Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Snow-Storm

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hill and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farmhouse at the garden's end.
The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
Come see the north wind's masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly,
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn;
Fills up the farmer's lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer's sighs; and at the gate
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,
Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.

1835 [1841] Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sliding into Home Fiction/Contemporary Lit./Poetry

Writing Fiction
Tuesday 12/14/10 Turn in final stories. Workshops by request.
Thursday 12/16/10 Continuation of Workshops (Watch the blog in case of severe weather.)

Contemporary Literature
Tuesday 12/14/10 Continued discussion. Possible film.
Thursday 12/16/10 Optional final day. Watch blog in case of severe weather.

WRITING POETRY

Wednesday 12/15/10 Final poems Workshop.

HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY AND BE SAFE!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Contemporary Lit. Assignment

Write an elegy to an abstraction or inanimate object.

Consider Neruda's Odes for tone or the way O'Hara wrote of Billie Holiday's death or Lana Turner's collapse. Keep the tone more colloquial, full of details and a strong sense of voice. When writing about abstractions, avoid using many of them.

The poem must be ten lines minimum and brought in on Thursday, typed.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

HOWL (Allan Ginsberg movie)

Attention all classes. Just now I am not pulling any showtimes for Friday of this week. I think if we check later on, that might change. For now, there are showtimes for Thursday night and if you're interested in doing so, you might assemble a group to go see the film. It is said to be excellent. I think there is a 7:50 showing on Thursday night and many available showtimes for today/Wednesday. Email me if you're gathering a group and I'll announce it here.
Thanks, s