Reading Response

                                                                  Tocqueville

I found the poems in Tocqueville very interest. I find poems interesting in how they can be interpreted differently. Not everyone interprets writings in the same way. I feel that is even more true when it comes to poems since poems do not always give the reader a clear understanding of what the author wants to say. I like that as a reader you need to make sense of what the author is trying to say.

One of the poems that had me thinking of my grandmother was On the Difficulty of Documentation. "The village women carry the moon on their heads" (Mattawa, 4). My grandmother once told me that when she was younger living in Palestine she would have to walk a long way to a water well. She would have to fill a big bowl with water and carry it back to her home. She would carry the bowl on her head. (why the poem reminds me of her). She would tell me this story every time I would complain about doing simple household chores around the house. My grandmother said it was much harder to get clean water back in her day and that we here in America have it so easy. My grandmother was a very strong women that raised nine children mostly alone because my grandfather worked a lot. She expected all her daughters and granddaughters to work hard and be independent.

This poem reminds me of that story my grandmother once told me of having to walk a long distance to get water. "Or each carrying her own moon, the jugs of white stoneware in Myrtle Winter's photo. See how light spills into their dark robes" (Mattawa, 4). The imagine I see is of a women dressed in black carrying a bowl (her own moon). While she walks the water spills lightly onto her clothing. (see how light spills into their dark robes). I picture a strong women carry water to take back to her family to either use for cooking or for laundry. Working hard to care for her family.

Reading Response for 1/21

                                                                   Writing Down The Bones

When I was younger I used to keep journals of certain things that happen in my life. When I reached junior high school I just stopped writing. I saw no point in keeping a journal. As I read more of this book I realize that by writing in journals it would have helped to make me a better writer. I feel that I would have had something to compare my current writing to if I had still continued to write.

I liked how the author gave advice on how to find topics to write about. "Tell about the quality of light coming in through your window. Jump in and just write" (Goldburg, 25). It gives a place to start something to get your ideas flowing. "Begin with "I remember"(Goldburg, 25). You could write about anything that you remember. The process that the author uses are really helpful in the sense of they just get you to write down whatever your feeling and you are then able to take it anywhere you want to go.

I found the topic Man eats Car interesting. The author tell a third grade class about a yogi in India who ate a car. Most of the students ask the most obvious question of why the man at the car. But there was one student that bursted into laughter. "In a sense, this is how we should write. Not asking "Why?," not delicately picking among candies (or spark plugs), but voraciously, letting our minds eat up everything and spewing it out on paper with great energy" (Goldburg, 43). It so easy to let loose and express yourself, but most people find it intimidating to do such a thing. Afraid of what others might think afraid to laugh when everyone else is so serious. I find that your first reaction to something you are told is how you truly feel. That is the best way to go at writing with the first few thoughts that come into your mind. Even if they might not be what everyone else expects or agrees with.

20 Word Poems

Poem # 1

I feel that my life is altering.

Trickling imminent clusters of events.

The throbbing, feverous, combustion of thoughts

That creeps into my mind.

I feel that everything is indecipherable.

Causing me to feel hysterical.

I feel like I am dissolving becoming a varmint.

I hear croons in the distance.

The transparency I feel within myself brings me to tears

The feelings within me are like an abundant monsoon of emotion

I cannot seem to defer

Introspection

I become reticence in social situations

I keep mementos of these moments

Poem # 2

Life is like a monsoon

Altering and changing in ways that creep passed

Us without giving anyone time to react

The reticence that is abundant trickles feverously through the crowds

You can hear throbbing indecipherable croons in clusters all around

There is something imminent about to happen

The transparencies of combustions that seem to go off fill the air

The sky darkens; a hysterical scream is uncontrollable let out

Sounds like bombs begin to fill the introspection of one’s mind

Deferring their thoughts

The colors dissolve, as they get closer to the ground

People begin to seem like varmints running in all directions

Collecting mementos as they head to their cars

Weekly Reading Response

                                                                         POETRY

When it comes to poetry I was never a big fan. I don't know if it was just because I never really gave it a chance or because I never thought to look deeper at the meaning behind the actual words being said. I have to read some poems over and over again to really understand what the author is trying to convey. Other times it is clear and straight to the point. I usually like the clear and straight to the point poems over the more difficult ones that take longer to interpret. I hope I learn to like poetry as I go through this course. I would love to find interesting and engaging was of teaching poetry to my future students.

In the poem Where it Passes, Untouchable. I liked the part "brother who betrays me into greed, I've prayed your glass would cut my feet." I felt like the author was trying to express the hurt he felt by someone in his life that has betrayed him. A person he once thought of as a friend. Another poem I found interesting was In the Tree. It made me think of being tired and thinking of random things to help me sleep. An interesting part of the poem I liked was "Soaked with plenty of water, my brain swells. And grows heavy." I felt that this describes how the feeling of being exhausted felt to the author.

                                                             Writing Down the Bones

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. I felt like Goldberg had some good advice about writing. Goldberg says "1. keep your hand moving. 2. Don't cross out. 3. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. 4. Lose control. 5. Don't think. Don't get logical. 6. Go for the jugular."(10). This gave me a new way of looking at writing. I never wrote for fun always for school work. Thought as long as I wrote what the teacher wanted I would be fine. This gave me a new way of looking at writing just to let lose and see what comes to mind.

I always wondered why I wasn't good at writing always wanted to write just never knew what about or if I was comfortable with someone else reading it. I was always shy never wanted to give an opinion about anything. I wish I had the courage to keep a journal growing up to see how much I have grown over the years. I liked how Goldberg says "It is odd that we never question the feasibility of a football team practicing for long hours for one game; yet in writing we rarely give ourselves the space for practice."(14). It makes so much sense the more you practice the better you become in whatever you chose to do and yet when it comes to writing I never really thought to practice always thought it was either you were born a writer or you were not.