Finish Historical Fiction short stories

Please work today to try and finish your historical fiction stories. That means you need to revise and edit what you have already turned in, as well as adding to it.

ALSO:  Please respond in a posted comment here to yesterday's workshop.

What did you think of the workshop with Debra Dean?  What did you learn from the writing prompts she offered?

And of course, since you have read the book, what did or did not impress you about the narrative style, characters, plot, etc.?  Please respond "talking literature"---in other words, like a literary reviewer, refering to specifics in the novel and discussing them using literary terminology.

Debra Dean workshop

This morning--Debra Dean workshop in the Ensemble Theatre--8:30-9:45. Please bring a notebook and pen to take notes. You will be writing a response piece to the workshop, focusing on what you learned from the workshop--so taking notes is a good idea!

Madonnas of Leningrad

Read conversation with Debra Dean in handout

Continue to read Madonnas for Monday---to page 100 at least (if not finished).  Book should be finished for Thursday morning's workshop with Debra Dean-- so read, read, read over the weekend!

Continue to work on your historical fiction piece.  Develop the characters, add historical information as background narrative description.  Let your RESEARCH of the period inform your writing to create MOOD and VERISIMILITUDE.

Extra credit: Please see me if you attended the coffeehouse last night and read.  Also, you will get extra credit if you attend Monday night's panel discussion at 7 pm about Madonnas.  Enter Penfield to get extra credit!  Last chance to enter a haiku...


NEW CONTEST: RPO POEMS--you might have your poem read to the audiences at an RPO concert!

Poems about spring and poems about the role of the artist in society--creating!

Siege of Leningrad

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsEhbcTExqU&feature=related

Writers of magic realism stories:

Please post your stories at figment.com, either in Ms. Gamzon's Contemporary Writers group or on your own page.
Also, if you'd like to share with classmates today, form a small group and come to the front of the room for readings.

Please continue to do background readings about Debra Dean and the Siege of Leningrad.   Take a virtual tour of the Hermitage Museum.  

On Alheimer's:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer's_disease

End of marking period/Contests

Coffehouse: Next week, Wednesday, March 21, 7 pm   BE THERE!

 Penfield Poetry Contest

Programs

35th ANNUAL TEEN POETRY CONTEST 03/01/2012 10:00  am - 9:00  pm Age Level: 13 yrs. - 19 yrs. Thursday, March 1 –Monday, April 30, 2012 For students in grades 6-12 who live in or attend school in Monroe County       THE RULES:  Each contestant may submit one poem.  The poem must be the contestant’s original work.    To submit your poem via email:The poem must be submitted as a Word document or a PDF.   The contestant’s name should not appear on the same page as the poem.   A separate page with the contestant’s name, grade, school, home address, and phone number must be included.  Please send the poem as an attachment to lgrills@libraryweb.org.  Please enter “Poetry Contest” in the subject line of the email.  You will receive a confirmation reply email within a few days.  To submit your poem on paper:Type the poem on 8 ½ x 11” paper.   The contestant’s name should not appear on the same page as the poem.   A separate page with the contestant’s name, grade, school, home address, and phone number must be included.  Please send the poem to: TEEN POETRY CONTEST, Penfield Public Library, 1985 Baird Road, Penfield, NY 14526.   Poems must be received by Monday, April 30, 2012. Winners will be announced in mid- May.   THE PRIZES:  Furnished by the Friends of the Penfield Public Library, the prizes are First Place -- $50,  Second Place -- $35, and Third Place -- $25, in each of three Divisions:   High School (Grades 9-12); 7th and 8th Grade; and 6th Grade.           Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition Collection The Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition for Grades 7-12 was founded in 1990 by the Sacred Heart Church in Camden, N.J. It is sponsored and administered by the Nick Virgilio Haiku Association in memory of Nicholas A. Virgilio,  a charter member of the Haiku Society of America, who died in 1989. See the Nick Virgilio Poetry Project Website for more about Nick. The Haiku Society of America cosponsors the contest, provides judges, and publishes the contest results in its journal, Frogpond, and on its Website (www.hsa-haiku.org). See also the contest rules and the judges' commentary for the Virgilio award. Winners by Year: 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | 1990  Harvard Radcliffe Essay Contest Essay Contest: We invite all sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school to   participate in our essay contest to win up to $250. We will reveal the essay question in January,  and the responses are due March 31, 2011. Please encourage any high school students you know  to participate! See below for full details: HARVARD-RADCLIFFE CLUB OF ROCHESTER ESSAY CONTEST First prize:    $250         Second Prize:    $100         Third Prize:    $50 The theme is:  Does the American college admissions process work? Is it fair?  The Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Rochester invites all area students in grades 10-12 to demonstrate their writing skill and creative ideas in this Essay Contest. You can take any position, argue any point, and espouse any cause in relation to this theme…so long as the work is your own and no one else’s.  We are looking for students with fresh perspectives, well-reasoned arguments, and excellent verbal skills.  If you have a passion for ideas and a knack for writing, this is your chance to shine.  All you need to do is follow the attached rules and your entry could be a winner. Deadline for entries:  MARCH 31, 2012 Official Rules 1. Any student currently attending school in the Greater Rochester Area in Grades 10, 11 or 12 may enter by completing the entry form and submitting a qualifying essay.  Children of members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Rochester (“HRCR”) are not eligible to enter.  No purchase, entry fee or other payment is required.  Information provided on the entry form will be used solely for purposes of this Contest. Following are details and here is a link to the entry form. 2. Entries must be mailed with correct postage and postmarked no later than March 31, 2012, to: Jane Shuffelton, HRCR Essay Contest Coordinator 51 Fair Oaks Avenue Rochester, NY 14618 You may also submit your entry by email on or before such date to JShuffelton@post.harvard.edu We recommend you keep a copy for security purposes.  Limit one entry per person.  HRCR assumes no responsibility for delayed, misdirected or lost mail or email, or for entries damaged or destroyed in transmission. 3. Entries shall be no more than 1000 words long and shall be typed or printed on 81/2” x 11” paper.  ESSAY MUST CONSIST SOLELY OF THE ENTRANT’S ORIGINAL WORK AND MUST NOT BE ENTERED IN ANY OTHER CONTEST.  Though an essay may contain ideas or facts derived from research, the expression of these must be exclusively in the entrant’s own words.  No editing, correction or other assistance by anyone else, nor borrowing of another’s language without attribution, is permitted.  Any entrant who is discovered to have received such assistance in preparing an entry will be disqualified.  (If discovery occurs after a prize has been awarded, the prize will be forfeited and repaid to HRCR.) 4. The theme of the essay shall be: Does the American college admissions process work? Is it fair? Potential winners shall be selected according to the following criteria: (a) originality of ideas, (b) persuasiveness of arguments, (c) relevance to the theme, (d) effectiveness of expression, (e) and conciseness.   Each criterion shall be given equal weight in judging.  The panel of judges shall consist of members of HRCR and other qualified persons selected by HRCR, whose decisions in all matters shall be final and binding on all parties. 5. The Prizes are: one First Prize of $250, one Second Prize of $100 and one Third Prize of $50. HRCR reserves the right to withhold awarding any or all of the prizes if the judges decide the entries are of insufficient merit. 6. Potential winners will be notified by mail and required to sign and return, within 10 days of notification, and without further compensation, a certificate of eligibility, release of liability and license to HRCR to publish the essay (or excerpts) along with the name, likeness and biographical information about the winner, as publicity for the Contest.   In the case of a minor, the certificate must be signed by a parent or legal guardian, as well as the entrant.  Failure to return the certificate, release and license by the deadline, or any noncompliance or dishonesty in connection with this contest, shall result in forfeiture of the prize. 7. All entries become the property of HRCR and may be retained or disposed of in its sole discretion, but copyright in each entry will remain with the entrant.  Any taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of the winners or their guardians. 8. Sponsor: Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Rochester, Inc. Jane Shuffelton, Contest Coordinator 51 Fair Oaks Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618 jshuffelton@post.harvard.edu *******

Debra Dean Madonnas of Leningrad

Debra Dean is coming to SOTA on March 29th!

 Writers and Books website:


wab.org/events/allofrochester/2012/index.shtml


NPR Interview:


www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5313845

A discussion with Debra Dean:

 conversationsfamouswriters.blogspot.com/2006/03/debra-dean-madonnas-of-leningrad.html

Here are the paintings:

teacat.shawwebspace.ca/photos/view/paintings_in_the_madonnas_of_len


Reading Group Guide  (contains spoilers)

Introduction
In this sublime debut novel, set amid the horrors of the siege of Leningrad during World War II, a gifted writer explores the power of memory to save us... and betray us.

Questions for Discussion

1. The working of memory is a key theme of this novel. As a young woman, remembering the missing paintings is a deliberate act of survival and homage for Marina. In old age, however, she can no longer control what she remembers or forgets. "More distressing than the loss of words is the way that time contracts and fractures and drops her in unexpected places." How has Dean used the vagaries of Marina's memory to structure the novel? How does the narrative itself mimic the ways in which memory functions?
2. Sometimes, Marina finds consolations within the loss of her short-term memory. "One of the effects of this deterioration seems to be that as the scope of her attention narrows, it also focuses like a magnifying glass on smaller pleasures that have escaped her notice for years." Is aging merely an accumulation of deficits or are there gifts as well?
3. The narrative is interspersed with single-page chapters describing a room or a painting in the Hermitage Museum. Who is describing these paintings and what is the significance of the paintings chosen? How is each interlude connected to the chapter that follows?
4. The historical period of The Madonnas of Leningrad begins with the outbreak of war. How is war portrayed in this novel? How is this view of World War II different from or similar to other accounts you have come across?
5. Even though she says of herself that she is not a "believer," in what ways is Marina spiritual? Discuss Marina's faith: how does her spirituality compare with conventional religious belief? How do religion and miracles figure in this novel? What are the miracles that occur in The Madonnas of Leningrad?
6. A central mystery revolves around Andre's conception. Marina describes a remarkable incident on the roof of the Hermitage when one of the statues from the roof of the Winter Palace, "a naked god," came to life, though she later discounts this as a hallucination. In her dotage, she tells her daughter-in-law that Andre's father is Zeus. Dmitri offers other explanations: she may have been raped by a soldier or it's possible that their only coupling before he went off to the front resulted in a son. What do you think actually happened? Is it a flaw or a strength of the novel that the author doesn't resolve this question?
7. At the end of Marina's life, Helen admits that "once she had thought that she might discover some key to her mother if only she could get her likeness right, but she has since learned that the mysteries of another person only deepen, the longer one looks." How well do we ever know our parents? Are there things you've learned about your parents' past that helped you feel you knew them better?
8. In much the same way that Marina is struggling with getting old, her daughter, Helen, is struggling with disappointments and regrets often associated with middle-age: her marriage has failed, her son is moving away, she may never get any recognition as an artist, and last but not least, she is losing a life-long battle with her weight. Are her feelings of failure the result of poor choices and a bad attitude or are such feelings an inevitable part of the human condition?
9. In a sense, the novel has two separate but parallel endings: the young Marina giving the cadets a tour of the museum, and the elderly Marina giving the carpenter a tour of an unfinished house. What is the function of this coda? How would the novel be different if it ended with the cadets' tour?
10. What adjectives would you use to describe The Madonnas of Leningrad? Given the often bleak subject matter - war, starvation, dementia -- is the novel's view of the world depressing?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Harper Perennial. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

In the Lake of the Woods

Final quiz:

Respond to the following essay question with your own interpretation of the ending of the novel.  Use text-based examples and quotes to support your hypothesis.

Each of this novel's hypotheses about events at the cabin begins with speculation but gradually comes to resemble certainty. The narrator suggests that John and Kathy Wade are ultimately unknowable, as well; that any attempt to "penetrate...those leaden walls that encase the human spirit" can never be anything but provisional. Seen in this light, In the Lake of the Woods comes to resemble a magician's trick, in which every assertion turns out to be only another speculation. Given the information we receive, does any hypothesis about what happened at Lake of the Woods seem more plausible than the others? With what certainties, if any, does this novel leave us?   

Also, if you have not been keeping up with the news, read this article:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/11/world/asia/afghanistan-us-service-member/index.html

In the Lake of the Woods

Please finish reading the book for Monday (if you have not already done so!).  Think about the ending of the book.  So what happened to Kathy?   QUIZ TIME???

Continue to work on your historical fiction short story.  A completed story or work-in-progress (at least 5 pages) is due at the end of the marking period (MARCH 16).  We'll be getting The Madonnas of Leningrad as soon as the books come in.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO LINKS FOR TIM O'BRIEN ON THE BLOG  (to the right below the followers and links)...

For today's classwork response, please post a comment to one of these reader discussion questions:

3. What does O'Brien accomplish in the sections titled "Evidence"? What information do these passages impart that is absent from the straightforward narrative? How do they alter or deepen our understanding of John as a magician, a politician, a husband, and a soldier who committed atrocities in wartime? What connections do they forge between his private tragedy and the pathologies of our public life and history? Does the testimony of (or about) such "real" people as Richard Nixon, William Calley, or George Custer lend greater verisimilitude to John's story or remind us that it--and John himself--are artifices?

4. Who is the narrator who addresses us in the "Evidence" sections? Are we meant to see him as a surrogate for the author, who also served in Vietnam and revisited Thuan Yen many years after the massacre? (See Tim O'Brien, "The Vietnam in Me," in The New York Times Magazine, October 3, 1994, pp. 48-57.) (You read this below!)   In what ways does O'Brien's use of this narrator further explode the conventions of the traditional novel? (Also consider how the film version handles the "narrator" as an aggressive reporter)

Thank you for your posts and comments!

In the Lake of the Woods

Due Today:
Your summary card about your historical fiction project
Your open book "quiz" on Ch. 8-12  In the Lake of the Woods
Your comments posted on O'Brien's "The Vietnam in Me"
Your comments posted earlier on Discussion questions 1 and 2

In class:
Begin working on your short story.  A completed story or major work-in-progress will be due the week of March 16 (end of marking period).

HOMEWORK:
Read to page 200 or finish book for Tuesday's class

Qwiki--Tim O'Brien

View Tim O'Brien (author) and over 3,000,000 other topics on Qwiki.