortable with showing her body off because she knows that the men gives her what she wants. Jack watches the girls in a more sexual way which is inappropriate because they are much younger, however Marion doesn’t seem to be bothered by this but the next girl feels uncomfortable and declares she never wants to wear the swimsuit again because it exposes her body.

Pre teen Girl

Most teenage girls will be able to relate to this story. Whether it be having a friend or another girl in school she may be jealous of. During pre teen years it is common for young girls to compare themselves to their counter parts. Though at this tender age it is a given that everyone will grow and advance at a different rate. But there's always that thought rearing its head and wondering why their body doesn't look like another girls. This is unfortunate because by admiring others you never really get the chance to admire or appreciate yourself.

Marion

The introductory paragraph of Marion established the character of Marion and her sister and early on it is apparent that these girls are being exposed to too much: the imagery of one person on top of another giving a full body massage is almost erotic- that is until you learn that the characters are 11 and 13. The awareness that the narrator has of her mother's mental illness is further example of over exposure, as well as Marion's father kissing them on the lips.
The imagery of the house being a delicate beautiful cottage with its going into disrepair feels a lot like her childhood.
In the second paragraph it is establish that Marion has more of an awareness of sexuality than the narrator, and an interest in appearing older. From the cigarettes that she wants, (specifically from Jack, a man that she gets attention from) to the wearing of bikini tops she seems to crave male attention. The narrator on the other hand does not enjoy this attention and follows Marion's lead, though she seems to be more innocent than Marion and does not wish to have this male attention (when Jack looks at her in the bikini top she feels "heat") This paragraph establishes the distribution of power between Marion and the narrator (Marion has it, the narrator does not)

Marion

In the beginning she is painting a picture for us. I was able to gather that she lived in a ranch with Victorian detailing. She talked about the first owner of the ranch and the babies. She describes her mother and the phase she was going through.

Marion: Opening passages

The opening passages of this writing sets the scene for us. It attempts to paint a picture in our heads of what the scenery is like. we can picture this old Victorian style building that is sort of rundown with age and lack of upkeep. We can picture what the landscaping is like from her illustrations. The scene is also set by giving us some insight as to who the author is and some of the other characters are. She starts to describe her mother. She starts to to give us an idea of what Marion's father is like. She even sets up an illusrtration of her relationship with Marion.

"Marion"

In the first two paragraphs the author is explaining how her house look and how cozy it was was , I could almost imagine how it look very peaceful especially when she explained the landscaping, it seem like it was a ranch and very feminine.  It explained how she was trying to get away from her family problems and how the mother would have black outs and wouldn't remember what had happened.  

Marion

It is rather funny how this is all about Marion. Marion is like this goddess but I feel that is because Emma is projecting her desires onto Marion. By desires I mean what she wishes her life was like save for her being the friend. It is a shame that Emma is the friend and Marion is this center of attention showing us the grass isn't greener on the other side. Marion has grown up around men.

Marion

As the beginning starts the character is explaining where Marion lived. The description was quite clear, as I read it I can picture her house and its a clear picture. I also can see they are two years apart and she also explains what her and Marion used to do. The author is giving a lot of background information about Marion I think t o introduce why she would stay with Marion weeks at a time due to the reason of her mother's actions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Marion's Introduction

Marion's introduction creates a vivid picture to take the reader into the story to make them feel as if they are there with the character making the reader familiar with the surroundings and characters fully describing the setting and going into detail about the houses style left behind by an wealthy woman who was able to change the place to suit her desires and is now being used by this family.

Second Section
There is a sense of something not being right and that the people surrounding the character are not really acting like a family in regards to their sexual desires ,but it seems that the character is the only one that has a problem with this feeling so far

"Marion" Opening

The opening par. seems to be doing several things:

• Most crucially, it is giving us setting. I imagine California, and I imagine this place is some kind of commune. That's the only explanation I have for the generic "babies" that Marion and the narrator are playing w/. 
• This also is setting the voice. And time. The narrator is too articulate to be eleven, her age in the story. She's looking back at a summer in her past.
• There's a weird sexual tension between adults and children in this story; we see that in the fact that Marion's father "Bobby" kisses the narrator on the mouth.

Marion intro

The intro to this feels like a prelude of some sort. The author begins describing the setting to us so we can place a setting to what and where things are happening then after she did that she starts by telling us characters that are going to be in the story. Once those two things are done she begins giving us small details about some of the characters in the story just so we have an idea of who each person is also I feel like adding character development always gives the reading like a little bookmark on characters to remember who they are so when talking about them or thinking about a certain character they can refer on a small story to identify who this person is such as my mother was going through a phase and talks about her problems now we know something thats wrong with the mother and we can refer to her that way until something significant happens to her
part 2
    This second part begins with introducing some more characters but this time she goes into a story and begins sharing with us a personal experience and her thoughts as the story progress she shares more and more of her thoughts building a relationship with the reader so it feels more like a conversation then us reading a story so we can actively imagine whats actually going on and feel her feelings.

"Human Snowball" and "Marion"

One of these texts is an essay and one is a short story. What makes them different genres? If you didn't have the table of contents to consult, would you be able to tell which one is which? How so?

Marion

This story is relatable to myself. The idea of two friends growing up together and finding themselves as teenagers brings men back to when I was a teen. I had a best friend I grew up with and we shared friendship bracelets and spent the summers together having fun, doing all teenage things together everyday. We had lots of fun. We also made bad decisions but we didn't let those bad decisions end our friendship, we may have disagreed but we always worked out our differences because of how long we knew each other. In this case in this story it didn't end that way. I was looking forward to what happened, I was bummed it ended there. I enjoyed the way the author described the summer and the way it took place.

Human Snowball

This story was very interesting to read. I enjoyed reading it, I am also very impressed with the author. The author traveled all the way to Buffalo from Detroit to visit the girl he loved, he certainly proved she meant everything to him. You don't always meet people like that and when you do it is special. This love story reminds me of a movie. I'm also impressed how Chris and Davy met all these people that night. In someway they all helped each other out and everyone was a stranger to one another. The outcome was definitely not how I thought it would end up but it was interesting. It was different and very surprising, every page I turned I was very surprised. It was a good story, friendships developed of all ages, they were all from different places and they all had a bond that was very true to one another that night . They helped each other from Darlas car not starting and giving her a lift to getting away from the cops. It was very interesting and I have to say one of the best stories I read all semester.

Short Days

My favorite aphorism from "Short Days" is Having  a worst regret  betrays a belief that one misstep caused all your undeserved misfortune.

Lytle

Mister Lytle: An Essay written by  John Jeremiah Sullivan ,  is written with the narration of his apprentice. The narrator describes Mr. Lytle's death wish to lie in a cedar and how the coffin should be made. It was a shame to know that with the elaborate preparation made and such skill and effort put into making the coffin, it only took a few seconds for the casket to disappear.

Lytle

     A censored Tuesdays with Morrie.  Some parts sweet, some informative and some, plain uncomfortable.  Lytle was undoubtedly well-known.  You can't be well-known and live without any enemies.  Sullivan's character was hard to pin point.  At times, he comes off somewhat apathetic about life - the way the movies depict writers.  He struggles with what he thinks, possibly because he overthinks, as writers usually do.  That is why he finds comfort in being with Lytle.
     The imagery in this essay is beautiful from beginning to end.  He paints such graphic pictures for the reader - specifically on page 19, when talking about first coming to the "school" and anticipating meeting Lytle.  I pictured this old southern writer who has lived his life out well, just sitting back and enjoying his bourbon in front of a fire.  I felt like I was watching a movie or literally watching from a window outside his cabin - Loved it!!
     "He was from another world."  Sullivan sounds like a young girl gushing over her celebrity crush. I am cognizant of the homoerotic aspect in this essay, however, it is so hard to understand, but maybe we're not supposed to.  I believe that Sullivan doesn't even understand it and struggles with it himself.  Lytle comes off as a true mentor when he writes to Sullivan saying that he has things to pass on that had taken him "too long to learn."  Then, there are the specifics, such as, Lytle loving the touch of "human hands on his flesh." ...Thats when the uncomfortable feelings set forth.
     All in all, I think that Sullivan did love and respect Lytle (even though Lytle was most defenitely a little off his rocker).  But, I think there was some sort of resentment toward him as well.  Maybe not.  Do I think that Sullivan had it figured out? No.  I need some help deciphering the last paragraph of this essay, where Lytle comes to Sullivan in Paris.  I like how he says that he kept him in his peripheral, although I don't know why he needed to do that.  But, in the last sentence, he writes Lytle was "climbing the steps to the light, where I lost him"- and that, to me, is very sentimental.

Short Days: Sarah Manguso

"I’ve never seen a ghost and I don’t believe in them. I might see one tonight, but even then I wouldn’t believe in ghosts. I’d believe in that ghost."

This aphorism resonates with me deeply because I feel most strongly connected to it. I identify with the author's level of skepticism, one that is so grounded in reality that even a ghost sighting would not make me a convert but instead allow me to believe in the one ghost that I have experienced with my own eyes. This skepticism for me applies and sometimes hinders my life because I will seldom take anyones word and have to see of experience things for myself.

Letter from Nea Kifissia

Letter from Nea Kifissia


Quiet tree lined streets of a barren city with indoor pools and a private airport for private planes. This is affluent Nea Kifissia. A Northern Suburb of Athens, Greece. Where there are some of the best grammar schools in the city, and a Starbucks too! Nea Kifissia, where you can eat a roll of sushi that costs twenty six Euros (plus a twenty four percent tax) and then relax your tired jaw at the hammam while a diligent worker scrubs the money off of you.

Five minutes away, Ex President Samarras lives in a walled in European mansion handed down from his mother's side, an architectural Michelangelo one might say. Lush greenery and a bountiful amount of guards surround his home for the next two blocks.
 ...
Outside those walls people are hungry. My cousin was pocketing eight hundred Euros a month with a Masters degree. Half of the country's youth is unemployed and immigrating. Burglaries, crime, and suicides have all increased in a country where it was the norm to leave your front door wide open and be gone for the day.
...
Inside, we have two homes, a driveway, five bedrooms, six balconies, two fireplaces and two dishwashers. We still hang our underwear outside to dry though, like everyone else. Europe doesn't fancy dryers. From the balconies you can see the mountains in the background where the summer fires happen. Or you can watch the country burn from where you sit atop your bidet, whatever.

...
We go to the Laiko, the farmer's market, two blocks away. Housewives with Louis Vuitton's shop for their salad recipes. The gypsy mom sitting on the floor makes her toddler son steal a cucumber. He goes back happy. The sun moves across the clear baby blue sky.

...
Inside Nea Kifissia, business is booming, a trendy and modern shish kabob joint, Biftekakia & Souvlakia, has franchised three new restaurants during the economic crisis. Real estate prices remain favorable to the seller and there's a newly made AstroTurf soccer field for a famous soccer team to practice on one block down, not that I mind.

Mr. Lytle

     I believe the story begins and ends with details about the coffin for different reasons. It shows how the characters met each other first and foremost.  Another reason is because it acts as a time warp to express to the reader the beginning, substance, and ending of a relationship. As I was reading, the reading was guiding me to maybe think that, the coffin symbolizes relationships in ones life. A person has their life (as Sullivan had his), then one day you meet someone (as he met Mr. Lytle), and then there's a completely new entity in one's life (this new product which can be symbolized by the coffin). The coffin needs effort, skill, and time to create. Similarly relationships need the same, there is a certain finesse one needs to keep their relationships going and growing in their life. I believe this also symbolizes what this essay is trying to say about art, the making of art, and the writing life. Art in general is a whimsical yet demanding object. An artist's mind is free and there could be no boundaries or definitions to art. Likewise, an artist needs to put in the time and skill into creating the art and sharpening their metaphorical artist's pencil. 

     In response to the character of Mr. Lytle- Mr. Lytle comes across as a bit needy and a bit funny (maybe just to me). He is this artist with a brilliant mind and expansive experience in life. The elderly in general demand attention and they try to hide it behind simple things (such as, "Fix my t.v. it's not working!" or "I know best so I will tell you what to do..."). I believe Mr. Lytle is no different than this. He enjoys to 'bother' Sullivan just for some attention. Additionally, he is an artist as we have stated. Artists' vastly need approval towards their work just to feel validated. Perhaps Mr. Lytle is vying for validation in this elderly, usually,  ignored state. In regards to Mr. Lytle's fondling and slight obsession with Sullivan's privates, there are two ways I read this. The first being that Mr. Lytle is and always had been interested in men sexually but he was married and did not act upon those desires. The second thought I have is that he misses his own libido and sexuality. He tells Sullivan (in regards to genitalia) "I merely wanted to touch it a little. You see, I find it the most interesting part of the body.". Maybe Mr. Lytle misses his own once spry body and his symbolic 'manhood'.

Mr. Lytle: An Essay

• How does Mr. Lytle come across to you as a reader of the essay? How does Sullivan bring him alive?
• What seems to be Sullivan's attitude toward Lytle? 
• What does this essay seem to say about art or making art or the writing life? 
• Why does it open and close with such detail about the making of the coffin?

1] Sullivan brings Mr. Lytle alive by characterizing him as both a wise sage but also detailing detailing facets if him, including his longing for physical affection and that his teachings could be nonsensical. In doing so he creates a three dimensional character lacking the sugar coating that can often occur in an homage.

2] Sullivan is both in awe of the potential that comes from studying beneath a great but comes to love him not for that, his affections towards him are mostly due to the uniqueness of the situation and the senility of Mr. Lytle, and recalls him remembering something that did not happen to him but had happened in literature. His fondness for him reminds me of that which you would have for a grand parent.

4] The craftsmanship of making a coffin is much like that of making art and apprenticing that Sullivan receives. 

Manguso

"Short days" is a piece that is easy to appreciate. Though each mini paragraph has a need idea or a different focus-I was able to relate to all of it. Manguso constant change in each line wasn't troubling or confusing. My favorite paragraph was "Whats worse.....I'll tell you your sex." This alone goes to show how different and predictable people are.

Short Days

I like this essay. Although it is a series of aphorisms, we can find a connection between them. Sarah Manguso uses these aphorisms together to tell a story. I think she starts out the essay the way she did to explain her decision to write this essay the way she did. "A great photographer insists on writing novels..."  "...So when people tell me to write this or that thing I don't want to write, I know what they mean." She is making her case in passage for writing an essay the way she wants to write it. The way she feels most comfortable. 

"When I run out of things to write I just kindle a little flame inside my chest and let it burn a little more of my anger, which is inexhaustible. Would you like me better if I lied and called it love?" Who is she talking to? Who is the "you"?

In this aphorism I believe she is referring to the people who read her writing. The you in this passage would by you, me or anyone else who reads her writing. She starts to refer to this in the prior passage when she talks about the types of writing that we like. 

She is also describing her creative process.in this passage which then continues on to the next passage where she talks about the accumulation of her writing. 

My favorite aphorism in this essay is on page 47. "What's worse: Offending someone or lying to someone? Saying something stupid when it's your turn, or not saying anything? Tell me which, and I'll tell you your sex."  It is just an interesting comment. It is also a very generalized comment about the mindset of males as apposed to that of a female. She follows up this passage with an aphorism that speaks of the problems with making generalizations.  

Short Days

Sarah Manguso's essay is interesting. It seems to be a series of aphorisms. What makes this an essay instead of simply a collection of unrelated sayings that the author has come up w/ herself?

Other questions:

• "When I run out of things to write I just kindle a little flame inside my chest and let it burn a little more of my anger, which is inexhaustible. Would you like me better if I lied and called it love?" Who is she talking to? Who is the "you"? How does this aphorism relate to the previous one? How the one after?
• Why is the first one the first one? Why the last the last one? 
• Which is your favorite aphorism? Which is one that you don't understand? Which is one that enrages you? 
• On p. 48 at the end of the aphorism about the boyfriend who get paralyzed Manguso writes, "That's just bad writing." What's bad writing? 

Mr. Lytle: An Essay

Andrew Lytle was a famous Southern writer in the first half of the 20th century though he's sunken into obscurity since. Some questions I have about the essay:

• How does Mr. Lytle come across to you as a reader of the essay? How does Sullivan bring him alive?
• What seems to be Sullivan's attitude toward Lytle? 
• What does this essay seem to say about art or making art or the writing life? 
• Why does it open and close with such detail about the making of the coffin?

Short days by Sarah Manguso

In this reading paragraph 6 really speaks to me. The author writes "That's the trouble with the idea of success: it mutuates hope into hardness". This line is something I think a lot of people can relate to when it comes to success. Nothing ever comes easy and one common thing a lot of people say that I know is to always have hope. Sometimes hope is hard to have in certain situations, some people tend to want to give up because of frustration. One lesson I've learned though experience is hope is hard but to get what you want and whatever you already have takes a lot of hard work and dedication to slot of things in life. Things in life can be hard to get by whether it school, work, personal life etc. Sometimes success can seem close and suddenly more things come up that are in the way of that success. Sometimes it even seems impossible to hope you're going to get through it but it's another lesson in life to figure out. Somehow there is always a way. Success can be difficult but the determination and strength of one person is what pulls you closer to the success and eventually you do succeed if you don't give up. Out of this whole reading, this paragraph has a strong meaning to me because I can relate to it so well and it really is a meaning to life that's the truth. The author speaks a lot of truth in this reading and I find it to be very interesting to lots of readings I have read so far.

Mister Lytle: An Essay

This essay was a bit of a struggle. As I read it it seemed like an old movie. As I read it, I pictured the scenes very clearly. It brings up some old history which was interesting. At the end of the essay one thing that stood out to me was the autho says "He appeared to me only once afterward and that was two and a half years later, in Paris". The author mentions Mr. Lytle knew Paris well, perhaps that's why he may have showed up. He also mentions hey made a bargain in silence. Both the author and Mr. Lytle had a very different relationship but one thing was that the author most certainly cared for Mr. Lytle. He decided to move out and he still went to visit him once a week and Mr. Lytle looked forward to his visits. The ending is sad and the way the details are written seems like a movie as I mentioned in the beginning. I liked this reading but it was somewhat a little bit of a struggle.

Repost

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Public Writing Project

Here's another way to meet the PWP requirement. You can either submit to Collective, attend one or more writing workshops (listed below) or all of the above.

Collective the QCC Student Literary Journal

Call for Submissions

Issue 2 - Voices

Everyone has at least one voice in which he or she communicate, and during our lives, most of us adopt many different voices for many different purposes. We speak and write differently in school, at work, and at home, yet each of us has an original, individual voice that carries our ideas and feelings.

For Issue 2 of the Creative Writing Club’s literary journal, Collective, we are looking for pieces of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that capture your individual voice. What do you have to say? What does it sound like? Does your voice involve multiple languages? How does your voice change when speaking at school, work, home, or online? What can you say that’s never been said before?

Possible Approaches

- stories, essays, and poems with a point of view

- stories, essays, and poems that are told in more than one language

- stories, essays, and poems about being or not being heard

- stories, essays, and poems about voices put on display, such as at concerts or events

- descriptive works of encountering new voices, cultures, or viewpoints

- writing that assumes the voice of another

- manifestos or statements of protest

In this issue, we hope to capture a diversity of student voices. We are looking for all kinds of writing from all kinds of writers and non-writers. If you have never written for yourself, we want to see what you can do. If you are interested in learning more, please join the creative writing club for the following workshops:

Collective, Issue 2 Writing Workshops  Wed, February 22^nd, 12:10 – 2 PM (L-117)

                                                                        Wed, Mar 1^st, 12:10 – 2 PM (L-117)

Artwork

In addition, perhaps you make art? Submit scanned drawings or photographs!

Submissions

Email final writing submissions, artwork, and any questions to Prof. Benjamin Miller at bmiller@qcc.cuny.edu  Please attach your work to the email. All writing submissions must be submitted as .doc or .docx.  Please do not submit .pdf files. Artwork can be submitted in .jpeg or .png. Be sure to proofread all work before submission. Works with significant grammatical errors will be returned for revision. Your submission will be reviewed and discussed by QCC creative writing students.

Final Submission Deadline                                   Mon March 20^th by midnight

We look forward to reading your work!

LFK - Section 9

I think that the section itself is unique to the story.  Daniels first gives us a little bit of history on Kentucky and the old places and people he knew one way or another.  Then in this section, he leaves us with a run off of things "overheard from the bar."  All not connected in any way.  Seems like he really just spent a couple of good, "lazy hours" there.  I questioned why he decided to do this and a good response to that (after discussing in class) is that it may be a bunch of things he actually wrote down.  Also, that he is writing in a schizophrenic manner.

Letter From Kentucky - 8

This first part of the stanza implies how the city has changed. He uses the hotel and airport name changes to illustrate time changing and the city evolving, while showing the slow process of evolution and the traditions that were strong enough to survive the changing times. Whats unique about the second stanza is about conversations the author overhears at a bar. The conversation he spends the most time on is one about someone convincing a man not to commit a crime. As the author does throughout this stanza, he uses his environment to depict on what level things have evolved in his city, and where they've remained the same.

The reason the man speaking tells the person not to commit the crime is to not have further trouble than he already has. Once again, the purpose of this is to depict the evolution of the city.
Something I didn't understand was the importance of the last few quotes the author overheard at the bar. I didn't understand what the significance was of the connection, or lack thereof, of the topics of conversation. The only use I could really gather is to depict there are more people at the bar.

Letter From Kentucky-Section 3

The narrator starts off this section by complaining about his plane ride back to Kentucky. As we continue to read the rest of the section we learn about a bar that was across the Preston Street house and the neighborhood that he grew up in. This bar had many dark moments for the narrator being that he saw a lot of crimes taken place here. I think that the neighborhood that the narrator grew up in was unsafe because there were robberies, murders, prostitutes, I guess you can call it “ghetto.” You can also tell that the narrator had an unpleasant childhood because he resorted to doing drugs such as snorting pills, gambling in nine ball and also drinking. I find it funny that he doesn’t know where the bar went but perhaps it got closed down because of the crimes happening. 

6-
In this section Daniels pictures for us the feeling of mortality, temporary-ness, and this feeling of 'ghosting' (which I cannot find another word to better describe this at the moment...By ghosted I mean they have a haunting presence and their time of departure is unknown or unexpected.) This section starts off by saying what is gone and no longer there, unexpectedly. Something unique is that there are three different topics which have been 'ghosted'.  The first being Finley's, the second is the deceased person, and the third is Allen. My question would be why is Allen's drug usage mentioned and why is his story so abrupt?

The letter from Kentucky Section one

 The author opens up by naming people and offering a very very brief introduction to what appears to the reader at first just random people from Kentucky, but then after looking up the word beget it could be the authors family that goes back generations and generations to the start of Kentucky becoming a state, then the author goes on to tell the meaning of Kentucky and how this was something taught in his school and changed several times as he grew older. The whole first section set the tone that the authors whole life revolves around this state along with the culture in it.

Letter from Kentucky "7"

I feel like in the beginning his uncle is trying to scare him by saying that a police shot a boy from his childhood, like if he feels that his in the wrong path and his trying to lead him toward another direction. But his aunt in the other hand in a way says no it would be impossible for him to be in the wrong  sort of  crowd. This is when she mentions that he would be staying with her in the hotel and his uncle kind of says oh why did you chose a hotel where near everything in town like saying his going to do something he shouldn't or get involved in something bad. But then the aunt all of the sudden says something strange, that made me question.
Something unique about this stanza  was that all of the sudden his aunt says  "If you want to be a writer, why don't you go get a pen and paper and write down all these lies?"
Does this mean he was imaging this all along or did he make up about the part that   his family shooting the next door neighbor's door. What did she imply about "writing down all these lies?"
Was it that she believed that he was incapable of doing any harm? This sections uses the two characters speaking to each other and also uses flashbacks, because he explains what happened a thanksgiving.