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Happy Halloween! Storytelling

Share some "Bloodsucking Fiends" stories and enjoy donuts and cider!

HMWK:  Read the poems in "Mandolin " for Wednesday.  We'll be reviewing and responding to them.

Reader Response to a Poem:
Select one of the poems in "Thomas and Beulah". How does the poem make you feel? In what ways can you relate to the poem? What has Rita Dove done with imagery, form, theme, rhythm, language, etc. to make this poem work? Any lines that particularly strike you as interesting or powerful? Think about poetic technique: enjambment, caesura, metaphor, simile, alliteration, assonance, consonance, linebreaking, stanzaic form, apostrophe, onomatopeaia, etc.


Begin working on Poetry Cycle assignment:
Similar to Thomas and Beulah, consider some characters in your own life, imagined characters, or actual historical characters. Imagine the significant chronological dates in their lilves--high points and low points. consider how to construct a series of 8-10 (preferably more) poems that tell a story (narrative poetry) and explore these key moments and occasions.

• a. Your poetry cycle should consist of 8-10 poems
• b. Your poetry cycle should be accompanied by a chronology to support the key dates and occasions you chose to write about.
• c. At least two of the poems should explore the same event from two different perspectives or viewpoints (like "Courtship" in Thomas and Beulah). These poems can have the same title.
• d. Place one poem per page, single-spaced, 12 point type in a clean font and be sure to title each poem. you may want to title the entire cycle as well. Use italics for dialogue, songs, memories, etc as you observe in Rita Dove's work. Experiment with different stanzaic forms and poetic styles.
• e. Poems can, of course, be narrative or lyric, but remember that the overall cycle is a narrative and must tell a story of a life or lives although we only see "fragments" or moments/snapshots of those lives.

Rita Dove/ Thomas and Beulah/ RPO Poems

Begin reading aloud Thomas and Beulah
Check out link to her web site!
www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=6719
Critical article: personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~jpellegr/articles/dovearticle.html
www.suite101.com/article.cfm/african_american_lit_retired/62567

The poem cycle set to music:
www.amazon.com/Thomas-Beulah-Rita-Amnon-Wolman/dp/B000065CWO

Listen to Gabriela Lena Frank's "Three Latin American Dances"
1. Introduction: Jungle Jaunt
2. Highland Harawi
3. The Mestizo Waltz

Links:

about the composer: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriela_Lena_Frank

Harawi: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harawi

Mestizo: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestizo

Check out images of Peru, Andes, etc.

STUDIO TIME:
Finish your Bloodsucking Fiends stories for Monday!  On Monday, we will have some Halloween goodies and share some stories.  I encourage to think about reading your story to the class.

Also, a reminder:  FIRST COFFEEHOUSE READINGS   THURSDAY, NOV. 3  7 pm
As always, 20 points extra credit for readers,  10 points extra credit for attendees

Bloodsucking Fiends wrap-up

With a partner or two, discuss the reading guide questions.   Choose 3 of the questions and post a very insightful comment with your partner for classwork credit.

Answers to classwork BSF Quiz #3 Ch. 17-24:

Chapter 17 and 18
1. c. 2. a. 3. d. 4. b. 5. d. 6. c. 7. d. 8. c. 9. c. 10. c. 11. c. 12. b.
Part 2, Nesting: Chapter 19, Jody's Delicate Condition and Chapter 20, Angel
1. b. 2. d. 3. d. 4. a. 5. b. 6. d. 7. b. 8. c. 9. b. 10. b. 11. d. 12. c.
Part 2, Nesting: Chapter 21, Angel Dust and Chapter 22, A Nod to the Queen of the Damned
1. c. 2. d. 3. b. 4. b. 5. a. 6. c. 7. b. 8. d. 9. a. 10. d. 11. a. 12. b.
Part 2, Nesting: Chapter 23, Mom and Terrapin Pie and Chapter 24, The Return of Breakfast
1. a. 2. b. 3. b. 4. d. 5. a. 6. d. 7. b. 8. a. 9. b. 10. b. 11. b. 12. c.

If you have not done the last two quizzes for classwork, be sure to pick up a copy and complete it on your own now that you have (we hope) finished reading the book!

We will be picking up Rita dove's Selected Poems today.


Continue to work on your stories for Bloodsucking Fiends--DUE Monday, HALLOWEEN!

Work on contest entries for contests that are due NOV. 1--Bennington, Hollins, etc.


RPO Poems (Bolero) due at end of week.  PLEASE, please try to do this.  EXTRA CREDIT AVAILABLE!!!

RPO Project and Contests

The next RPO project/contest is for the November concerts.  These have a Spanish/Latin theme.
Please listen to the following recordings and think about creating poems inspired by the music.  The winning poems will be read at the concerts, just like the postcards in September.

 Arild envisioned the poetry to flow off of the Ravel Bolero and/or the Gabriela Lena Frank Three Latin American Dances (Spanish/Latin elements).


Bolero
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-4J5j74VPw


Gabriela Lena Frank Three Latin American Dances 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mavn0xKNcEs

And don't forget Hollins, Bennington, Scholastic, New England /young Writers Conference, etc.

Scholastic Haiku contest

www.scholastic.com/dellhaiku/?eml=SMP/e/20111018//txtl/DellHaiku/0/ContestDeadline/SL1//////&ym_MID=1373091&ym_rid=6224539

Answers to BSF quiz #2:

Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 7, Suiters and Chapter 8, Dinner with the Vampire
1. a. 2. b. 3. a. 4. a. 5. d. 6. c. 7. c. 8. d. 9. b. 10. b. 11. d. 12. d.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 9, He Knows If You've Been Bad or Good, So You'd Better... and Chapter 10, Walking, Talking, and Bumping in the Night
1. c. 2. d. 3. c. 4. a. 5. c. 6. a. 7. b. 8. a. 9. a. 10. c. 11. c. 12. b.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 11, Lather, Rinse, Repent and Chapter 12, Fashionably Doomed
1. b. 2. b. 3. d. 4. b. 5. c. 6. b. 7. b. 8. c. 9. d. 10. d. 11. b. 12. b.

Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 13, To-Do List of the Fashionably Doomed and Chapter 14, TwoLosts Do Not Make a
Found
1. d. 2. a. 3. d. 4. a. 5. d. 6. a. 7. b. 8. c. 9. d. 10. a. 11. c. 12. a.
Part 2, Nesting: Chapter 15, Learning the Licks and Chapter 16, Heartwarming andUL-Approved
1. a. 2. a. 3. a. 4. a. 5. c. 6. b. 7. c. 8. a. 9. a. 10. a. 11. a. 12. b.

Bloodsucking Fiends Writing Assignment

Continue reading Bloodsucking fiends and finish by Friday this week.   We'll be moving on to Rita dove and some poetry.


Finish short writing assignments for me and for Ms. Hoffmann.

And here's your next assignment (actually we've been working towards this):

NEW ASSIGNMENT a/la Bloodsucking Fiends (it's that time of year!)
Write a short story that involves an encounter with an "imaginary being" --a little touch of magical realism, here.  Your short fiction piece can be funny, sarcastic, spooky, or "deadly serious."  What would it be like to talk to or perform an action  with a ghost, a werewolf, an angel, a zombie, or yes, a vampire?  Or any mythical or fairy tale character--fairy, leprechaun, Minotaur, satyr, ogre, troll, etc.?


Other things:  Writing contests--Check out Bennington's writing contest and The Blue Pencil online. 

Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 1, Death and Chapter 2, Death Warmed Over
1. d. 2. b. 3. b. 4. b. 5. d. 6. c. 7. c. 8. a. 9. d. 10. a. 11. d. 12. b.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 3, Oh Liquid Love and Chapter 4, Blooms and the City of Burned Clutches
1. a. 2. a. 3. a. 4. c. 5. b. 6. a. 7. b. 8. c. 9. d. 10. c.
Part 1, Fledgling: Chapter 5, Undead and Somewhat Slightly Dazed and Chapter 6, The Animals
1. a. 2. a. 3. b. 4. d. 5. c. 6. c. 7. b. 8. a.
11. d. 12. c.
9. a. 10. d. 11. a. 12. d.

How well did you do?

Ms. Hoffmann: On Vampires and Parody

1. Gallery Walk
2. Readings
3. Presentation
4. Writing Exercise

The Inner Workings of Parody

par·o·dy

   /ˈpærədi/ Spelled [par-uh-dee]  IPA noun, plural -dies, verb, -died, -dy·ing.

noun 

1.   a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing: his hilarious parody of Hamlet's soliloquy.

2.   the genre of literary composition represented by such imitations.

3.    a burlesque imitation of a musical composition.

4.   any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation, as of a person, event, etc.

5.    the use in the 16th century of borrowed material in a musical setting of the Mass (parody Mass).

verb (used with object)

6.   to imitate (a composition, author, etc.) for purposes of ridicule or satire.

7.   to imitate poorly or feebly; travesty.

Source: www.dictionary.com

GENRE: A type or category of literature or film marked by certain shared features or conventions. The three broadest categories of genre include poetry, drama, and fiction. These general genres are often subdivided into more specific genres and subgenres. For instance, precise examples of genres might include murder mysteries, westerns, sonnets, lyric poetry, epics, tragedies, etc. Many bookstores and video stores divide their books or films into genres for the convenience of shoppers seeking a specific category of literature.
CONVENTION: A common feature that has become traditional or expected within a specific genre (category) of literature or film. In Harlequin romances, it is conventional to focus on a male and female character who struggle through misunderstandings and difficulties until they fall in love. In western films of the early twentieth-century, for instance, it has been conventional for protagonists to wear white hats and antagonists to wear black hats. The wandering knight-errant who travels from place to place, seeking adventure while suffering from the effects of hunger and the elements, is a convention in medieval romances. It is a convention for an English sonnet to have fourteen lines with a specific rhyme scheme, abab, cdcd, efef, gg, and so on. The use of a chorus and the unities are dramatic conventions of Greek tragedy, while, the aside, and the soliloquy are conventions in Elizabethan tragedy. Conventions are often referred to as poetic, literary, or dramatic, depending upon whether the convention appears in a poem, short story or novel, or a play.

Source: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/index.html

Mini Writing Exercises

1.      Write a paragraph that describes a monster (whether it be a vampire or another magical being that you know well).  Make sure that this description fits with the conventions of the genre to which the being belongs (i.e.—a vampire might have fangs; a zombie might eat brains, etc.).  Use rich language and adjectives to create a vivid image for your reader.

2.     Parody a vampire attack (or a part of one) in a paragraph.  Use the Moore reading as well as the more serious, short readings from class for ideas of conventions you might want to twist.