This week, we were assigned the fiction packet, containing several different short stories by different authors. I feel that this packet was very hit or miss: some of the pieces were quite powerful, and others were very weak and confusing. I will be discussing one of my favorite passages, and then one of my least favorite passages, just to show how this packet was very hit or miss.
The Colonel by Carolyn is a great example of what is good about this set of short stories. It is clear, precise, has lots of detail, intriguing and powerful. It starts by saying "What you have heard is true" which makes the reader wonder "What have I heard that is true? What are they talking about?" And the author answers those questions in a really interesting way. Instead of giving away an answer right away, he gives a lot of detail, truck loads of it, so you can really feel what's going on. It takes quite a while to get to the answer, but this builds suspense. Towards the end of the story, the answer creeps up on you, and passes you before you realize it and forces you to read those sentences a few times, to make sure you read that correctly. It's a very powerful ending, and offers a great metaphor at the end.
Now, along with the good, there is some bad. Sharon Krinky's Mystery Stories are quite awful, as they are all way too short, confusing and bland. I feel like these "mysteries" are just random sentences thrown together in a scrap book, and are given titles. I've been looking for some sort of symbolism, some sort of idea, some sort of clue to tell me what the purpose of these stories are, and I keep getting nothing. The small amount of detail given provide no sort of clear picture of the scenario - these may as well be blank pages of annoyance.
All in all, I liked the fiction packet. When things were good, I was interested, and when things were bad, it provided a good small laugh at how strange some of these writers really are.
And just a quick word about fiction and writing: Lunar Park is the best book of all time.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Re: Ed Roberson's Idyll
Roberson's poem "Idyll" was one of my favorites in the book "City Eclogue." It is a poem about how the noise of the city can add up to silence, which is an interesting thing to think about. Sometimes there is so much of one thing that you can barely even notice it's there. For example, if you take many different high class meals, put them in a blender and consume it, you're not going to be able to enjoy each little bit at a time - it's going to be too much to handle and it's going to end up being a putrid experience. There are also times when we keep feeling good, and our expectations keep rising, so then when we feel good, we don't care, and when we do feel alright, our world falls apart. Here is my poem to respond to Roberson's "Idyll."
Stand up, stand out; that's what we were all taught.
No matter alone, no matter united, just stand.
Isn't that a bit silly? Isn't that a bit usually now? Haven't we all fell in line?
When we stand now all we are really doing is sitting down.
To attempt unique is to be a disaster
To be usual is bland
To be indifferent is to not exist
To stand out is to be the rest
It comes to a point where we need to be we, not we plus a thousand motives
Just be.
Please.
Stop.
Being "different"
Start being you.
Stand up, stand out; that's what we were all taught.
No matter alone, no matter united, just stand.
Isn't that a bit silly? Isn't that a bit usually now? Haven't we all fell in line?
When we stand now all we are really doing is sitting down.
To attempt unique is to be a disaster
To be usual is bland
To be indifferent is to not exist
To stand out is to be the rest
It comes to a point where we need to be we, not we plus a thousand motives
Just be.
Please.
Stop.
Being "different"
Start being you.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
This Week (5/22)
This week in creative writing, we turned in our first two poems, read City of Eclogue and also graded others' poems.
The poems which I decided to turn in were "Stay Away, My Rest" and "A Diseased Poem." "Stay Away, My Rest" is a poem about how sleep can act as a detriment to some people, yet the lack of rest can also be a major problem. If you sleep, you are wasting precious hours of your days. If you stay awake, you will start to slip away from reality, sometimes too far. "A Diseased Poem" is really more about how infectious thoughts really can be. If let alone for too long, they can grow wild and do just about anything. The poem is supposed to act as a being itself, as strange excerpts continue to enter themselves onto the page, eventually driving the poem to sorrow.
The book "City Eclogue" by Ed Roberson was a book full of different poems. In class, we picked apart some of these poems. The book can be quite confusing sometimes, but can also be really deep. My favorite parts of the book were the entries of "Beauty's Standing." There was a lot of anger going into different places, and many different (mostly political) issues that were raised in this section. The writer also included some insight on what to do with some of these issues.
Another part of "City Eclogue" that grabbed my attention was the way every poem was formed: with spaces thrown all about in sometimes seemingly random places. I believe that these white areas on the page were made to give an emotion to the reader. Since the blank spots are foreign to the average reader, we become somewhat confused, upset, irritated and even feel a bit of distress. The book spends most of its time describing the city, and big cities can be very irritating and stressful, so I think he did this to make us feel the tension in the streets.
It was really interesting reading others' poetry in class. Everyone else' style differs so vastly from the last. In our group, there was a girl who wrote very descriptive, very "human" poems, another who wrote scenery-like poems, a man who wrote poems about the nation and women, and then there was me, the one who writes the stuff that makes no sense. It was a breath of fresh air hearing what others' had to say instead of just listening to myself write all the time.
The poems which I decided to turn in were "Stay Away, My Rest" and "A Diseased Poem." "Stay Away, My Rest" is a poem about how sleep can act as a detriment to some people, yet the lack of rest can also be a major problem. If you sleep, you are wasting precious hours of your days. If you stay awake, you will start to slip away from reality, sometimes too far. "A Diseased Poem" is really more about how infectious thoughts really can be. If let alone for too long, they can grow wild and do just about anything. The poem is supposed to act as a being itself, as strange excerpts continue to enter themselves onto the page, eventually driving the poem to sorrow.
The book "City Eclogue" by Ed Roberson was a book full of different poems. In class, we picked apart some of these poems. The book can be quite confusing sometimes, but can also be really deep. My favorite parts of the book were the entries of "Beauty's Standing." There was a lot of anger going into different places, and many different (mostly political) issues that were raised in this section. The writer also included some insight on what to do with some of these issues.
Another part of "City Eclogue" that grabbed my attention was the way every poem was formed: with spaces thrown all about in sometimes seemingly random places. I believe that these white areas on the page were made to give an emotion to the reader. Since the blank spots are foreign to the average reader, we become somewhat confused, upset, irritated and even feel a bit of distress. The book spends most of its time describing the city, and big cities can be very irritating and stressful, so I think he did this to make us feel the tension in the streets.
It was really interesting reading others' poetry in class. Everyone else' style differs so vastly from the last. In our group, there was a girl who wrote very descriptive, very "human" poems, another who wrote scenery-like poems, a man who wrote poems about the nation and women, and then there was me, the one who writes the stuff that makes no sense. It was a breath of fresh air hearing what others' had to say instead of just listening to myself write all the time.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
This Week (5/17)
This week in CW, we've read over some new material, wrote some poems and also have discussed both greatly in class. Out of everything that we've done, I'd have to say that my favorite 2 things were the Goldberg readings as well as the poems we wrote using 25 words from the poetry packet we were given,
The Goldberg readings we're helpful, and made me realize that in my writing, I need to sometimes just relax and let the first thoughts in my mind take over for a little bit. Also, the writings were humorous sometimes, which kept me interested, and the writer made it very easy and fun to understand.
The poems we wrote using 25 different words from the poetry packet were really fun, because we had certain restrictions, but we could also still do just about anything. It was interesting seeing all of the different things I could do with just those words for a bit.
The Goldberg readings we're helpful, and made me realize that in my writing, I need to sometimes just relax and let the first thoughts in my mind take over for a little bit. Also, the writings were humorous sometimes, which kept me interested, and the writer made it very easy and fun to understand.
The poems we wrote using 25 different words from the poetry packet were really fun, because we had certain restrictions, but we could also still do just about anything. It was interesting seeing all of the different things I could do with just those words for a bit.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Hello, my name is John Groleau. I'm here at EMU to hopefully become a Secondary Education / Mathematics major, so I can teach high school level math. However, I've heard of many other people with education degrees having a lot of trouble with finding a job in this state, so I may change my major if that continues to worsen. Some of my hobbies are making electronic music, playing with my yo-yo, messing around with computers and occasionally write some poetry. My reading skills may not be the best, but I feel like I can write some interesting stuff sometimes.
I would write something about my family, or where I came from, or something like that, but I have a feeling that no one is really too interested in me just explaining that via standard introduction format. If you want to find out about me and my past, read my future writings. I'm sure they'll all be tied to me in one way or another.
Take care, fellow class mates!
I would write something about my family, or where I came from, or something like that, but I have a feeling that no one is really too interested in me just explaining that via standard introduction format. If you want to find out about me and my past, read my future writings. I'm sure they'll all be tied to me in one way or another.
Take care, fellow class mates!
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