"Imagine a life so flawed it flows with devestating perfection. First, picture the sea. I want you to be its soul, the heart in the waves. The seaweed are columns of tangled, complex slime like bitter emotions overthought beyond all simple recognition. Every space is filled with thoughts: delicate, posinious dreams scaled like a snake, swallowing a mouse, digesting precious life in one bite. Letters strangling other letters in the misguided attempt to form words."
I enjoy exercises where we are supposed to rewrite the work of another author because not only does it allow you to express yourself, it lets you explore the words of the author while being creative.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Love Story Sestina- Keana M. & Katie M.
October mist blankets the city lights.
In the busy downtown, the mundane hipster
rides his fixed gear bike; on his back rests his guitar.
Off of his lips hangs a lit cigarette.
Thinking about the girl with the thick rimmed glasses,
he replays the first moment she walked into his life.
The girl wonders what he's doing with his life.
Holding back tears as memories, she stares down at the city lights,
longing settles at the bottom of the empty glasses.
He stole her heart at first sight- that young mustached hipster.
Hoping she'll encounter him again, she puts out her cigarette.
She closes her eyes, humming along to the radio's guitar.
As if she were there, he writes songs to her on his guitar.
He knows he needs her in his life
because, without her, he feels like a wet cigarette,
and his heart is beginning to resemble the dimming lights.
He thinks he'll never see her again- that beautiful jaded hipster.
Everywhere he looks he sees her reflection in the glasses.
Night after night, her tears fog up her glasses
because she can't help but think of him every time she hears a guitar.
To her, he is so much more than just a hipster.
She hopes that there's more to her life
then just looking down at the lights.
She pretends he's next to her as she lights her last cigarette.
He rides his bike to the corner store because he's smoked his last cigarette.
As the sun comes up he puts on his glasses
and the world flickers as the lights
turn off and the sun shimmers on his guitar.
He knows he wants more to his life
than just being a pretentious hipster.
The lovely female hipster
walks to the corner store in search of a cigarette.
She can't help but wonder what she is doing with her life.
Still pondering, she adjusts her glasses.
The cherry red wood of a guitar
catches her eye as it reflects the store lights.
Life has a way of coming together,
beyond hipster materialistic matters- a guitar, a cigarette, or glasses,
the lights of love, always allow two people the grace of being together.
In the busy downtown, the mundane hipster
rides his fixed gear bike; on his back rests his guitar.
Off of his lips hangs a lit cigarette.
Thinking about the girl with the thick rimmed glasses,
he replays the first moment she walked into his life.
The girl wonders what he's doing with his life.
Holding back tears as memories, she stares down at the city lights,
longing settles at the bottom of the empty glasses.
He stole her heart at first sight- that young mustached hipster.
Hoping she'll encounter him again, she puts out her cigarette.
She closes her eyes, humming along to the radio's guitar.
As if she were there, he writes songs to her on his guitar.
He knows he needs her in his life
because, without her, he feels like a wet cigarette,
and his heart is beginning to resemble the dimming lights.
He thinks he'll never see her again- that beautiful jaded hipster.
Everywhere he looks he sees her reflection in the glasses.
Night after night, her tears fog up her glasses
because she can't help but think of him every time she hears a guitar.
To her, he is so much more than just a hipster.
She hopes that there's more to her life
then just looking down at the lights.
She pretends he's next to her as she lights her last cigarette.
He rides his bike to the corner store because he's smoked his last cigarette.
As the sun comes up he puts on his glasses
and the world flickers as the lights
turn off and the sun shimmers on his guitar.
He knows he wants more to his life
than just being a pretentious hipster.
The lovely female hipster
walks to the corner store in search of a cigarette.
She can't help but wonder what she is doing with her life.
Still pondering, she adjusts her glasses.
The cherry red wood of a guitar
catches her eye as it reflects the store lights.
Life has a way of coming together,
beyond hipster materialistic matters- a guitar, a cigarette, or glasses,
the lights of love, always allow two people the grace of being together.
Friday, March 4, 2011
How The Lovely Bones has stuck with me
Earlier this week we were asked a number of questions regarding literary merit and one asked which novel has stayed with us and why. Instantly the first piece that popped into my head is the oh-so-popular and magnificent novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I first read the book sophomore year and since then I can't count the number of times I've re-read it. I've now read it enough to know specific lines from it.
Every time I read the book I understand and recognize things I overlooked or did not comprehend during previous reads; it's almost like reading a completely new novel each time I re-read it.
Sebold's mastery of combining darkness, humor, and beauty is powerful enough to express several truths about human nature, including the most frightening parts that we often choose to ignore, pretending our society could never be so evil.
I have become increasingly obsessed with the character or Ruth Connors who is my favorite literary character of any book I've read. Her obsevations on life and death influence not only my writing, but my own thoughts about the true nature or death, the afterlife, the supernatural.
The novel is a journey, a long winding road that Sebold takes her readers down by the hand. Influenced by her own painful rape in her early life, Sebold's searing use of emotion and imagery inflict strong feelings throughout the novel and it's impossible to not feel either happy, terrified, or uncomfortable while reading this disturbing work of literary art.
-Katie M.
Every time I read the book I understand and recognize things I overlooked or did not comprehend during previous reads; it's almost like reading a completely new novel each time I re-read it.
Sebold's mastery of combining darkness, humor, and beauty is powerful enough to express several truths about human nature, including the most frightening parts that we often choose to ignore, pretending our society could never be so evil.
I have become increasingly obsessed with the character or Ruth Connors who is my favorite literary character of any book I've read. Her obsevations on life and death influence not only my writing, but my own thoughts about the true nature or death, the afterlife, the supernatural.
The novel is a journey, a long winding road that Sebold takes her readers down by the hand. Influenced by her own painful rape in her early life, Sebold's searing use of emotion and imagery inflict strong feelings throughout the novel and it's impossible to not feel either happy, terrified, or uncomfortable while reading this disturbing work of literary art.
-Katie M.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Losing Our Sanity by Dominic H
As the days get closer, more and more stress is being added; two words: College funding. Just when you thought it was over, Financial Aide comes right at you. Worrying, "will I get accepted? How much will I get? Can I afford college?" Although the application process is over, it gets too the nitty gritty. This is the part that truly affects the rest of our lives. I personally am becoming more and more stressed about this process. I'm not worrying about getting accepted, just whether I can afford it. It begs the question, why is college such an expensive commodity? It creates such a huge amount of financial burden and stress on everyone involved. We students have gone through our lives as "kids", and then we are forced to grow up instantly. When money wasn't supposed to be an important thing for us, it suddenly is pushed to the forefront of everything. Even the applications themselves cost money to be turned in! Its madness.
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Cloak of Invisibility comes off Furzan A.
As many have you have seen and heard from the news that protests are erupting throughout the Middle East some are more violent than others. The inspiration for these protests came from Tunisia and then Egypt, both countries which were able to remove the insipid dictators in power. This has caused a chain reaction that has put a tiny light of hope in the minds of the new generation that WE have a voice. It has caused them to take of the blanket of oppression coerced on them and has let them become visible to the world. They want their plight to be heard. I applaud those brave people rising up to the heinous people in charge of their everyday lives.
The one thing I am ashamed of as an American is the news of an AMERICAN TERRORIST TRYING TO BOMB A MOSQUE IN THE NORTHEAST WAS NEVER HEARD. At the end of January an army veteran tried to bring explosives to a mosque but was fortunately caught before he was able to carry out his idiotic idea. Since then I have never heard any news on that topic on major news networks, I only heard it from small time news networks. If it was a Muslim who had an explosive it would have swept through the media like the plague but it was an American terrorist this time it was kept quiet. I find that extremely hypocritical and offensive. I question myself, "what is this country coming too?"
The one thing I am ashamed of as an American is the news of an AMERICAN TERRORIST TRYING TO BOMB A MOSQUE IN THE NORTHEAST WAS NEVER HEARD. At the end of January an army veteran tried to bring explosives to a mosque but was fortunately caught before he was able to carry out his idiotic idea. Since then I have never heard any news on that topic on major news networks, I only heard it from small time news networks. If it was a Muslim who had an explosive it would have swept through the media like the plague but it was an American terrorist this time it was kept quiet. I find that extremely hypocritical and offensive. I question myself, "what is this country coming too?"
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Thought Fox Blues by Keana Rose
I've been so tired baby
Oh I've been so tired baby
But I see my dreams are bigger than this feeling
I been living with this daily burden
Said I been living with this daily burden
But I see my dreams are bigger than this feeling
I got this weight pulling me under
Oh I got this weight pulling me under
But I can see my dreams are bigger than this feeling
I can't let this feeling overpower me
No, I can't let this feeling overpwer me
Cause I see my dreams are bigger than this feeling
Our team decided that tiredness was a great theme to describe the way we have been feeling lately. We all balance so much in our lives that it wears us out. Between high school, college, jobs, and a social life it feels like we are being pulled thinner and thinner each day.
The only thing keeping us going is our future.
Oh I've been so tired baby
But I see my dreams are bigger than this feeling
I been living with this daily burden
Said I been living with this daily burden
But I see my dreams are bigger than this feeling
I got this weight pulling me under
Oh I got this weight pulling me under
But I can see my dreams are bigger than this feeling
I can't let this feeling overpower me
No, I can't let this feeling overpwer me
Cause I see my dreams are bigger than this feeling
Our team decided that tiredness was a great theme to describe the way we have been feeling lately. We all balance so much in our lives that it wears us out. Between high school, college, jobs, and a social life it feels like we are being pulled thinner and thinner each day.
The only thing keeping us going is our future.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Red Shirt by Katie M
For centuries our society has treated women as inferior beings. Men have said women are not as strong, as intelligent, or as capable as them. Women have been the objects of desire and lust, adored simply due to their looks which of course, must be perfect. If a woman does not look at certain way; tall, thin, round hips, a nice bust, a beautiful face and voluminous hair, society tells us that men won't give us a second glance and we will go nowhere in life.
The stages of sexism have changed many times throughout history. For example, women possessed bascially no rights during the Victorian Era. At that time they were expected to be submissive to men, obedient and well mannered. They were not allowed to express any amount of sexuality and at all times had to be covered up in order to "protect them". In Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, the exceptionally terrible treatment of women at the time is apparent when Tess is raped and impregnated and rather than supporting and comforting the poor girl, society ostracizes her and treats her as though the assult and pregnancy were her fault.
Often today there are still several notions that women "asked for it" when they are raped. Recently I read a horrifying article about how it is often believed that girls who "dress scantily" or "act promisicuously" that means they had the rape coming. Completely untrue and disgusting, it greatly angered me to realize how close minded our society still is about respecting women.
Just earlier today our school witnessed what could have been a highly offensive event or a prank just taken way too seriously out of context.
During the rally several red t-shirts with two hands forming a diamond shape and "11" in the center were sold for $13. I was a bit annoyed, knowing what the shirts really mean, which is a reference to the female anatomy, but I just blew it to the side. Not much later on, security guards were wildly racing around campus, telling those wearing the shirts to turn them inside out because female teachers were offended by what the shirts meant. Ironically, most of those wearing the shirts were girls, many girls that I know don't even know what the sign means. The more I think about it now, the more it bothers me that someone would make this shirt, which not only looks stupid but blatantly disrespects women.
So what do you think? Is the t-shirt issue really that bad or do you think people are overreacting?
-Katie M
The stages of sexism have changed many times throughout history. For example, women possessed bascially no rights during the Victorian Era. At that time they were expected to be submissive to men, obedient and well mannered. They were not allowed to express any amount of sexuality and at all times had to be covered up in order to "protect them". In Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, the exceptionally terrible treatment of women at the time is apparent when Tess is raped and impregnated and rather than supporting and comforting the poor girl, society ostracizes her and treats her as though the assult and pregnancy were her fault.
Often today there are still several notions that women "asked for it" when they are raped. Recently I read a horrifying article about how it is often believed that girls who "dress scantily" or "act promisicuously" that means they had the rape coming. Completely untrue and disgusting, it greatly angered me to realize how close minded our society still is about respecting women.
Just earlier today our school witnessed what could have been a highly offensive event or a prank just taken way too seriously out of context.
During the rally several red t-shirts with two hands forming a diamond shape and "11" in the center were sold for $13. I was a bit annoyed, knowing what the shirts really mean, which is a reference to the female anatomy, but I just blew it to the side. Not much later on, security guards were wildly racing around campus, telling those wearing the shirts to turn them inside out because female teachers were offended by what the shirts meant. Ironically, most of those wearing the shirts were girls, many girls that I know don't even know what the sign means. The more I think about it now, the more it bothers me that someone would make this shirt, which not only looks stupid but blatantly disrespects women.
So what do you think? Is the t-shirt issue really that bad or do you think people are overreacting?
-Katie M
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