Matt B's Found Poem

is very clever. Take a look: http://mattbrockwell.blogspot.com/2009/11/found-poem-left-in-cold.html

I'm Skipping...

Not really, but I thought I'd get your attention.

Anyhow, I am at the resource centre this afternoon so you will all be on Independent Study. If you'd like to find a quiet place to curl up with your ISU novel, that would be just fine.

You can also use 52 to work on your Sample Chapter (If you haven't sent me an outline yet, do it today!)

See Steve Smith in room 52 for attendance reporting purposes.

Have a great weekend, but make sure you write write write...

CP

Journals 15 and 16

Journal 15 "Digital Education"

It was really impressive to see some EWC students helping Mr. MacDonald's law class get into the 'blogosphere.' I realized that as a group this semester's EWC students have some specialized skills that are likely to serve them well in various contexts (school, work, recreation).

How do you feel about blogging now that you have had an opportunity to develop a history with it over the past two and a half months? Do you feel that you are more or less organized and productive than you would be "the old fashioned way?" What are some of the advantages? What are some of the drawbacks? What advice might you give to students starting the course next semester about how to get the most out of their blogging experience?

Journal 16.

Sixteen is divisible by four...
Therefore
I'll say no more

Away Today--Blame Amy

Good Afternoon All,

I just found out late yesterday that my presence is required at the board office today in order to take a look at some new software that may support some of the online work I've been doing this semester.

How is it Amy's fault you ask? Well, since Amy's journals (and others too!) have been so well received, Stamford is getting some attention. We may be chosen to run another pilot project. That's why I was invited today.

Anyhow, I would like your novel outlines in by Friday. This will give me a chance to have some input into your sample chapter before you spend a whole bunch of time writing it. Let me know Thursday or Friday what issues you might be having.

See you tomorrow,

CP

Journals 13 and 14 - Close Up on "The Writer"

Journal 13 - Writing As A Lifestyle

I heard Philip Roth being interviewed yesterday. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and very successful writer now in his late 70's. Interestingly, when asked if he had his life to live over again whether he would choose to write again, he said he would not.

Writing, he explained, is a monumentally difficult task. It is a profession in which no one can help you. According to Roth, you have to reach deep inside yourself in order to pull out a novel and the beginning can be monumentally frustrating. He described the first six months of writing a novel as a matter of trying to assemble something substantial out of fragments. And when you are finished, he continued, you have to start over again with nothing. He also discussed the very solitary nature of the work. Writers spend a great deal of time alone. Many live in poverty before they get their start.

On the other hand there are many attractive dimensions to the job. Successful writers become very well known (Dan Brown once boarded a plane having left behind his driver's license when the man behind him in line was able to show the security guard Brown's author photo in The Da Vinci Code). They appear on television and the radio. They travel and set their own work schedules. They get to meet and socialise with other famous and influential people.

What do you think about the writer's lifestyle? How much of it appeals to you? Which aspects least appeal to you? Can you envision yourself doing the job? Describe how writing might either fit into your lifestyle or become your lifestyle in the future.

Journal 14 - Nurturing Your Inner Writer

To what extent are people born writers? How much are they able to cultivate the writer within through education and experience?

What activities and experiences can you engage in in order to develop your inner writer? What part of your past has best helped you become the writer you are now? How motivated are you to continue developing your writing ability over a lifetime?

Welcome Grade 8's

Hi All,

Thanks for your help with the Grade 8 Day Activity.

The instructions are posted here.

Question about the Found Poem

Cheyenne asked: "For this poem do we have to just use magazine advertising slogans and newspaper headlines or can we use things like song lyrics or quotes from books?"

Thanks, Cheyenne. I owe you another one.

Please DO NOT take lines from song lyrics or other poems. The reason for this is that those lines (assumably) are already very poetic. The trick of found poetry is finding language with poetic potential in unlikely places. Advertising is usually a good source.

Thanks for setting me straight BEFORE the whole class went off and "found" poems in the Complete Works of Shakespeare!

Your ISU Author

Hi Everyone,

This is the time when we choose an ISU Author. It is really really important that you choose someone you really enjoy. I have a number of suggestions if you are stuck. The only real parameters are that your author should be: 1) influential in his or her genre. 2) unchosen by anyone else in the course.

Historically, the seminars we do on the authors at the end of the course are a highlight for most of us since it allows us exposure to a number of different writers of whom we may never have even heard.

Please announce your selection by leaving a comment at the end of this post. I'll then transfer everyone's selections to a chart. Authors will be served up on a first come, first served basis.

CP

The November Calendar

Is HERE.