John Fitz

Anaphora: A Poetic Form

A good writer is not always a good poet, but a good poet is always a great writer. Poetry is as much an approach to writing as it is an art--though anything done well enough is an art. Some of you may already be comfortable writing using poetic styles and forms, while some of you might find it too confusing to find any comfort zone. Most of us shy away from what we do not know; we are not inclined to expose our weaknesses in any kind of public forum, lest you be the fodder for the marauding hordes of nitpicking critics. But our class is not a public forum. It is a community of young teenagers trying to give voice to experiences and thoughts that are as valid and relevant to the world at large as any writer who as lived and breathed and wrote on this small spinning ball we call home.

Some of you have asked me why start the year writing poetry? Why don't I have you leap into the more practical world of punctuation, essays, and vocabulary? Why don’t I just have you start by reading some cool short story? I don't--and I won't--because I deeply believe that the writing of poetry is an opportunity that is too often neglected and as such, it is saved for a special "unit" during a quiet spell in the curriculum. In reality, poetry needs to be something we create and work towards all year long. An understanding and appreciation for poetry is the strongest foundation for future excellence as a writer in any genre. Poetry appeals to the discerning writer and to the discerning reader; moreover, poetry cultivates and instills a deep and enduring appreciation for the power of well-crafted words. When the going of life gets tough, it is poetry, whether through music or the printed word, which we turn to for edification, insight, and solace. It is worth the effort!

Contrary to what you might think, I am not trying to turn you into poets, though I am hoping to somehow give you a glimpse of your own potential as a person (and a poet)  with something valid and important to say! I have culled as much from the garden of my students as I have from the tomes of Shakespeare. I am as enlightened by the words of my students as I am by any other author prominently displayed on my meticulous and overwrought bookshelves; I am not asking or expecting you to do anything less than I ask or expect of myself. I am simply asking you to try with your heart and soul and being to be a writer and thinker of words. Whether you become a poet or not is a product of your attitude, not your aptitude.

As we make our way through the year we will be studying and practicing different forms, styles, and structures of poetry. The first form is called anaphora which is the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or lines. Numerous poets (Walt Whitman in particular) and almost all of the biblical prophets use anaphora to great effect in their poems and psalms. Anaphora poems are especially suited to oral poetry and lyrical music (poems which are sung!) This is called parallelism when used in prose or essay writing, such as in Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream,” or Jefferson's, “Declaration of Independence.”

The use of anaphora is just one trick in a writer’s bag of trade secrets. In that sense, a good poet is a good craftsman who uses the right tools and the right techniques to suit the project at hand. Anaphora poetry is ideally suited for making lists of thoughts and/or experiences, as in repeated phrases that begin with something along the lines of “I remember….”  When you recall experiences, be sure to “flesh out” the experience by including specific images and actions. Don’t simply say, “I remember going to Boston.” because, really, who cares?  You may hook your readers in by giving them a more concrete and specific image and action for them to spin in their imagination. For example, “I remember going to Boston and being stuck for hours on Storrow Drive; I remember the winding convoluted roads pocked with potholes and safety cones--the honking, swearing, and rude gestures...."  Readers only care about how your writing engages and entrances them--then (maybe) they will start to care about you, and they will seek out your writing wherever it can be found. 

When you want to write what you think and feel, use words that let your readers know where you are going with your thoughts: I dreamed, I wondered, I hoped, etc. Let your inner thoughts touch on universal themes captured in bite-sized chunks.

There is no minimum or maximum length for your poem, though it should be noted that anaphora poems are seldom brief. This is because the power of this form of poetry resides in the building up of momentum and rhythm through the repetition of words and phrases.

Turn your poems into me on Monday morning. [ (Please don't attempt the last sentence literally:) ] Be sure to save a digital copy on your home computer as well. We are going to try and find time when we are up at Windsor Mountain to recite our poetry.

Use times new roman font, size twelve for text; size 16 for titles. Be sure to include your name, your section, the assignment name, and the date in the top left corner of your paper. The poem should also have a title ( a good title) that is above the poem.

If you have any problems, please e-mail me at jfitzsimmons@fenn.org, or call me at 978-793-1553

Good luck and have fun.

The Value of Doing Nothing

Every action costs something.  Hopefully, what we exchange is worth more than the value traded.  It is the primal force that moves us forward in life. Today we are trading tae-kwon-do, Irish step dancing and soccer for  four square in a chalk court on the driveway.  Denise and Kaleigh are at a soccer game, so five of the kids are arguing cherry bombs and chicken feet while Tommy spins around off to the side with a broken umbrella--and I sit here like I have important work to finish. I think my kids are as good at most at amusing themselves with pickup games, exploring, and books, but still I am amazed by the bickering and self-centeredness around what is fairly simple and straight-forward game.  Somebody walks off in tears and pleads their case with me and then walk off more mad at my disengaged shrug than they were at their brothers and sisters--and so they are soon back at the game, laughing away in the beautiful forgetfulness of childhood.

Preparations

Charlie slurps the sky with his snake tongue
and catches the invisible first flakes
while spinning wildly through the backyard;
It is the moodiness of New England
turning winds steadily to the northeast—
the perceptible shift from calm to storm.
A cacophony of maddened grackles
dart through white pines tilting in stilted dance;
Dell starts his old snowblower one more time,
and then points at me like an old school-marm,
reminding me of the work to be done:
I tighten the flapping tarp on my boat
and oil the boots I should throw away;
I remind the kids to check their cubbies
and to unload the groceries from the van.
My wife begins filling up the crockpot
and sings, It’s a Great Day to Be Alive.
There is a constancy to our motions—
The deer are bedding down in crisp oak leaves;
the town trucks are loaded down with salt;
I hear weather reports from passing cars
and see whole families looking upward.
Leddy wonders who will shovel her walk.
The dogs know to prepare for a long sleep.
Nana and Papa will call from Florida
and tell us of the news reports from there;
We’ll make vague plans for weekends in the spring.

I know as soon as the snow starts to fall
I’ll remember things I forgot to do.

I’m glad for unexpected today.
I need to be reminded once again
how we follow our inbred traditions,
and in the passing of a single storm
we are able to share in this one day
the same unaltered, unspeakable God.

Assignments and Blogs: Read and Do Tonight!

I'm always trying to think of the best way to use the blogs for our "academic" purposes. Blogs are a great way to write, to view each other's work, and to comment on the work of our classmates. Sometimes they are hard to navigate through when I am looking for a specific assignment to check and/or grade.

To help me identify required assignments I want you to create a category called "Weekly Work."
I also want you to create weekly sub categories simply titled by the week, i.e., 2/26/-3/4

To do this, go to your "create an entry" page. Click on "categories." Click on "Create a new top level category." Create a category called "Weekly Work." Hit save and rebuild. You will then have to go back to the categories page and click on "create" in your Weekly Work" category to create the weely categories that will appear as links under your Weekly Work link. See my linkbar for how it should look.

For this semester I need these dates:
2/12-2/18
2/19-2/25
2/26-3/4
Vacation Credit
3/26-4/1
4/2-4/8
and so forth through the rest of the school year.

Go through your blog and put the assignments you have completed so far this semester in the right place. Do not write a new piece to make up fo rsome thing you neglected to write. That would be considered cheating.

In your drop box I want you to creat a document titled "Spring Assignment." In that document I want you to put "all" of your required assignments. I will let you know which assignments need to be in the Spring Assignments document. Separate assignments with page breaks. Each assignment needs to have proper fomatting, including your name, Fitz English, assignment title, and date of the assignment.

Thanks. This will make it much easier for me to get you feedback whenver you want or need it, and it will help me to keep track of your grades.

You can recieve up to twenty extra points for writing over break:
3 points for a good reflection of at least 500 words (and at least three paragraphs).
3 points for a personal narrative of at least 400 words
1 point for a brief poem
3 points for a longer poem or song
5 points for a literary reflection on an essay or book. At least 750 words long.
Any other writng I will judge on its merits.

YOUR PORTFOLIO MUST BE COMPLETED BY FRIDAY AND PUT IN MY DROPBOX IN YOUR FOLDER:
Your songs Need to be completed by Thursday or Friday.
Completed Porfolios also need to be in my dropbox.
Portfolios must include:
1.) Ten paragraphs. Every paragrah should follow the ten step pragraph rubric.
2.) Two reflections: chapters 5 and 12. The reflections should be at least 500 words long.
3.) One song
4) The poems you have completed in your weekly blog. (and any other poems including the haiku, whether the have to do with war or not.

LEAVE A COMMENT TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE DONE ALL THIS!(or at least to prove you read this far.

Sorry

Sorry I didn't post the assignment for the weekend, but I bet a little detective work --or an email to me--would have helped you figure it out. Finish the book and write a way cool and amazing "personal" reflection.

At any rate, good luck with your songs; try and get a couple of verses down by tomorrow. Post your progress in your blog.

By Last Class

Read chapter 11 and write a ten step paragraph by the final class of the week. There are some great little poems out there on your blogs! Try and harness some of that imagery in your paragraph writing. I can't get "The General" out of my head.

Great WW Fenn's as well.

Stolen Haiku

All Quiet on the Western Front is a virtual treasure trove of imagery and actions. For homework, try and write five semi haiku poems stolen from the actual text of the book. You may reword it some--and definitely get rid of some words.

Each poem should be three lines long. No more than 8 syllables per line. Post them as a single entry. Each poem's title should simply be the page number.

Comment on each other's semi-haiku.

Homework, Vocabulary, and stuff...

Write a paragraph for chapter 10. Add more detail to the "show your thoughts" part of the paragraph. Try and use some interesting and cool vocabulary words. Comment on other blogs; suggest "specific" words that your classmates could use in their paragraphs.

Check out this website. I am thinking of using it for a springtime vocabulary unit.

Don't forget Visual Thesaurus as a way to look up vocabulary and/or find new words and synonyms. The username is lfrancine@fenn.org; the password is please.

Weekend Homework

Active read Chapter 10; it's pretty long, so don't put it off. Bring it to rehearsal if you are there for the day. If it is too much, please let me know.

Make sure your weekly entries: poems and reflections are posted by midnight on Sunday.

Paragraphing: A Ten Step Program

You should be through Chapter 8 by class on Wednesday morning.

Writing paragraphs is probably the most important and useful skill we learn this year. The paragraph is the basic building block of all narrative and literary writing. Knowing how to "put together" an essay means nothing if you can't "craft" an understandable and effective paragraph. When you are writing your paragraphs, follow these guidelines. USE THEM AS A CHECKLIST!

In the current unit, I am teaching how to write "formal" literary responses and critiques of literature. In this type of writing you are trying to prove a point, illustrate an idea, and/or enlighten your readers, There is no reason to use "I" in this type of writing. No "I think's." No "I feel's" No "What I find Interesting's." No "I" period.

Below is my ten step approach to writing a great literary paragraph. It is a bit of a "formula," but as formulas go, it's a pretty good one. And remember: "If you know the rule, you can break it."

You should be keeping a separate Microsoft Word document called "Paragraph Portfolio." All of your completed paragraphs (and any reflections and or poems) should be posted in your blog AND saved in your portfolio.

1. BROAD THEME: Choose a broad one word theme or idea to write about that you have noticed and "marked" in your book. Type that in bold as the title of your paragraph!

2. SPECIFIC THEME: Narrow down your theme by writing a phrase or sentence that captures how your chosen theme or idea is used in All Quiet on the Western Front in a specific way. Type that in italics under your Title!

3. TOPIC SENTENCE: Write a "clear, concise and memorable" topic sentence. (don't make it a long sentence!) This is the sentence that "steers" your reader in the direction you want to go. This is what your paragraph is going to be about. Often this sentence will use some of the same words or phrase that is in your "specific theme".

4. ONE/TWO PUNCH: Follow your topic sentence with one or two more sentences that add detail or explanation to your topic sentence. These sentences can (and maybe should) be longer sentences.

5. TEXT REFERENCE: Write a sentence that leads into a specific quote or scene from the book that "shows" how the author uses the theme in the book. This is the "smoking gun." It proves that you know--or at least have thought about--the book (more specifically, a certain section f the book) in a meaningful way.

6. SHOW YOUR READER YOUR THOUGHTS: Write as many more sentences as you "need" (but at least two more) to illustrate and elaborate upon whatever youu introduced in your topic sentence. The more narrow and focused your topic sentence, the less you need to write to prove your point.

7. GOOD CLOSING SENTENCE: This sentence either wants to close out your thoughts or "transition" to a potential new paragraph.

8. RULE OF THREE: Go back and re-read what you have written. Find three areas or sentences that you can make better. Often you can find a better topic sentence somewhere else in the paragraph. You can almost always find a more clear and effecticve way to write a sentence than you wrote on your first try. ALWAYS WRITE ABOUT LITERATURE IN THE PRESENT TENSE!!! If you have too many short sentences, try combining sentences using conjunctions or semi colons. Use style checker and try and get rid of all the green lines (Unless the green line is indicating a mistake in a direct quote. In that case, leave it as it is). Style checker is good at finding "passive" voice sentences. Do your best to use the active vocie as much as possible. Easier said than done, I know! We'll work on passive/active voice in class as well.

9. FINAL EDIT: Read your paragraph out loud. Make sure it sounds like "you" speaking at your very best. Don't try and sound smarter than you are. Use good, specific and interesting vocabulary, but make sure it still sounds real and convincing--and not prententious and flowery. Get rid of any sentence that is not "directly related" to your topic sentence. When it doubt, cut it out. Your paragraph want to be as long as it "needs" to be, but as short as it "can" be.

10. PUBLISH: Post your paragraph in your blog and then wait for the wonderful comments. Think about what people write in their critiques of your writing. If they make a good point, then change what needs to be changed. Otherwise, pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

Did I miss anything?

Weekend Homework

Read Chapter 8 ( a short chapter) and write a paragraph. Continue editing your paragraphs in your "Paragraph Portfolio" (the document we set up in class earlier this week). There should only be one chapter per page in your portfolio. Don't change your original paragraphs that are posted already in your blog! We want to leave them there so we can assess your talents as an editor.

Remember: Each paragraph's title needs to be formatted like this: Chapter Number of Chapter: (colon) One word theme, topic or idea expressed in the paragraph.

Make sure to catch up on your commenting. You need to comment on the paragraphs on each other's blogs.

Also, don't forget that you need three unassigned journal entries per week: at least one poem and one reflection.

Theme?

Read Chapters six through seven. Write a one paragraph response for each chapter.

Each paragraph must be tiltes like this Chapter (One): (then "one" word which captures the theme or topic of your paragraph).

Save these to your blog. Comment on your classmate's work.

Have a nice day off. Help someone shovel. Say thank you whenever you can.

Weekend Homework

Read Chapter 5 and write a Personal Reflection that is at least three paragraphs long and post it in your blog. You are free to use the "I" voice when writing a personal response. Focus your reflection on your thoughts and feelings about reading this book, hearing the songs and poems and the need (or lack of need, if that is where you stand) for writing literature that focuses on war.

Post your favorite paragraph of your reflection as your chapter 5 paragraph as a separate post.

Don't forget that you need need to write at least one poem and one reflection per week as part of your three self-initiated blogs per week.

Paragraphs Chapters 1-4

By Friday you should have four good paragraphs completed, one for each chapter. Chapter three is due tomorrow. Chapter four on the last class meeting of the week. Post each paragraph in your blog and comment on the other blogs n your class. Offer helpful, constructive and positive encouragement.

Check your paragraph for the following:

1. Clear, concise and memorable opening sentence.
2. Some sort of obvious text reference or quote.
3. Details that relate directly to your opening sentence.
4. An ending sentence that works as either an ending or a transition to a new paragraph.
5. Make sure to look within your paragraph when you are done to see if there is a better topic sentence buried in there!!!!

Additionally, your book should show all signs of active reading marks: vocabulary, new characters, memorable and/or effective scenes and any margin notes to yourself.

In your blog you shuld also be posting at least three entries per week: One of which must be a poem and one of which must be a reflection of some sort.

I will accept any rewrites of the three essays project up until Wednesday at noon.

Homework

Section Four: Do the assignment below that was section three's last night: Write a good meaty paragraph relating to chapter one. BE SURE TO INCLUDE A TEXT REFERENCE and a concise clear and memorable topic sentence. Post it on your blog and comment on your classmate's paragraphs.

Section three: Read Chapter two and write another great paragraph!

Blogwriting until march break: Three required outside entries, one of which must be a poem and one a reflection that is at least three paragraphs long.

Homework!

Section Three: Please read the details. There are not that many! Section four does not have homework tonight.

"Active" read Chapter one and write a one paragraph response to some part o the chapter. Include at least one quote from the text. Leave a comment on the poem and song.

Brenden: Post your war poem of your choosing in your blog along with a one pargraph introduction to read to the class tomorrow.

Narrative Poem

Please put your finished poem along with the three drafts AS A SINGLE WORD DOCUMENT in my dropbox before school is finished tomorrow.

Make sure there is a short paragrpah in bold after each poem.
1) Your thoughts after your first draft.
2) What you did with your poem in your second draft and any thoughts.
3) What you did with your poem in your third draft and any thoughts.
4) How you feel about your finished poem and any thoughts you have about creating your poem.

I hope this experience has been fun and at least slightly illuminating for all of you. i am impressed by your efforts!

What Is Re-drafting a Poem? Tips and Thoughts

Your poems are due in my dropbox on Tuesday as a single microsoft word document. There should be three rough drafts and one final draft of your poem. Include a short paragraph after each poem that tells me what you did (or tried to do) to make each draft a better and more effective poem.

Some tips for redrafting.

"A poem is never finished; it is reluctantly abandoned."

Writng a poem is often like playing telephone: The poem you started with is sometimes completely changed after it moves through a few separate drafts. Somtimes it even ends up returning to your original thoughts and images, BUT at least you have put it through the rigor of intellectual scrutiny.

Tip #1: Look through your poem for any places where you are "telling" your reader what you think or feel. If so, ty and change your poem so that you "show" what you think and feel using images, actions and/or dialogue. Make your thoughts part of the story you are telliing. Your reader wants to experience your experience; they don't want to just listen to what you think.

Tip #2: A poem is the highest form of expression that can be created with words. Good poems live on in testament to the power of the crafted word. Through your poetry, you live on. Take the time to try different ways of wording every line--even the lines you already think are great. Don't be afraid t take out entire sections of your poem if that section doesn't seem like it's working. Most young poets don't want to do this because they worked so hard to create those lines in the first place! Simply put: Do what is best for your poem.

Tip #3: Don't worry about whether or not people "get" the deeper meaning and insights within your poem. I imagine the first people listening to Mozart didn't know why he was great; they just "sensed" he was great--and so we return again again to his music. I can grade you drafting and redrafting; I can't grade your poem--only you can! So be brave, be subtle, but above all, give a damn about what and how you write.

Narrative Poetry Assignment

Much like a narrative essay, a narrative poem tells the story of an experience that has a profound and/or meaningful theme or message. Sometimes these poems are told in the third person as in much of epic poetry, such as The Iliad or Beowulf. In more modern poetry, as in "The Mending Wall" or "Viking Warrior," (see the previous entry) the author is personal voice of the poet. Here are links to two of my own narrative poems written and recorded in iambic pentameter: Joshua Sawyer, and Metamorphoses.

This week we are going to work on creating a narrative poem of at least 24 lines using either rhymed or unrhymed iambic pentameter. (see my blog on iambic pentameter) The full poem is due a week from Tuesday.

1. In class on Monday. We will discuss how to find a topic and theme for your poem, as well as more pointers on how to write effectively using iambic pentameter. (Tuesday and Wednesday we will perform our WW Fenn pieces and vote for two winners from each class.
2. You should have a rough draft of your poem by the final class of the week.
3. Your poem should go through at least three or four transformations as it evolves. Save a copy of each draft and redraft of your poem. A minimum of three is expected. The more drafts you produce, the better fo you. I will use your rough drafts to help me determine how much editing you are actually doing. I will never penalize someone for being a bad poet, but I will penalize someone who is a lazy poet.
4. Share your drafts on the blogs. Read and comment on other blogs to help each other out. (This is also part of your grade.)

Most great poets are only remembered for a handful of their better poems. It is worth the effort for poets who aspire to greatness to painstakingly craft their poems time and time again until the rough stone becomes a polished jewel.

If you are not happy with the grade you received on your three essay packet, you may rewrite them as many times as you wish, BUT, you must speak with me personally "outside of class time" before each redraft so I can be sure you address the problem(s) in the original essay.

Weekend Homework

WW Fenn pieces will be performed Tuesday-Thursday of next week. Winners will perform in Robb Hall on Froday, January 26.

If you are in any doubt if your piece is appropriate, then please speak to me by tomorrow. Your piece needs to be at least 90 seconds long and no more than three minutes long.

How Poetry Begins

It starts with so loving the way that words make you feel that you keep returning to the source for more. More often than not our first truly poetic moment involves music--more specifically, a certain band or performer or even just a certain song. For me I think it was Baba O'Riley by The Who in 8th grade, or it might have been Ring of Fire in fifith grade. What I do know is I got bit by the bug.

I want you to leave this year loving the reality and possibilities of poetry, but first you have to tell each other how you've esperienced poetry through music. We'll get to Shakespeare and Shelley and Chaucer, but let's start here.

Have you got bit by the bug? How? Where?

For weekend homework write a personal narrative or memoir about your favorite Band and/or song. Try to explore all the reasons. Does it measure up to a 'poetic moment?'

Include a narrative of how and where you first heard the song band or performer. How did that momnet make you feel? Use plenty of images and actions. Make it real. Make it memorable. Make it about one page.

Also, go to this website and choose your favorite poem of Taylor Mali's.

And then go here to Robert Frost's poetry and choose one of your favorites of his.

Who do you think is a better poet?

Homework:

Continue working on your three essays. Publish any changes and make sure to post thoughtful and constructive comments on other blogs. So far I have been incredibly impressed by the quality of your writing this past week!

Top Twenty Writing Mistakes
90% of all writing mistakes can be traced to these 20 common mistakes. Learn to avoid these mistakes and you will go a long way towards improving the quality of the presentation of your writing.

I will be giving a test on Thursday(section three) and Friday (section four) on the top twenty writing mistakes. Spend the time needed to understand these common mistakes as thoroughly as possible. We will discuss these in class as well.

Go to this website for details on the common mistakes. Make noite of what you do and don't understand so we can have frutiful discussions in class. Create a study sheet to help you recognize and learn to avoid these mistakes.

Saturday Morning

Another good morning to sit on the porch and check your blogs, but I am driving to western MA to meet my newly adopted niece. But I will check the blogs as I get a chance all weekend. You need to have three separate essays--a narrative, a memoir, and a "This I Believe" personal essay posted by monday morning. I will try and read all of your essays and post comments, but I might be hampered by time. (That's another reason for you to post comments on each others blogs, because it's best to have as much helpful information as possible when you start editing--and editing is crucial to any publishable writing piece. It is our goal to get someone' essay published on the NPR site.)

At any rate, happy weekend and productive writing. Begin to think about what you want to do for the speaking contest. I'll be glad to help you choose something good and meaningful. Consider reading one of your essays!

Explore! Please read this!

In writing your memoirs, narratives and essays, write as if you are exploring your mind. Use examples form your life and from your thinking to pull the reader into your train of thoughts. A personal essay is not a place to argue for or against something, but more of a place to think aloud while exploring your issue, idea, person place or thing or experience.

Read some of the essays from the website to give you ideas for how you can write.

Your first draft is never your best--but there needs to be a first draft.

These are the essay writing instruction for a belief essay on the website:

This I Believe Essay-Writing Instructions

We invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this is—it requires such intimacy that no one else can do it for you. To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:

Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That's about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.

Name your belief: If you can't name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.

Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you don't believe. Avoid speaking in the editorial "we." Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.

Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. (To let me know you've read this far, subtly thank PBS when commenting on this entry--thanks, Fitz) We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

For this project, we are also guided by the original This I Believe series and the producers' invitation to those who wrote essays in the 1950s. Their advice holds up well and we are abiding by it. Please consider it carefully in writing your piece.

In introducing the original series, host Edward R. Murrow said, "Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent." We would argue that the need is as great now as it was 50 years ago. We are eager for your contribution.

Homework

This is our week to start our unit in personal essays, personal memoirs and personal narratives. In a lot of ways, I feel it is the most important part of what we are doing this year. In the entry below this I tried to create an uploadable file of the PBS curriculum for "This I Believe." Read through it when you get the chance. Here is a link to the website as well.For tonight, write a personal essay, memoir or narrative whose reading length is around three minutes. I'll put in one I wrote a couple of years ago after I realized that my approach to teaching writing was misguided at best. I hope I am a better teacher now!

Reflection On The Essay Form
(An Apology To My Students)

This is my first year of teaching English, and already I’m a liar and a jerk. In another place I would probably need a bodyguard. Today I not only assigned my eighth grade class the first five chapters—37 pages—in some book called A Guide To Writing Essays. I also told them the same thing I told their parents: ‘Nothing is more important than the ability to write a good essay. It is a skill that will save you time and again in this great adventure called life.’ I then went on about how fun and rewarding it would be. I teased them with tales of how they would discover huge deposits of original thought and creative speculations—rough stones that would craft into a wonderful creation called The Essay. They were writers, every one, and I would prove it to them. I think some of them even believed me—I believed me! I’m sure some of them saw through my pontifications and secretly wished to be placed in another section. Their parents were, I’m sure, politely aghast at my naivete; No one wants their son or daughter to be the proving grounds for some nitwit.

But, here I am now, two months into my new career, and I hate essays! It’s tough to admit, but I despise the core responsibility of my job--teaching this venerated form of writing. I can’t help but think we’ve taken an essentially organic miracle called the mind and decided to treat it like an erector set—a series of blocks and connectors which, if put together properly, sometimes creates something that resembles something. That “something” is occasionally a remarkable piece of writing. Like once or twice a semester.

I am not alone in my fraud, although I feel somewhat lonely fessing up and questioning this sacred truth. We tell our students that the ability to write a good essay is indispensable. We warn them of apocalyptic days ahead when the effective and formulaic writing of essays will be the final arbiter of their scholastic abilities. We elaborate larger than life stories of how a single well-written essay will get them into Harvard, help them find that certain job, elect their candidate, even find their mate! Persuasive, narrative, critical, expository, analytical, reflective—it is the essay “form” that marries itself to almost any situation. It is the Holy Grail—the top end model of the English curriculum in almost every school in the country. It has pushed the snarling beast of grammar and syntax into the corner where it belongs. If poetry is not completely banished it has become, at most, a quaint holiday in the Berkshires—a pleasant place to spend one or two days away from the rigueur of a real curriculum. Even the best of literature is laid out on the table awaiting the essay’s sharp, incisive and generally misguided probes. A well-written essay, we are told, is the genius of your insight weathered into granite. It will outlive you and your children, and many generations after them. If so, why have I never heard of a single great writer who proclaims, or proclaimed themselves, to be an essay writer? Why—because it’s like saying you cook awesome hot dogs. Or you’ve never been outside Rhode Island.

Is there something weird in me? Am I missing something? Perhaps I’m a bad teacher; or maybe just lazy; or something; but I just don’t like teaching “essay writing.” I’ve tried. I’m still trying. I’m there side by each in the trenches. I see my kids tense up when I simply utter the words “thesis statement.” When I follow up that tired command by preaching the virtues and efficacy of outlining headers and adding supporting facts a bitter teaching reality settles in—like an unwanted guest—they notice, but they don’t really care. They don’t find it slightly interesting. The majority of the students drift slowly away. A few are completely shut down. The grade grubbers are in a purgatory between obligation and exasperation. The smart ones are making mental notes that they will never be a teacher like me. The hibernating perk up when they hear the word “conclusion,” but they soon discover that it’s only a cruel hoax, an excuse to have them start back at the beginning—and the meek, all of us, surrender to the vicious cycle of introduction, body and ending. The bookshelves are stacked with the detritus of years of literary massacres. Students and teachers eye each other like creatures that eat their own. Only the threat of vocabulary keeps them at their desks.

The French teacher at our school told me that the word essay is derived from the French verb essaei, which means to try. I like that. There is something in those words that awakens a spirit of freedom in me. I can try. I’ll try valiantly. I’ll try to show you that I give a damn about what I say and think and write. I’ll try to show you that I love the sounds of words and the nuance of sentences. I love that words are woven into a magician’s tale. I love that every gaggle of words is essentially a story. I love that I am moved to tears by a good book or an old poem. Love! If that is not true understanding then something is terribly awry. Here! Here are my tears. What more can you possibly need? No, damn you and damn me, I don’t need your essays—I need you to essaei. I need the miracle of your mind to give itself to the miracle of language. I need you to get rid of the erector set; get rid of the artifice that stands between you and your understanding. I need you to answer whatever question we throw at you with that great gift of our creation—words. We know beauty when we see it. We measure the power of words by the feelings they evoke. We measure their clarity and freshness as we would a mountain stream. We are led on small and great journeys by storytellers. What writer is not a storyteller? We are carried to those deeper wells; from those unplumbed depths we invoke the source of all courageous originality and our common humanity. We can learn ourselves if we essai—if we try. To try is to care. In the end, you just have to give a damn.

--FitzThe Crafted Word

A Thought on Christmas Eve

My kids are spreading reindeer food all around the house. The presents from are wrapped. There are some high expectations for what Santa will bring. Philippe asked my why Santa never went to Haiti. That's a good question to keep in our hearts as the new year begins.

Spread cheer, love and goodwill as freely as you will reindeer food. Have a great Christmas and a great holiday. I bet when you are an old man you will love to look back on a blog you wrote when you were just a wee lad in a holiday time.

Love,

Fitz

Final Exam

Essay Prompt:
Active read "A Child’s Christmas in Wales" and "The Gift of the Magi." Compare the two stories assigned to you. They are quite different from each other. ("A Childs Christmas in Wales" was originally a radio broadcast.) Compare them critically as works of literature, and respond to them personally as a reading experience.

1. Compare them critically as works of literature: In this there is no "I." What are the "techniques" the writer uses to tell his story?

2. ...and respond to them personally as a reading experience: How did you (yes, use the "I") experience the stories personally. Which one did you like more? Why?

*You may bring in your opening paragraph.
*You may bring in your opening sentence to each paragraph with up to three bulleted notes for each paragraph.
*You may bring in a printout of the stories with active reading marks and margin notes.

See my earlier blog for more info. Section four will have class on Monday.

Exam Prep:

Essay Prompt:
Active read A Child’s Christmas in Wales and The Gift of the Magi. Compare the two stories assigned to you. They are quite different from each other. (A Childs Christmas in Wales was originally a radio broadcast.) Compare them critically as works of literature, and respond to them personally as a reading experience.

You may bring in your first paragraph written down. The rest of the essay should be in outline form. You will have 90 minutes to complete the essay. Correct paragraphing and punctuation, especially commas, will count for 20% of your grade. You must use at least one semi colon, one colon, and one double dash in your essay.

To pre-plan for the exam you can help each other out and discuss these stories in your blogs.

When outlining and writing, focus on the following:
Critical Analysis: How are they similar and how they are not similar? Touch upon the setting, the plots, the tone of each story, and the theme of the stories. How are the conflicts similar, (are there any conflicts...) and how are they different? Do the narrative techniques work for each story? Which point of view is more effective? Which style is more effective? How is the use of imagery and metaphors different? Use as many literary elements as you can "comfortably" discuss about each piece of writing. __

Personal Reflection: How did you feel about these stories? Why do you think the authors wrote these stories—and for whom? Which story did you relate to more? Did you like one story more than the other? Is there anything universal in these stories, or do they only appeal to people who celebrate Christmas in some way shape or fashion. Should this essay have a more multi cultural component? Given your cultural upbringing, how would you craft this type of story? Feel free to speak your mind in well-crafted words.

You may bring in a sheet of paper with your opening paragraph and an outline for your essay.
You may bring in a copy of the stories with any active reading notes.
You may bring in a copy of the essay prompt.
You have 90 minutes to finish the essay.
Plan on writing 6-7 paragraphs, though ultimately it is up to you.

The Older I Am, The Better It Was
How To Read A Child's Christmas in Wales

“A Child's Christmas in Wales” was originally performed as a radio show. Dylan Thomas is one of the most highly regarded poets to write in the English language. I'm asking (and expecting) a lot from you to read this with an open mind and heart. Sit back and read without trying to analyze anything. Don't try to fit it into the box of your expectations. Let the words come alive in your imagination. Let the story--if there even is one--create itself out of the images and actions that burst out of every paragraph.

Remember a good storyteller leads you on a journey. These stories are truly opposites in everything but a love for the power of words, the power of giving, the mystery and magic of tradition, and the unstoppable need for a remembrance of things past.

On the exam I am asking you to look at this story from both a critical and a personal point of view. Right off the bat you can't be wrong half the time.

*First off: read the story once through without prejudice. (Which means, with an open mind.) Go back and ask yourself, "Who is writing this story? What is the "Point of View?" of the story?
Point of View: Who tells the story? Do you trust the narrator's accuracy?" "Every story is told by a narrator, who is created by the author and usually different from the author's voice. The narrator controls the story by talking from a particular point of view. Points of view have traditionally been classed as first person, second person, and third-person"
*Next, ask yourself, "What is the setting?" _Setting is determining Time and Place__
*Next, ask yourself, "Who are the characters?" There is always a main character. Who is it? What is he or she like? Who are the lesser characters? What are their roles?
Next, ask yourself, "What are the conflicts?" To me, the narrator is "narrating" a stream of inner and outer conflicts.

The reality of inner conflict is that we don't always have the ability to stop the stream of thoughts going through our heads--or even the randomness of the directions. A Child's Christmas in Wales tips its hat to the power of imagination through a series of seemingly random flashbacks to memories of a childhood lost to everything but the imagination.

Now, ask yourself, "What is the theme?" Certainly, a central theme is, snow. Another could be "childhood adventures;" the story is full of mini adventures. Family? There is constantly family around--for better and for worse. And of course the central theme: the meaning and memory of Christmas. What does Dylan Thomas mean when he writes: "I said some words to the "close and holy darkness," and then I slept?"

Greatness is never easy to read, to write or to understand. To try and grab the entirety of an experience in a few short pages a writer can only point to the moon with his words and "pray" you will find your way to the moon itself. He cannot lead you there!

I hope this helps. Don't stress out about what you cannot understand. Point out what you do understand, and then rely on your personal reflection to talk about the story more fully.

There is plenty of time to ask me questions. Good luck!

The Gift of the Magi

ONE DOLLAR AND EIGHTY-SEVEN CENTS. THAT WAS ALL. AND SIXTY CENTS of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

A Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas

One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.

All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find. In goes my hand into that wool-white bell-tongued ball of holidays resting at the rim of the carol-singing sea, and out come Mrs. Prothero and the firemen.