Skim

I definitely look at the pictures first and then read the text, probably because the images are the first things to catch my eye. Although while reading Skim i found that I had to look at the pictures read the text and then look again to avoid getting confused.

I don't think graphic novels are a better expressive medium than novels, I find novels tell you more and leave the images to your imagination, I like that about novels. I guess an advantage for Skim would be that it kind of takes away the guess work because it shows you, within the images what you're supposed to be seeing, whereas in novels you have to think harder and imagine what the scene would look like. But that can also be an advantage towards novels, I guess it depends on the person.

-Jenn Sacco

Skim

I don't know if graphic novels are a BETTER expressive medium, but I definitely enjoy them for the depth that the artwork adds to the text. My interest lies in the subtleties of the drawings - most of the time, the pictures don't directly depict the accompanying text. The art definitely provides a subtext - and so you can be reading two stories at the same time (what is being said and what is not being said, but shown). For example, when Skim is talking about her parents at the beginning of the novel, there's a panel with an upside-down mug that says "World's greatest mom" - which seems an ironic commentary.

As an aside: I read Paul Auster's City of Glass years ago and recently read the graphic novel version of it - it is amazing how much the drawing draw out the themes of the novel.

I also don't really liken reading Skim to watching a movie, because with a graphic novel, you can always flip back to the last page, or choose to spend more time on one panel than another. In that way, I think the graphic novel engages me more actively than a movie. It's an interaction.

I also had a question for people: do you read the text first or look at the pictures? I tend to read the text first and skim (no pun intended) the pictures and often have to read a graphic novel again, paying closer attention to the art.

Being a fan of graphic novels I was really excited to see “Skim” on the course syllabus. Generally I don’t think that graphic novels are taken as seriously as they should be but I think they provide a very different yet equally artistically valid reading experience in contrast to poetry or novels. I almost liken reading “Skim” to watching a movie rather than reading a book because the drawings have a cinematic quality yet they are quite subtle as well. The dialogue is understandably a lot sparser than a traditional novel but that does not mean that the book lacks content whatsoever. A lot of the emotional content is expressed in the panels which have no dialogue; that’s where a lot of the character Skim’s personality is revealed. I liked that a lot of the panels had a non-linear quality, you couldn’t exactly tell which panel you were supposed to read next so it was kind of like you were privy to Skim’s thoughts as they form and appear. I think “Skim” does an excellent job of capturing the kind of friendships teenage girls have with one another as well as conveying what it’s like to be the ‘weird girl’/underdog in the occasionally hellish society of high school in a very poignant way.

Do you think graphic novels are a better expressive medium than novels? What do you think are the advantages or disadvantages to this type of medium?

Group work - Jorie Graham

Group members - Lauren Baggett, Isabelle Chang, Linda Doan, Kristina Mahler and Melany Zerbino

Our group chose to discuss Jorie Graham’s “Prayer”. Initially we discussed the meaning of the title and the way it invokes the issue of faith in the poem however the group agreed that the role of faith in this poem is devoid of religious connotation. The figure in the poem is watching minnows in motion and they are acting on some unseen motivation that exists within them; it is sort of a mystery to the spectator. The minnows are exhibiting a force which cannot be put into words; there is something intangible at work in the world which is felt by the figure. The poem deals with freedom and the freedom one experiences when realizing you are part of something larger and this realization requires faith in oneself and the world. However, the notion of freedom and the image of the fish acting as one being contradict one another. The second part of the poem is paradoxical to the first; the last line of the poem “It is a ghost posed on my lips. Here:never.” suggests a lack of agency and that the speaker is free and yet restricted in their choice. The figure in the poem is restricted in their speech and does not speak aloud in the poem; however the reader is seemingly privy to their internal realizations. We related this to a statement in Graham’s poetic statement which reads “it is not because language has failed the author, it seems to me, but but because the human speaker has reached the point where the action of mind takes place in silence” (147). As a language poet Graham has a more lyric style and her poem is somewhat abstract but much more literal than most of the other poems by language poets. Graham does not shy away from the use of “I” in this poem, she finds the medium to produce “I” in the language. Parataxis is shown through the equality relations created by paradoxes and the force of the individual and the collective appear equal at the end of the poem. There is no hierarchy of experience in this poem, both the experience of the figure and the minnows are equal. Graham states that for her the power of poetry “resides most vividly in its capacity to make a reader receive utterable and unutterable realities at once” (148), “Prayer” is a powerful example of her ability to convey this sense of realization as well as “the inexpressible, the emissary of the nonverbal territories of intuition, deep paradox, conflicting bodily impulses...,profoundly present yet non-languaged spiritual insights [and] certain emotional crisis states” (148). As a language poet Graham does not think language is exhausted by any means. She sees language as the tool; it’s how you use the instrument and not the instrument itself.

Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, from The Retired Architect.

group: Mohamad Jalloul, Nicola Young, Sarah-Helene Laferriere, Tara Saunders, Jennifer Sacco and Natasha Gold

As a group we analyzed the poem "The Retired Architect", written by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge. We felt as though this poem was about growth and the process of self-acceptance as one ages. As she ages, she loses the need for such decorations as "gold leaf", which is really only beautiful on the outside, luring one in, only to be lacking in substance in the end. As she says, "Actually, I designed two bungalows: the gold leaf, and one later, because I had missed something." She realizes as she ages that it is not necessary to decorate herself with such fine things and instead, the more natural is better. She uses similies at the beginning of the poem, comparing herself to aspects of nature. It is the natural idea of human life versus nature and finally allowing nature to win. When one does that, there is a finer grace about him/her. Also, when speaking of "the plastic wood paneling, the plastic ducks..." there is another shedding of the skin, as if she finally realizes there is no need for such ornaments, plastic that is not real and is cheap.
There is use of metonymy through the idea of architecture, with "calculations" and "support". With the concept of architecture, the reader imagines sharp and clean angles, everything neatly constructed. It is an attempt to build one's self properly but concrete and perfectly consctructed angles are unnatural and can only erode with time. This is an idea that, by the end of the poem, is not only accepted but embraced as well. With the final line of the poem, "Now, when my work expresses loss or failure, I no longer say, get rid of that." It is a really beautiful way to end the poembecause there is an obvious feeling of closure, as if the author has truly accepted the person that she is and recognizes that failure and mistakes are a part of the process that makes us all wonderfully human. It is also important to note that the first poem in the book, by this author, was "from Four Year Old Girl" and ended with this poem, as though she herself was showing the journey she has taken.
There was an example of anaphora at the beginning of the poem, with the repetition of "I". We also felt that the image of the lake was comparable to her perspective, which ripples and changes over time. This poem is a beautiful reflection on life and the choices one can make to embrace the finer things in life, if they can let go of the superficial.

Group Work, Lucie Brock-Broido

Our group decided to attempt to deconstruct "Periodic Table of Etherial Elements" by Brock-Broido. At first it seemed obtuse, but the more we talked about it we seemed to approach a meaning. We concluded that the poem is exactly what the title implies; it is a scientific, practically medical consideration of something which is utterly out of body and only fleetingly tangible. The alliteration accentuates a seemingly oxymoronical juxtaposition. It deals in the themes of the fragmented self, and almost resigned loss of something or someone. Brock-Broido (and we can assign the author as the speaker due to her own instruction) identifies her fractured self in the loss of girlhood, and/or the relation with something formless. While she once lived in a 'glassed castle' (indicative of something transparent, something easily breakable, something from a fairy tale) she now lives in just a 'house'. While she was once a girl, that time has passed and because she likens that girlhood to a useless penicillin we can assume it's departure has left something diseased, something fractured. The presence of multiple occasions of anaphora based in the conditional ('I was not ready for' occurs twice, and 'If you' three times) reinforce that the formless something could have come to different conclusion, had things been different. Closure does occur but it is subject to question because though that thing she is lamenting is gone, it has left an impression and will forever effect her (just like that childhood toy Trish referred to in class to explain Freudian theory).

Of Charles Bernstien's 'poem profiler' literary devices, in the poem exists:

gender markers ('If you were a man') which could perhaps lead us to consider the speaker as accusing her editor Harry Ford to whom the poem is dedicated. 

sampling from Bukowski ('A little jump of flame')

and more but thats all we got to.

group members, please tell me if I missed anything.

Megan Camerson, Sydney Neuman, Jess Pietryszyn, Hayley Brehl, Kristal Kordich, Candice Fridman, and Hannah Jocelyn

Lyn Hejinian - a clue to solving her puzzle

Hi everyone,
I, like many of us, was grappling with Hejinian's poem, "From Writing is an Aid to Memory" and I picked up on a pattern that may be useful for deciphering meaning. Although I'm not sure what it means. The structure of the poem seems erratic at first and that is what I thought. However, the poem is structered according to the first letter in each verse. The verses have been placed where they fall. Example:

GRID:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

apple is shot nod
ness seen know I around saying
but perhaps utter errors direct the point to a meadow

Each verse is placed in alignment with the grid according to the first letter of that verse. Although this may not be the key to uncovering the inner-workings of what's going on, it is something I noticed and thought could perhaps spark further ideas. What are your thoughts?

Calogero A. Miceli

Identity Crisis

An ongoing theme throughout Rhys' novel seems to be the crisis of racial identity and the barriers it creates surrounding the notion of existence. After finishing the novel, I wondered if the novel itself is undergoing somewhat of an identity crisis. Seeing as Wide Sargasso Sea is a postmodern and postcolonial response to Jane Eyre, I wonder if the novel can exist on it's own. Can Wide Sargasso Sea truly be appreciated as a work on its own? 

-K Coughlin

Illicit Verb, this Wednesday

Hi folks,

I want to invite you all to come out to the Green Room this Wednesday, March 18th, for ILLICIT VERB.

Poets Sina Queyras (Expressway, Lemon Hound), Lisa Robertson (Lisa Robertson's Magenta Soul Whip, Occasional Work and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture) and Matthew Tierney (The Hayflick Limit, Full Speed through the Morning Dark) will launch their brand-new books with short readings, and host Erín Moure will lead a short, interactive Q&A with the audience.

Sina Queyras -- the Concordia professor, Lambda Literary Award winner and noted literary blogger (lemonhound.blogspot.com), will launch Expressway, a new collection that uses the modes of the Romantic poets to explore the world of modern transportation and mobility. Check out the trailer for Expressway at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui9Qw_RtWRk

Lisa Robertson -- the Governor General's Award nominee and frequent cross-genre collaborator visits from San Francisco to launch Lisa Robertson's Magenta Soul Whip, a new book of previously uncollected poems, essays, drafts, reports, treatises and laments. Toronto's Eye Weekly calls it an 'exuberant, saucy approach to the materiality of language and vice versa.'

Matthew Tierney -- Toronto poet and This Magazine Great Canadian Literary Hunt winner will launch The Hayflick Limit, a new collection that concerns itself with the boundaries of the cosmic and subatomic, and covers subjects as varied as black holes and Warner Bros. cartoons, murky market economies, murkier quantum laws, Vincent Price, Molotov cocktails, seedless grapes, Area 51 and competing Theories of Everything.

Illicit Verb

launching books by Sina Queyras, Lisa Robertson and Matthew Tierney

hosted by Erín Moure

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Green Room, 5386 St. Laurent

8:00 p.m.

Free

Books will be on sale from Concordia Community Solidarity Co-op Bookstore.

some of my interpretations of Robertson and Armantrout

I was taught that poems should be self-sufficient. A good poem, like a song, should have its own meaning for the reader... though we are all reading the same words, there is no "right" or "wrong". A poet knows that once a poem is written or published, it is vulnerable to be anatomized and criticized... but in the end, it is to be appreciated and shared and understood by someone else... thus is the healing power of writing.

Robertson's Residence at C_____ (on page 194-5) reminds me of Girl, Interrupted and Plath. Who is Robertson writing to? I believe she's writing to herself. The poem flows like a set of commands that someone should obey. I feel Robertson is trapped outside her own emotions, and she is trying to breathe herself back to life through this poem. "Say self because [you] can". The first part of the poem attempts to builds the reader (herself) to feel "Marvelous. Spectacular. Brilliant." From then on, the poem becomes less abstract, she mentions Kate Moss, pink, death. "Misplace the death," is Robertson numb because someone died? "Say trying to possess or not," is she speaking of letting someone go (as opposed to denying their death and keeping them alive as long as you can in her heart). "If you thought love was ironical," if you equaled love to happiness and it only brought you pain. "If pleasure emancipates, why aren't you somewhere"... if you're as happy as you believe, then why are you dead inside? The final word "sincerity" acts as a sign of sincerity, that after all the commands, should the reader (herself) be offended, or defensive, it was all in good intention.

Tuesday's repetition reminds me of Chapter 26 of Nobokov's Lolita: "Don't think I can go on, Heart, head-everything. Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita. Repeat 'til the page is full, printer." This (very short) chapter demonstrates the narrator's obsession with Lolita, up to the point where she's all he thinks of and he doesn't write anymore to cut brief the redundancy. For me, Tuesday is a poem about obsession. Clouds are a sort of Rorschack test (inkblot test), where what one sees can be associated with one's mind. And these clouds remind her of these different women, who come together and share a same-ness as each of them "crumbles" in different ways and have different clouds associated with them - but in the end, they're all clouds.

Armantrout's The Plan makes sense when viewed from the second part, with the first part in mind. Two people planned to meet, anxiously. "Who told you you were visible?" comes across as the omniscient "God" scolds the writer for believing things would be different this time. That the other was actually going to understand the writer's point of view but "like this palm's impression of a tree - flashing scales," the writer slowly realizes she is being deceived. The palm tree looks like a tree, but, like Plato's theory of forms, it doesn't follow the initial image of a tree. Instead of being a copy of a copy, it is a copy of a copy of a copy of a tree. Flashing scales are broken scales, if one were to weight themselves, the result might or might not be accurate. The question remains: to discard, or to fix the scales? "But sweet! You don't understand! Like a lariat made of scalloped bricks," all expectations fall apart. You are not a brick wall, but almost. "circling a patch of grass," maybe there's still hope, but "Who told [me I was] visible?" Nobody, I was just hoping.

As I was reading Armantrout, I was wondering if her form was necessary and if they added any dimension to the poetry that William Carlos Williams, e.e.cummings, or George Herbert haven't already perfected. What differenciates a good writer from a bad one is their ability to compact meaning in a few words, but is there a point where concise is too concise? There's a haiku and Armantrout's The View.

I might be entirely wrong in my readings of the poems by doing reader-response criticism rather than a post-structuralist or formalist one, but I believe it is the only possible reading.

Some odds and ends

Last week I promised you links to the webcomic adaptation of Riverbend's blog. There are four installments on youtube. They are quite beautiful, fairly brief and they begin here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC648JfkVZk

There have been some questions about the test and about the due date for the final paper. The test will be on the 30th, during the second half of class and will involve some short answer questions, including definitions, and a short in-class essay.
The final paper is due on April 6th, the last day of class. If you would like your final back you should submit it with a self addressed, stamped envelope.

Sorry for the confusion on that count.

See you all tomorrow.

Trish

Life and Death

Hello everyone,

While reading myself back to sleep very early this morning, two sentences found on page 139 jumped out at me: "You know how people feel about death. Not about life, though." This is what Ruhiyya expresses to Asmahan in conversation when telling her of the difficulty in making funeral arrangements for her deceased husband. Within the narrative discourse there is this sense of exploration in trying to negotiate what life now is and means for Asmahan and the other characters within the context of war. Overall I feel that the text does provide a glimpse into what life means for those complicit in the narrative, the will to continue on and to adapt to the conditions forced upon them by the effects of war.

There is always a sense of happiness in the moments where life is uninterrupted. A close friend of mine who is Lebanese (and who returned to Beirut shortly after the fighting had broken out during the Israeli-Lebanese conflict of 2006) had told me when the fighting stops, everyone goes to the beach to take full advantage of that moment of peace. Life is lived, the enjoyment never dies even when faced with difficult situations. I sense that same joie de vivre within the text. Do any of you feel the same way when reading Beirut Blues?

Baghdad Burning

Hope you're all doing well.
As I mentioned last night, next Monday we'll be talking not only about Beirut Blues, but about Riverbend's blog, Baghdad Burning.

I'd like you to read her posts, from August 17 to September 16, 2003 (inclusive). This is roughly 60 pages of text, fyi.

Here is the url for the August posts:
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2003_08_01_riverbendblog_
archive.html

And for those of you who're unfamiliar with Riverbend, here is a brief introduction from The Feminist Press which collected and published her blog entries:
http://www.feministpress.org/Book/index.cfm?GCOI=55861100869560

best,
Trish

Beirut Blues: terminologies and explanaitions

Terminologies:
Sitt Yvette(10): Sitt is a term in talking language that suggests two meanings: a Grandmother, or a great Madame.
Eastern and western Beirut: the civil war that broke out in 1975 divided Beirut into two parts; the east part is dominated by Christians, while the west part is dominated by Muslims.
Saint Maroun (12): a Syrian Christian priest who fought for the Catholic Church to control the byzantine Church in Syria; died in 410. His followers where been supervised, captured, tortured and killed by the orthodox. Therefore, they left Syria and take the mountains of Lebanon as a refuge; by the time, they became the rulers of this part of the Middle-East and declared by France as an independent country in 1920. today, the Marounit is the largest Christian sect in Lebanon.
Baklava (14): a Lebanese sweet. Many stores in Montreal offer this kind of sweet, for example, Adonis supermarket.
Aba (14): a long dress that believer women wear. When it is black, it indicates that the woman belongs to Shiite sect, mostly.
Dollars (15): the national currency in Lebanon is Lira; however, when the war started, most people converted their money to American dollar to protect their value.
Samadi’s patisseries (16): A very famous sweet store in West Beirut. It has a branch here in Montreal, Sauvé street.
Imam Ali (16): The cousin of the prophrt Muhammad. He was killed in 661. His followers are known as Shiite.
Arrack (17): a very strong Lebanese alcohol.
Al-Dahiya (19): the southern suburb of Beirut.
Houris (21): In Islam, paradise is a place where imaginable women reside. Those who go to paradise after death can get married with many of them.
Beit Mary or house of Mary (28): a tourist and historical town in the Christian mountains in Lebanon.
Cave of Qadisha (28): in fact, it is not a cave but a grotte in French language more than caverne. It is situated in north of Lebanon. It contains the spring of Qadisha river.
Hirj Beirut (31): a little forest. It is the biggest park in Beirut. Because of the war, all trees inside were destroyed. It used to be the divider between both east and west Beirut; this position causes the destruction of it.
Mecca (32): the holiest city for Muslims. It is in Saudi Arabia. It is where the Prophet Muhammad born; where Abraham built the first house on earth required by God, according to Islam.
Asmahan and Anwar Wajdi (33): very famous actors in Egypt during the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Asmahan is also the sister of a famous Syrian singer farid Al-Atrash. She died in a car accident. Rumors said that king’s Farouq wife was behind this accident because of Asmahan beauty that the king appreciated much.
Asya (41): Asia. Some people call their daughters with this name.
Muezzin (51): is the person who calls people for prayers in Islam.
Buraq (61): In Islam, it is believed that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven over a holly horse that name is Buraq. This ascension happened in Jerusalem.
‘67 war (71): Although Lebanon did not participated in this war, many Lebanese supported Palestinians and other Arab countries that engaged themselves in this war. The war lasted six days. In this war, Israel achieved a large victory and occupied parts of Jordan, Egypt, and Syria.
Qur’an (75): the holly book for Muslims.
Umm Kulthum (82): the most famous Egyptian singer at all.
Zaitouna (82): part of west Beirut known for its bars and Cabaret.
Fedayeen (85): a term that describes the Palestinians militants. Israel called them mukharebeen: Destroyers.
Ain Mraisseh (87): Near Zaitouna region. Today, this is one of the wealthiest regions in Beirut.
French (89): Historically, Lebanese Christians consider France as their tender mother; therefore, French is a dominate language in east of Beirut.
Jounieh (90): a typical Christian coast town. It is where Christians used to travel from during the war period abroad.
Kaffiyeh (92): a head cover used by fedayeen principally. Many Montrealais use it today to cover their necks.
Al-Hariri (98): The wealthiest man in Lebanon. He started to work politically in the 80’s. He was elected as a prime minister many times since 1990’s. He was killed in a bomb in February, 2004.
Qashqawan (99): An expensive cheese comes from eastern Europe.
Zemzem: is the name of Asma family’s maid. Also, it appears in page 109 as a well of Zemzem. The well of Zemzem is in Mecca. Its water is considered holly by Muslims. According to Qur’an, the well of Zemzem appeared during the era of Abraham when Hajar, the second wife of Abraham, was looking for water in order to make drink for her son, Ishmael. Mecca is in the desert.

multi-diasporas in Shani Mootoo's Novel

In the novel, he drown she in the sea, Shani Mootoo emphasizes the multi-diasporas that Caribbean people faces for social, economic, and political causes. However, what can be distinguished in this book is that the action that Rose takes at the end of the story is the contrary of Harry one. For instance, she does not suffer any social prejudice, except if we consider her marriage to the General attorney; while for Harry, it is obvious that his social class affects much his life and collapses some of his ambitions including his relation with Rose and later with the General Attorney. Therefore, it might be said that the social progress or retreat leads to internal diasporas, such is the case of Harry who moved from his village to the little town, then he planned to move near Rose house because of the development of his financial state, which, logically, forwarded his social position. Nevertheless, Harry finds that social history cannot be removed easily from people’s memories, especially who know him. Thus, Harry leaves the country to Canada where chances are much better and social prejudices are lesser. I also realized that Mootoo gives an ample part of the story to Harry’s mother, Dolly, who, in fact, is a typical mother.

Diaspora

Hi guys,
Although we are not dealing with Gwendolyn Brooks, she wrote something about the Diaspora that professor Trish was discussing last week, so I thought it might interest some of you.
To read the poem, please click on the link below:

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-the-diaspora/

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT SPEAKERS SERIES

Prof. Michael D. Snediker
"Jack Spicer’s Billy the Kid: Beyond the Singular Personal"

Friday, March 13, 2009, 4 pm
Library Building , Sixth Floor – room 646

Michael Snediker is Assistant Professor of English at Queen’s University. A specialist in poetry and poetics, he works on nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature. He is the author of the recently published Queer Optimism: Lyric Personhood and Other Felicitous Persuasions ( University of Minnesota Press , 2008)

Shani Mootoo

Trish asked at the end of the class if we came out of the reading with any questions. Having thought about it, I'm wondering if there is significance in titling the book after an accusatory invention? "He drown she in the sea" is what the maid says about her boss being implicated in the death of Rose. What does this say about the nature of perception? The economy of what is allowed to be said, what is ignored, what is relevant, what is true? And how all of these things relate elements like gender, class, and race?

Announcement: Open Mic Poetry Night & Postcard fiction contest

CASE's first and only open mic of the year will be held on Thursday, February 19th at Grumpy's Pub which is at 1242 bishop. Free drinks will be provided to the first three readers of every set! Come out and read your poetry, prose, drama, songs, or bring the work of your favourite writer and read us a passage! Come and mingle with your fellow English students! A good time will be had by all!Also, the deadline for the Postcard Fiction contest has been extended by one week, to Monday, February 16th, 2009.Nathan MurrayPresident of CASE

Fires in the Mirror- Music

Although I found the readings themselves to be rather rich, the performance of the pieces resonated with me- the music especially.
I might be reading into it a bit too much, but nonetheless...
The counterpoint in the introduction of the first portion on identity is composed of two separate melodic lines- Jazz saxophone and Klezmer music (for lack of a better term, although I'm not sure this is appropriate if Lubavitchers are Sephardic and not Ashkenaz...) Although there is dissonance to the music, there is also a harmonic resolution. Maybe it's a bit of a stretch to see this as an optimistic trope for the resolution of racial-political struggle, but then, everything about Smith's performances seems carefully considered and deliberate. Also, the fact that this song is immediately followed by the 'Lousy Language' piece, which comments on the inadequacy of language seems to reaffirm my reading.

Jorie Graham at Concordia & guest poets next class

Jorie Graham, one of the poets we'll be reading later in the term, is reading and speaking on campus tomorrow night. If you are free you should try to attend. Details via the link below.

http://news.concordia.ca/main_story/014066.shtml?referID=cs_tab_sidebar

As well, I just wanted to remind folks that on Monday we will be discussing the poetry of

Dionne Brand and Sonnet L’Abbé during the first half of the class, and that for the second we will be joined by spoken word artists, Emilie Zoe Baker & Alicia Sometimes. You should check out their work at
http://www.aliciasometimes.com/page2.htm

http://www.myspace.com/emiliezoeybaker

Have a great weekend!

contrasting monologues in Fires in the Mirror

“Fires in the Mirror” was a very rewarding book to read, but the issues it deals with are incredibly troubling and disturbing and that is why I think Smith’s decision to include monologues not directly related to the Crown Heights incident was essential. I initially found myself thinking ‘what do these monologues have to do with the conflict at hand?’ but after I finished reading I realized why everything included was necessary. I found the monologue ‘Static’ by the anonymous Lubavitcher woman to be particularly touching, it was one of the few to include humour and allude to positive interaction between the two communities. By demonstrating the young black boy crossing this cultural and religious boundary to help the woman and her family Smith is expressing optimism amidst the differences. The two monologues about hair or wigs were also interesting because of how they explored the self-identities of the two groups. Both black people and Jewish people have different customs relating to their hair and hair styling means different things to both of them. It is a point of comparison but not a negative one and I think it shows how they are alike in their differences. To me, these monologues are what made the collection cohesive. Smith shows that what these communities have suffered (marginalization, violence, discrimination) are not the only things they have in common. In this way, Smith’s performance is able to transcend race and religion and she gains universal appeal which I think is what makes this collection even more powerful and effective.

Fires in the Mirror is performed...

by Anna Deavere Smith, on youtube at:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=DBEHuko6abM

While watching, it is worth being attentive to the changes made between the production we have documented in our hard copy of the text and this iteration. The performance includes fewer monologues and reorganizes them somewhat, and it would be interesting to consider what is retained and what is dropped, and what gets shuffled. As well, in performance Smith's speech is mostly but not entirely faithful to the text as it is written. Given her interest in enacting the character of her interviewees through a rigorous performance of their speech, what are we to make of her interruptions, variations, improvisations within their words?

Performance in Fires

While reading Fires, I couldn't help but consider the performative aspect of the book (probably because of the photographs). I pictured it being staged in the same sort of manner as Lauren from DeLillo's The Body Artist would present it. That is, one woman contorting her utter self, every mannerism and characteristic, to become an entirely different person. I wonder how this sort of performance effects the reading of the book itself?

Naming Names

Just a small matter of form. If it isn't apparent from your email address, could you, when posting, sign your name, so I am able to keep track of your contributions to the blog? Thanks!

Father to lover theme

As was briefly brought up in class, I have noticed Carter's recurring theme of the lover, in ways, replacing the father for the girls in her stories. I am curious to discuss this further in regards to what Carter may be suggesting by having many of her "girl" characters passed on to lover from father, whether it be through gambling or giving her away. Could Carter be playing with the idea that in most original Grimms (and even Disney) fairy tales, the young girl moves from father to lover as though she needs a man of some sort waiting for her after her transition out of girlhood? (Somewhat related - even the rewritten Snow White is a snow "child".  What could be the significance of this?)

These characters do seem to go through a transition of their own, beginning as the virginal madonna yet appearing more "bad" than "good" nearing the end of each tale...

"Female" Writing

This is an admittedly stereotyping deconstruction of 'female' writing because I do find it problematic to gender sentences and sentence structure, but if any writing can be classified as feminine, Angela Carter's would be so. Her craft is gendered not only because she is ornate, descriptive and full-bodied, but it has social feminist implications because it disregards "rule" and linear structure. She has no need for consistent tense or point of view or the regular constructions of grammar. She is self aware and understanding of body and sexuality in ways that 'male' writing may prefer to ignore. In neglecting the standard rules of writing, which are archaic as well as masculine in history, she is pointedly choosing a more modern and so feminine writing objective.

Extended Deadline for the First Assignment

Hi folks,

Just a small update to the syllabus. As per our discussion at the end of the last class, I will be giving an one week extension on the first assignment: the Critical Response Paper, which was due next class, is now due on February 2. You can take as your subject any text we will have looked at up to that date, including Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror.
Sorry for the delay in posting this--I've been under the weather and a little groggy these last few days.

Trish

Religious view HEROINE

This is my take on Heroine and maybe I'm way out there, but here goes. The setting as a bathtub, the nudity within the tub, and the water suggests (from my perspective) a baptismal sacrament in which her sins are being washed away. I don't know what religious views (if any) Gail Scott has and whether they factor into the character. I also thought of the water and the washing as a rebirth perhaps, of the character. Maybe I am reading too much into this. Thoughts?
Calogero A. Miceli

Welcome

Hi folks,

Welcome to your blog. Please accept my apologies for the delay in getting this up and running. Do let me know if you have any trouble posting. Keep warm and have a nice weekend.

Trish

Syllabus

ENGL 354/4/AA Contemporary Writing by Women

Department of English, Concordia University, Winter 2009

Instructor: Patricia Salah

Class meets: Mon. 6:00-8:15 p.m. in H-433.

Office hours: Wednesday 2:45-4:15 and by appointment

Office: LB 667

Email: psalah@alcor.concordia.ca

(Please put “Contemporary Women’s Writing” or “ENGL 354/4 ”

in the subject line of all communications)

Introduction

In this course we will read, think, talk and write about contemporary women’s writing; which, for our purposes will refer to women’s writing produced between 1970 and the present. In the course of doing so, we will necessarily ask questions as to the relation of gender to writing, and to genre specifically, as well as to the meaning and scope of “the contemporary.”

In response to women’s historical exclusion from the domain of literature, we will consider how various feminisms have operated in constituting a category specifically of “women’s writing.” And conversely we will consider how differences in race, class, generation, sexuality, language and political commitment have worked to reconfigure and/or undo the category of “women.” How have women writers engaged questions of literary value, genre, voice, and how have they reworked those categories? How have the gendering of private and public space, labour and discourse contributed to women writers taking up para-literary genres and media (e.g. the diary, the memoir, the letter, the comic, the graphic novel, the blog)? And how have women writers eschewed feminist affiliation in order, precisely, to write the feminine, or alternately, to enter into discourse as subjects “unmarked by gender?” If the contemporary moment is a post-feminist moment, what does that mean for women’s writing? Is women’s writing a thing of the past, or perhaps, no longer concerned with questions of gender?

As well as post feminist, our moment is described as postcolonial, postmodern, postgender. Throughout the course we will consider how women writers are situated within, against and/or beyond the literatures of these “other posts.”

Finally, we will ask, what makes women’s writing contemporary? Is it a simply temporal distinction, one that shifts every decade or three; or does “the contemporary” signal, like the modern and the postmodern, a specific set of preoccupations, philosophic and literary positions, genres, experiments, as well as a distinct analytic of women’s literature, with an accompanying psychology, politics and sociology of literature from women’s vantage?

Course Texts:

Primary:

American Women Poets in the 21st Century: Where Lyric Meets Language, Claudia Rankine and Juliana Spahr eds. Wesleyan University Press, 2002.

Open Field: 30 Contemporary Canadian Poets, Sina Queyras, ed. Persea Press, 2005.

Al-Shaykh, Hannan. Beirut Blues. Anchor Books, 1996.

Carter, Angela. The Bloody Chamber. Vintage, 1979.

Mootoo, Shani. He Drown She in the Sea. McClelland and Stewart, 2006.

Scott, Gail. Heroine. Coach House Books, 1988.

Smith, Anna Deavere. Fires in the Mirror. Anchor Books, 2003.

Tamaki, Mariko & Jillian Tamaki. Skim. House of Anansi/Groundwood Books, 2008.

Secondary:

TBA

Course Requirements

Informed Participation and Attendance (20%) Weekly

You need to be in the classroom to participate, and you need to have read and thought about the readings to participate in an informed fashion. Creative engagement is encouraged; statements of opinion unsupported by careful reading and thinking are not. This portion of your grade will reflect attendance (showing up, and showing up on time), demonstrated grasp of the weekly readings, and effort to engage with the subject matter at hand. There will also be an online forum for discussion, in the form of a course blog, and students are strongly encouraged to bring questions, and thoughts about the readings to that space for discussion. If you have difficulty speaking in a group, speak to me early in the term; under some circumstances I am prepared to accept additional written work in lieu of verbal participation. Of course this does not dispel your responsibility to attend all classes. Obviously, special conditions may require you to miss class. Advance notice of such circumstances would be much appreciated, when possible.

Be sure to turn off your cell phone for the duration of the class. No laptops are permitted on desks unless you are prepared to demonstrate you are using one to take notes.

Critical Response Paper (15%) Due: Week 4

Your first essay for the term will be a brief critical commentary and close reading of a course text of your choice, selected from those assigned during the first four weeks of class. This essay should provide a brief précis of the reading, highlighting those features (narrative, figural, thematic, etc.) upon which you will focus. This should comprise no more than 1/3 of the essay. The remainder of the essay should be given over to your analytic exploration of the writing. Your interpretation should be your own, and your assertions must be supported by detailed reference to the text you are analyzing. Secondary sources are not necessary for this assignment. This paper should be 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced, 12pt font.

Proposal for Final Paper (10%) Due: Week 6

This proposal will help you organize your thinking on the topic of your final paper. For details on the parameters of that paper, see below. Your proposal will include a thesis statement, with a short outline (2 pages, double spaced) developing the questions and concerns that will animate you paper. It should also include a preliminary, annotated bibliography. This is worth 10% of your grade, but I will not accept your final paper if you have not first produced a proposal. It will be marked and returned to you with feedback for your essay.

Final Paper (40%) Due : Week 13

The final paper should demonstrate a strong grasp of the central problematics of this course. You have considerable latitude with the mode of this paper: i.e. you may elect to produce a formal research paper, a critical or theoretical argument, or a more speculative and creative essay exploring the themes, issues, figures and practices addressed in class. The choice is yours. Regardless of the form your paper takes, you should engage, in a significant way, with no fewer than 5 secondary sources. It should be 12 pages in length, double-spaced, 12pt font, and must include a full bibliography (MLA format) of texts that you engaged with directly in your work.

In-class Test (15%) Date: Week 12

This test will be a review of the course, and be composed of several short answer and one longer essay question.

Additional Student Responsibilities:

“The most common offense under the Code of Conduct (Academic) is plagiarism which the Code defines as "the presentation of the work of another person as one's own or without proper acknowledgement". Taken from: http://provost.concordia.ca/academicintegrity/plagiarism/ For tips on avoiding plagiarism please consult the url above.

You are responsible for all of the material covered in class (including any in-class screenings), as well as for assigned readings, film, video and web-based texts. If you miss a class and/or a screening, it is your responsibility to catch up on any missed material. This includes readings, presentations, announced changes to the schedule, guest lectures, etc.

Keep written copies of all submitted work. Note also that I do not accept electronic copies of student work. Submit all work on time. It is my policy to deduct points for each day a paper is late. I am willing to discuss extensions in the event of a medical or family emergency, provided you are able to supply appropriate documentation.

Treat all participants in the course with respect. Avoid dominating discussions. Once you have had your say, allow others who wish to do so to speak before you speak again. Avoid sexist, racist, able-ist and homo/transphobic language.

Weekly Topics and Readings (Tentative)

Jan. 5 Week 1—Introduction

Screening: Listening for Something (Adrienne Rich and Dionne Brand in conversation)

Jan. 12 Week 2— Écriture feminine and Écriture au féminine 1

Gail Scott, Heroine

Recommended:

Hélène Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa” (abbreviated) http://courses.essex.ac.uk/lt/lt204/cixous_medusa.htm

Jan. 19 Week 3— Écriture feminine and Écriture au féminine 2

Gail Scott, Heroine (complete)

Open Field: Nicole Brossard “Typhoon Thrum;” Lydia Kwa “Roadbook: The Sweet of Hands;” Daphne Marlatt “Small Print”

Jan. 26 Week 4— Rereading Sexual Difference through the Gothic Imaginary

Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber

Feb. 2 Week 5— Gendered Testimony: Acts of Witnessing

Anna Deavere Smith, Fires in the Mirror

Feb. 9 Week 6— Spoken Word

Open Field: Dionne Brand, Sonnet L’Abbé

http://www.aliciasometimes.com/page2.htm

http://www.myspace.com/emiliezoeybaker

Guest Readings: Emilie Zoe Baker & Alicia Sometimes

Feb. 16 Week 7— Writing Home/Performing Diaspora

Shani Mootoo, He Drown She in the Sea

Midterm Break

Mar. 2 Week 8— Women writing War 1

Hannan Al-Shaykh, Beirut Blues

Mar. 9 Week 9— Women writing War 2

Hannan Al-Shaykh, Beirut Blues (complete)

Riverbend, selections from her blog, “Baghdad Burning”

Mar. 16 Week 10— Competing Experimental Poetries I

Open Field: Erin Mouré/Eirin Moure; Lisa Robertson

American Women Poets: Rae Armantrault; Mei Mei Berssenbruge

NB: Read Poems, Poetic Statements and both critical essays

Mar. 23 Week 11— Competing Experimental Poetries II

American Women Poets: Lucie Brock-Broido; Jorie Graham; Lyn Hejinian, Susan Howe

NB: Read Poems, Poetic Statements and three of the four critical essays

Mar. 30 Week 12— Competing Experimental Poetries III

Open Field: Jeanette Armstrong, Anne Carson

American Women Poets: Harryette Mullen

NB: Read Poems, Poetic Statement and the critical essay

In-Class Test

Week 13—Rewriting/Redrawing Girlhood

Mariko & Jillian Tamaki, Skim

Final Paper Due.