BB "Radio Station, Jealousy, & Writer's Block"

I found the chapter about KFKD really helpful. I tend to fall prey to the voices in my head, especially the negative ones. It really can kill your self-esteem if you let that happen to often. I always try to shout out those voices but it truly is easier said than done. I do plan to try her technique about following your breathing though. Hopefully it will be of some use to me.

I could relate to the section on jealousy as well. Although it doesn't really apply all that much to this class, her tips are useful for life in general. That's what I love about this book; its main focus is on writing but she gives you all of this advice about life at the same time. I'm trying to take all of her messages to heart.

I liked the chapter on writer's block the most. The best advice that she gives is "to live as if I am dying." I think that is definitely one of the best ways to go through life. Viewing your life like that gives you the opportunity to truly appreciate everything and everyone around you. You really come to value everything that life has to offer. I really wish that I could put this idea into practice; I always seem to get too caught up in the small, pointless things of life.

Web Articles

First of all, let me just say that I honestly have no idea what's going on in Lyotard's article. I read it through twice and still can't really grasp what exactly he's getting at. Luckily, I did fare better with the O'Hara article. Firstly, I liked his way of writing and word choice. It is common language but it still flows well and sounds intelligent. I also liked his message regarding poetry. You write poetry for yourself or maybe for that "special someone" or whoever. You don't write it for the general public or to try to send a message to society or something. That's not the purpose of poetry: it's supposed to be personal. When it comes to "personism" I was a bit confused about what exactly he meant but I think he was trying to get at the idea that poetry should avoid the abstract. Personism allows you to write specifically to someone rather than an abstract concept or idea. At least, that's what I got out of his manifesto.

MS - "keeping close to home"

I found this essay a bit long-winded at times. Some of her sentences are so long that you have to refer back to the first part in order to remember what she's discussing. Besides that issue, I thought this piece was a bit interesting. It was intriguing to see life, especially college life, from the perspective of a black woman. Varying points of view on topics such as assimilation and the perpetuation of racism aren't typically shown in high school classrooms. I've always liked discussing various topics and issues from several viewpoints. It expands your own way of thinking and helps define who you are and where you're coming from. For instance, I had never consciously realized how tiny items, like footnotes, can radically change the apparent audience and tone of one's writing. The idea that footnotes makes a piece of writing more "academic" has always been there in my mind but I never actually thought about how that idea affects my viewpoint. I guess, in the end, I like the semi-philosophical message of her essay.

MS (537-544) - "From a Native Daughter"

This was a very intriguing essay especially since I'm such a lover of history. This may sound somewhat odd but I actually felt a bit ashamed after reading it. I'd never realized how ignorant historians can be. I know that their goal isn't to neglect a group of people, but seeing Trask's story is heartbreaking at least from a historical perspective. To blatantly avoid capturing the true nature of the Hawaiians is horrible and inexcusable. I'm sure her story isn't limited only to Hawaii. I'm willing to guarantee that people from other colonized nations have similar stories to tell. Although most of the blame in Trask's case can be placed on the white Western historians, I think that her criticisms of historians in general can refer to all oppressor nations and cultures. History is always told by the conquerors and winners. Thus, the "real" story and history may never be told. Her essay really shed light on the issues that I may have to deal with and overcome later on in my career. Her story has definitely made a lasting impact on me.

MS - Rodriguez

I actually found this essay really fascinating. Plus, I believe it's really important to understand his ideas right now with all of the problems with immigration from Mexico and such. I think the main reason why I like his essay so much is that I have a quite a few friends who are multi-racial. They've told me about how they struggle to find a term or name for themselves. I also totally agree with Rodriguez's statement about how America is no longer simply a black and white situation. We have so many different races and ethnicities but no one seems to want to realize that or deal with the situation. I'm one of the people that he mentioned who say that immigrants represent "true" Americans who really demonstrate what being American actually means. I guess I'm one of the romantics when it comes to America and its history of immigration. In the end, I think all Americans should learn and discuss the ideas that Rodriguez talks about in this essay. It's important for all of us to understand how our nation is changing and how we can accept that change.

BB (97-109)

"Looking Around"

Lamott states that in order to be a good writer you need to be able to view the world around you as if you were an outsider looking in. I think that's the best way to be objective and really grasp and understand what's happening around you. I sometimes find myself doing just that while I'm doing something monotonous. I look around and try to see myself and those near me through someone else's eyes. It's kind of a trippy sort of experience. It gives you a completely different perspective on people and the world and can easily be the jumping off point for writing.

"Moral Point of View"

In this chapter Lamott discusses how you really need to be passionate about what you're writing in order to get any "truth" or moral idea across to the reader. This relates to my previous post about the quote in Sommers' essay. Lamott states how "truth doesn't come out in bumper stickers." It takes much more than a few words or sentences to fully capture the truth. That's very similar to what I was talking about in that blog. I also thought it was interesting when she brought up how people tend to find the "bad guys" much more fascinating than the typical good guy. I totally agree. I'd much prefer to analyze a bad guy's actions than a good guy's.

A Selection from the Sommers Essay

"And the answers they do reveal themselves to me at the most unexpected times. I have been led astray more than once while searching books for the truth."

This short passage caught my attention when I first read it but I was totally unsure as to why I found it so interesting at first glance. Then I began to realize that I can relate to these two statements. I, like Sommers, had once held the belief that books always contain the truth; it just takes time for you to find it. Now I understand that books are only the gateway to truth. The author may state their own personal idea of the truth, in a sense their truth, but finding the real truth means creating your own. Now I'm not talking about basic facts in an encyclopedia or something. I'm talking about the truth regarding reality and the beliefs and convictions we hold dear. I think that's what Sommers is getting at as well. There's not going to be a book out there that has all of the answers laid out right at your fingertips. It takes some serious thinking and analyzing to get to your own personal truth. The book may have little bits of "the truth" scattered here and there but it's your job to connect them and make sense of it all. And it's not as if you suddenly have an eureka moment after pondering your truth for a little while. Your answer, aka your truth, will come when you least expect it. You'll be doing something completely random some day and then it will slowly dawn on you. And I don't think it will come all at once either. Slowly over time you'll discover little tidbits and pieces about what you truly believe deep in your soul and how you actually view and judge your world. That is the truth that Sommers refers to. The only way you can achieve that personal truth is by using books as a starting point, not an endpoint.

MS (453-462) "I Stand Here Writing"

"Being academic does not mean being remote, distant, imponderable." This is the best quote from Sommers' essay. I think that it's a very important idea that every student should thoroughly understand. It seems that I've always been taught to keep myself completely out of my paper. My "voice" should appear but my opinions and thoughts regarding the topic should be totally invisible. It's refreshing to hear that being academic in a paper doesn't mean you have to be 100% distant. I also like how she states that you should become your own personal source. You don't have to take every single one of your ideas from someone else's mouth. I've never looked at myself in that way while I'm writing.