Contemporary Literature Section 01 & 02 Homework Week One

T Introduction.
Discussion of Course goals and readings. Your readings will be posted by author and title and you will be expected to locate the text.* This is my compromise in exchange for a textbook and I will be expected you to take full responsibility for finding the posted works. Please note that this course will be heavier in poetry content, as it is easy to discuss a smaller piece fully in class and to teach close reading through it. We will look at other genres, but if you have a real aversion to verse, this may not be the section for you. Homework: Re-Read: http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/013.html and come in with a 250 word minimum analysis of the poem. Note any literary techniques it employs. Rhyme scheme or lack. Everything you notice about its structure and construction. Then address content. What is a one line plot summary for the poem? What is the tone? Is any stanza more sincere than any other?

H Discussion of close reading. Literary techniques. How to read and discuss literature.
Homework: Come in with one title of a piece of writing that affected you.
Write down what it was and why, as well as anything you notice about its form and construction. We will discuss each of these in class next week.
Read: As a summer send-off, I thought we’d look at this poem by John Tobias (it gets taught in high schools, and you might have read it. If so, check it out again for discussion.)

http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~hsiao/verse/watermelon.html
Reflections On a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity

Also, this biographical essay on Walt Whitman http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/walt-whitman

and this one:
Adventures in Anaphora http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/article/246170

and this essay: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/246218

PLUS the following poems:
O Captain! My Captain! http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174742

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer Speak http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174747

Song of Myself 36 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182375

Please come to class “quiz ready” on these materials. Take notes for discussion. The more you participate, the more likely your grade will reflect that boost.

Reading Homework

Amy Hemphel Aimee Bender Selections from Sudden Fiction p. 1-19 (All the stories available in the preview of google docs through The Twirler)

Three Elements

A stolen ring, fear of spiders, and a sinister stranger. A taxi, an old enemy, and Valentine's Day. Identical twins, a party invitation, and a locked closet. A broken wristwatch, peppermints, and a hug that goes too far. Aerobics, a secret diary, and something unpleasant under the bed. An ex-boyfriend, a pair of binoculars, and a good-luck charm. An annoying boss, a bikini, and a fake illness. The first day of school, a love note, and a recipe with a significant mistake. A horoscope, makeup, and a missing tooth. A campfire, a scream, and a small lie that gets bigger and bigger.

WRITING FICTION READINGS

Week One Monday: Introduction. In-class writing from paint swatch phrases. Tension discussion: story vs. incident. HOMEWORK: Readings: Girl by Jamaica Kinkaid Hills Like White Elephants Ernest Hemingway What we Talk About When we Talk About Love Raymond Carver How to Become a Writer Lorrie Moore Lust Susan Minot Polish your in-class story/scene/start and bring in a minimum of 250 words to discuss in class. For anyone who needs to catch up, here is a version of what we did in class: For the writing portion, we used words/phrases off paint swatches and began with the line: We stepped into -------, then ------------- and then Begin a story by filling in those blanks and continuing to write from there using as many of the phrases from the paint swatch "word bank" as possible. Word bank: Fine Wine, Tidal, Stormfront, Decanting, Graphite, Sailor's Bay, Ink-Dark Moonscape, Pink Damask, Fire Alarm, Plum jam, Madeline steps, January sea, Dune, Licorice Twist, Coldwater Rose, Midnight sidewalk, Orion's belt, Biscuit, Baby blanket, Sunwashed Coast, Buttery.

Contemporary Lit. The Readings for Presentations.

9:30 Class: Instruction Manual John Ashbery . 2645 EmilyMasley Ulysses Gwendolyn Brooks p. 2504 Timothy Kuhne Portrait of a Madonna Tennessee Williams p. 2320 What we Talk about when we Talk about Love Raymond Carver p. 3013 Lady Lazarus Sylvia Plath p. 2840 In the Field by Tim O' Brien The Fish Elizabeth Bishop 2314 The Man Moth Elizabeth Bishop Dova ste Amore Laurence Ferlinghetti p. 2256 Young Housewife Anne Sexton 2834 Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth 2797 For the Union Dead Robert Lowell 2504 Hart Crane Robert Creeley 2634-35 Stations by Audre Lorde 2896 ------------------------------------------------ 12:30 Class Root Cellar Theodore Roethke p. 1906 I put on my Jacket. p. 2661 Heavy Women Sylvia Plath (google search) Ducks Naomi Shihab Nye Entropy Thomas Pynchon Beneath the Freeway Lorna Dee Cervantes Conversion of the Jews Roth The Rats Philip Levin 2663 Where are you Going... Joyce Carol Oates 3043 America Allen Ginsberg Counting Small-Boned Bodies Robert Bly 2755 My Heart Frank O'Hara 2641 I am a Cowboy... Ishmael Reed 3056 Who Among You Knows... Garrett Hongo 2945 From a Survivor Adrienne Rich

Contemporary Literature

04/14 Discussion of stories. Homework: These are the stories we will be discussing next: The Conversion of the Jews by Philip Roth Cathedral by Raymond Carver and To Robby (go to this link: http://cf.linnbenton.edu/artcom/english/thornbs/upload/Our%20Time.pdf) and read page 2 beginning with "Stories are letters" and read to the bottom of the page. Homework: Select a piece of literature from your anthology and respond to it in a piece of art (any genre or medium including prose/music/photography/poetry/visual art/film/animation/comic etc.) Be prepared to present your piece to the class on April 24th. An example: I read Poppies by Sylvia Plath and produce a series of photographs taken at an abattoir (slaughterhouse) or or the Bluebird response in video that we watched in response to Bukowski or... you name it. THESE PIECES MUST BE READY ON TIME in order for me to be able to get them graded and allow for any extra time needed. On April 14th or 16th, please plan to let the class know what you will be presenting upon so that we might read it in advance of your presentation. This will be your final assignment for the course, so make it meaningful. (When you arrive in class on Wednesday, go up to the board and write the title, author, and page number.)

Contemporary Literature Readings

Reading Homework: Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin Scarlet Ibis by James Hearst White Angel by Michael Cunningham Everyday Use by Alice Walker The Conversion of the Jews by Phillip Roth 04/07-04/11 M: Discussion of Baldwin, Hearst and Cunningham W: Discussion of Roth & Walker Homework: Reading: The Beat Movement Introduction The Source Homework: Select a piece of literature from your anthology and respond to it in a piece of art (any genre or medium including prose/music/photography/poetry/visual art/film/animation/comic etc.) Be prepared to present your piece to the class, on the last week of April. Prior to that, by April 14, please plan to let us know what you will be presenting upon so that we might read it in advance of your presentation. This will be your final assignment for the course, so make it meaningful. 04/14-04/18 M Readings discussed W Readings discussed