Working On Your Tan

Amy Tan is telling her stories to us once again in Year One classes. Above you see a picture from almost twenty years ago of Amy and her mother Daisy reading one of their precious letters from the daughters left behind in China. Sadly, Daisy died a year after Amy's The Hundred Secret Senses was published (1998). She has said of her mother that when she died, Amy lost her muse and her conscience. Much of her writing has been an attempt to discover who she is through her mother's stories. "My mother's many names were vestiges of her many selves, lives I have been excavating most of my adult life," Tan wrote in a New York Times essay concerning her dilemma. "What I know about myself is related to what I know about her, her secrets...and with each discovery I had to reconfigure the growing whole."

Perhaps in reading The Joy Luck Club, you will find your story as well. Remember that your second and fourth threads must be posted on your blog site by the dates given in class. Also be sure you and your partner(s) are ready to teach the stories you have been assigned. Perhaps we will discover more about our theme -- Who Am I, Anyway?
Here are some links I promised to post:

The Rock Bottom Remainders (the band Amy is in with other writers)
Amy Tan's Blog site
Amy Tan's official web site

Obesessed With Death?

As we come to the end of our study of the poet John Donne (I will refrain from saying we are done with Donne), we can begin to ponder the deeper truths he has revealed to us. Donne's poertry stays with you a long time, so I find it fitting that you will have a winter break to contemplate about this truly intellectual artist.

The picture to your left was commissioned by Donne a few months before his death. It was intended to represent how Donne expected to appear when he rose from the grave at the Apocalypse (or Compt, as Othello would call it). He hung the portrait on his wall as a reminder of the transience of life. We have his poetry hanging in the gallery of our minds to remind us of this transience as well.

We will be watching Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Wit in class this week as a way to see another view of Donne's work. Year Twos, you will be asked to address one of the following topics on your blog site after viewing the play. Please label your blog entry by the question you are addressing and be sure you reference the work. This will be due before the end of the year; I will be checking them in the warmth of my holidays home in Virginia.

* Defend Wit as a play that explores the thematic pattern of creation/fall/redemption.

* Analyze why Wit is the perfect title for this work.

* What does Vivian's dying teach her about life?

* Detail how Wit illustrates the meaning of John Donne's sonnet "Death, Be Not Proud."

* Explore the parallels between Vivian Bearing and E.M. Ashford with Jason Posner and Harvey Kelekian.

Welcome to an Old Friend

Here's a warning, students: after you leave Mr. Munson's class, your education is just beginning. Some past students have gone on to become English teachers as well. Ms. Cintra's class is now linked to our web page. Check out her classes and her students' postings through the link to the right. Good to have you back in my class, Susan!

What is Poetry?

Poetry is a hard thing to define. It almost seems that every time a poet writes his/her thoughts in poetic form, he/she is adding to the ongoing definition of the genre. Indeed, many poets write their definitions in the form of poems called ars poetica (or "the art of poetry"). When Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a Beat Poet, won the Frost Medal for his body of work, his speech was an ars poetica of sorts. Here it is for you to read:

http://www.poetrysociety.org/journal/articles/whatispoetry.html

Seniors, please read this ars poetica and find some (three or more) lines that resonant with you. This will become your first posting on your blog site. Tell what poetry is to you and refer to these lines. Read some others and respond. Juniors, feel free to join in on our discussion.

Tribute to Akhmatova

Sonia wrote in to tell me about the existence of this monument (top) commemorating Anna Akhmatova in front of the prison she stood in anguish in front of for seventeen months and wrote about in "Requiem." That's the prison above. The poem is a better monument to me, but this is pretty classy too.

Akhmatova is Everywhere

I, like all of you juniors, am discovering Anna Akhmatova's life and her poetry, and the Web is full of wonderful discoveries. This woman is considered one of Russia's four greatest poets. I think what inspires people the most about her is that she never abandoned Russia in all the turbulent times she lived through. Her poems were the encouragement people needed to press on despite overwhelming odds against them. The Akhmatova Project (logo above) is a theatrical production dedicated to spreading her artistic vision through theater. One writer put it this way:

“Anna Andreevna Akhmatova used poetry to give voice to the struggles and deepest yearnings of the Russian people, for whom she remains the greatest of literary heroines. She has lately come to symbolize for the world even beyond Russia the power of art to survive and transcend the terrors of our century.”

-- Judith Hemschemeyer, A Stranger to Heaven and Earth

How Can I Get More Out of What I Read?

"We can only possess what we experience. Truth, to be understood, must be lived."
-- Singer Charlie Peacock

I think studying literature is like anything else we do that is worthwhile -- we must practice the process. The problem with education (as well as with business) is that we justify shortcuts in order to get to the goal quicker, especially when the task is hard for us. Many students have trouble with literary analysis or commentaries because they believe that they cannot see what others see in a passage. What we fail to realize is that the actual process of getting the answer makes us a better scholar than actually being given the answer. With the internet, we can so easily find an interpretation of a poem or even go to "Shakespeare Made Easy" to help us get the commentary or reading response done, but it keeps us from actually learning how to figure it out for ourselves.

We may know the answer, but we don't possess it because we never worked for it. And when it comes time to show how well we can analyze literature, we feel stumped because we never made ourselves experience the intellectual tension of not understanding and then figuring it out on our own. That feels so successful unless you give up and let someone or something tell you the answer.

Bottom line: If IOPs and IOCs scare you because you are afraid you won't be able to do it, come in and just talk through the Akhmatova poetry or the Shakespeare passages with me so you can gain practice figuring it out. I'll ask you the questions, but I won't give you answers, or use the internet. I'll help you practice thinking for yourself.

And that's the Truth, but it can only be understood if you experience it.

Hero's Journeys, Fairy Tales, and Life!

"There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as as if they had never happened before."
-- Willa Cather

The juniors are discovering this truth through the study of fairy tales, while the seniors have realized it with their work with The Hero's Journey model this year. Whatever we study, the same pattern seems to be emerging. If the idea of the interconnectivity of text intrigues you, you may want to check out some of the resources at the Center for Story and Symbol. Both Year Ones and Year Twos will find something of interest among these scholarly articles. And best of all, this isn't some English teacher's website, it is for people interested in psychology and counseling.

http://www.folkstory.com/resources.html

Why Did We Study Fairy Tales, Mr. Munson?!!

Many of you were probably wondering why we took so much time studying fairy tales in IB English Year One class. I hope that after our viewing of Into the Woods and the subsequent essays you wrote, you can see more connections to literary analysis. Just in case you need a bit more convincing, here is an interview with Dr. Jack David Zipes, a professor of German at the University of Minnesota whose research, writings, and lectures on fairy tales has transformed what we currently believe about the power of the tales:

http://www.kiddiematinee.com/jack_zipes.html

I also include an article written by Jonathon Young on the way fairy tales shape our lives. He especially focuses on Hans Christian Anderson's Danish stories, so I couldn't resist it since my cultural heritage is Danish as well.

http://www.folkstory.com/articles/onceupon.html

"It takes care, it takes patience and fear and despair to change. Though you swear to change, who can tell if you do? It takes two."
The Baker from Into the Woods.

You Cannot Escape Othello's Influence

I am constantly finding connections to Othello in my life and the world. It just further confirms that the story is, indeed, Shakespeare's greatest tragedy (at least in my opinion). I wanted to share two interesting connections because of what you have studied. Here is a link to an outstanding youtube video where someone connected the images in the movie Equilibrium -- yes, the same one we studied last year with Fahrenheit 451! -- to Shakespeare's Othello. It is true they are not telling the same story at all, but the image of the red ribbon replacing the handkerchief is great. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hV80CtK-bw

Also, you will find a fascinating essay equating Othello to the U.S., Iago to George Bush, and Iraq as the tragedy at the following blogsite:

http://rmadisonj.blogspot.com/2007/05/america-as-othello.html

When we are able to make connections beyond the text, we make everything more meaningful. And we fulfill Shakespeare's own request when he wrote about the power of the written word:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
"Sonnet XVIII"

Saying Goodbye to Mango Street

To the right you will see the real live Esperanza -- Sandra Cisneros -- and a typical view of what Mango Street looks like today. It is hard for us to say goodbye to Mango Street, just as it was for Esperanza to in the book, but your IOPs on the novel will help to keep The House on Mango Street alive for us.
I want to express my appreciation for how well you did as we went through this novel. You were intuitive and insightful and made Marin, Nenny, Elenita, Darius, and even Geraldo come alive for me. This was the first time I have had the pleasure of teaching The House on Mango Street, and I am sure I will be returning again in the future.
I would like to encourage you to drop a note to Ms. Cisneros if you were impacted by the time you spent on Mango Street. We are fortunate that one of the works we study this year is by a living author. You can leave a message for her at her website: http://www.sandracisneros.com/
Adios, Esperanza!

Anna Akhmatova and Her Times

As we study the poetry of Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, you may want to get to know the woman behind the poetry. Her verses reflect a quiet kind of strength that was able to survive the turbulent times she lived in. To study her poetry is to get a glimpse back in time to a gifted writer reacting from the heart to the atrocities around her.

Check out some further information on her, as well as video and audio file links at
www.jazzkeyboard.com/jill/akhmatova/