Poetry In-class essay

So I no longer have to talk out of both sides of my mouth here on this blog. I'm talking strictly to my students here, particularly in English 1080. Anyone else can go to my other blog at http://gerardcollinsblog.blogspot.com/.

The poetry in-class essays are due on Friday, and I'm not getting the sense that too many people are fretting over it, which I hope is a good sign. I've talked a lot in class about how to go about writing them, but I'll go over the basic idea once more and maybe toss in the occasional hint about how to proceed.

First, this is not a research essay. Do not research your poem of choice on the internet or anywere else, or else you will be considered a plagiarist. I do have ways of knowing. The signs are extremely obvious to me, so please, for your own sake, don't attempt to get one by. It's just not worth it. These are short essays and can easily be done in a day or two, even if you're being extra meticulous about your ideas and phrasing, which I hope you are. That's not a moral question for necessarily, but a matter of me wanting you to do really well on this essay. Please do well.

You can use a dictionary, hardbound, on-line, or otherwise to look up literary terms and that sort of thing. Or if there's a word you don't understand, or a word you just want some ideas or clarification about. That's fine. Just don't research the poem itself or the poet. The idea is to show that you know how to offer a critical analysis of a poem you've not necessarily seen before.

Make sure you start with a thesis statement, but be willing to revise that statement after you go. Don't write a statement about poetry in general (for example, "Poetry sometimes has imagery about relationships"). Write something about the poem you're actually discussing: "Theodore Roethke's poem, "My Papa's Waltz" is about a father and son who..." and go from there. I won't finish it because I always find that student either repeat exactly what I said or they find that I used up their idea and now they feel they can't use it. So I'll use another poem as an example:

In 'Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening," Robert Frost depicts a man who pauses on his journey to reflect on his situation in life.

Then, follow with an explanation of who the man is, what the journey is exactly, and what precisely he is reflecting upon. You might want one more sentence, then, to say which poetic techniques in particular you think he uses to convey that theme.

Your essay, since it's only 500 words could look something like this (remember, this is only an example. There are many other ways):

Paragraph 1: Introduction (including brief statement about what the poem is about, literally).

Paragraph 2: Dominant imagery

Paragraph 3: Figurative language (symbols, metaphors, personification, and that sort of thing)

Paragraph 4: Sound (including rhyme scheme, meter, and/or the actual use of sound, such as consonance, assonance, alliteration, and so on. These subjects can all go together in one paragraph or you can discuss them in separate paragraphs. Your choice. There are a lot of ways to write an essay. I'm just providing examples.)

Paragraph 5: Conclusion. Sum up what your main point has been and say one final thing about the poem that you want the reader to know, but is in keeping with your thesis. No new information or quotes here.


Remember, each paragraph should follow a pattern something like this:

1. Make a statement (topic sentence).

2. Give evidence (BRIEF quotes or details).

3. Discuss evidence (talk about the quotes directly. By that, I mean discuss individual word choices of the poet.)

Make sure you put the title of the poem in quotation marks whenever you mention it. After you use the full name of the poet once, you need only use his surname (last name) from then on.

For "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," you really should address the major imagery, symbolism, and diction of the poet. There's no other way to do justice to that poem. Do you see any patterns? Do you see any anomalies, or differences, or breaks, in the pattern? The title is a strong clue of what the poem is about, what kind of relationship is being set up there and how the speaker feels about his situation.

How the speaker feels about his/her situation is always the key to understand a poem.

In "My Papa's Waltz," how do you think the speaker feels about his/her situation as alluded to in the title of the poem? You'll have to discuss rhyme and meter to do a decent job of this poem, mostly because of the subject matter. Also, is this mostly a negative poem or a positive poem, or can you really decide? If there is ambiguity, don't ignore it. Try to suggest a reason for it.

In Leonard Cohen's poem, "A Kite Is A Victim," try to peel the layers from that poem to see what he is actually saying. What's his true subject in this poem? What's he trying to say about it? And why does he use so many metaphors and certain kinds of images to get his point across? The line length and rhythm of that poem play a definite role in how you read the poem.

That's what rhyme and meter do, by the way: they dictate how you read the poem, which creates a certain feeling or mood, which almost always reflects some kind of theme: a bigger, overall idea of what the poem is about.

Your biggest clue as to what that "bigger idea" is (which many of you missed on the in-class essay): the title. That's where the poet always makes it known what his true subject is. The last line is also a large clue.

I think I've said enough. These blogs are exhausting to write when you're already pretty depleted.

Good luck with this assignment. Because it's so short, you can concentrate more on just getting the words just right. That's what I'm trying to teach you: be clear in your writing. It will improve the quality of your thoughts and of your life in the long haul. I promise.

For now though, just show me that you get what the poem is about and how the poet achieves his goal.

Godspeed.

GC

New Blog

For anyone who's interested, I've started a new blog that's mostly just about me and my writing and whatever else I choose to talk about.

It's not related to academia, English lit, university, or anything of that sort. I've had a lot happening with my writing career lately and was beginning to feel strange about even mentioning it on "Literary Pursuits," which is a shame because I always thought I could do both. But this has become a blog that's mostly devoted to teaching English, and I have plenty of other stuff I wanted to talk about.

I'm aware that lots of people besides students and former students check out this blog, and some get a little bored with all the talk of grammar and that kind of thing. So this is a new page, a brand new blog for me to talk about...myself. If that very thought offends you, don't worry: you don't have to go there. But if you're halfways curious, check it out, whoever you are.

Here's the link: http://gerardcollinsblog.blogspot.com/

Meanwhile, I'll continue to blog here at "Literary Pursuits" for my students. Next up, I'll discuss some poetry assignments that are due on Friday. The cool thing now is that I don't have to keep saying, "For those of you doing my courses this semester." If you're looking for me and my more personal, creative stuff, go to my other blog. That's where it's at.

GC

Poets Make Cheap Dates (Revisited, English 1080)

If you’re in my English 1080 classes, you’ll be writing an in-class essay on poetry Wednesday, Nov. 18, and I’m guessing that some of you are a little worried. That would be particularly true if you didn’t do so well on the last assignment or if you’re just not comfortable writing about poetry.

Up until now, you’ve been writing about short stories, and writing about poetry is really not so different. I mean, yes, it is slightly different, but not completely.

You’ll be ask to write a critical analysis of a poem. We’ve covered Robert Frost’s “Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening” and “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” by William Wordsworth, both of them much more intricately composed than at first glance. In fact, that would be a good starting point to write about: the poem is about a seemingly simple event which is more profound and complex than would appear on the surface. Furthermore, the manner in which the poem is written reflects this very idea of something being deceptively effortless. The persona in Frost’s poem is striving to enjoy a moment of solitude, while the speaker in Wordsworth’s poem seems to have found a way to achieve such a moment. Both poems, in effect, capture, memorialize, and convey the complexity and profundity of such a moment. Sometimes peace of mind can elude us, particularly when we must strive for it. But does that necessarily mean we should not try to achieve it?

Anyway, it's not my intention to tell you what to think or to write about, but I get so many students who, for some reason, are scared sh**less about discussing poetry, that I needed to show how it's done. There are many ways to approach the assignment and these two poems, and I certainly don't wish to see my ideas replicated on Wednesday. Learn from HOW I do this, and don't focus so much on the content of what I say about the poem. Get your own ideas. Sure, build on what other people say, but get to know the poem on your own terms. Otherwise, you just become a drone. The poet is speaking to you. Are you listening?

Although I’ve talked about these poems in class over the past three classes, there is still much more that has to be said. I always leave some gaps for students to fill in for themselves as you seek some truth in the poem on your own terms.

Regardless of which poem you’re asked to write about, there are ways to be prepared for the assignment.

First of all, try to forget all the notes you’ve taken and everything you’ve heard or read about the poem, and try to read it as if for the first time. Just try to feel the poem, to envision what the poet has rendered on the page.

Ask yourself: What do I know for sure about this poem? Do some freewriting on that. You might be surprised at how much you know.

Then, ask yourself another question: What about this poem don’t I understand? Articulating a response to that question, on paper might help you move forward in your search to comprehend the most difficult part of the poem.

If there’s a certain symbol or image that’s bothering you, then do some freewriting on that. Take the “house in the village,” for example. Write the word “house”. Underneath that word, write some words, thoughts, and feelings that you associate with “house”. Don’t edit yourself and don’t stop. Just keep going. I’ll try it myself in fact, right now.

House:
home
four walls and a roof
security
a haven
ownership of property
something solid
something somebody bought
something most people wish they had if they don’t have
but mostly a place to call home

Keep in mind that these are my random thoughts, guided by nothing except a genuine reaction to the word “house”. I gave it no thought beforehand.

So when I look back over my notes, I see what a house represents. I see several things I could use in writing about the “house in the village” and what it probably means for the speaker of the poem. Mostly, I see words about solidity and safety, home, a sense of belonging, security, and even ownership of something solid. These are possibly things that one person (the one “whose house is in the village though”) has, but which the speaker shows no signs of having within the poem. We see him as being in between, rather homeless (if only figuratively—we don’t think he’s a vagrant or street person, only metaphorically homeless) or feeling displaced or detached from society as it is represented by the man who owns the woods by which the persona is stopping.

Perform the same sort of freewriting for the word “village” and you’ll probably come up with words like (this is me freewriting again, without thought): civilization, many houses, lights, streets, a place where many people live, a place that is NOT the woods—which would represent the wild, rather than civilization—a place not as dark as the woods, and so on. I won’t keep going. I want to leave something for you to discover on your own.

Really, that is the only way to proceed: make the poem your own. Become intimate with it. It’s like when you’re getting to know a boyfriend or girlfriend. Becoming intimate means getting to know them. That means getting to know their habits, the way they like to do things, the good parts and the bad parts, the way they talk, the sound of their voice, what their bodies look like, how they react to certain ideas of yours, and what kind of ideas they have to share with you.

And they do, you know, have ideas to share. You just have to listen. Becoming intimate with a poem means spending some time with it. Make it your boyfriend or girlfriend. Go on a date for an hour and see if you like this poem. But you can’t know if you like it unless you spend the time, ask it some questions, and get to know it bit by bit.That means taking key words and freewriting about them, just as I did, and as I have done in class. It’s truly the only way to make a poem your own, to understand it on your own terms. Studying notes from class just won’t cut it. They can help, but they won’t engage your thoughts, imagination, and understanding in quite the same way.

Remember that you’re looking for repetition. If your girlfriend keeps using words like “baby” and “marriage” over and over, then you’ll notice a pattern emerging: she yearns for a man with a sense of commitment. If she keeps mentioning words like “tarot” and “magic,” she might be a closet Wiccan. If it’s “cool,” “rad” and “gnarly” over and over, she’s probably a closet surfer or a wannabe hippie. You get the picture. Words mean something. Patterns of words mean something more, something bigger: an idea begins to emerge.

If a poem uses words like “cold,” “dark,” “frozen” and “winter” there’s a good possibility that the persona is fixated on winter. But the words have other connotations. They are somewhat negative words, connoting metaphorical death or dying, and what exactly is dead or dying depends on the content of the poem. Maybe it’s a dying soul—of the individual or of society. Maybe the person feels isolated and alone, or just detached, frozen inside, as it were. Is there a suggestion that this is a passing, or fleeting, moment, or is it an eternal winter that he’s talking about? (Notice that I’m not talking about the Frost poem in particular, just showing you can glean connotations from a pattern of words.) If the words invoke bright, fun, positive images, and there were several such words in the poem (or just in one stanza), then the implications for the tone of the poem are obvious.

I could go on and on about content, but many of you probably are wondering about the actual writing process.

Once you’ve got your ideas and organized them, come up with a good thesis that will allow you to argue something about the poem, then you’ll start to write. Have a plan of attack (e.g. “I want to write about figurative language in one paragraph, a certain repeated image in the next paragraph, and rhyme and meter in another paragraph. I will show how each of these is connected to the theme I’m discussing that is portrayed in this poem”). That would be a solid plan and a good way to get yourself ready to tackle the critical analysis of the poem. Then you have to just do that.

You’ll have the poem in front of you on Wednesday, so it’s a good idea to quote occasionally from the poem. Don’t use really long quotes. Just use brief phrases here and there, such as “wandered lonely” in the middle of sentences, and then go on to explain that the word “wandered” implies a melancholy, perhaps aimless traveling on the part of the person. In fact, the word “lonely” confirms not only the lacking of company, but also a sense of yearning for company at the same time.

If you’re going to quote an entire line, do it like this: “That floats on high o’er vales and hills,” placing a comma inside the quotation marks as I just did. Also, notice how I introduced the line using a colon. The colon means “that is” or “like so”.

If you’re quoting two lines or more, use a slash between lines: “The only other sound’s the sweep/Of easy wind and downy flake.” Use the same line length and punctuation that the poet uses so that you maintain the integrity and meaning of the original words.

Other than that, make sure you do the same things in writing your essay that I’ve been preaching all semester. It all starts with a solid thesis statement that tells me what the poem is about.

For example:

In his poem “Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening,” Robert Frost depicts a moment that is more complex and troubling than it might appear on the surface.

Then, round out your introductory paragraph by telling me, what you mean and how you know. Explain what “complex” and “troubling” mean in contrast to the “surface” appearances. And tell me how the poet conveys that theme—for example: “The poet presents a man at a literal and figurative crossroads, pondering his place in the world and his relationship to all that surrounds him. The troubled nature of the man’s mind can be seen in the sight and sound imagery, figurative language, and rhythm of the poem. While the speaker seems to be at ease as he watches the snow fall, a close look at his words suggest otherwise.” (Notice how my last sentence makes my intentions clear by explaining my thesis statement, but without repeating it. In a way, that last sentence acts as a second thesis statement.)

So my opening paragraph might look like this:

In his poem “Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening,” Robert Frost depicts a moment that is more complex and troubling than it might appear on the surface. The poet presents a man at a literal and figurative crossroads, pondering his place in the world and his relationship to all that surrounds him. The troubled nature of the man’s mind can be seen in the sight and sound imagery, figurative language, and rhythm of the poem. While the speaker seems to be at ease as he watches the snow fall, a close look at his words suggest otherwise.

From there, it’s obvious what you need to talk about: in separate pargraphs, show how the poet employs imagery, figurative language, and meter (for example) to illuminate the theme of deceptive simplicity. In each paragraph, you’ll use sample words and phrases, sometimes an entire line, to illustrate your point. Then, you’ll proceed to discuss those words and phrases (like the freewriting I mentioned earlier, only in miniature form, with more of a sense of purpose).

I’ve already given you a handout on “Writing About Poetry,” which will give you more concrete things to discuss. But this is how I would go about writing a critical analysis of one of these two poems on Wednesday.

Remember what I said though: make the poem your own. Get to know it intimately, one word and line at a time. There is no other way to be honest and real, and to really get something out of the reading. You might just learn something about yourself in the process.

There’s always that hope.

November 18

I've said this in class a couple of times, but wanted to say it here in writing for those of you who haven't been around lately: the English 1080 in-class essay on poetry has been moved to November 18th (Wednesday) because of my illness last week.

The next two classes (Friday and Monday) will focus on preparing you for the in-class and, to some extent, the final exam.

GC

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