AGENDA:
1. Review Course Criteria/Welcome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH3akqBwYfo
Morning Reflection: Suli Breaks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5vb5L7nOsc
Quickwrite: Your thoughts and post a comment
2. Read Why I Write and Write Your Own Why I Write Letter to Your Self
Date: October 10, 2011
Summary:
Prize-winning international poet, translator, and essayist Jane
Hirshfield's poetry speaks to the central issues of human existence:
desire and loss, impermanence and beauty, and the many dimensions of our
connection with others. She tells NWP why she writes.
JANE HIRSHFIELD
Why do I write?
I
write because to write a new sentence, let alone a new poem, is to
cross the threshold into both a larger existence and a profound mystery.
A thought was not there, then it is. An image, a story, an idea about
what it is to be human, did not exist, then it does. With every new
poem, an emotion new to the heart, to the world, speaks itself into
being. Any new metaphor is a telescope, a canoe in rapids, an MRI
machine. And like that MRI machine, sometimes its looking is accompanied
by an awful banging. To write can be frightening as well as magnetic.
You don't know what will happen when you throw open your windows and
doors.
To write a new sentence, let alone a new poem, is to cross the threshold into both a larger existence and a profound mystery.
Why
write? You might as well ask a fish, why swim, ask an apple tree, why
make apples? The eye wants to look, the ear wants to hear, the heart
wants to feel more than it thought it could bear...
The
writer, when she or he cannot write, is a person outside the gates of
her own being. Not long ago, I stood like that for months, disbarred
from myself. Then, one sentence arrived; another. And I? I was a woman
in love. For that also is what writing is. Every sentence that comes for
a writer when actually writing—however imperfect, however
inadequate—every sentence is a love poem to this world and to our good
luck at being here, alive, in it.
Joan Didion:
http://genius.com/Joan-didion-why-i-write-annotated
RELATED ARTICLES ON NWP.ORG
- Why I Write: A Celebration of the National Day on Writing
- Poet Laureate Kay Ryan: Poet as Teacher, Teacher as Poet
- Billy Collins: A `Reader's Poet' Reads at NWP's 2009 Annual Meeting
4. Natalie Goldberg's "Test 2"
Morning Reflection
ReplyDeleteNot even going to lie, Suli wasn't wrong. When I was a little kid, I did want to be in some sort of leadership role, but I believe that that was only because that I longed to be in a position of power. As children, you are almost never given the ability to speak for yourself or make your own major decisions, and a feeling of rebellion is born. This is why children often act out or throw tantrums, because they never get to do what they want. Being a leader means that you get freedom. Every kid goes "I want to be the president!" but as they get older, very few children retain that idea. Not because society has molded their mind into one not seeking leadership, but because they have matured and realized that that's not what they want. Once they realize exact what that position of leadership entails, they no longer wish to be in that position of power. This is why some kids who initially aimed for president end up only being mayor. It's still a position of power, but one of far less importance.
Aside from that, they also find that what they actually want to do with their life isn't leading. I want to be a voice actor when I'm older, not a voice director. Directors lead the staff around and tell people what they do, actors just follow directions and give it their all, but it's still a hard job that requires practice, talent, and effort.
I think that what Suli said really got to a lot of people, including me. Every single sentence he spoke was inspiring. One can tell Suli really knows what he's talking about and that he really wants better for our world. Suli knows what it means to be a leader, and he explains to us in a fascinating way what it's like. I can honestly say that I agree with every single thing he said, because it's really what we do need.Our world is faced with lots of problems, and we just need people to stand up and be leaders for once. That's what we all have to act like. Suli lets it be known through his slam poem that being a leader is a great thing for everyone. That we should all be leaders, in order to make this world a better place. Listening to Suli made me realize just what it is that we're faced with today.
ReplyDeleteThis video made me remember when I was younger and played follow the leader. I remembered that I never wanted to follow, but lead others, so my teacher would always let me lead. Leadership is such a tough position because you have to be able to have many skills and work with others because no one that follows is at the same pace. Some are slower and others a re faster. The skill of leader helps to search for the progress of everyone. Since we are young, we are told to have big dreams and we start to build them and say "I want to do this" or "I want to be this." Society has ruined the young minds, and has told them what to be and what to do. Meanwhile, the true passion and the best work comes out of those that follow their hearts.
ReplyDeleteIn Suli's world, a community would allow all people to contribute, meaning memebers of Antifa or the KKK can pop up and contribute their ideas and everyone would've listened and accepted them in the circle of ideas. Obviously, this is terrible. The world does need leaders, because some people really shouldn't have a say in world affairs. Even though sometimes bad leaders are put in place (Germany, 1933/France, 2017/US, 2009), people still need one person to represent them as a whole. They need a person who can balance the bad ideas from the good and attempt to come out with working solutions for his people.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Power Rangers couldn't hold up in a fight with the A-Team.
DeleteThe Idea of the poetry really reached out to a thing which I could relate to my younger self; being obsessed with power rangers. The analogy to became stronger as his words became easier to relate too, I found myself thinking more and more how as a younger person I always wanted to be the red ranger and how there were fight on the playground over who got the red action figure or, who got to wear the red mask, or who got to lead the team of the badass superheros, but as we got older I saw that people tend to not to want to lead at all or scared to even speak up to try and lead anything.
ReplyDeleteI think that Suli brought up a lot of good points during his speech towards leadership. I can agree with the fact that there is a red ranger in everyone even though sometimes it can be hidden. All ideas are bulletproof and all ideas should be heard.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you said that everyone has a red ranger inside of them because every person is able to impact others lives positively.
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ReplyDeleteIt meant to me that the new generation is the generation with new and improved ideas and that we all want to be a leader in some way or another. Also that we can all be leaders in our own special ways. His reference to the red ranger made a lot of sense cause in many ways all the rangers had their own strengths and I personally didn't wanna be the red ranger. But I wanted to be the blue ranger because he was the man with a plan and he came up with most of the ideas more than the leader himself.
ReplyDeleteThat's right because in a team, everyone has an ability to benefit the others
DeleteThe world does need leaders to keep everyone in check. People can't come together and have a common goal because now everyone disagrees with each other and no matter what people will always see differently. For example, everyone protesting against the government's actions. They have a common goal yet nothing is being changed. Change relies on leaders making final decisions.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Suli Breaks' TedTalk because I felt like it brought up a bunch of really good points. "We don't need leaders we need ideas" is an interesting concept because when people run for leadership positions they often get caught up in the politics of it all and then when they are in the position of the leader they won't take ideas from others and allow a communal contribution. So to focus more on the ideas and less of who's in change could allow a lot more to get done.
ReplyDeleteSuli Breaks words were inspiring. Instead of encouraging us to be leaders, he encouraged us to come up with new ideas instead. It didn't matter whether you were in charge (the leader) or whether you were just a member. AS long as you have the same idea and goal you can get things accomplished. Breaks used allusion in his spoken word speech. He used something most people wanted to be, the red ranger. We wanted to be that specific ranger because of the leadership, but Breaks tells us its okay to be the green ranger. All the matters is your ideas that you have, not leadership.
ReplyDelete"Suli Breaks" I felt that everything he spoke was true, I never realized that we were being taught to be followers, to be average until now. Only when I heard what he had to say is when I realized that we are all being taught to be followers by someone one way or another. I personally don't want to be a follower, but my own individual, be my own leader. I hope that one day I will have the freedom to create a tragic but magnificent path of my own and share my own ideas like Suli spoke of. -Keyerra Reed
ReplyDeleteSuli Breaks poem was not only relatable to the aspect of our childhood and how we all longed to be a leader but agreeable to his mantra 'ideas over leaders'. As a child we are encouraged to be leaders but aren't allowed to make our own decisions. He used relatable ideas and comparisons to reach out to his audience and question leadershio and its true intentions and why ideas should be more focused on.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Suli meant that ideas make an impact the world more because ideas live on and get more developed. The leader has much power but they don't always have knowledge of what hey're getting themselves into. To be a great leader, you need to know what you're getting yourself into and listen to the people.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I enjoyed Suli Break's TedTalk. I found it to be both captivating and moving. I agree with everything he had to say and the role of leadership in our society. I agree with "we don't need leaders we need ideas' therefore bringing us together with a common goal.
ReplyDeleteSuli Breaks poem showed how leadership is important but how throughout his life he was told to follow. To follow fashion, religion ect.. He was barely told to be a leader. In his poem, he expressed how new ideas by those who are truly driven by great things is what should be followed.
ReplyDelete