Wednesday Class...

Banana Peel Haikus...
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A banana peel
On the floor, it smells
I wish she would slip

A monkey sits up
And asks politely please
Banana peel off


Inspired by Song of Myself...
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I celebrate and sing of summer grass

Invite my soul and I assume that you assume,

Every good atom of me belongs to you, every atom of my blood

Born of parents from parents, and their parents the same,

Never forgotten, vows for sickness or health, strength at every hazard

I, now thirty-seven years old in perfection begin, hoping to cease not until our death.

Pick Your Poetry..

Being that Lewis Carroll is one of my favorite poets, I chose three of his poems for this assignment: The Walrus and the Carpenter, A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky, and How Doth the Little Crocodile.  They may be somewhat simple in terms of literary analysis, but they are fun and light in terms of topic and easy to read.  They seem to fit, very well, into what I enjoy reading and keep in the back of my mind as favorites; especially The Walrus and The Carpenter because I absolutely love the way that it rhymes and is childish, but can still grab the attention of adults all over.

The other poems that I picked: To My Wife- With a Copy of My Poem by Oscar Wilde, As Soon as Fred Gets Out of Bed by Jack Prelutsky, and Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein are mostly light, fun, and easy to read.  The whole series of Shel Silverstein's poetry books were ones that I was hooked on when I was younger and still think of when I am asked about my favorite poetry because they make me think about life, but not to the point where I am depressed about what I see.  As Soon as Fred Gets Out of Bed is one that my mom used to recite to me when I was being silly as a child, so it sticks with me because of that.  

Haikus...

Oh, the Haiku.  The most basic of all poetry forms, that most of us were taught how to write when we were very little but, I also feel that due to their short nature they have to be deeper and more creative than other poems. 

With prose poetry, the author doesn't have to conform to any one way of writing.  In those types of poetry, the words don't have to rhyme in any pattern, or follow any rhythm in terms of beats, so there is much more freedom as to the words that the author can use and the length of their poems equaling an ease in expressing the meaning of their poem.  With a haiku, the words have to fit into a rhythm so length of the words and the syllables used in them are limited; and I feel that because of these limitations on the format of the poems the authors need to be more focused on what they want to convey to their audiences in contrast to the authors of prose.

That Girl...

That Girl

She was a tall girl, long blonde hair and big brown eyes. I would have normally categorized her as the popular chick we all knew in high school, but she didn’t have that skinny model body type. She was full, I don’t know how else to say it, not fat, not muscular, not sporty, and just kind of full. Anyway, she came into my office, all bubbly and cute, to ask for my help.  I didn’t think that there was much i could do but I offered.  She met me later, wearing just jeans and a hoodie, in this little hole in the wall coffee joint she suggested. The funniest thing was when she pulled up; I could see her through the window.  This bright yellow, 2-door hatchback focus parks right in the first spot.  The black decaled flames popping out and the matching black and yellow leather racing seats inside were just too funny.  To complete this outer pimpage of the little car, the head and taillights had both been switched out for the more European type with a little more flare. At this moment I knew I was in love, I mean come on what type of girl pimps out her focus?

Sometime, take a third person look at yourself and evaluate whether or not you like who you see...

Oh, love poems....

The simplicity of "love poem" is something that I haven't seen in the genre of love poems on a regular basis, but it is something that I really enjoyed when I am faced with it.  There was not a complicated rhyming scheme, nor is there long and drawn out stanzas with flowery, lyrical words used to describe the author's emotions.  You get the same idea, that they are in this magical state, without being sucked into the stereotype.

The way that the poem "How Do I Love Thee" discusses the emotions that are inspired by falling in love are a smooth expression in words.  The rhyming scheme is easy to follow but does not do the obvious matches such as love and above, but instead uses sets like Grace and day's.

In terms of what I think of when I hear the words "love poem" I think that it fits the stereotype.  It is very mushy-gushy, and lyrical in terms of the words chosen to express the emotions that this person is feeling once they find their match in life.  I normally don't gravitate to something like this, but I have always counted this poem as an exception to my distaste for the happy love poem.  I tend to like ones that are questioning their love choice and then things turn out in the end.  You get more of a realistic view of life and how things are in reality, rather than the picture of perfection that being in love can present.

Second Response to Lucky...

In the first section that we read, it talked about her parents' relationship with each other as very distant and very non-affectionate.  My group thought that this might have explained some of Sebold's behaviors and her attitude towards life, but in the next section that we read, we learn that her parents not being very "lovey-dovey" didn't really affect her as much as it made her wish that things were different.  

For example, there is a scene where she is visiting potential colleges with her father and they are spending the night in the same hotel room.  She thinks that it would be funny to put small ice cubes at the foot of her father's bed, so that when he returns from reading in the lobby his bed will be cold and wet.  When he discovers this present that she left for him, he tosses the ice cubes back at her and this begins an ice cube war.  At this point, Sebold writes that at moments like that she pretended he was the big brother he never had.  What I think that this passage tells us, is that although he is not affectionate and is VERY into his studies and work, he has given her a happy childhood along with fond memories of her father.

First Response to Lucky...

So far so good, I guess.  Being that I have only read up to the third chapter so far, I don't think that I can really comment on the work as a whole yet, but what I have read has me interested.

The way that Sebold organized the chapters has me curious.  She jumps right into the graphic trauma of her rape in the first chapter.  Normally, most writers would putz around making small talk for the first couple of chapters and then have the rape as the climax.  But, here, she makes it the introduction so that you know exactly what her background is for the rest of the story.  Especially, when she returns to her home town.  

The way that she explains how things look back home, and how she feels that fire has somehow marked her life, has the sense that the narrator has a hole in her soul.  There is a dreary tone to her entire life.  Her parents were removed from her as she grew up (her mother a panicked addict and her father was a devoted workhorse) and fire marked how she felt about her childhood, and then once she finally has the chance to get away from that scenario, she gets raped.  I just couldn't believe that her life sucked so badly and yet she turns it into a story that can help others who have been there (or curious people who just read it for the interest).  Even when people she ran into while researching "Alice Sebold's" rape and they claimed to be her best friend, when in fact she had no recollection of these strangers. She kept on going, whereas I think I would've been very upset that these randoms were claiming to be part in this tragedy just to be close to what Sebold calls a "celebrity" life.  I think that in no way is a victim should be like a celebrity, they have been through enough, just let them be.