Quote Notes: Poetry

Because my English 1080 students have two poetry assignments coming up, one in-class and one shorter out-of-class assignment, my discussion of quotation methods will begin with poetry.

Quotation is something that used to be taught in high school and, to some degree, in elementary school, but that seems not to be the case anymore since I rarely encounter a first-year essay that presents quotes the right way.

It’s been hard finding time to write about this topic, as there are so many issues involved with quotation. That said, here are two excellent sources to answer your questions about poetry method:

http://www.shepherd.edu/scwcweb/hndpoetry.htm

and

http://www.answerbag.com/articles/How-to-Quote-and-Cite-a-Poem-in-an-Essay-Using-MLA-Format/4d7227b7-df27-6c1b-fb0b-a658367c075a .

Please note, however, that I am not concerned that you include the line number (it's really not necessary). I am more concerned that you do the following:

1. Put quotation marks around the TITLE of the poem.

2. Put quotation marks around the direct words quoted from the poem.


3. Use a slash between lines of quoted poetry:

a) Frost’s speaker finds himself wondering, “Whose woods these are I think I know/His house is in the village though,” thereby placing emphasis on the ownership of property.

b) The speaker in Wordsworth’s poem suddenly finds comfort in nature, speaking of the flowers as if they are human: “When all at once I saw a crowd/A host of golden daffodils.”


4. If you use a long quote, indent ten spaces, but quotation marks are not necessary.

As the speaker moves on, he encounters a variety of movement in nature:
Beside the lake, beneath the trees
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze
The waves beside them danced but they
Outdid the sparkling waves with glee.
Notice that I introduce the quote using a colon, and the next line of prose following a long quotes should not be indented. Use a line or two of explanation (like this example, except Blogspot wouldn't allow me to indent the quote, so I put it in blue) and then start a new paragraph.

5. Don’t use “hanging quotes” (also called “floating quotes”). That is, don’t place the quote in the midst of your discussion, without leading into it or setting it up properly.

Here’s a hanging quote:

The speaker admires the beauty of the woods. “The woods are lovely.” Also, he sees that they are mysterious. “dark and deep”.

Here's how that quote should look:

The speaker admires the beauty of nature, saying, "The woods are lovely." He also notes their mysterious quality, adding that they are "dark and deep".

Here’s another way, a little extra analysis thrown in:

The speaker admires the beauty of the woods, thinking they are “lovely,” but he also appreciates their hidden quality, as they are “dark and deep,” perhaps impenetrable and unknowable. In this way, he remains somewhat detached from the woods as suggested by the preposition “by” in the woods. That is, rather than stopping in the woods or venturing into them where he might be able to see them up close and engage with nature, he is merely “stopping by,” perhaps because his work will only allow him a certain physical and emotional distance from the object of his affection.

Notice the placement of the quotation marks, as well the commas, which go inside the quotation marks. Notice also that I made my point without using unnecessarily long quotes, but focused instead on discussing specific word choices of the poet. I don’t just give the quote; I explain its significance.

I’ll post this much for now. It should give you an idea of what I am talking about. Most of this information is applicable also to writing about prose (fiction and novels). Use shorter quotes instead of longer ones when possible. Either way, your quote should be incorporated properly into your discussion, using quotation marks.

GC

The Softer Side of Poetry

I posted this a while back, but thought it would be fun to post it again. It's is a blast from my childhood, as I recall this exact moment on the Muppets show. Until now, it only existed for me in my memory. But I went looking one night last fall and, lo and behold, there it was, in faded color and quivering lines.

And I still love it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGoZNjNgcP0

Enjoy! Poetry can be fun.

(Although sometimes it's about death.)

GC

P.S. Next time, I'll blog about quotation methods, which a lot of you are getting wrong right now. But it's fixable, and I'll show you how. Just gotta work myself up to it.

The Days After

It's the hardest part of the job.

Okay, well, maybe the second hardest part. Yesterday, I gave back the English 1080 comparative analysis essays. I know some of those grades hurt, especially those of you who failed this assignment. It bothers me whenever I have to assign a failing grade, but I know that does nothing to help you.

What I hope does help are the comments I made on all of those essays. That's what they're for. Read them line-by-line and figure out what you're doing wrong, as well as what you're doing right. Make adjustments. It really is as simple as that...sort of.

I know English is not a favorite subject for a lot of you. That might be an understatement. In fact, I'm sure it is. That might even be part of the problem.

However, I am assuming that English is the first language for almost all of you, and it's not a bad idea to know how to use it well. Equally important, it's a grand idea not to be ill-used by the language because I guarantee that if you're not proficient with it, there will be many times in your life where that lack of expertise is going to cost you in some way--whether it's manipulation by a politican or lawyer, a media outlet, or a union negotiation, contract, or letter of some kind. Somewhere along the way, you're going to wish you understood a little better how to understand the nuances of what's being said to you. Or that you knew how to use the language a little better to get your own way in some way.

Critical analysis and rhetoric are part and parcel of the same package: if you repeatedly exercise the part of your brain that allows you to analyze language and its various effects and uses, you also become more proficient at the art of rhetoric, as well as defending yourself against it.

Consider me your "Teacher of the Dark Arts," except not in a Harry Potterish sort of way. The things I'm trying to teach you might not save your life in a battle against a Dark Lord. I would never be so bold as to assume that it would. But then, I wouldn't bet against it either. Knowing how to communicate properly to a doctor, firefighter, police dispatch, or 911 operator has saved many a life, I am certain. The ability to converse, orally or in writing, with a lawyer, accountant, landlord, government bureacrat, or contractor might save you tons of money, perhaps--in the extreme--even jail time and embarassment even of the smallest sort.

There's no downside here; that's what I'm saying.

As I've been saying all week (when I was able to speak): learn to communicate clearly and life will be immensely easier for you.

I've seen people try to communicate with government ministers' offices for the right to have medicine for their deathly ill spouses, and the request was turned down because of a misunderstanding of the how dire the need is. Or for some other reason. You see, you are constantly being judged by how you speak and how well you listen. It's just the way the world works.

Enough about that. It's important for you to know that I want every student to pass. I wouldn't be much of a teacher if I didn't. I want the students who work hard to get A's. I want everybody's grades to go up and up.

But sometimes it doesn't work that way. Sometimes, you take a step or two backwards before you can move forward again. I think that's what's happening with a lot of you. Don't worry: just do something about it. Read my comments until you understand what I'm saying to you. I would never intentionally rob you of grades you deserve. If I gave you a low grade, it's because I thought your PAPER (not you, personally) deserved it. But it's only one paper. There will be others.

It's like losing a battle. The lessons learned from that battle should teach you how to prepare for the next battle. The scars you've earned can help you win the overall war.

Don't approach these next essays with fear or trepidation. Sure, a little fear can be your friend sometimes. But it's best to strive for somethng positive--for the grade you want or, better yet, to communicate something vital about the human condition. Yes, I said the human condition, for that's what all great literature is about. Don't turn up your nose or roll your eyes, because right now you're immersed in the human condition. It is you and it is about you, and we all have our little dramas going on that both separate us and join us together at the same time. They unite us in our humanity: when we analyze literature, that's what we're doing: looking for the humanity.

I don't think we're looking for someone to tell us what we "should" do. That would be arrogant and presumptuous of any fiction writer or poet. But they are trying to highlight some aspect of being human, trying to inflict understanding upon the reader. He or she is not trying to teach us, necessarily, but to show us. If in seeing, we learn something, then that's a private matter.

And it is our private matters that define us. Our public matters too often are more hype, gloss, and mask than personal or human. It is when literature touches us personally, pokes us where we live, that its stories and poems and songs have performed well. And it is when we find the words to express that moment of being touched that we are, perhaps, most human. Having said that, I also understand that some of the most profound moments in one's life can leave you speechless. But those who recover their sense in time to express their thoughts and feelings are the ones who inspire us in a way that we truly need: Lincoln, Kennedy, Mandela, and recently Obama, among others. They all have suffered. They all have found words in tragedy. They all have been humiliated. They each have triumphed. And they have done so through words.

That is how they inspire.

These are your words too. With the exception of George W. Bush, who should not be "misunderestimated" in his importance in history, very few such people resort to making up new words. They don't have to. Like any good carpenter, they can take the tools that are given and build something awe-inspiring.

These are the same tools at your disposal. They're only words. Learn how to use them. Pick them up. Learn how to wield them. Don't be afraid. You have something inside of you that will allow you to inspire, if only you can choose just the right words. But you have to be clear: if you are not being understood, your words will fall on deaf ears. They will "fork no lightning".

Okay, so I get a little melodramatic as a I go. But I believe it all. It's just that most people don't take time to say such things and most of us wince at the sound of such truths. Not my problem. I say what I mean. I just want you to do the same.

And for that, we have words. Use them wisely, and they will serve you well.

I hope to get time to post again tomorrow, probably with some thing a little more specific.

This is more of a pep talk, really, and just keeping the lines of communication open.

I care how you do in this course. I want every student to succeed. To me, success means improvement. There is no other way for a conscientious teacher, or a caring student, to measure it. It means you're moving forward at least.

If you didn't move forward this time, then you begin again and take the hill next time. With only a month left in the semester, it's time to double the effort, to not give in because of one or two bad grades.

"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

I'll be back in the classroom tomorrow morning (Friday) if all goes well. While I'm definitely not 100% well and my voice is pretty awful, I need to give back the essays for English 1080 so you can at least know where you stand in the course with a month to go.

The strange thing about being sick is that you feel disconnected from everything. I keep sending messages out, but it's rare to hear back from someone once in a while. It's like being on a space station.

I haven't rested all that much, not at all, in fact. It's been nine straight days of grading essays frin 7 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. or so. It's slower than usual because of the whole flu thing and all that that makes you feel (sorry, no details--it's not my desire to gross anybody out).

But I'm finally finished as of this afternoon. Tonight, besides blogging and answering e-mail, I'll be resting. Maybe watch some t.v.--Fringe and a little bit of hockey. More likely, I'll fall asleep watching one or the other. (Don't you hate it when someone wakes you and tells you to go to bed? Just sayin'.)

The semester feels a little fragmented at the moment, but it'll work itself out fine. This is the first class I've had to cancel for sickness in about ten years, but I've seen worse things happen during a semester. Sure, the H1N1 virus has made everyone a bit shaky, especially people who've been struck with it, and it's good to be cautious. But life goes on and the quicker we can get it back to normal, the better. I'm not sure what "normal" means, but for the rest of the semester, we might require a new "normal".

I'll be figuring that one out over the weekend. For now, I must go rest. Oh, and there was one other paper I just remembered in one of my folders. I swear they're multiplying.

Hope you'll forgive my shaky voice tomorrow. It's all I've got for now, but it's better than none at all.

Ciao for now.

Gerard

Absence

So I'm down sick. Not sure exactly for how long, but I am hoping to be in class again on Friday. Those of you who were supposed to do the AF-10 poetry reading today (Wed.) will now be doing it on Friday.

I'll have more to say soon, but just am not feeling up to much at the moment. I mostly just wanted to get in touch and also to apologize to those of you who showed up for class this morning at 9 a.m. I've been told there was no notice on the door, even though I did contact the university at 7 a.m., around the same time I sent out an e-mail to everyone. I hope not all of you showed up or stuck around too long. I did my best, but sometimes, that's not enough, unfortunately.

I'll have to see how this whole sickness thing plays out and if it goes a while longer, I'll blog again as soon as possible. I'm also slogging my way through all those essays right now, so finding time to blog has been difficult.

Take care of you. Go listen to some good music. :-)

Gerard

Last-minute thoughts about comparative analysis

I've got a little bit of a break from e-mails and other work, so I just wanted to share a few, brief thoughts about the comparative analysis essay that's due tomorrow for my English 1080 students.

First, in case there's any confusion, I'll repeat that the format of your essay should go something like this:

Paragraph #1: Introduction
Paragraph #2: Discuss Story A
Paragraph #3: Discuss Story B
Paragraph #4: Discuss Story A
Paragraph #5: Discuss Story B
Paragraph #6: Conclusion

Yes, you can have more than six paragraphs, if you choose.

Also, as I keep saying, it's NOT wrong to discuss both stories in the same paragraph. My point in suggesting a separation (one story per pargraph) is you need to give yourself time and space in which to fully explain your ideas. Sure, paragraphs #2 and #3 can go together, as can #4 and #5, but it's really not necessary. The problem most students have with comparative analysis is that they have so much to say that they wind up selling some of the discussion short. Remember: each paragraph should have topic sentence, evidence, and a full discussion of the evidence (which might even include reference to the other story, remarking how A and B are similar to each other). The main thing is not to let your paragraph get away from you. Yes, you can mention the other story, but don't let it take over your paragraph if you're supposed to be discussing Story A.

What should go in the Introductory Paragraph?

I would begin with a thesis statement that combines Story A and Story B, showing how they have one major, umbrella theme in common. The second sentence should be about Story A. The third sentence should be about Story B. The fourth sentence should combine A and B again, forming sort of secondary thesis statement, one that sums up what you're going to be proving in your essay.

Your essay should then follow through, paragraph by paragraph, on the main points you promised to discuss, according to your introductory paragraph.

Also, as I've already said in class:

1. No first drafts

2. Title pages are okay, but not necessary

3. Use a title of some kind.

4. Avoid using really long quotes. Use the parts you need, and make sure your quotation is done properly. Lead in to it, "just as I've said in class." (That was an example of a direct quote.)

5. Staple your pages.

6. Use 12-point Times New Roman font.


This might help some. Hope it does. For now, though, it's all I have time to write.

Gotta fetch my car from the garage. Life goes on.

Good luck on your papers, which are due at the beginning of class tomorrow.

GC

How (and Why) to Write a Thesis Statement

For those of you working on an English 1080 essay this coming weekend, I thought it might be useful to blog about thesis statements. Some of this I've written about before, but once again I've tweaked it to accomodate this particular course. I hope it helps.

The thesis statement is probably the most important part of any essay and appropriately so, but it’s also the part that most students find difficult.

I’ll try the Q & A format because it seems to clarify things a bit.

Q. Why is the thesis statement so important?

A. Because it’s your opening statement. You’re making your first impression. You’re laying the foundation for the rest of your essay. Everything that your essay entails should be clearly indicated in your thesis statement.

Q. Does a thesis statement have to be the first sentence?

A. It’s not an official rule or anything, and there are certainly other ways to go about it. But placing the thesis statement first in your essay gives a sense of immediacy and purpose to your essay. I have seen plenty of essays that were undermined by not placing the thesis statement first, but I have never see one that suffered by starting out with your strongest, clearest statement of intent. It just gives a sense of strength and cohesiveness to your argument. It’s all about effective writing anyway—not just “writing to get by” or “writing to be barely understood by.” It’s about being the best communicator your can be. And being a clear writer also makes you a clear thinker (though the opposite is not necessarily true.) So put your thesis statement first not because you have to, because you want to. It’s sort of why Entertainment Tonight always starts their show with those pictures of John and Kate or some female celebrity in a bikini or Britney baring her belly button (again): not because they have to but because it’s more effective. In a way, a photo of John and Kate is their thesis statement.

Q. I’ve always had the most trouble writing thesis statements; is it even possible to learn this so that it becomes easier?

A. Anything becomes easier with practice and thesis statements are no different. You have to train yourself and, after a while, it will become easier. It will always take some amount of work, but it is worth it in order to become a clear communicator.

Q. What goes into a good thesis statement?

A. Your thesis statement ought to be as comprehensive as possible. This takes work, and you’ll probably have to write it first, then revise it as you go. The best thesis statements are usually ones that have been revised even after the essay’s been written. The idea is that it has to encompass everything that your essay is about and sometimes you can’t really know everything that’s in your mind until you’ve written it. So it makes sense that you would go back to the beginning when you’ve written the end and check to ensure that you’ve written about everything exactly as you said you would. Thesis statements are made to be revised.

Q. Can you give me an example of a good thesis statement?

A. If you’re subject is “music” in the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, then start by telling me what your focus is going to be.

e.g. In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses rock and roll to represent the protagonist’s, and American society’s, coming of age.

That would be short, simple, and directly to the point. My intention in such an essay would be to discuss in detail, with examples, how Oates uses music as a medium for Connie’s transition into the adult world. My next sentences ought to explain precisely how Oates does that. I would need to mention specifically who the protagonist is (Connie) and how music is a part of who she is, as well as how it defines her situation, as well as America in the Sixties, and suggest what I mean by “coming of age”.

Something like this would do: “Throughout the story, Connie listens to music as a way of tuning out the real world and tuning in to a world of her own imagination, as denoted by the dangerous Arnold Friend, who symbolizes the dire changes that are sweeping the country during that decade. American youth, as represented by Connie, is reaching for freedom that sometimes comes with a terrible price, and nothing represents that yearning for something more better than rock and roll.”

Or you could have phrased your thesis statement like this:

e.g. Music is a portal to both the freedom of the mind and its inherent dangers, as Joyce Carol Oates suggests in her short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”.

Notice that I manage to include the author and title of the story, just to make sure the reader knows at a glance which work and author I’m dealing with. She can decide to keep reading or search elsewhere for a more appropriate article based on what she reads in that one sentence.

Also, notice that the subject in your thesis statement is not music generally. You’re not writing an essay about music, American society, teenage girls, or serial killers. You’re discussing music as it is portrayed in this one short story, and so any statement that’s not about that story is a wasted statement.

Let’s try it again. Let’s say your subject is isolation in “Paul’s Case”. Well, what are you trying to say about isolation in that short story? I see a lot of essays that start with something like, “‘Paul’s Case’ presents a young boy, Paul, who is isolated.” To say that Cather’s story depicts isolation is not enough: your point is, What does Cather imply ABOUT isolation? The most important opinion here, really, is Cather’s. It’s crucial that you figure out what she is trying to say before you can pretend to have an opinion on her opinion. Make sense?

Try a thesis statement something like this:

As Willa Cather appears to suggest in her short story, "Paul's Case," isolation from one's friends, family, school, and church can have serious consequences on a person's attitudes and decisions. With a thesis statement like that, you leave yourself wide open to go and discuss just about anything you want. You'll focus on showing Paul as isolated, using evidence from the story to suggest distance and detachment, physically and emotionally, from friends, then family, then school, then church, and ultimately even from the world around him, as well as himself. You'll go further and show how it muddies his thinking and allows him to justify robbing his employer, spending the money on luxuries, and, ultimately, deciding to kill himself. You might even feel the need to suggest it was something other than isolation that spurred him on. But that's you're decision. You decide what to prove because you're the writer.

Q. Why isn't my opinion about the story important?

A. Certainly, you are being asked for your opinion on the story. This whole essay that you’re writing has you written all over it. Every word is yours—well-chosen, clear, purposeful, and coming from your head, through your fingers and onto the keyboard, screen, and paper. But first you have to get yourself out of the way. Look into the piece of literature and figure out the author’s agenda, whether it is subconscious or not. What is he or she implying by their well-chosen words? How are your opinions being shaped and manipulated by his or her choice of words?

In “Young Goodman Brown,” for example, Hawthorne’s opinions about religion or faith will not be the same as yours. Young Goodman Brown, for instance, dies a sad, gloomy death even though he still believes in God. You, on the other hand, might be faithfully religious and not agree with Hawthorne that faith can be such a terrible thing. But don’t get into morally judging the characters for this. Your goal is to understand the characters and explain why they act and speak as they do: for what purpose? What is Hawthorne trying to say by having them speak and act that way? That’s where your thesis statement will come from: in understanding the connection of the character you’re studying to all the other characters in that story. Or, if you’re comparing two short stories to each other, you also have to consider how one author’s agenda differs from the other author’s agenda. More on comparative analysis another time, hopefully by the end of the weekend.

It might seem like a lot to consider before you can write a solid thesis statement. But the fact is that critical thinking and writing requires you to show great understanding of the subject you’re studying. This is no different from science or history in that the idea is to thoroughly engage with your subject before you can possibly contribute anything to the study of it. It is only by pushing yourself in this way that you will become a better, clearer thinker and writer. Writing a good thesis statement is hard, but if you’re serious about being a good writer, it’s well worth it.

I do wonder, though, why anyone NOT want to be a better writer? The only answer I can think of is that it’s not something you’re used to doing and therefore you’re not so good at it. To me, that’s all the more reason for wanting to be good at it—so that you don’t get held back in life at any point. I don’t just mean academically, but in various other ways too. A clear thinker and writer ALWAYS gets more respect and has more self-respect, too. There’s no way around that. A poor communicator can cause a lot of damage in a society (I’m trying to ignore the urge here to point to George W. Bush as exhibit A) or even to a political party or other group (Stephen Harper's Conservatives being Exhibit B). On a large scale, wars take place and people get killed, or global warming becomes a political football because the scientists weren’t getting their message across to the politicians. Either the scientists weren’t communicating properly, or the politicians just couldn’t understand what they were saying. I suspect that the truth is somewhere in the middle. The results, however, can be devestating. Thank goodness the scientists finally came out a couple of years ago year with an official, unified statement—a thesis statement, you might call it, with which people can either agree or disagree. That's the point of a thesis statement really: say clearly what you mean to say so we can say clearly whether we agree with you or not.

On a smaller scale, though, poor communication can lead to people showing up at a store for a sale that doesn’t take place till next week or for a service that isn’t even offered. Or deadlines get missed, meetings are ineffective, and grants don’t get won. Whether an arts grant or a health care grant, or a wharf-building application, there are consequences for representing yourself poorly. Even (or maybe especially) personal relationships can suffer endlessly and sometimes permanently from an inability of at least one person to say what they really mean, instead of thinking that what they are saying is clear and unambiguous. A good communicator will have fewer bad marriages and fewer lost friendships. That’s real life.I could go on and on, and often have.

So: start with a clear, complete statement of what you are about to say in your essay. That way, no one can doubt your intentions.

GC

Getting Substance into Your Essay

By now, most of you in English 1080 are probably working on your new essays, the comparative analysis of two short stories. The two main concerns for many of you will be organizing your essay and getting some substance into your work. These issues are inextricably linked to each other because substance requires clarity of thought--the kind of clarity that comes from, and is shown in, clear organization. Most of the essays I grade early in a semester are lacking in detail and explication, and if you're looking to raise your grade, such substance is necessary. "A" papers have it, while all others have it to lesser degrees. "F" papers tend not to have much substance at all, or what is there is disguised, or buried, in poor expression or poor organization so that it's hard to find.

So how do you get this substance into your papers? A quality essay must not only be pretty squeaky clean grammatically, but it also has to express an original, engaging, thought on the subject. There are various ways of doing this, and I would never suggest that my way is the only way. But in the past couple of years, I've developed a way of showing students how to format such a paper.

It's the same one I wrote on the board a few days ago, which I just call the 1-2-3 method of analysis: Each paragraph of your essay ought to look something like this.

1. Make a statement.
2. Give evidence.
3. Discuss evidence.

1. Make a statement. This is your topic sentence or what I call "the label on the box." Think of the paragraph as a box in which you are going to pack certain things in order to organize. Organization, after all, is the key to clear expression. So if you clearly mark the box/paragraph, then there should be no doubt as to what it contains. I should be able to read your "label" (topic sentence) and know exactly what that box contains. When you look back over your essay, if you see a subject being discussed that does not belong with that label, then you need to put that statement or phrase in another box, or paragraph. If your paragraph turns out to be about something other than what you planned, you could even consider changing your topic sentence. The other alternative could be to re-write your entire paragraph. Either way, the label has to match the contents of the box, and vice-versa.

2. Give evidence. The evidence you use is simply the short quotes, details, choice words, SPECIFIC references to scenes and characters that you use to support your topic sentence. These will show your reader (me) that you are not just making broad or abstract claims; you actually have reasons for making the assertions you make, and here is the proof.

3. Discuss evidence. It's never enough just to show evidence and assume that I know why it's there. If I want to make my own connections, I will write my own paper. Your job is to show me why you think what you think about the book, story, poem (or whatever) you've read. So go back to your list of details or your quotes, look at the word choice used by the author and tell me why you think these words that you've chosen are appropriate evidence for what you're trying to prove or illustrate. If you've used a quote with at least several words in it, go back through the quote, pick out a few (or at least a couple) of key words and tell me why they help prove your point.

I'm not telling you this simply because it's right and other methods are wrong. I'm telling you this because, for most of you, it will give you a method for working. There is confidence in having a formula that works and if you get used to doing it this way, you will always have full, meaningful paragraphs that are full of analysis and substance. I'll be trying to blog about more of this kind of thing over the next few days and coming weeks. This is only a beginning (also see my earlier blog about sentence structure fixes).

If you have a more specific question, PLEASE leave a comment or see me in person and ask me to blog about a certain idea. That way, I can address your particular needs.

More to come soon.

GC

Tense shift, fragments, and comma splice--that's what some essays are made of.

Now that you've had a chance to get over the trauma of your first grade in English, after writing your first essays, I figured I should post some extra commentary that I hope you put to use for your next assignment.

I write a lot of commentary on these essays, and I truly hope you'll read them carefully and take the comments to heart. They are intended, not to punish you for what your current essay lacks, but to suggest how you can improve your writing technique for future essays (for both English and other courses, and life in general). The next one is due on October 28, and the time will go fast.

A lot of you in English 1080 are having problem with sentence structure, including comma splice, sentence fragment, and tense shift. Below, I've posted some suggestions about how to recognize these problems and how to fix them. I hope it helps.

First of all, I don't make these things up. Sentence fragment, tense shift, and comma splice are real words and have real consequences for your writing. You should have learned about them in high school English, but either no one showed you or the lesson just didn't take. Or maybe in the time since you last wrote an essay, you forgot how to do it. That's all understandable, but what can we do about it?

First, you might notice that I used some abbreviations on your essays:

1. "T.S." means tense shift.
2. "C.S." means comma splice.
3. "S.F." means sentence fragment.

Here's what those terms mean:

1. Tense shift just means that you're switching from speaking in the present voice to speaking in the past voice. You're using "was" when you should be using "is". You're ending words in an "-ed" suffix instead of ending them in "-es" or just "s". Just be consistent. Somtimes, it's fine to use past tense, but most of the time you should consistently use the present tense when talking about fiction, as if the action were happening right now as you read it.

So if you said something like "Elisa worked in her garden most of the time," it should read: "Elisa works in her garden most of the time."

2. Comma splice means that you're joining (i.e. "splicing") together two sentences using a humble comma. The comma wasn't intended for such heavy labor. It's like using a screwdriver as a chisel. You can do it, but eventually there will be breakage. Your sentences get too long and, usually, tough to follow.

Here's how to recognize a comma splice: read what you've written on both sides of the comma; if both sides read like a complete sentence, then you've used a comma splice, which is a major grammatical error, not to mention confusing. See, a comma tells you to pause. But periods, for the sake of clarity, require you to stop. (See what I mean there in that last sentence?)
So how do you fix a comma splice, supposing you should see one?

1. Use a period and make two separate sentences.

2. Or use a semi-colon, which is designed to join/separate two complete sentences that are related to each other in thought/theme.

3. Or use a co-ordinating conjunction (e.g. “but,” “however,” “and,” “because,” and so on) and (sometimes) use a comma with it. That's probably the easiest and most common fix. You'll have to get used to recognizing comma splices in your sentences.

That's the only way to eradicate the problem from your writing: practice. After a while, it will become natural. I've seen it happen for thousands of students in a matter of weeks and it can happen for you. Depends on how bad you want it.

Here's an example of a comma splice:

Comma Splice: Henry leans over the fence, he startles his wife.

Fix: Henry leans over the fence. He startles his wife.
Fix: Henry leans over the fence; he startles his wife.
Fix: Henry leans over the fence, but he startles his wife.
Fix: Henry leans over the fence and startles his wife.
Fix: When Henry leans over the fence, he startles his wife.


3. Sentence Fragment just means that what you've said (and obviously think is a full sentence because it starts with a capital letter and ends in a period after a string of seemingly meaningful words) is not a complete sentence. It's a fragment of a sentence, a mere piece of one: a pretend sentence in disguise, and it's up to you to start recognizing its covert behaviour. It shouldn't be hanging out with the other sentences because, well, it just isn't one and it should just solve the problem by BECOMING one. Their main offense is that they just don't make sense on their own, sort of like Nick Lachey. That's how you fix a sentence fragment: either make it a full sentence by itself OR join it to the preceding clause. That's right: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Here's an example of a sentence fragment.

Sentence fragment: Arnold Friend, standing outside her door, asking if he can come in, which Connie refuses.

Looks, smells, sounds, and feels like a sentence, doesn't it? And yet, on closer look, it isn't quite complete. It needs something else, doesn't it? The sentence lacks context.

So the fix is in:

Arnold Friend is standing outside her door, asking if he can come in, which Connie refuses.

Or:

Arnold Friend stands outside her door, asking if he can come in, but Connie refuses.

See the difference a simple verb can make? I just added the word "is" or change “standing” to “stands” and now it all makes sense because we can (sort of) see them doing what we've implied they are doing. Fixing sentence fragments is usually just a matter of revising your verb (the word that implies action).

The other way to fix this problem would be to simply connect the fragment to a preceding sentence.

For example, let's say you (okay, somebody else. Denial has its uses.) wrote this:

Connie looks into mirrors a lot and looks at other people’s faces. Which tells her how she is doing.

You no doubt recognize that the second "sentence" is an imposter: a mere sentence fragment.

Here's a quick fix: Connie looks into mirrors a lot and looks at other people’s faces, which tells her how she is doing.

Notice that all it takes is a simple comma (also notice that what follows the comma is NOT a complete sentence, so we haven't created a dastardly comma splice, and so everyone sleeps well).


Anyway, I hope this helps. If you're still confused, just come see me or get in touch, okay? There's no need to feel like you're out there on your own with nowhere to turn. Help is available. :-) And my e-mail address is toll-free. Act now and you'll get free advice about plot summary (which means you tell me what happens instead of why such details are important for your thesis). Offer available for a limited time only (till December 12, 2009).

Next time: paragraphing and organizing your essay, perhaps a little on thesis statements and topic sentences too.

Till later,
GC

Hope you're enjoying Thanksgiving weekend. It's been a rainy, cold one here in St. John's, but it's sure nice to have a couple of days off from classes and grading essays.

I returned the marked essays in my English 1080 classes on Wednesday, so I imagine the shock has had a chance to settle in for most. As always, some people did way better than they expected, partly because expectations for first-time essays is generally low. Others certainly performed worse than they are used to, but most of the students who've contacted me are pretty realistic about it and know they just have some work to do. The most important thing, for me, is for you to know that grades almost always go up as the semester goes on. Of course, that depends on you--grades don't go up if you don't put in the work and pay attention to what I'm trying to teach you. That's just a natural law.

These weren't the best essays I've ever graded, but they were far from the worst. In fact, I was very encouraged, hoping to see an above-average number of A's and high B's this time around. The average number of A's, for what it's worth is anywhere from 1 to 3. But in any given semester there might be 4, 5, or 6. It really depends on the class itself. If I had 30 students in a class who deserved an A, I would have no trouble allotting them. That's just so you know. I have no expectations except that you will listen, work hard, and reap the benefits. And there's less than two months before the semester is over on December 4th. Now that's something to think about.

I told you I'd post the list of abbreviations I used (though I did explain them on the essays as well):

sp. means "spelling mistake"
t.s. means "tense shift"
c.s. means "comma splice"
s.f. means "sentence fragment"

Later, I'll post an explanation of what these terms actually mean and show you how you can fix them.

Other than that, I want to reinforce that I'm truly trying to teach you how to be better writers and thinkers. It's not about grades for me. You're at MUN to receive an education, and I want you to be able to look back on your three months in my class and say you learned something. If you can have some fun doing it or enjoy classes, that's bonus. To me, that's all a part of a good learning environment. But if you can learn something that will make you a better writer and perhaps help you see the world around you a little more clearly, then I've done something useful, and so have you. So let's work on it together. "The hour," as Dylan says, "is getting late." It always is.

That's all for now. It's Saturday night, and I'm going to get some fiction writing done before I settle in to watch some Leafs-Penguins action.

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you've got a lot to be thankful for right now in your life and that you're the kind of person who is capable of being grateful for what you've got.

Talk to you again soon.

GC

Mistakes to Avoid

This is my second post regarding the upcoming English 1080 essay (there's another one below).

I just have a few last thoughts that might help you get better grades:

1. Very important: Avoid plot summary. Don't just tell me what happens in the story. Discuss the implications of those details and events in the story. This can make all the difference in your grade.

2. Write your essay in present tense. Avoid tense shift (i.e. back and forth between past and present).

3. Avoid cliches and colloquial language (slang).

4. Use quotation properly. All quotes should be introduced or set up properly. Use phrases such as: "As the narrator says,...".

I truly hope this helps. I'd like to see these be the best first-time essays I've ever graded. That would be great for you and fantastic for me.

May the fates be with you.

GC

If you’re in one of my English 1080 classes this semester, you’ll be writing an in-class essay on Monday. While my expectations are realistic, I genuinely want you to succeed on this, and every essay this semester. With that in mind, you should come to class on Monday prepared to simply write your heart out, but in an organized kind of way. The thing is to write things that are true, not just what you think your prof wants to hear. I only want to hear if it sounds like it's coming from you, from a place of honesty and integrity. Believe me, it shows.

The hardest part of writing an in-class essay is that there are so many unknown factors—matters that are beyond your control. For most of you, it will be the first English assignment you’ve written in a long time and the first in university, period. My goal is to ease your anxiety (if you have any) by suggesting what to do about those unknowns, either by eliminating them or accepting them and just working with them.

It’s no secret that a lot of first-year students don’t do very well on their first English assignment. I approach the first assignment as a bit of a diagnostic: our common goal (you and I) should be to find out what your level of writing is at this point. Some of you will come in with great expectations, having gotten wonderful marks in high school and assuming that will be the case throughout university. That actually can happen and, for your sake, I hope it does. But it is rare. The key is to take what you learn from working on this assignment and having it graded and use it to improve next time, and each time after. Eventually, with hard work, your grade should ascend to the point at which you’d hoped to arrive.

Preparing For The Essay
The key to success in almost any area of life is preparation. That means different things for different people, so prepare in a way that has brought you success in the past. But if you find that you haven’t had much success recently, then you have to be willing to try different tactics, such as studying at different times and in different ways, or even mixing up your routine to find what works for you and gets you mentally prepared.

You can start by studying, of course. In the case of English, the best thing you can do for yourself is to KNOW THE STORY (or poem). That means you have to have read it multiple times and to have gotten to know it intimately. Having read it, you should go through it line by line, looking for hints of the author’s tone or symbolism, or something that you can interpret as having some meaning beyond itself. That is, the author’s choice of words is usually very precise and serves the purpose of a) telling the story, b) denoting action or dialogue, and c) adding to, or reflecting, the story’s theme(s). In other words, the words on the page denote exactly what they appear to denote, but they might also connote something more complex. Or not. Your job is to see if that connection is there, and the only way to do that is through close reading.

Sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Well, welcome to first-year university. This might not be how you are used to working. You might prefer to read for pure enjoyment’s sake, in which case I suggest you join a book club rather than doing a degree in higher education. But it’s really not that hard, and the work you put in on close reading now will pay huge dividends when it comes to writing the essay, contributing to class discussions, and writing future essays. There is also the added benefit—one that is probably far more important—in that you are teaching yourself to evaluate the words of others, to look closely at details, and process them, understand them, be able to argue with them or agree with them. If you’re not at least trying to tune into the overtones and undertones of language, then you’re just along for the ride. That’s okay up to a point, but like any bum ride, it’ll only take you so far. After that, you’re a pedestrian.

Okay, so besides studying and understanding what you’re reading, what else can you do? You can get your thoughts organized. After you’ve written all your notes, asked yourself about the characters’ motives, goals, desires, and fears, try to organize your thoughts. You might want to begin by making a list of character traits for each character, along with a note of HOW YOU KNOW. That is, what was it in the story that made you think this particular quality was inherent in the character you’re studying? For every opinion you posit, or put forward, you need some evidence to back it up. Otherwise, your case will be thrown out of court. You can’t, for example, say that a character is impatient towards her husband, as in “The Chrysanthemums,” without following up with some evidence from the story. Something in there must have told you the character was impatient, so what was it, exactly? Or if you say the ending of a story (as in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”) is ambiguous, be prepared to briefly say why you think it ambiguous, or open to interpretation. Present both possibilities and say what it was in the story that made you think it could go either way.

I could go on and on about the specifics of the essay and organizing your essay, but really you have to do what works for you. Brainstorming on paper for each character, then brainstorming about setting, point of view, imagery, and symbolism will take you a long ways towards truly understanding the complexities of the story. If you’ve got a solid handle on those ideas for each story, then you’ll at least be able to talk about the story in detail. And detail truly is the key to a good essay.

What an essay should look like:
Most students seem to know about the so-called “five paragraph rule” of essay-writing. Granted, some students have never written an essay at all in high school, so that’s a whole other discussion. But the “five-paragraph rule” isn’t really a rule at all. An essay, obviously, can have more than five paragraphs or even less than that. The idea is to show you how to STRUCTURE your essay. It should look like this.

Introductory paragraph
Body paragraph #1 (sub-topic #1 discussed).
Body paragraph #3 (Sub-topic #2 discussed).
Body paragraph #3 (sub-topic #3 discussed).
Concluding paragraph.

You can have as many paragraphs in between as you like, but the Introduction and Conclusion are beyond negotiation. You must have them both in order to give your essay structure and a feeling a completion.

The introductory paragraph should include a THESIS STATEMENT, which is crucial to the success of your essay. Your essay lives and dies with your thesis statement. Does it have to be your first sentence? Not necessarily, but it’s almost always the right way to go. You can never go wrong by starting with your best, clearest statement of what your essay is about. The point is to be understood, not to have the reader guessing as to what your intentions are. So why not start with the thesis statement, since the main idea is to be a good writer rather than a mediocre one or a poor one? Clarity is everything.

So, your thesis statement should tell me exactly what your essay is about. If you’re saying “The Brain-Eaters” is a story about how space aliens are all evil, then don’t give me a thesis statement that says: “As everyone knows, people from Mars intend great harm to the people of Earth.” The essay isn’t about space aliens in general; it’s about space aliens in “The Brain-Eaters.”So a much better, more comprehensive thesis statement would be: “William Spigot's short story, “The Brain-Eaters,” depicts space aliens as evil, while also suggesting that some visitors from certain planets mean Earthlings no harm.” Now you are free to go on proving that Spigot’s depiction of aliens is predominately negative, but also to show that some depictions of them are not so bad. The point is that your thesis statement ought to reveal what your ENTIRE essay is about, not just the first half of it. If you intend to talk about other things related to your main focus, then you need to hint at that, even with a word or two.

And that’s just your first sentence. It requires a lot of thought, for sure, and most thesis statements need revision as you go on, so there’s no pressure to write a good one the first time out. It rarely happens. Most first lines need to be changed once the writer knows exactly what they are talking about, and it’s hard to know that until you’ve actually finished writing the essay.

Next, still in your opening paragraph, follow up your thesis statement with an explanation, or elaboration, of your first sentence. Just give a hint as to where you’re going with this main idea of yours. How do you intend to proceed and what exactly will you be covering? That is, what are the parameters of your essay?

After that, it’s easy. Your paragraphing will reflect the pattern you’ve laid out in your opening. If, for example, Spigot depicts three different kinds of space aliens (or, say, three different kinds of images you want to discuss) then perhaps you can give each one a separate paragraph. The main thing to remember is that you should show what each of these paragraphs has to do with the main idea you outline in your thesis statement. Show a connection of the ideas in each paragraph to the main idea (or mother ship, as it were).Then, when you’ve written each paragraph, finish with a concluding paragraph that reiterates your main points, using different words than before. Don’t introduce any new ideas or evidence at this point.That, generally, is the best way to approach, and design, your essay.

How To Approach The Questions
I don't want to tell you what to write, so I won't. But, to be fair, I thought I should give you some idea of how to go about getting some thoughts on paper. Really, it's mostly about asking the right questions about the questions.What follows are the notes I alluded to in class today regarding each question. There might be some repetition, but I was brainstorming (as you should do) and therefore not censoring myself:

1. In “The Chrysanthemums,” Elisa Allen experiences a shift in her thinking. Discuss the significance of that shift.(Approach: What is the shift? How do you denote/see change? How was she before? How do you know? What was life like for her? What are the signs of what she was thinking before? What is the moment of the shift? How did it occur, and what is its significance? What happens to her thinking after that? How do you know? What are the implications of that shift, re: what the story is about?)

or

2. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” might be described as either a coming of age story or a tale of warning.

Discuss.(Approach: What do you mean by coming of age? A simple tale of a girl growing up, from innocence to experience, becoming a young woman. Does this happen in the story? How do you know? What are the signs? Who was she before Arnold Friend came along? What does she do? What do her actions, thoughts, and dialogue signify that she is? When does she change, exactly? How do you know? What do those actions signify/symbolize/mean in the context of the story? What was she like before versus what was she like after? What brings about that change? How can you see a change? Or can you? What would be the signs of someone becoming more “experienced” versus “innocent”? Furthermore, if this is a tale of warning, what is the warning? What does it pertain to? Who is the warning for? How do you know? Who or what are we being warned about? Ultimately: you can choose one or the other, or combine the two. Say something like, it is a coming of age story that comes with a warning against… There is no right and wrong here, only how well you present your argument.)

or

3. Discuss the significance of a major character in either Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” or John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums”.

(Approach: Choose one of the characters—e.g. Elisa, Henry, the tinker, or Arnold Friend or Connie—and discuss their role in the story. What do they represent/signify/symbolize? What is their function in the story. E.g. Arnold’s role is to jolt Connie from a state of innocence to one of experience. Or: Henry’s role is to protect Elisa from the outside world. Or: Henry’s role is to be kind to his wife, even though he doesn’t understand her or what she wants. Go on then to discuss what she wants, desires, fears, and how he reacts to that. You are told these things in the story. It’s up to you to interpret/analyze what the characters say and do to each other and to themselves.

Brainstorm on this one, asking yourself what do you think of when you think of these stories? What actions, decisions, words, and/or images and descriptions do you associate with them?

General notes for preparation:
This will be an in-class, fifty-minute writing exercise, but there are many ways to ensure that you write an effective essay and reduce your stress level.

1. Make sure you understand the question and what is expected of you. If you have any doubt at all, ask your instructor to clarify.

2. Brainstorm. Gather ideas. Analyze the facts. Re-read the story and make notes on what you see, especially that which relates to your chosen topic. Always dig deeper for an understanding of how the smaller details are related to the whole. Remember to go beyond the facts and opinions discussed in class, if you can. The very best papers do this.

3. Simplify your ideas into an argument or statement of opinion, which you will defend, or prove, in your essay.

4. Organize. Make sure you write an introductory paragraph, a concluding paragraph, and a separate paragraph for each part of the main subject you discuss. All that you will discuss should be hinted at in the opening paragraph. All that you have discussed—and no new information—should be summarized in the conclusion.

5. Know the story really well.

6. Get a good night’s sleep. Sleep rocks.

In the exam room:

1. Arrive early if you can, but definitely on time. If you are late for some reason, enter the room as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. Others will already be writing and in the zone.

2. This is not an open book exam. Leave your textbooks closed and hidden away.

3. I will provide you with paper for writing on, as well as an exam script, when you have cleared your desk of all books and paper.

4. No dictionaries allowed.

5. You may use pen or pencil—your choice, but make sure your handwriting is easily read.

6. Start writing when your instructor gives the signal to do so.

7. You have 50 minutes. Take five minutes at the beginning to get your thoughts organized, remember your outline and thesis statement, and so on. Leave five minutes at the end to go back over what you have written, looking for mistakes or things to add or revise.

8. Double-space your answer.

9. Don’t forget to breathe during all of this, starting now. It helps.

I wish you all good luck. Try not to stress over this. Just know the story well. Know the basics of writing a good essay and just let it flow. Show me what you know. Show that you can go beyond what was said in class and show that you can write really well.

In the end, you can at least say you tried.

And, hey, you're writing you're first university English paper. How cool is that? Till next time.

GC

I wanted to give my students in 1080 a chance to see Bob Dylan. We talked about "Mr. Tambourine Man" a fair bit in class over the past few days, so I figured it would be only right post it here, mostly for fun, but also to give you an idea what the song is about and what Dylan was all about. It's a remarkably clear piece of footage and a great portrait of a young legend-in-the-making.

Ladies and gentleman, Bob Dylan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXwynAlYNS0

I should also I saw Dylan in concert a short while ago, and he didn't sing this song or hardly anything anyone knew. In fact, he hardly even looked at audience at all.Still, this is more like the Bob Dylan of my imagination.GC

English 1080: "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

Since I don't usually have time in class to show feature-length movies, I thought I'd share this with those of you in my English 1080 class.

First, there's a movie trailer for a 1986 film of Oates's story, starring Laura Dern.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXvmkCVbrBk&feature=related

There's also a series of clips from the film strung together. There are, of course, lots of differences from the story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have you Been?" but it's similar in essence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co9bfNOlSRQ

Also, I wanted to remind you that we start "The Chrysanthemums" on Monday, and there will, as always, be a quiz.

GC

It's a new dawn, a new day, a new life...

Okay, so what happened to summer? I woke up this morning to find that everything was cold, just a couple of degrees away from frost on the ground and ice in the toilet. Seems I went to sleep in summer and woke up in autumn. It’s been cold for over a week now, and my brain has already clicked into autumn mode.

And so yesterday was the first day of classes at Memorial University. The strangest part about being back on campus was that it felt as if I’d never left. The summer was brutally short—I just have vague memories of a lot of writing and some family events, interspersed with cold weather and occasional warmth.

Walking from my office on the fourth floor of the Science Bldg. to my first class on the fourth floor of the Education Bldg., I was thinking about what I would say to my students. I mean, you walk into a class and see all these new faces, some eager to be starting something new and challenging, a new chapter in life, and others wishing to God they’d stayed in bed and maybe applied for the military or a Academy Canada. Sometimes, you get both, of course—the person who knows this is a great experience but already wishes it was Christmas so they could just go home and be with their families.

But it’s the same every fall. Mostly, the students have trepidations and yet are in this for the long haul, ready to get something out of it, knowing that—unlike high school—these really are the best years of most people’s lives. They really are. I don’t mean that every person’s experience is completely positive. Some people even go through some pretty serious stuff. But everything you do in first-year university is heightened and seen somewhat through a glass, darkly at times. It’s a bit like Christmas in that it doesn’t feel quite real to be here doing all this cool stuff and scary stuff and all the amazing thing you ever dreamed of, planning the rest of your life and hanging out with people of your choosing, rather than just the ones you happened to find yourself sharing a locker with or living next door to.

I know I’m an optimist, but I’m old enough now that I know it’s a permanent condition. Sure, I’m a realist and a skeptic. For example, I take a wait-and-see attitude towards ghosts, aliens, and the Maple Leafs ever winning the Stanley Cup again. And yet I’m optimistic enough to think that both ghosts and aliens could be out there somewhere. I just need to see for myself because I don’t rely much on other people’s experiences to inform my own reality.

But I do believe the best in people, and just from looking at the groups I have in my classes this year, I can already tell it’s going to be fun. It won’t all be great and there will be plenty of times of worry and concern, both for me and for my students, but I’m looking forward to an extremely enjoyable semester. Plenty of students smiled as I called their names and a lot of them stopped and said a few words or, again, just smiled on their way out the door. That lets me know that they’re at least not scared of me or of the situation—or if they are, they are at least willing to give it the old college try.

I’ve been told a lot in my teaching career that you should “never let them see you smile on the first day”. Well, you know what? That’s the most foolish piece of advice I’ve ever heard. To me, the best advice is to try to be natural and yourself, and that way you don’t have anything to make up for, or apologize for, later. Being yourself is probably about the hardest thing there is to be, especially in a public situation—and I’m not just talking about me. I’m mostly thinking about people in general and students in particular.

The hardest thing about it, really, is just figuring out who you are in the first place. And sometimes that is exactly what you’re supposed to be doing at this point, in first-year university: figuring out who you are. Sure, you have a good idea by now, or at least I hope so. But you’ll encounter a lot of course options, people options (should I sit near the same crowd as last time or find a crowd that at least has something in common with who I think I am?), credit card options (to apply, reject, spend, over-spend, pay the minimum, or pay it off completely each month), and what to do with your time (studying, working, playing, relaxing, movies, and any number of adult-type activities). It’s all up to you. And every choice you make, and how you ultimately react to the consequences of that choice, decide not only who you are, but who you are on your way to becoming.

I always pose a question to my students on the information sheet I asked you to fill out and pass in: “Why are you here?” Most just say they want to get an education and get a job. Many say they want to learn to be better writers. Others say they haven’t a clue while others say the course was recommended by a friend or family member. The occasional student says something about wanting to find out what to do with their lives and to experience as much as possible in life, including talking about great literature and great ideas. It’s all good. What I mostly look for is how you interpreted the question and whether you acknowledge or recognize that there are multiple possibilities available to you: choices. How you interpreted it says more about you than what you said.

The answers might change in time; they usually do. But the questions are often eternal.

Have a truly great semester.

If you’re one of my students this semester, keep checking back here now and again. There’ll be lots of stuff on here that might interest you or help you out a little in your endeavours to become a better writer and thinker.

If you’ve been following all along and are no longer a student of mine (or never were), hang in there. I’ll still be riffing on everything from why anyone should care about Jon and Kate marathons to why is Bob Dylan doing a Christmas album. Or maybe the questions themselves serve my purpose. Maybe it’s best not to dwell on certain subjects. Could lead to a headache.

Talk to you soon.

GC

Could be fun.

"Summer has come to pass/the innocence can never last/ Wake me up when September ends."

Yeah, I guess that's my mood at the moment. Where the heck did summer go?

Oh yeah, I was busy. Can't believe I never did take a vacation this year. I started out with good intentions. Back in early May, I had eye surgery to make me see better, but that didn't quite work out. For two months, I couldn't drive and, worse, wasn't able to read. The driving has come back, but the reading is still pretty iffy, though it's a lot better than it was. Might still need reading glasses when all is said and done just to get through all those essays and, of course, the literature itself when I start teaching next week. It's a bummer, but that's life. So now I can see the color of a mosquito's irises 100 yards away, but if he comes up close I can't even tell what kind of creature he is. Sort of a good news/bad news situation.

Somehow during June, I was able to finish my short story collection. I wasn't able to read/revise/edit my own work very well, but I managed, and I hope prospective editors will forgive any grammatical and spelling errors. First time in my life I've ever really had to contend with those. But I feel good about getting the collection (called Moonlight Sketches, as I've mentioned before) out to publishers. It makes for a good summer's work.

The novel is coming along, but it obviously won't be done before Sept. 9 when I start teaching, so I'll be working on that as the semester goes along (yeah, right).

Other than that, I did do some acting this summer. I spent one entire 11-hour day on the set of The Republic of Doyle, doing some stints as a security guard. It was kinda cool, dressing in the uniform, wearing the bulletproof vest (might like to have one of those for those really hard days), the walkie-talkie, the big ol' hat, and all the rest. They shot me in a couple of scenes that included Shaun Majumner from "This Hour Has 22 Minutes"), but I have no idea if they'll actually use them. They promise they'll call again, but they've only called once and I wasn't able to make it. The best part was hanging out on the set all day, though it was pretty long and occasionally boring. I met lots of new people who all had different reasons for trying their hand at being an "extra" on a nationally broadcast t.v. show. Some were serious actors while others were just looking for a cool experience. As for me, I was just looking for the experience and to see if I liked it enough to want to do more. I did like it and, in fact, spent an entire week this summer rehearsing lines for an audtion for a speaking role. I didn't get the part (for various reasons, I'm sure) but it was fun to try and to stretch myself in that way. I've always wanted to give it a go, wondered if I even had to capacity to remember lines and to give them the proper inflection and facial expression to be an "actor". Now I don't have to spend the rest of my life wondering if I should give it a try. The answer is: of course.

I'm also working on a short film for a director-friend, but that has yet to really start shooting. Probably this fall.

So for those of you wondering what I did all summer, now you know: writing, acting, hanging out, lots of barbecues, beaches, long walks, playing some music, and, of course, running. Love running in warm weather. Not so fond of the cool weather jogging. It makes me wish I was wearing mittens and a snow suit.

So now it's September, and it's back to teaching. What a bizarre transition that will be, not just for me but (I'm sure) for all my students as well. More to say on that next week. But for now, I just thought I'd say hi to all of you who've been reading this blog all summer--despite my neglect of it-- and welcome to autumn. It's my favorite time of year, so that makes up for a lot. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of the old familiar faces and a multitude of fresh, mostly eager faces as well.

Could be fun.

GC

How I’m Spending My Summer Vacation

Well, it’s the end of another summer month and, though I still haven’t taken a vacation, it’s been a pretty good run. The weather’s been cracked, but that’s not new. Mostly, I’ve spent the summer so far working on my writing. I finally got my short story collection finished once and for all and shipped off to a prospective publisher. It might take a while to publish because short story collections are a tough sell. So you might ask: why write one if it doesn’t sell?

Fact is, I didn’t start out wanting to write a short story collection. Heck, about seven or eight years ago, I didn’t even consider myself a short story writer. I write novels, so I figured the best way to learn how to write novels is to actually write novels. Writing short stories will only teach you how to write short stories.

That might still be true, but it does teach you to be a better writer. There’s a challenge in writing a short story that is totally different from writing a novel. Don’t get me wrong—writing a novel is still a lot harder simply because of the sheer effort, discipline, and sustained creativity it takes. But the short story requires focus, storytelling skills, and attention to the perfect word choice.

A few years ago, one of my stories (about a fictional town called Darwin) won an arts and letters award. Then, the next year, I wrote a novel about Darwin that won the Percy Janes Award for an unpublished manuscript. But I still had tons of Darwin stories to tell. Three more years in a row (2006, 2007, and 2008), I wrote brand new Darwin stories just before the deadline and submitted them to the arts and letters awards, and each one of them won. So, really, around 2006 or so I started realizing that I was working on a collection. Last year, I got an arts grant to finish the project, and I did. I wrote a bunch of new stories, and this year, still not satisfied with the quality, I wrote several new stories. On and on it went until, at last, I finished it this summer. Now the waiting begins. It won’t be easy to sell it, but I’ve got a list of publishers I want to sell it to.

Meanwhile, I’ve had interest from an agent in B.C. about a gothic novel I’m working on called “The Two Sisters,” so that’s what I’m working on now every day. For an unpublished novelist, it’s a rare thing to get that kind of interest for a book that hasn’t even been written yet, so I’m stoked to try and get it done by the end of summer.

Beyond that, I’m acting in a short film for a friend who’s making her very first film. It’s a good match because it’s my first time acting. I’m not sure I’m any good at it, but I’m at least enjoying it. It’s a film noir kind of thing, set in a 1940s sort of St. John’s, a bit of a parody of classic films like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon. Just my kind of thing. There’s other acting stuff too, and hopefully I can talk about that in a later blog.

It’s been a busy summer—looking for a house too, which is time-consuming, but the thing is to just roll with it and enjoy the process, like everything else. Que sera, sera.

There’s a whole month left in this thing, and I intend to enjoy every bit of it. Hope you do too! I’m looking forward to the fall semester, but as The Trews say: “I’m not ready to go!”

The Show Must Go On

I figured it was about time I blogged again. It's been a strange summer, but then living in St. John's, Newfoundland, it's always a strange summer. The weather has been more like autumn, and not a very nice autumn at that. Tons o' fog and drizzle, heavy rain, some thunder and lightning, and even a few really nice days.

All this blah weather does strange things to the head. This morning, I'm trying to write a new short story for an idea that's been stuck in my head all week. I'm all finished my short story collection called Moonlight Sketches, but I can't help feel that it needs one more story, something that it's missing to make it feel more complete. My brain is stuck in sleepy mode, though, with the road crews working outside my office window, and I just can't seem to get anything worthwhile down on the screen. So I figured a little blogging wouldn't hurt.

I've sorely neglected this blog for a few weeks now, not for lack of anything to say but simply for lack of time. The media seems enthralled by the whole Michael Jackson fiasco, but I find I can't work up any enthusiasm or feeling. He died while I was out having coffee with a friend of mine who's going through a rough time of it. I got home about ten thirty or so to find out that MJ had kicked the proverbial bucket. My response was "Oh." No surprise. I guess he was talented, but his carnival personality over-shadowed all that. It gets really hard to separate one from the other, and so my feeling is that, yeah, he had a lot of talent for music, but he didn't endear himself to me with anything else, so why should I give a rat's behind?

The thing is, I genuinely care about humanity--the lost tribe. Most people, as Thoreau said, do live lives of quiet desperation, and I think Michael Jackson was one of those. How could he not be? Assuming he's human, of course. He'd write songs saying, "Leave me alone!" and then he'd dangle a child over a balcony like she was part of a Cirque du Soleil trapeze act. (Great show, by the way. The Cirque, not Michael, I mean.) He'd complain, "Nobody understands me!" and then he'd pose for pictures with Bubbles the Chimp on the Neverland Ranch or go shopping with his mask on and a full entourage in the middle of Beverly Hills. Or he'd give interviews and then refuse to answer questions, or just give daffy answers that made you think the guy was mental.

Fine. He was mental. He possibly did have severe psychological problems. To which I say, so what?

As for the child molestation charges, I don't know what to believe, but I can't deny that they have tainted whatever opinion I might have had about the man. I try to be objective, but who can manage that, given all the circumstances and conjecture? If he was the kind of person who was capable of looking you, or the camera, straight in the eye, and explaining how it all went down and that he was perfectly innocent in every sense of the word, then I could probably say he was as victimized as anyone. Fact is, I don't know that.

So I'm left feeling nothing about whole thing. Not conflicted, not bemused, not perplexed or even numb. Just indifferent.

May he rest in peace. And may that be said for any man or woman or child who ultimately succumbs to the inevitable good night. Farrah Fawcett (I remember doing a jigsaw puzzle with her and the other Angels on it). Ed McMahon. That "pitch" guy who died last week. Karl Malden (my dad and I used to watch him on "The Streets of San Francisco" when I was a kid). And anyone else I may have missed. Oh, and then there's David Carradine. I hope he's thanking MJ, wherever they both are. For a while, the media was about to swallow its own tongue in excitement over the whole Carradine auto-erotic asphyxiation thing (allegedly). But as soon as MJ died, they forgot all about the sordid Bangkok affair, at least for now.

And now MJ sells more albums in death than he did in life. Now who could have seen that one coming?

Who among us would be totally shocked if it turned out next week that MJ actually faked his own death so he could be like Elvis, the other "king"?

I'm not saying he did, but I'm just saying that this circus has gone on way too long, and I wouldn't put anything past him or his money-grabbing people. Nothing.

Enjoy the show.

I think I've cleared my brain enough to be able to do some fiction writing now. No crowds, please, and no pictures. Nothing to see here. Just a man at work.

GC

First Taste of Summer

found myself on a beach
skimming flat stones
on the surface
against the inrushing north atlantic
one threatening august afternoon
while smelly kelp wrappers clung to my heels like memories of you to my head
and broke
with a hiss on the sand
stealing pebbles unnoticed
leaving flotsam jetsam driftwood and more
than it could ever take
while smelly kelp wrappers clung to my heels like
memories of you to
me.

(from "Found Myself On a Beach" by Gerard Collins, August 2002)

At least for now, it feels like summer. It’s been the warmest and sunniest Victoria Day weekend we’ve had in a lot of years, and I took full advantage. We didn’t go camping or anything silly like that. As much as I love the outdoors, the idea of sleeping on the ground has lost its appeal for me. It just doesn’t make sense to me like it did when I was younger. Back then, I didn’t care where I slept—the more uncomfortable and less familiar, the better. But now, I like familiar, comfortable sleeping accommodations, preferably a good motel or a five-star hotel.

Sure, I used to see the appeal of camping. There’s nothing like a couple of days of getting away from civilization and all its trappings to remind you of your place in the world, of who you are, and you who started out to want to be. There’s also the wide open space, the big sky, and, of course the fishing—trouting, to be more exact. Even though I haven’t eaten red meat or poultry in over ten years, I still love a good meal of trout, preferably cooked over an open fire or at least on a barbecue. Of course, there’s also the time alone, without cellphones, iPods, cameras, computers, or four-slice toasters. Yeah, right. I’m sure most people still take all of those thinks with them when they camp, especially if they’re travelling in a recreational vehicle.

I think it’s mostly the lack of rules, the breaking of the daily tedium that appeals to most people. That said, my wife and I went to the beach Sunday morning, just because it was early and we figured no one else would be there. For close to an hour, we had it all to ourselves. But it was a beautiful day and by the time we left, there were dozens of people and their dogs, all trying to capture a little bit of the outdoors, all looking to break up the routine and get some sun on their faces. Can’t say I blame them.

There is nothing like a beach—unless it’s the quiet of the woods (which I actually prefer)—to help you get your thoughts straight and help you shed a few layers of civility. Beaches never fail to make me nostalgic and to clarify my thinking about something I’m working on or didn’t know I was working on. With their proximity to the ocean, and the surf rushing in on the tide, there is something cleansing and spiritual about a beach. I don’t mean “God” exactly; I mean, if I was looking for my soul, I think that’s where I would find it. I could sit for hours, just listening to the rush and hiss of the water to the shore, and the receding of the waves back to where they came from. And in the process, life somehow looks different. Either sillier or less important, or just different.

After a day at the beach, a pancake brunch at my sister-in-law’s, and an evening barbecue at my brother-in-law’s, I feel tired but revitalized. I’m writing this week, as I have been for the past couple of weeks. I had a novel that I thought was finished, but had a sudden epiphany about it, and so I’m working on that. Sometimes you just don’t know where life, or summer, is going to take you.

Peace.

First Week

Where was I? Oh, yeah. It’s the end of the semester, and I can’t believe the end of April is in sight. The last couple of weeks have been a blur.

After grading the final exams, I have to say that, overall, I was very impressed. A lot of students wrote the best essays they’ve written all semester, which made me feel good. Believe me, it was hard keeping that information to myself. If I wasn’t forbidden from doing so, I would have e-mailed you just to say, “Guess what you did?”

Granted, there were others who were verging on a crash all semester long and who did a free-fall on the day of the exam. For some reason, people sat for two and a half hours and only managed to write a few lines for both essays. As I’ve said from the first day of classes, I can only grade what’s on the page, and if you didn’t give me enough to justify passing you, then I’m sorry. I have to live with my decisions and to be able to sleep at night. I don’t take these matters lightly. But, on the other hand, if you’re one of those students who knows in your heart you just didn’t give it your best effort this term or on the final exam, you are hopefully adult enough to understand that there are no free passes. There is only a certain amount I am willing to take responsibility for. What’s mine is mine, but sometimes there’s stuff that’s not mine. That’s what helps me sleep, especially when I’d prefer to just give everyone an automatic pass anyway.

But that wouldn’t be fair to those of you who worked awfully hard right to the very end of the term. For some of you, the final exam was your chance to show all that you learned in three months. If you attended classes nearly every day and always came prepared, tried to have an opinion on the literature, honestly tried to understand and to come and talk to me if you were having a problem, then you passed. It’s just natural selection.

Enough of all that. I’m tired. You’re tired. It’s time to move on. Grades are available on line this week (possibly today, though I’m not completely sure), and my part in your life will officially be over. I can’t say I’m always happy about that. I like for the semester to end so that I can get on with other things in my life. But I like it when students maintain a connection over the years ahead. It happens a lot, but not nearly enough.

A special note for my English 1080 class this semester: You were easily one of my favorite classes of all time. Most of you, I will never forget. You know who you are.

For those of you whom I got to know this term on a more personal level, it was absolutely my pleasure both to help in any way I could and to get to know you. I enjoy that part of my job more than any other.

It’s been about a week since my grades were finalized and my part of the winter semester of ’09 was done. Since then, I’ve been shredding papers, organizing files, getting my life together. It all tends to be put on hold while I’m teaching and now is time to move forward, into the great wide open.

I attended a book launch last week. Mike Heffernan’s astounding book , Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger was officially released. I had the pleasure of introducing the author, as well as speaking to many fine people in the local publishing and writing community that evening, including the indomitable Helen Porter (writer), the gracious and talented Lisa Moore (novelist), the affable and also immensely talented Russell Wangersky (writer and publisher), and several people with direct connections to the Ocean Ranger itself. The story these latter people have to tell is still just as enthralling and just as vital as it would have been twenty-seven years ago, which is why Mike’s book is so important to our culture. Mike has become a friend in the past couple of years and I hope we can find some other project to work on in future. I also met his father at the book launch, and he reminded me a little of my own father—a quick wit and a twinkle in his eye, he seemed like a very kind man.

Attending this event was important for me in another way, too, though. It means I am getting back to my other self—the self I am when I’m not teaching. I’m a writer, and sometimes it’s good for me to surround myself with people who think the same way (more or less) and understand what it’s like to be someone who aspires to put the world into words, to dress it in the language that best describes it.

I will be a writer all summer long. It’s been slow going in the past week, but today I’m off to a good start. Just writing this blog entry is a sign that the fog is beginning to lift from my brain and I’m beginning to see things more clearly. Clarity is necessary in order to write well.

And, of course, writing is necessary in order to achieve clarity sometimes. At least for me it is.

Over the coming weeks of spring and (dare I say) summer, I’ll be writing more about writing. I have a couple of novels to finish, as well as a short story collection that still needs a good story or two, and, if I’m lucky, I have another story that needs telling in the form of a novella. More on these as the days go by. I’ll also likely have a few observations and opinions to share about life, politics, culture, t.v., sports, the movies, and anything else that comes into my head.

For now, I’m just glad the sun is shining and fleeting time seems to have paused for a while.

Have a fantastic summer. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.

GC