In the poem Carrie by Ted Kooser the poet takes a common item like dust and uses it's symbolism in an unexpected way. The poem opens with " 'There's never an end to dust / and dusting,' my aunt would say" (Kooser 1,2). But the last lines of the poem is where the symbolism really grabs you; "like a branch in a storm. Now dust / is her hands and dust her heart. / There is never an end to it." (Kooser, 9-11). With these words dust goes from a minor annoyance to something a little more funereal. Suddenly we aren't simply talking about dust anymore.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Summer
Summer by Timothy Steele
Voluptuous in plenty, summer is
Neglectful of the earnest ones who've sought her.
She best resides with with what she images:
Lakes windless with profound sun-shafted water;
Dense orchards in which high-grassed heat grows thick;
The one-lane country road where, on his knees,
A boy initials soft tar with a stick;
Slow creeks which bear flecked light through depths of trees.
And he alone is summer's who relents
In his poor enterprisings; who can sense
In alleys petal-blown, the wealth of chance;
Or can,supine in a deep meadow, pass
Warm hours beneath a moving sky's expanse,
Chewing the sweetness from long stalks of grass.
Paraphrase:
Delightfully full of enjoyment is the summer, It gives no heed go those who have waited for summertime. It is best to leave her with the things that define her, deep smooth lakes with sunlight refracting off the surface, trees heavy with fruit, in tall grass, and heat. A narrow country road with a boy drawing his initials in the tar on the roadway, and creeks flowing through the trees, dappled with sun.
A man only belongs fully to summer when he stops resisting, in all of his work and plants, and can see in the flower strewn areas all the possibilities. Or can lay back in the tall grass for hours, enjoying the heat and watching the sky while nibbling on the soft ends of the tall grass stems.
Voluptuous in plenty, summer is
Neglectful of the earnest ones who've sought her.
She best resides with with what she images:
Lakes windless with profound sun-shafted water;
Dense orchards in which high-grassed heat grows thick;
The one-lane country road where, on his knees,
A boy initials soft tar with a stick;
Slow creeks which bear flecked light through depths of trees.
And he alone is summer's who relents
In his poor enterprisings; who can sense
In alleys petal-blown, the wealth of chance;
Or can,supine in a deep meadow, pass
Warm hours beneath a moving sky's expanse,
Chewing the sweetness from long stalks of grass.
Paraphrase:
Delightfully full of enjoyment is the summer, It gives no heed go those who have waited for summertime. It is best to leave her with the things that define her, deep smooth lakes with sunlight refracting off the surface, trees heavy with fruit, in tall grass, and heat. A narrow country road with a boy drawing his initials in the tar on the roadway, and creeks flowing through the trees, dappled with sun.
A man only belongs fully to summer when he stops resisting, in all of his work and plants, and can see in the flower strewn areas all the possibilities. Or can lay back in the tall grass for hours, enjoying the heat and watching the sky while nibbling on the soft ends of the tall grass stems.
We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die Soon
I chose to use the whole poem because of its brevity and the power of the whole poem. It would have been difficult to just choose a few lines. This poem appealed to me because of the subject and the rhythm that is used to give you a feel for these young men. The opening of the poem as well as further background information gleaned from an interview with the poet tells us that this poem was inspired by young men at the pool hall. The cadence of the poem represents their 'cool' way of talking. The use of We at the end of every line demonstrates their group identification. It reminds me of the t-shirt saying "Remember you're unique...just like everybody else". These young men were hanging out trying to be cool and part of the cool group. The absence of the We at the end of the final line adds power to those last two words. They just hang there in the air, menacingly.
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die Soon
I chose to use the whole poem because of its brevity and the power of the whole poem. It would have been difficult to just choose a few lines. This poem appealed to me because of the subject and the rhythm that is used to give you a feel for these young men. The opening of the poem as well as further background information gleaned from an interview with the poet tells us that this poem was inspired by young men at the pool hall. The cadence of the poem represents their 'cool' way of talking. The use of We at the end of every line demonstrates their group identification. It reminds me of the t-shirt saying "Remember you're unique...just like everybody else". These young men were hanging out trying to be cool and part of the cool group. The absence of the We at the end of the final line adds power to those last two words. They just hang there in the air, menacingly.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Boxer
In the clearing stands a boxerThis is part of the song entitled the boxer, written by Paul Simon and performed by him and Art Garfunkel as Simon and Garfunkel. In the lyrics we see that the boxer is claiming he is leaving but he still remains. I think a lot of us have reached a point where we say "I quit" and "I am not doing this anymore" but yet we keep doing it, mostly because it IS who we are. I often times help people out and have often been taken advantage of, even stolen from, and sometimes I think that I am done being helpful. I decide that I will develop more of a cynical outlook and stop trying to make things better for other people. The truth remains that it is an ingrained part of my behavior and I cannot stop doing it. Paul Simon wrote that this was a largely biographical song and that this part was in response to all the criticism he and Garfunkel had been receiving and how it made him want to give up. When Dylan covered the song he replaced the word glove with the word blow, but I feel the original version is better. I like that the word glove is being used to represent the people behind the blows, it is a more meaningful way to express it. I have always liked the line that "he carries the reminders of ev'ry glove that layed him down", this idea that we carry with us reminders of the things that hurt us is compelling and true. I have loved this song since I was a young angsty teenager, but I feel like it speaks more to me now that I am a person who has experienced the ups and downs of life.
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev'ry glove that layed him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains (Simon)
Milking Time
Our family has produced our own milk for about 18 years now, first with goats and adding cows about 14 years ago. I rarely do the milking anymore as my children have taken over those chores. When I do, however, it still feels sacred. The ancient contract between animal and human, conducted in the early morning quiet of the barn. It is from this that I wrote the following Haiku
The Barn is quiet
Interrupted by the milk
Filling the bucket
Not Waving but Drowning
Stevie Smith
Not Waving but Drowning
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way
They said.
Oh, no, no, no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning
Paraphrase:
Not Waving but Drowning
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way
They said.
Oh, no, no, no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning
Paraphrase:
Here the author is simply stating that no one heard the man
die, they were not paying attention.
Even though no one heard him he was still moaning, the inattention of
the others did not change the fact of his death. You get the imagery that he was out in the
ocean perhaps, and further from shore than the others realized, and when they
thought he was waving at them he was really drowning.
The others are feel bad, however the wording shows somewhat
of a dismissive attitude, “poor chap” , rather than sorrow. They note that he was always being childish
and careless, goofing around, and now he has died as a result. The death is then blamed on the cold water causing
his heart to give out. They are
disassociating themselves from his death, blaming it on his own foolishness and
the coldness of the water, taking no responsibility for their inattention to
his attempts to get help.
The dead man responds that it had always been too cold. This
draws a line between the imagery of drowning and the reality of the dead man’s
existing. He is still moaning, even
though he is dead, trying to get his meaning across to the others even through
his death. He indicates that he had
spent his whole life adrift ‘too far out’ and that all of his ‘larking’
foolishness was really an indication that he needed help, not true exuberance.
This poem is really chilling. I have known many a ‘clown’ whose silliness
and good humor were really covering a lot of pain and loneliness. I actually think this is the norm rather than
the exception for funny people. Reading
biographies of comedians has shown me this is true even among professional
funny people.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Reading aloud to children.
Today I want to talk about an issue that is of particular importance to me. I believe that one of the most important things parents can do for their children is to read aloud to them. Not just when they are toddlers, but up through their teenage years. Thankfully I discovered and cultivated this habit when my older children were young and realized the power of it. Recently though, with the extra work of my studies and the decline of my husbands health, I realized I had not read a full book to my children in more than a year. Out came our giant compilation of the Narnia books and we have once again discovered the joy of reading aloud.
In the book Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children by William F. Russell, the author opens the book with this sentence; "Reading to your children may be the single, most powerful contribution that you, as a parent, can make toward their success in school." (Russell, 3) I agree with Russell and would go one step further in that it contributes not only to scholastic success, but to success in life in general. Being read to from an early age helps children to have a good command of the language which lends to success in academics. The greater comprehension of words will assist in every subject, even math (word problems!). Russell went on to say "It is only when children enjoy reading...that they pursue their studies with vigor." (Russell, 3) As I mentioned, I have made a habit of reading to my children, almost daily, for most of their childhoods, and all of my children are good students.
Reading aloud to children helps to instill the habit and desire to read themselves. Aristotle said " Good habits formed at youth make all the difference."
Exposure to the great stories of literature will ignite in children the joy of finding adventure between the pages of a book. This is especially important in this day of children being flooded by electronic media/entertainment. My children have held their breath during the battle of Narnia, cried when Jack the bulldog dies, and laughed at the antics of Meg, Amy, Beth, and Jo. We spent a year with Miss Agness, hooted over the antics of Henry Huggins, and cried for mercy with tears streaming down our faces while reading any book by Patrick McManus. We also have delved into non-fiction, reading about war torn Liberia in "Where the Children Cry", and learning about founding fathers through some well written biographies. We also read poems from the great poets like Frost, Browning, Barret, Guest, and Silverstein. These shared experiences have tied strings of fellowship and friendship in our family.
The practice of reading out loud will replicate itself. Over the years I have seen my girls take turns reading out loud to one another while the others do the dishes. They also read in the evenings to their brothers, Harry Potter and the Little House series being the most recent. I have also heard my older boys, 9 and 7, reading to their little brother (5). I feel gratified that this practice will continue on to the next generation. I have repeatedly said to my children, "Readers are leaders" and I hope my children step up and be leaders in the next generation, and I hope that their experiences reading will influence the way they lead.
Here is a picture of Aaron, my 9 year old, reading while I was writing this blog.
This is a candid shot but I do have to add a small disclaimer, in my house I have begun trading reading time for time playing the Wii. I have an aversion to video games but finally gave in and bought a wii, and in order to offset my guilt about the gaming I have tried to use it to bribe them to read more. So he is not entirely reading of his own volition, but to earn time to play tonight, the choice of title and subject are his alone. This one is an encyclopedia on history and science I picked up at B&N on the clearance table.
I hope this blog has inspired you to read aloud to children, not just in their preschool years but throughout their childhood. It is a gratifying experience and good for everyone.
Suggested books to get you started:
Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children by William F. Russell
The Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary (actually ANYTHING by this author)
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott ( the movie adaptation is a good follow up)
The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling
The Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis
For young children the Poetry of Shel Silverstien is a must read!
***When looking for good books the Newberry Award winners are a great place to start.
In the book Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children by William F. Russell, the author opens the book with this sentence; "Reading to your children may be the single, most powerful contribution that you, as a parent, can make toward their success in school." (Russell, 3) I agree with Russell and would go one step further in that it contributes not only to scholastic success, but to success in life in general. Being read to from an early age helps children to have a good command of the language which lends to success in academics. The greater comprehension of words will assist in every subject, even math (word problems!). Russell went on to say "It is only when children enjoy reading...that they pursue their studies with vigor." (Russell, 3) As I mentioned, I have made a habit of reading to my children, almost daily, for most of their childhoods, and all of my children are good students.
Reading aloud to children helps to instill the habit and desire to read themselves. Aristotle said " Good habits formed at youth make all the difference."
"Studies have shown that the one common factor found in all the children who learned to read without being formally taught how was not high I.Q., not high family income, not parents who had college degrees, the one factor was that all these children were read to by their parents regularly, frequently, and from whatever materials happened to be at hand-newspapers, road signs, even packing labels." (Russell, 4)I had an experience with this with my oldest child, now 18. Christen was 4 when I realized she could read AND write. I was dealing with the proprietor of an art gallery on the sale of some of my husbands furniture and I had my daughter coloring on a nearby table. She asked how to spell "I love you mom" so I rattled it off rapid fire. A few minutes later she asked how to spell "this is a dog" and again I rattled it off, believing she was pretending to write. When my dealings with the gallery owner were concluded and I went to collect my child, she handed me a drawing with those words scrawled across the paper. She had been asking to learn to read for almost a year, but I had been putting her off because I was busy with home schooling my step children and starting our furniture business, but through her attendance while I was teaching the older kids and our nightly reading, she taught herself. I learned a lot of powerful lessons that day!
Exposure to the great stories of literature will ignite in children the joy of finding adventure between the pages of a book. This is especially important in this day of children being flooded by electronic media/entertainment. My children have held their breath during the battle of Narnia, cried when Jack the bulldog dies, and laughed at the antics of Meg, Amy, Beth, and Jo. We spent a year with Miss Agness, hooted over the antics of Henry Huggins, and cried for mercy with tears streaming down our faces while reading any book by Patrick McManus. We also have delved into non-fiction, reading about war torn Liberia in "Where the Children Cry", and learning about founding fathers through some well written biographies. We also read poems from the great poets like Frost, Browning, Barret, Guest, and Silverstein. These shared experiences have tied strings of fellowship and friendship in our family.
The practice of reading out loud will replicate itself. Over the years I have seen my girls take turns reading out loud to one another while the others do the dishes. They also read in the evenings to their brothers, Harry Potter and the Little House series being the most recent. I have also heard my older boys, 9 and 7, reading to their little brother (5). I feel gratified that this practice will continue on to the next generation. I have repeatedly said to my children, "Readers are leaders" and I hope my children step up and be leaders in the next generation, and I hope that their experiences reading will influence the way they lead.
Here is a picture of Aaron, my 9 year old, reading while I was writing this blog.
This is a candid shot but I do have to add a small disclaimer, in my house I have begun trading reading time for time playing the Wii. I have an aversion to video games but finally gave in and bought a wii, and in order to offset my guilt about the gaming I have tried to use it to bribe them to read more. So he is not entirely reading of his own volition, but to earn time to play tonight, the choice of title and subject are his alone. This one is an encyclopedia on history and science I picked up at B&N on the clearance table.
I hope this blog has inspired you to read aloud to children, not just in their preschool years but throughout their childhood. It is a gratifying experience and good for everyone.
Suggested books to get you started:
Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children by William F. Russell
The Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary (actually ANYTHING by this author)
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott ( the movie adaptation is a good follow up)
The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling
The Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis
For young children the Poetry of Shel Silverstien is a must read!
***When looking for good books the Newberry Award winners are a great place to start.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Ravages made by generosity added to love
"When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love" (O. Henry The Gift of the Magi, 167)
I enjoyed the tale told in The Gift of the Magi. A story of sacrifice for love, even if it was somewhat ill fated, always makes a touching read. In the brief biographical information preceding the story Kennedy states "O. Henry is more likely now to be invoked in negative terms, for his sentimentality..." (Kennedy, 135) I find it unfortunate that we have become so jaded and cynical that we find sentimentality a bad thing. Many of the stories we have read thus far explore the dark sides of human nature. Fascinating and true to life but also dark. I feel that the reading palate needs variety as much as the physical, so I enjoy a good sentimental yarn now and again. These words evoke the emotion behind what Della had done, "generosity added to love", defines her motivation in cutting off her hair. The act is surely reminiscent of Jo March cutting and selling her hair in "Little Women" written just 38 years before "The Gift of the Magi". Henry's description of the couple's poverty is kept from being depressing by the idealism of both Della and Jim. About 7 years ago I was walking around with hair past my waist. It had taken me almost 7 years to grow it that long. I had cared for it carefully, did not overly heat style it, never colored it, and wouldn't even brush it wet for fear of breaking it. My hair was one of my best features, I felt. I was inspired by a young girl with cancer to cut it off and donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that uses human hair to make wigs for cancer patients. Cutting that 18 inches of hair was hard, it represented so much of my time and effort, and to me it was one of the most 'feminine' things about me. rI identified with Della's feelings of sentimentality towards her hair and her worry that her husband wouldn't think she was pretty without it. I loved the way that O. Henry, in two sentences, shows you the two sides of her emotions, happiness over acquiring her husband such a perfect Christmas gift, and the sorrow over the loss of her hair. I also loved the way Henry sums it up in the end; "And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house." (Henry, 168) I imagine these two as old folks, settled in life, still reminiscing about the Christmas they sold their greatest treasures to unknowingly buy gifts that would have no use for their recipient. And I bet they both still cherished those gifts. Bring on the sweet sentimental tales to balance the darkness of life and literature. All of this has given me a great desire to go watch "Princess Bride" just to marinade in the sentimentality!!
I enjoyed the tale told in The Gift of the Magi. A story of sacrifice for love, even if it was somewhat ill fated, always makes a touching read. In the brief biographical information preceding the story Kennedy states "O. Henry is more likely now to be invoked in negative terms, for his sentimentality..." (Kennedy, 135) I find it unfortunate that we have become so jaded and cynical that we find sentimentality a bad thing. Many of the stories we have read thus far explore the dark sides of human nature. Fascinating and true to life but also dark. I feel that the reading palate needs variety as much as the physical, so I enjoy a good sentimental yarn now and again. These words evoke the emotion behind what Della had done, "generosity added to love", defines her motivation in cutting off her hair. The act is surely reminiscent of Jo March cutting and selling her hair in "Little Women" written just 38 years before "The Gift of the Magi". Henry's description of the couple's poverty is kept from being depressing by the idealism of both Della and Jim. About 7 years ago I was walking around with hair past my waist. It had taken me almost 7 years to grow it that long. I had cared for it carefully, did not overly heat style it, never colored it, and wouldn't even brush it wet for fear of breaking it. My hair was one of my best features, I felt. I was inspired by a young girl with cancer to cut it off and donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that uses human hair to make wigs for cancer patients. Cutting that 18 inches of hair was hard, it represented so much of my time and effort, and to me it was one of the most 'feminine' things about me. rI identified with Della's feelings of sentimentality towards her hair and her worry that her husband wouldn't think she was pretty without it. I loved the way that O. Henry, in two sentences, shows you the two sides of her emotions, happiness over acquiring her husband such a perfect Christmas gift, and the sorrow over the loss of her hair. I also loved the way Henry sums it up in the end; "And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house." (Henry, 168) I imagine these two as old folks, settled in life, still reminiscing about the Christmas they sold their greatest treasures to unknowingly buy gifts that would have no use for their recipient. And I bet they both still cherished those gifts. Bring on the sweet sentimental tales to balance the darkness of life and literature. All of this has given me a great desire to go watch "Princess Bride" just to marinade in the sentimentality!!
Monday, July 9, 2012
E-book v.s Electronic
There has been alot of debate between e-reader fans and traditional book fans. I would like to use this post to weigh in on my opinion. Now, I have a book addiction, seriously. I love books, have always loved books, if their was an "AA" for book people I would probably be forced to join by a family intervention. I don't see this as a problem, but occasionally my budget groans in protest. When I purchased an Android phone about a year ago, I delved into the world of e-books. Over the past year I have bought hundreds of e-books, and for my birthday this year my kids finally bought me a Kindle.
First for the negatives of e-reading: I learned early on that buying non-fiction, informational books in electronic format is not satisfying for me. The e-books of that type are now on my to buy list for a traditional book copy. The reasons are; first I like to write in and dog ear informational books. I add my own ideas, and information about the subject in the margin, or underline information I want to find easily. Even with the highlighting and note applications for Kindle they cannot match the ease of doing it for real in a real book. I tend to loan non-fiction books more than novels and doing so on an e-reader is either impossible or difficult. I am known as a lending library to my friends and neighbors and buying on e-book makes me less useful, and I like being useful. Lastly, and perhaps most shallowly, I like to LOOK at all my books, stacked and lined up on shelves, it makes me happy. It is similar to the feeling I get in the fall when my basement is brimming with home canned foods, and baskets overflowing with produce saved for winter, or my freezers full of meat. Also my Android Kindle and Kindle Fire are both backlit so I do get eye strain after a few hours, which can seriously cramp my style.
On the positive side e-books are perfect in my opinion for novels. I rarely reread novels, used to be that I would buy them, read them, and then trade them at a local used bookstore for more reading material. Living so far from town made that difficult and spending a few days to a week without a novel is enough to give me D.T.s. My Kindle allows me to have instant gratification which is important for an addict like me. I also like the fact that I do not have to endure ribbing for my choice of reading material if I am reading a romance novel. Yes, I proudly admit to reading romance, and even following a couple of blogs about romance. My life sucks a lot of the time, with a critically ill husband for the last 13 years and a severely autistic son, and a well-written (they do exist) romance novel is the perfect escape for me. I have endured everything from good-natured humor to being accused of consuming 'female porn' so the anonymity of e-books is a relief. Finally the portability of e-books is appealing to me, when heading to the family reunion I can pre-load my devices with several books and it fits easily into my suitcase. I will say that I prefer using my Android then my Kindle because the Kindle is too large to hold one handed and is somewhat awkward for in-bed reading. I buy several books a week and read them on my devices and find it a very good way of aquiring and consuming fiction Some of the books, if they are exceptional make it on my to buy list for a real copy, but not many.
I do not believe that electronic books will ever totally eliminate the old fashioned variety, but I feel those who read and those who write books should not totally ignore this new technology.
First for the negatives of e-reading: I learned early on that buying non-fiction, informational books in electronic format is not satisfying for me. The e-books of that type are now on my to buy list for a traditional book copy. The reasons are; first I like to write in and dog ear informational books. I add my own ideas, and information about the subject in the margin, or underline information I want to find easily. Even with the highlighting and note applications for Kindle they cannot match the ease of doing it for real in a real book. I tend to loan non-fiction books more than novels and doing so on an e-reader is either impossible or difficult. I am known as a lending library to my friends and neighbors and buying on e-book makes me less useful, and I like being useful. Lastly, and perhaps most shallowly, I like to LOOK at all my books, stacked and lined up on shelves, it makes me happy. It is similar to the feeling I get in the fall when my basement is brimming with home canned foods, and baskets overflowing with produce saved for winter, or my freezers full of meat. Also my Android Kindle and Kindle Fire are both backlit so I do get eye strain after a few hours, which can seriously cramp my style.
On the positive side e-books are perfect in my opinion for novels. I rarely reread novels, used to be that I would buy them, read them, and then trade them at a local used bookstore for more reading material. Living so far from town made that difficult and spending a few days to a week without a novel is enough to give me D.T.s. My Kindle allows me to have instant gratification which is important for an addict like me. I also like the fact that I do not have to endure ribbing for my choice of reading material if I am reading a romance novel. Yes, I proudly admit to reading romance, and even following a couple of blogs about romance. My life sucks a lot of the time, with a critically ill husband for the last 13 years and a severely autistic son, and a well-written (they do exist) romance novel is the perfect escape for me. I have endured everything from good-natured humor to being accused of consuming 'female porn' so the anonymity of e-books is a relief. Finally the portability of e-books is appealing to me, when heading to the family reunion I can pre-load my devices with several books and it fits easily into my suitcase. I will say that I prefer using my Android then my Kindle because the Kindle is too large to hold one handed and is somewhat awkward for in-bed reading. I buy several books a week and read them on my devices and find it a very good way of aquiring and consuming fiction Some of the books, if they are exceptional make it on my to buy list for a real copy, but not many.
I do not believe that electronic books will ever totally eliminate the old fashioned variety, but I feel those who read and those who write books should not totally ignore this new technology.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Miss Brill
One of the reasons I really enjoyed "Miss Brill" is because of the vibrant way that Katherine Mansfield writes. One such example is; "And sometimes a tiny staggerer came suddenly rocking into the open from under the trees, stopped, stared, as suddenly sat down "flop," until it's small high-stepping mother, like a young hen, rushed scolding to it's rescue." (Mansfield 85) Her descriptions put you right in the scene, and the mood here is ordinary in a happy way, but later in the story her vivid descriptions change the mood; "But today she passed the baker's boy, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room-her room like a cupboard- and sat down on the red eiderdown." (Mansfield 87) with these words she changes the sunny, active scene into a dark, closed, depressing scene. Her wordcraft is excellent.
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