Hi everyone,
As promised, here's the music for our next class (Monday, March 30), and some background information about it. We'll be talking about these pieces as aesthetic responses to historical events, and as usual we'll be wanting to think about the vision of America implied, condemned or parodied by each of the songs.
There are two pieces here: Nina Simone's song "Mississippi Goddamn" and John Coltrane's tune "Alabama." Feel free to do some research on either performer if you'd like.
Both songs were written in response to the 1963 Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four young girls were killed. You can find some background information on the bombing here and here. Nina Simone's song also references Medgar Evers' murder in 1963 in Mississippi. Info on Evers here, courtesy of our old friend wikipedia.
Here are the pieces:
Nina Simone - Mississippi Goddamn (4:51) (lyrics here)
John Coltrane - Alabama (5:14)
If you'd rather just download both files to your computer, you can click here.
If you'd like to write your paper about one or both of these pieces (or either of them in relation to either Cane or Dutchman), go for it! Just let me know sooner rather than later.
All best,
Ben
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Reminders
Hey everybody,
Just so there's no confusion: Paper drafts are due at the beginning of class on Monday, March 30. Drafts should be the same length as the final paper (5-6 pages). You should bring 4 copies of your draft to class. Papers can be on the topic of your choice, as long as that topic is about either Cane, Dutchman, or some relationship between the two.
If you have questions or want to run potential theses by us, the best thing is probably to e-mail me until next Wednesday, at which point you'd probably be better off e-mailing Hui-Hui (you can always try to e-mail whichever of us you're most comfortable with, but you're more likely to get a quicker response if you e-mail us during the periods when we're most free).
Good luck - have a great spring break!
Just so there's no confusion: Paper drafts are due at the beginning of class on Monday, March 30. Drafts should be the same length as the final paper (5-6 pages). You should bring 4 copies of your draft to class. Papers can be on the topic of your choice, as long as that topic is about either Cane, Dutchman, or some relationship between the two.
If you have questions or want to run potential theses by us, the best thing is probably to e-mail me until next Wednesday, at which point you'd probably be better off e-mailing Hui-Hui (you can always try to e-mail whichever of us you're most comfortable with, but you're more likely to get a quicker response if you e-mail us during the periods when we're most free).
Good luck - have a great spring break!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Please bring Writing Analytically to class tomorrow
Hey all,
If you read this, please bring Writing Analytically to class tomorrow (Wednesday). No need to prepare anything from it; you just need to have it in hand.
Pass it on.
-Ben
If you read this, please bring Writing Analytically to class tomorrow (Wednesday). No need to prepare anything from it; you just need to have it in hand.
Pass it on.
-Ben
Monday, March 9, 2009
Alice Walker on Cane
For those of you who are interested, here's a short reading by Alice Walker (The Color Purple) on the women in Cane. It's from Walker's famous essay "In Search of our Mother's Gardens" (here). If anyone is further interested in this issue (maybe for a final paper?), come talk to me and I can point you in some similar directions:
I described her own nature and temperament. Told how they needed a larger life for their expression. . . . I pointed out that in lieu of proper channels, her emotions had overflowed into paths that dissipated them. I talked, beautifully I thought, about an art that would be born, an art that would open the way for women the likes of her. I asked her to hope, and build up an inner life against the coming of that day. . . . I sang, with a strange quiver in my voice, a promise song.
"Avey," Jean Toomer, Cane
The poet speaking to a prostitute who falls asleep while he's talking-
When the poet Jean Toomer walked through the South in the early twenties, he discovered a curious thing: Black women whose spirituality was so intense, so deep, so unconscious, that they were themselves unaware of the richness they held. They stumbled blindly through their lives: creatures so abused and mutilated in body, so dimmed and confused by pain, that they considered themselves unworthy even of hope. In the selfless abstractions their bodies became to the men who used them, they became more than "sexual objects," more even than mere women: they became Saints. Instead of being perceived as whole persons, their bodies became shrines: what was thought to be their minds became temples suitable for worship. These crazy "Saints" stared out at the world, wildly, like lunatics-or quietly, like suicides; and the "God" that was in their gaze was as mute as a great stone.
Who were these "Saints"? These crazy, loony, pitiful women?
Some of them, without a doubt, were our mothers and grandmothers.
In the still heat of the Post-Reconstruction South, this is how they seemed to Jean Toomer: exquisite butterflies trapped in an evil honey, toiling away their lives in an era, a century, that did not acknowledge them, except as "the mule of the world." They dreamed dreams that no one knew-not even themselves, in any coherent fashion-and saw visions no one could understand. They wandered or sat about the countryside crooning lullabies to ghosts, and drawing the mother of Christ in charcoal on courthouse walls.
They forced their minds to desert their bodies and their striving spirits sought to rise, like frail whirlwinds from the hard red clay. And when those frail whirlwinds fell, in scattered particles, upon the ground, no one mourned. Instead, men lit candies to celebrate the emptiness that remained, as people do who enter a beautiful but vacant space to resurrect a God.
Our mothers and grandmothers, some of them: moving to music not yet written. And they waited.
They waited for a day when the unknown thing that was in them would be made known; but guessed, somehow in their darkness, that on the day of their revelation they would be long dead. Therefore to Toomer they walked, and even ran, in slow motion. For they were going nowhere immediate, and the future was not yet within their grasp. And men took our mothers and grandmothers, "but got no pleasure from it." So complex was their passion and their calm.
To Toomer, they lay vacant and fallow as autumn fields with harvest time never in sight: and he saw them enter loveless marriages, without joy; and become prostitutes, without resistance; and become mothers of children, without fulfillment.
For these grandmothers and mothers of ours were not "Saints," but Artists; driven to a numb and bleeding madness by the springs of creativity in them for which there was no release. They were Creators, who lived lives of spiritual waste, because they were so rich in spirituality-which is the basis of Art-that the strain of enduring their unused and unwanted talent drove them insane. Throwing away this spirituality was their pathetic attempt to lighten the soul to a weight their work-worn, sexually abused bodies could bear.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
5.1, 5.2
5.1
2) Our report will highlight the advantages of Acbo over its competitors, Acbo’s profitability components, and particularly, growth in Asian markets. The analysis will be supported by revenue returns along several dimensions: product type, end-use, distribution channels, etc. The growth prospects of Acbo’s newest product lines will depend on the development of distribution channels in China. The introduction of new product lines will require the support of a range of innovative strategies.
5.2
1) Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plans grow most richly on richly fertilized plains and river valleys, but grow also at the edge of perpetual snow in high mountains. Dense vegetation area exists in the body and edges of oceans, lakes, and swamps. Plants also exist in seemingly barren cliffs as well as city sidewalks. Vegetation will cover the earth even long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2) Animals do not naturally create and communicate new messages. Their genetic code limits their communication. For example, bees can only communicate information about distance, direction, source and richness of pollen in flowers. In all significant aspects, animals of the same species share a limited repertoire of messages delivered in the same way.
3) Jones (1985) stresses, in his paper on children's thinking, the importance of language skills in their problem-solving ability. Children who improved in language skills also reported an improvement in nonverbal problem solving. The habits and knowledge gained in language-learning also improve problem articulation. Verbal formulation of non-linguistic problem may enhance problem-solving.
2) Our report will highlight the advantages of Acbo over its competitors, Acbo’s profitability components, and particularly, growth in Asian markets. The analysis will be supported by revenue returns along several dimensions: product type, end-use, distribution channels, etc. The growth prospects of Acbo’s newest product lines will depend on the development of distribution channels in China. The introduction of new product lines will require the support of a range of innovative strategies.
5.2
1) Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plans grow most richly on richly fertilized plains and river valleys, but grow also at the edge of perpetual snow in high mountains. Dense vegetation area exists in the body and edges of oceans, lakes, and swamps. Plants also exist in seemingly barren cliffs as well as city sidewalks. Vegetation will cover the earth even long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2) Animals do not naturally create and communicate new messages. Their genetic code limits their communication. For example, bees can only communicate information about distance, direction, source and richness of pollen in flowers. In all significant aspects, animals of the same species share a limited repertoire of messages delivered in the same way.
3) Jones (1985) stresses, in his paper on children's thinking, the importance of language skills in their problem-solving ability. Children who improved in language skills also reported an improvement in nonverbal problem solving. The habits and knowledge gained in language-learning also improve problem articulation. Verbal formulation of non-linguistic problem may enhance problem-solving.
5.1, 5.2
5.1
2.To demonstrate the advantages of Acbo over its competitor, Acbo’s profitability components, particularly growth in Asian markets, will be highlighted in our report. The analysis will be based off revenue returns along several dimensions: product type, end-use, and distribution channels, to name a few. According to our projections, the development of distribution channels in China will determine the growth prospects of Abco’s newest product lines. The introduction of new products will require the support of a range of innovative strategies.
5.2
1. Vegetation covers most of the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plants grow most richly in fertilized plains and river valleys, as well as at the edge of perpetual snow in high mountains. Dense vegetation is also found in the body and edges of oceans, lakes, and swamps. Plants also exist in the cracks of busy city street sidewalks as well as seemingly barren cliffs. Just as vegetation covered the earth before human, it will continue long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2. The creation and communication of new messages to define a novel experience is not a competence animals naturally have. The messages that animals can communicate are limited by their genetic code. For instance, the information communicated by bees is limited to the distance, direction, source, and richness of pollen in flowers. A limited repertoire of messages delivered is characteristic of animals of the same species.
3. The importance of language skills in children’s problem-solving ability was postulated in Jones’ paper on children’s thinking. Improvement in language skills resulted in improvements in non-verbal problem solving. Knowledge from language habits
2.To demonstrate the advantages of Acbo over its competitor, Acbo’s profitability components, particularly growth in Asian markets, will be highlighted in our report. The analysis will be based off revenue returns along several dimensions: product type, end-use, and distribution channels, to name a few. According to our projections, the development of distribution channels in China will determine the growth prospects of Abco’s newest product lines. The introduction of new products will require the support of a range of innovative strategies.
5.2
1. Vegetation covers most of the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plants grow most richly in fertilized plains and river valleys, as well as at the edge of perpetual snow in high mountains. Dense vegetation is also found in the body and edges of oceans, lakes, and swamps. Plants also exist in the cracks of busy city street sidewalks as well as seemingly barren cliffs. Just as vegetation covered the earth before human, it will continue long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2. The creation and communication of new messages to define a novel experience is not a competence animals naturally have. The messages that animals can communicate are limited by their genetic code. For instance, the information communicated by bees is limited to the distance, direction, source, and richness of pollen in flowers. A limited repertoire of messages delivered is characteristic of animals of the same species.
3. The importance of language skills in children’s problem-solving ability was postulated in Jones’ paper on children’s thinking. Improvement in language skills resulted in improvements in non-verbal problem solving. Knowledge from language habits
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
5.1, 5.2
5.1
2. In our report, we will highlight components of Abco’s profitability, particularly growth in Asian markets, to demonstrate its advantages verses competitors. This analysis will be based on revenue returns along several dimensions—product type, end-use, distribution channels, etc. According to our projections, growth of Abco’s newest product lines will depend on its ability to develop distributions channels in China. This introduction of new products will require innovative strategies.
5.2
1. Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plants grow most richly in fertilized plains and river valleys, but they also grow at the edges of perpetual snow in high mountains. The densest vegetation appears in the ocean and its edges, as well as lakes and swamps. Plants also grow in the cracks of busy city sidewalks as well as seemingly barren cliffs. Vegetation covered the earth before humans existed, and plants will continue to grow long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2. Animals in their natural states do not have the power to create and communicate new messages to fit new experiences. Their genetic code limits the number and kind of messages that they can communicate. For example, bees are limited to communicating information about the distance, direction, source and richness of pollen in flowers. Animals of the same species are characterized by their limited repertoire of messages, delivered in the same way over many generations.
3. Children’s problem solving ability is strongly dependent on their language skills, according to Jones (1985) in his paper about children’s thinking. Children who improve their language skills are reported to have stronger nonverbal problem solving as well. When these children use the knowledge they gained through learning a language, their nonverbal abilities improve. It is possible that children who practice verbalizing nonlinguistic problems before attempting to solve them may be more successful.
2. In our report, we will highlight components of Abco’s profitability, particularly growth in Asian markets, to demonstrate its advantages verses competitors. This analysis will be based on revenue returns along several dimensions—product type, end-use, distribution channels, etc. According to our projections, growth of Abco’s newest product lines will depend on its ability to develop distributions channels in China. This introduction of new products will require innovative strategies.
5.2
1. Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plants grow most richly in fertilized plains and river valleys, but they also grow at the edges of perpetual snow in high mountains. The densest vegetation appears in the ocean and its edges, as well as lakes and swamps. Plants also grow in the cracks of busy city sidewalks as well as seemingly barren cliffs. Vegetation covered the earth before humans existed, and plants will continue to grow long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2. Animals in their natural states do not have the power to create and communicate new messages to fit new experiences. Their genetic code limits the number and kind of messages that they can communicate. For example, bees are limited to communicating information about the distance, direction, source and richness of pollen in flowers. Animals of the same species are characterized by their limited repertoire of messages, delivered in the same way over many generations.
3. Children’s problem solving ability is strongly dependent on their language skills, according to Jones (1985) in his paper about children’s thinking. Children who improve their language skills are reported to have stronger nonverbal problem solving as well. When these children use the knowledge they gained through learning a language, their nonverbal abilities improve. It is possible that children who practice verbalizing nonlinguistic problems before attempting to solve them may be more successful.
Style Exercises 5.1, 5.2
5.1
1. The president had two aims in his mind when he assumed his office -- the recovery of the American economy and the modernization of America into a military power. His success in the first is testified by the drop in unemployment figures and inflation, and the increase in GDP. He was, however, less successful with the second, indicated by our increased involvement in international conflict without any clear set of political goals. Nevertheless, the American voter was pleased with the increases in the military budget and a good deal of saber rattling.
2. Our report to demonstrate Abco's advantages versus competitors will highlight the components of its profitability, particularly growth in Asian markets. This analysis will be supported by revenue returns along several dimensions -- product type, end-use, distribution channels, etc. We project that the growth prospects of Abco's newest product lines will likely depend most on its ability in regard to the development of distribution channels in China, where the introduction of new products will be needed to be supported by a range of innovative strategies.
5.2
1. Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plans grow most richly on richly fertilized plains and river valleys, but also at the edge of perpetual snow in high mountains. Densely vegetated areas include the ocean and its edges as well as in and around lakes and swamps. Plants live in the cracks of busy city sidewalks as well as in seemingly barren cliffs. Vegetation covered the earth before humans existed, and the earth will have vegetation long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2.
In their natural states, animals don't have the power to create and communicate a new message to fit a new experience. Their genetic code limits the number and kind of messages that they can communicate. For example, bees can only communicate information about distance, direction, source and richness of pollen in flowers. In all significant aspects, animals of the same species share a limited repertoire of messages delivered in the same way, for generation after generation.
3.
In his paper on children's thinking, Jones (1985) stressed the importance of language skills in their problem-solving ability. Improvements in language skills reportedly resulted in improvement in nonverbal problem solving. Better performance is thought to be caused by the use of previously acquired language habits for problem articulation and activation of knowledge previously learned through language. Therefore, in the enhancement of problem solving in general, we should explore systematic practice in the verbal formulation of nonlinguistic problems prior to attempts at their solution.
1. The president had two aims in his mind when he assumed his office -- the recovery of the American economy and the modernization of America into a military power. His success in the first is testified by the drop in unemployment figures and inflation, and the increase in GDP. He was, however, less successful with the second, indicated by our increased involvement in international conflict without any clear set of political goals. Nevertheless, the American voter was pleased with the increases in the military budget and a good deal of saber rattling.
2. Our report to demonstrate Abco's advantages versus competitors will highlight the components of its profitability, particularly growth in Asian markets. This analysis will be supported by revenue returns along several dimensions -- product type, end-use, distribution channels, etc. We project that the growth prospects of Abco's newest product lines will likely depend most on its ability in regard to the development of distribution channels in China, where the introduction of new products will be needed to be supported by a range of innovative strategies.
5.2
1. Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plans grow most richly on richly fertilized plains and river valleys, but also at the edge of perpetual snow in high mountains. Densely vegetated areas include the ocean and its edges as well as in and around lakes and swamps. Plants live in the cracks of busy city sidewalks as well as in seemingly barren cliffs. Vegetation covered the earth before humans existed, and the earth will have vegetation long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2.
In their natural states, animals don't have the power to create and communicate a new message to fit a new experience. Their genetic code limits the number and kind of messages that they can communicate. For example, bees can only communicate information about distance, direction, source and richness of pollen in flowers. In all significant aspects, animals of the same species share a limited repertoire of messages delivered in the same way, for generation after generation.
3.
In his paper on children's thinking, Jones (1985) stressed the importance of language skills in their problem-solving ability. Improvements in language skills reportedly resulted in improvement in nonverbal problem solving. Better performance is thought to be caused by the use of previously acquired language habits for problem articulation and activation of knowledge previously learned through language. Therefore, in the enhancement of problem solving in general, we should explore systematic practice in the verbal formulation of nonlinguistic problems prior to attempts at their solution.
Exercise 5.1 #1 and 5.2 ALL
2. Our report to demonstrate Abco's advantages over its competitors will highlight Abco's profitability due to growth in the Asian markets. This analysis will be based off of revenue returns along several dimensions- product type, end-use, distribution channels, ect. The development of distribution channels in china will determine the growth prospects of Abco's newest product lines. The introduction of new products will need a range of innovative strategies for support.
5.2
1. Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plants grow most richly in fertilized plains and river valleys, but plants also grow on the edges of perpetual snow on high mountains. Vegetation densely grows in the ocean, the ocean's edges, around lakes, and swamps. Plants also exist in the cracks of busy city sidewalks and in seemingly barren cliffs. Vegetation covered the earth before humans, and vegetation will remain long after evolutionary history swallows them up.
2. Animals do not have the power to create and communicate a new message to fit a new experience. Animal's genetic code limits the number and kind of messages each animal can communicate. For example, bees can only communicate information about distance, direction, source, and richness of pollen in flowers. Animals of the same species have a limited repertoire of messages delivered in the same way.
3. In his paper on children's thinking, Jones stressed the importance of language skills in children's problem solving abilities. Children improved in nonverbal problem solving as a result of improved language skills. The better performance was caused by children activating previously learned language habits for problem articulation. Problem solving in children may be enhanced by systematic practice in the verbal formulation of nonlinguistic problems.
sorry for any typos
5.2
1. Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plants grow most richly in fertilized plains and river valleys, but plants also grow on the edges of perpetual snow on high mountains. Vegetation densely grows in the ocean, the ocean's edges, around lakes, and swamps. Plants also exist in the cracks of busy city sidewalks and in seemingly barren cliffs. Vegetation covered the earth before humans, and vegetation will remain long after evolutionary history swallows them up.
2. Animals do not have the power to create and communicate a new message to fit a new experience. Animal's genetic code limits the number and kind of messages each animal can communicate. For example, bees can only communicate information about distance, direction, source, and richness of pollen in flowers. Animals of the same species have a limited repertoire of messages delivered in the same way.
3. In his paper on children's thinking, Jones stressed the importance of language skills in children's problem solving abilities. Children improved in nonverbal problem solving as a result of improved language skills. The better performance was caused by children activating previously learned language habits for problem articulation. Problem solving in children may be enhanced by systematic practice in the verbal formulation of nonlinguistic problems.
sorry for any typos
Exercise 5.1 & 5.2
5.1
2)Our report will highlight the components of Abco's profitability, in particular, the growth in the Asian markets, to demonstrate our advantages over competitors. The analysis is based upon revenue returns along several dimensions-product type, end-use, distribution channels, etc. We project that the most likely growth prospects of Abco's newest product lines will depend most on its ability in regard to the development of distribution channels in China. The introduction of new products must be supported by a range of innovative strategies.
5.2
1)Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plants flourish most in richly fertilized plains and river valleys, but they also do so at the edge of perpetual snow in high mountains. Dense vegetation occurs at the ocean and its edges, or in and around lakes and swamps. Plants even grow in cracks of busy city sidewalks as well as in seemingly barren cliffs. Vegetation has covered the earth before humans existed, and it will cover the earth long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2)In their natural state, animals do not have the power to create and communicate new messages to fit new experiences. Their genetic code limits the number and kind of messages that they can communicate. For example, bees can only communicate information about distance, direction, source, and richness of pollen in flowers. Generation after generation, animals of the same species can only have a limited number of messages delivered in the same way.
3) The importance of language skills in children's problem solving ability was stressed by Jones (1985) in his paper of children's thinking. Improvements in language skills were reported to have resulted in improvements in non-verbal problem solving. Previously acquired language habits and knowledge learned through language are thought to be the cause of better performance. Therefore, verbal formulations of nonlinguistic problems could aid children in problem solving in general.
2)Our report will highlight the components of Abco's profitability, in particular, the growth in the Asian markets, to demonstrate our advantages over competitors. The analysis is based upon revenue returns along several dimensions-product type, end-use, distribution channels, etc. We project that the most likely growth prospects of Abco's newest product lines will depend most on its ability in regard to the development of distribution channels in China. The introduction of new products must be supported by a range of innovative strategies.
5.2
1)Vegetation covers the earth, except for those areas continuously covered with ice or utterly scorched by continual heat. Plants flourish most in richly fertilized plains and river valleys, but they also do so at the edge of perpetual snow in high mountains. Dense vegetation occurs at the ocean and its edges, or in and around lakes and swamps. Plants even grow in cracks of busy city sidewalks as well as in seemingly barren cliffs. Vegetation has covered the earth before humans existed, and it will cover the earth long after evolutionary history swallows us up.
2)In their natural state, animals do not have the power to create and communicate new messages to fit new experiences. Their genetic code limits the number and kind of messages that they can communicate. For example, bees can only communicate information about distance, direction, source, and richness of pollen in flowers. Generation after generation, animals of the same species can only have a limited number of messages delivered in the same way.
3) The importance of language skills in children's problem solving ability was stressed by Jones (1985) in his paper of children's thinking. Improvements in language skills were reported to have resulted in improvements in non-verbal problem solving. Previously acquired language habits and knowledge learned through language are thought to be the cause of better performance. Therefore, verbal formulations of nonlinguistic problems could aid children in problem solving in general.
Cane; poems and prose notes
Note: I saw two different versions of the book in class today, so I hope my page numbers are consistent with yours.
Observations (for most of the poems, and some of the text; in order of appearance):
Reapers (p. 3)
- Begins with "black" and ends with "shade"
- Seems to suggest summer (mower, weeds), while reapers are associated with death or winter
- Undertones of industry: alliteration of "s" runs from first line into the second, some sort of hissing -- steam/factories?
November Cotton Flower (p. 4)
- Boll-weevil = beetle, specifically a type that infested US cotton growing areas in the 1920s, devastated the South's crops
- 5th line, mention of "autumn rake"... winter to autumn? then later, "season when the flower bloomed"... spring?
- Dead birds, I tend to think of birds as a symbol of freedom, flying = freedom. Dead birds make the poem feel heavy, trapped, grounded.
- Whose brown eyes do you think he's talking about?
Face (p. 8)
- Poem feels delicate
- Face of the land, the image of a natural dusk landscape
- Why are brows "recurved"... why not just curved? any significance?
- Moves from delicate to powerful - last four lines: the immense power of the land, "channeled," "cluster," "sun," "ripe": words that contain some sense of power
Cotton Song (p.9)
- I don't have much to say about this... But a recap of what we mentioned in class: men sang while working in the fields; they timed their actions to the movement of their work
- Oh, I noticed some Southern vernacular
- Third stanza: "fleecy"... sheep?
Song of the Son (p. 12)
- Son sounds like sun, "though the sun is setting... it has not set yet" (3rd stanza)
- 4th stanza, last line, "for me" ...who is me?
- ... in general, who are the pronouns referring to?
Georgia Dusk (p. 13)
- Noticed the rhyme scheme first: first and last line of each stanza, and 2nd and 3rd lines rhyme
- domicile = home, why not just say home?
- "juju-man" a mysterious or powerful sort of man?
- resinous - pertaining to resin/sap
- How does this poem relate to "Song of the Son"?
Nullo (p. 18)
- Nullo is apparently "in certain card games, a bid to take no tricks."
- Help. How does the title connect to the poem?
Other observations, concerning prose:
Karintha (p. 1-2)
- Ends mysteriously: "Karintha... [Poem]... Goes down..."
- Shift from past tense to present tense
- Foreshadow of birth/death
Becky (p. 5-7)
- The pines "whisper" ... then they "shout" - significance?
- Bible: they've turned the pages (and made lots of noise doing it) but have they learned anything? The pines whisper - tattle-tale like on the congregation
- Becky, a supernatural force on people?
Carma (p. 10-11)
- One line stuck out to me: "A black boy... you are the most sleepiest man I ever seed": struck me as particularly internalized somehow... internal dialogue?
- Also, "from far away a sad strong song" and "she does not sing; her body is a song": reminds me of Whitman, silence can as well be a song, and send an equally powerful message
- "The search began" (11). Search for...?
Fern (p. 14-17)
- Significance of Fern's eyes?
- On page 15, eyes jumped out at me (not literally obviously): "... her eyes... they gazed...they followed...they'd settle...they'd wait...they looked... Like her face, the whole countryside seemed to flow into her eyes."
- "Her eyes, unusually weird and open, held me. Held God." Where is God right now? Fern = God? touched by God?
- And again with the theme of song: "Dusk hid her; I could hear only her song"
Esther (p. 20-25)
- Broken into parts by age; I think the numbers = her age
- How her story was broken up reminded me of a song by Five for Fighting, 100 Years
- Twenty-two (last line): "Her face pales until it is the color of the gray dusk that dances with dead cotton leaves..." sounds like premature death. But ferns remind me of spring... aw no, conflict again!
- "Emptiness is a thing that grows by being moved."
- Absolute last line: "There is no air, no street, and the town has completely disappeared." Before this "somnambulist" is worth mentioning; makes me believe that this was all a dream.
And what is that lone arc about? (p.37)
This was a really long post. Why am I even up at 3.
Observations (for most of the poems, and some of the text; in order of appearance):
Reapers (p. 3)
- Begins with "black" and ends with "shade"
- Seems to suggest summer (mower, weeds), while reapers are associated with death or winter
- Undertones of industry: alliteration of "s" runs from first line into the second, some sort of hissing -- steam/factories?
November Cotton Flower (p. 4)
- Boll-weevil = beetle, specifically a type that infested US cotton growing areas in the 1920s, devastated the South's crops
- 5th line, mention of "autumn rake"... winter to autumn? then later, "season when the flower bloomed"... spring?
- Dead birds, I tend to think of birds as a symbol of freedom, flying = freedom. Dead birds make the poem feel heavy, trapped, grounded.
- Whose brown eyes do you think he's talking about?
Face (p. 8)
- Poem feels delicate
- Face of the land, the image of a natural dusk landscape
- Why are brows "recurved"... why not just curved? any significance?
- Moves from delicate to powerful - last four lines: the immense power of the land, "channeled," "cluster," "sun," "ripe": words that contain some sense of power
Cotton Song (p.9)
- I don't have much to say about this... But a recap of what we mentioned in class: men sang while working in the fields; they timed their actions to the movement of their work
- Oh, I noticed some Southern vernacular
- Third stanza: "fleecy"... sheep?
Song of the Son (p. 12)
- Son sounds like sun, "though the sun is setting... it has not set yet" (3rd stanza)
- 4th stanza, last line, "for me" ...who is me?
- ... in general, who are the pronouns referring to?
Georgia Dusk (p. 13)
- Noticed the rhyme scheme first: first and last line of each stanza, and 2nd and 3rd lines rhyme
- domicile = home, why not just say home?
- "juju-man" a mysterious or powerful sort of man?
- resinous - pertaining to resin/sap
- How does this poem relate to "Song of the Son"?
Nullo (p. 18)
- Nullo is apparently "in certain card games, a bid to take no tricks."
- Help. How does the title connect to the poem?
Other observations, concerning prose:
Karintha (p. 1-2)
- Ends mysteriously: "Karintha... [Poem]... Goes down..."
- Shift from past tense to present tense
- Foreshadow of birth/death
Becky (p. 5-7)
- The pines "whisper" ... then they "shout" - significance?
- Bible: they've turned the pages (and made lots of noise doing it) but have they learned anything? The pines whisper - tattle-tale like on the congregation
- Becky, a supernatural force on people?
Carma (p. 10-11)
- One line stuck out to me: "A black boy... you are the most sleepiest man I ever seed": struck me as particularly internalized somehow... internal dialogue?
- Also, "from far away a sad strong song" and "she does not sing; her body is a song": reminds me of Whitman, silence can as well be a song, and send an equally powerful message
- "The search began" (11). Search for...?
Fern (p. 14-17)
- Significance of Fern's eyes?
- On page 15, eyes jumped out at me (not literally obviously): "... her eyes... they gazed...they followed...they'd settle...they'd wait...they looked... Like her face, the whole countryside seemed to flow into her eyes."
- "Her eyes, unusually weird and open, held me. Held God." Where is God right now? Fern = God? touched by God?
- And again with the theme of song: "Dusk hid her; I could hear only her song"
Esther (p. 20-25)
- Broken into parts by age; I think the numbers = her age
- How her story was broken up reminded me of a song by Five for Fighting, 100 Years
- Twenty-two (last line): "Her face pales until it is the color of the gray dusk that dances with dead cotton leaves..." sounds like premature death. But ferns remind me of spring... aw no, conflict again!
- "Emptiness is a thing that grows by being moved."
- Absolute last line: "There is no air, no street, and the town has completely disappeared." Before this "somnambulist" is worth mentioning; makes me believe that this was all a dream.
And what is that lone arc about? (p.37)
This was a really long post. Why am I even up at 3.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)