Discuss with someone in class the following elements:

Arrangement
Title(s)
Theme(s)
Purpose(s)

Posted: April 28th, 2008 under daily notes, in-class activity.
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“The Sacred”
by Stephen Dunn

After the teacher asked if anyone had

a sacred place

and the students fidgeted and shrank

in their chairs, the most serious of them all
said it was his car,

being in it alone, his tape deck playing

things he’d chosen, and others knew the truth
had been spoken
and began speaking about their rooms,

their hiding places, but the car kept coming up,

the car in motion,

music filling it, and sometimes one other person

who understood the bright altar of the dashboard

and how far away

a car could take you from the need

to speak, or to answer, the key

in having a key

and putting it in, and going.

Posted: April 21st, 2008 under journal entry.
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A sacred place is a site that has a spiritual significance for a nation, a people, a community, or even an individual. Sacred places often inspire awe, mystery, and a reverential connection with a charismatic figure or with a key moment of history. Some sacred places are well known in major religions, such as the holy cities Mecca to Muslims, and Bethlehem to Christians. Some public sites become sacred to a community because they were the scene of an enormous catastrophe, such as the site of the destroyed World Trade Center or the battlefield at Gettysburg that Lincoln regarded as hollowed ground; or the scene of a great moral achievement, such as the site of Martin Luther King’s 1965 civil rights demonstration in Selma, Alabama.

One person’s sacred space may be far different from another’s–for example, one person may feel a sense of awe in visiting Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, while another may experience a similar emotion in visiting Emily Dickinson’s house in Amherst, Massachusetts. But sacred places need not be public sites. They can be places we privately consider sacred–where we go for solace, serenity, transcendence, or perhaps sheer isolation from the world.

Read Stephen Dunn’s “The Sacred.” And then think of your own sacred space, a place that has the beauty, and mystery of a poem. Perhaps it is a place where you achieved an epiphany. Describe your own sacred space(s). Why is this your sacred place? Have you ever photographed this place? What part of the sacred space would you photograph if you had to choose?

Posted: April 21st, 2008 under daily notes.
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MEMO
TO:DEVON FITZGERALD
FROM: GROUP MEMBERS
RE: UPDATE ON BOOK COVER

DATE: April 16, 2008

Description: Describe book cover, explain the various elements: image, text, color, font, any other details like blurbs, barcodes, etc. How did you decide on this design? Why this design? How do you think the design will make readers want to read the book? What themes from the text are you using in your design? BE SPECIFIC!

Group Dynamics: How has the collaborative effort worked? Were specific roles assigned to group members or did you collaborate on everything? Explain how this worked. In what ways have the group members contributed?

Process: Briefly describe the process of designing the book cover. Did you start with theme, with image, with color, with metaphor? Where did you go from there? How did you make your ideas come to life?

Other: Mention any particular challenges or successes you faced with this project. Or anything else you’d like me to know.

Posted: April 16th, 2008 under daily notes.
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Since I’m having trouble with my throat I’ll refer you to these instructions to keep the amount of speaking I do at a minimum.

In your book cover groups, create a mock-up of your book cover using the materials available to you. This mock up is a draft of your book cover and if you realize you don’t like certain elements or prefer a different layout, you will be able to make those changes for your final version due April 21.

You can use the printer to print certain images just be sure that when you go to print that you select the printer that reads like a website such as//cas.

These mock-ups will be turned in on Wednesday along with a MEMO you will write in class as a group.

Remember your Book Covers are Due Next Monday, April 21 2008.

Posted: April 14th, 2008 under in-class activity, multimedia in action.
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Please note: the collaborative project has changed! It is now known as the collaborative book cover project as you will be designing book covers for if on a winter’s night a traveler. See Collaborative Project for more details!

Groups so far: Christina, Jamey, Kevin, Katie
Megan, Sam, Victoria
Marcus, Keely
Robert, Chris, Ed
Jovana, Saoirse, Lorraine, Krista

Posted: March 31st, 2008 under daily notes, multimedia in action.
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Read through p. 102 at the least and if you can p. 160 for Monday’s discussion.

For Monday while you read:

Mark significant or interesting quotes and passages from either the frame story or the novel beginnings to add to the Passages post.

Make note of any inconsistencies, disappointments or successes and delights throughout the text.

Pay Attention to imagery, symbols, themes, etc. that seem to recur throughout the text.

Posted: March 26th, 2008 under homework, reminder, schedule.
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If on a winter’s night a traveller
Outside the town of Malbork
Leaning from the steep slope
Without fear of wind or vertigo
Looks down in the gathering shadow
In a network of lines that enlace
In a network of lines that intersect
On the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon
Around an empty grave
What story down there awaits its end?

For the sake of simplicity, let’s refer to each of these openings as a chapter. On the surface, each chapter seems completely different from all the other “chapters.” However, a closer look reveals that there are themes, ideas, symbols, imagery, etc. that recur from chapter to chapter. In other words, the chapters are not so different as they may first appear. As you continue to read think of the chapters relate to one another. Go beyond focusing on plot connections and concentrate on deeper connections. connections of ideas, symbols, themes, imagery, etc.

Posted: March 26th, 2008 under daily notes.
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• What are the functions of narrative framing in this text?
  
• What main ideas did the author seem to be trying to get across–through the use of narrative framing as well as other techniques?
  
• How can ideas discussed in our critical readings about framed narratives be brought to bear on this text?
• Besides issues of narrative framing, what other noteworthy aspects of the text’s structure did you notice–for example, its handling of temporality, perspective, setting, etc.?
  
• What patterns of imagery did you detect, and what functions do they seem to be serving?
  
• Were there details of the plot you couldn’t follow?  Were there inconsistencies (in the characters or setting) that threw you off?
• Were you disappointed in any sense by the work?  If so, why?  Or do you find the work to be successful or interesting in some ways, but not others?  Support your reaction by referring to specific features of the text.

Posted: March 26th, 2008 under in-class activity.
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Books You Haven’t Read

Books You Needn’t Read

 Books Made For Purposes Other Than Reading,

Books Read Even Before You Open Them Since They Belong To The Category Of Books Read Before Being Written

Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered

Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First

Books Too Expensive Now And You’ll Wait Till They’re Remaindered

 Books ditto When They Come Out In Paperback

Books You Can Borrow From Somebody

Books That Everybody’s Read So It’s As If You Had Read Them, Too

 Books You’ve Been Planning Top Read For Ages

 Books You’ve Been Hunting For Years Without Success

Books Dealing With Something You’re Working On At The Moment

 Books You Want To Own So They’ll Be Handy Just In Case

 Books You Could Put Aside Maybe To Read This Summer

 Books You Need To Go With Other Books On Your Shelves

 Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity, Not Easily Justified

Books Read Long Ago Which It’s Now Time To Reread 

Books You’ve Always Pretended To Have Read And Now It’s Time To Sit Down And Really Read Them

New Books Whose Author Or Subject Appeals To You

New Books by Authors Or On Subjects Not New (for you or in general) 

New Books By Authors Or On Subjects Completely Unknown (at least to you)

Posted: March 26th, 2008 under journal entry.
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