Post #11 Essay Packet One

Essay Packet One was a lot different than Bernard Cooper's Maps To Anywhere when it came to discussing the short essays present within both literary works. Maps To Anywhere was more broad in perspective because of how all the essays were trying to relate to the concept of the entire book while the short essays found in essay packet one was different. They were more grounded and allowed for more interpretation instead of information to be pulled out of each short essay. There were also very favorable essays like "Mute Dancers: How to Watch a Hummingbird." I found this essay favorable due to its funny and creative selection of words.

There was this great personification felt within "How to Watch a Hummingbird" as well because it starts saying "A lot of hummingbirds die in their sleep." which is usually how most people say they want to die. Although there is no direct personification shown in comparing the hummingbirds to human like characteristics, there is still the idea placed in the mind of the writer and reader. This allowed for more interpretation instead of information to be pulled out of this short essay and others. That was not seen in Bernard Cooper's work because he gave you the information without too much intent of interpretation, which interpreting is the best part of literature.

The presence of creativity is still seen within both essay packet one and Maps to Anywhere. The literary composition of creative essays in ver intriguing and gives many meanings to what literature can accomplish. This essay packet was surely one of my favorites. The most favorable essay was "How to Watch a Hummingbird," because it ends saying "But that doesn't matter much to gardeners, watching hummingbirds patrol the impatiens as if the northern lights had suddenly fallen to earth."Giving great description to the scenery as poetry would use to conclude a great work.
   

Post # 10 Maps To Anywhere Cont.

For this post, I will continue my evaluation of Bernard Cooper's Maps To Anywhere. In my earlier post, I stated how I had mixed feelings about the book. After reading through about half way, I couldn't determine whether or not I liked the book. However, after reading through the rest of the book I can now say that I enjoyed reading Maps To Anywhere.

One of my favorite passages from the second half of the book is Don't Think About Breathing. It starts off calm and peaceful talking about the air. The writer goes into great detail describing the air and its contents and a got a feeling of tranquility from it. That's when things change dramatically. The writer continues describing the air, but in a much different light. He begins talking about plague and war within the air and all the toxins that can be found. I think this approach is very interesting and ultimately, the writer's intention was to describe life by comparing it to breathing. He wanted to show that there is good and bad and you go through it all, just like taking in a breath of air.

Another one of my favorite passages from the second half is Under Water. In this passage the writer talks about a family a the summertime. The family consist of a mother, a father, and their child. He never states the gender of the child, but based on the dialog in the passage, I get the feeling that the child is a girl. Throughout the passage the writer describes everything in great detail, especially in the beginning when the writer describes what the child is seeing under water. Throughout the passage I get the sense that the writer is promoting relaxation and the importance of family. The family in the passage do nothing but play in their pool and enjoy themselves all day, and even go into the night.

In closing, I didn't care too much for Maps To Anywhere at first. There were a few passages I liked, however, there was pretty much an equal number of passages I didn't like. After reading the rest of book, I've come to like it a lot. There are many passages I like and they far out number the ones I didn't care for. Overall, Bernard Cooper's Maps To Anywhere is definitely worth reading.  

Post # 9 Maps To Anywhere

For this post, I will be discussing Bernard Cooper's Maps To Anywhere. At first, I didn't care for it too much. I found it be tedious and I didn't like reading it. The book opens with a section entitled By Any Other Name and it talked about kids making crank calls. I found this to be pointless and it was hard to continue reading. On the other hand, I do feel like this section must have held some significance, and I must not be seeing it.

Moving on, I found the section Atlantis to be totally different. I like the way it started out. I like the second line a lot and feel like it was powerfully descriptive. Overall, this section took something as simple as a barbershop and getting a haircut and through description, made it appear to be so much more. I feel that this really shows a writer's skill, and those that can do this effectively are truly great.

In closing, I've been having mixed reactions to Bernard Cooper's Maps To Anywhere. Some of the sections haven't peaked my interest. However, there are a few sections that I really enjoyed reading. On the other hand, I feel that in order to fully analyze Maps To Anywhere, I have to finish reading all of it. I look forward to completing it and hope there are more sections like Atlantis left to be read.

Post # 8 Creative Essay

For this post I will address the topic of creative essays. I found them to be really interesting and much different from what we have been reading thus far. For instance when it comes to poetry and fiction writing, the best pieces of literature are those that take the time to explain things in great detail. They are lengthy and use a lot of imagery. However, essays are much different. They are written to be concise and to the point. They are much shorter in length and are designed to get straight to the purpose of taking the time to read them.

In my writing background I have been given many opportunities to write creative works of art that could be placed in a book but never have I thought about creative essays. As the reading continued to shape the idea of writing in such a specialized way for essays I began to think of how my writing could be placed in the category of creative essays. Which is very surprising because writing and reading are my favorite subjects but essays surely wouldn't be seen as one of my favorite variations of the two. However, creative essays sound like a really good challenge because through the strict rules and small room to venture I feel that my writing skill could improve. When I write my stories they seem to linger into each characteristic of every character because I'm obsessed with detail even though that usually changes the length of my entire story. In time though I feel that essay writing is also seen as boring because it usually leaves no room for imagination and only lots of facts.

As I read the story that is describing creative essays I see that creativity can make all works of writing more compelling. This is one of the reasons that I want to become a writer. To give a new approach to the way writing is done and how it is further perceived. The editors outlook on the article made me feel that essays are actually more complex to writers which gives readers the advantage of enjoying what writers made simple. Even with that being said, it is still an art form so interpretation and meaning can still be entitled to complexity which makes essays a get in and get out style of writing.

Post # 6 Fiction Packet 3

This week we were asked to read and respond to fiction packet three. I must say that this packet is certainly intriguing to the say the least. What really impressed me and won me over was the many different uses of language in the stories. In each story, there was a very unique use of language and description that really painted vivid pictures for me. 

For example, in the story The Singing Fish, the use of language is very interesting. Many of the words are repeated and the terminology is really over simplified. There are many grammar mistakes and hen reading it, I felt like it was written by a child. For example, there's the line that reads, "Mud, us brothers we can't get us enough mud." To me, this seems like something a child would say. That's when I realized how the language and terminology was being used to convey the idea that the story was being told from a child's perspective. I think that the author's writing techniques are pretty unique, but they can be misunderstood rather easily. 

Another example is in the story Death of the Right Fielder. I found this story to be very well written and really interesting. Although, what I liked most about it was its vivid descriptions that made you take a deeper look at things. In the story, the author describes the infield and outfield positions in baseball. However, he does so in a way that also describes the characters that play those positions. For example, he says, "The infield demands communication." Although he is clearly talking about baseball, there is an implication that those in the infield are social, because being social also demands communication. I feel like that use of language and description is pretty awesome and really shows off an author's merit. In closing, the stories I read in fiction packet three were very intriguing, and I really enjoyed reading them.      

Post #5 Survivors

Okay people, for this blog post I will be writing a response to the short story Survivors. My first reaction to the story was that I was impressed. The author used words to create a lot of vivid imagery. I like the one part in particular where he describes his lover's family. Not only does he describe them excellently, he does it in a way that also describes the hardships his lover had faced. That really impressed me and left me wanting to read more.

On another note, I didn't like the story entirely. I couldn't get over the fact that the narrator in the story was so worried about having to deal with his lover's death and his lover's family. He even goes as far to say please let me die first. To me, this is extremely selfish. He never once in story acknowledges how his lover might feel if he were to die first. That's just something I can't agree with.

In closing, the short story Survivors left me with mixed emotions. On one hand, I really liked the descriptive words. They really made the story come alive and kept me interested. However, I really don't like the narrator's attitude. I feel like he's selfish and is only thinking of himself. Nevertheless, the story is certainly interesting and deserves to read.    

Post # 4 Poem

So for this post, I'm asked to upload a poem. So here it goes:

A Rose Everlasting
By: Patrick Pena

There is no beauty like that of the rose
Its petals a shade of lustrous red
Like the glowing eyes of of an oven, or stove
Simply elegant, not much left to be said
Though beautiful indeed, it's common that we know
A rose is not forever, it sits waiting to be dead

My rose is different, its beauty ever lasts
When the last of time halts, it will not have changed
A much brighter red, a thousand infernos' blast
It can't be compared, no others the same
Its love feeds my soul and this I must have
Should I go mad, I can't be to blame

Alas its face so lovely, body so slender
It leaves me weak,  when I am not near
Might the heavens above be our defender
So that the fabric that holds us shall never tear
And until I am no more, I will always remember
The love between us we have always shared