Self-Evaluation

   

    There's only one word to describe my time in English 015S this semester...complete and utter ENJOYMENT. I don't think I've had a dull moment in this class. I admit, at first, I thought it was going to be like any other English course where we learn about dead old white men who wrote literature that none of us was interested in. That's a little harsh, but that was my attitude going into it. When the class actually began, I was in for a big surprise. From the lectures on definition to the class discussions on WaWa, I've definitely learned a lot.

    I think I've learned more about writing in this class than I have in all the years I've been in school. It wasn't just about grammar; it was about appealing to people with your writing and writing to a specific audience. The appeals we've learned about are ethos, pathos, and logos and I definitely think I've incorporated that into my writing without even thinking about it. The pathos appeal is probably my favorite because I'm able to win people over by drawing on their emotions and it helps with you're trying to convince them of a certain subject.

    Recently, through Sheila's writing, I've learned about new forms of poetry--letter poems and sound poems. I like how she shared a part of herself with the class through her writing. I think I like these poems because they're easy and real. They're straight to the point and not difficult to understand. Sheila has also taught us about definition and how to define something. We used Penn State as an example and we listened to a podcast analyzing and criticizing the school for being, at the time, the #1 party school.

    What made the class fun, for me, was the fact that we discussed so much. We were able to share what we thought and talk about anything. If you had an opinion, you didn't have to be afraid to share it because all points of view were welcomed.

    Overall, I've enjoyed this class. It's taught me a lot about writing and defining art. I know I'm going to take what I've learned here and carry it throughout the other courses I take at Penn State. Thanks for a great semester Sheila! =)

SRTEs

Hey, Ms. S--I just filled out my SRTE form. Thanks! Love, Alexis

Stuart Dybek

    On Thursday night, I attended a reading by a well-known author, Stuart Dybek. At first, I wasn't very excited about it. I thought that it was going to be boring, I was going to be the only one there, and that I'm wasting my time, but it was nothing like I thought it was going to be. I got there and seats were already filling up and once it started, the place was completely full. The students behind me were in a creative writing class and one of there assignments was to come to this last reading. They were just as unenthusiastic as I was and the Stuart Dybek stood up and began...
    He was a very sarcastic and funny man. He read a portion of one of his books and the title was "Chop Suey Sandwich." Within the fourteen pages that he read, he talked about his father making his lunch (chop suey sandwich) , the legacy of boxing in his family, how he tried to live up to that legacy and was beat down, and his friends at the all boys Catholic school he attended. The literature was very raw, which was something I liked most. He didn't hold back or change anything. Another thing I liked was the comedy in it. It wasn't as boring as I thought it was going to be.
    Dybek's readings are very straight forward. He doesn't sugarcoat anything because there's no need to. When he submitted the piece to ESPN, they wanted him to change it because it was too dirty, but he refused. What he writes is what he writes and if you don't like it, then don't read it. Overall, I loved it. I'd definitely go to another one of his readings.

Our Guest Reader : Sheila!

    I loved all of Sheila's poems, but my favorites were the first three that she read--"Self-Portrait with Roller Coasters,""What My Grandmother Told My Mother on Her Wedding Night," and "Dear Aliens." The first poem was like the story of one person't life in poetry form. Each section was comparable to a memoir, in my opinion, because they were certain times in her life that had a particular effect on her. They were all at different places, but the analogy of the theme park was steady throughout. Using the idea of a roller coaster to describe her life intrigued me because there are good and bad times, ups and downs during one's life and a blood-pumping, adrenaline rushing ride is the perfect way to depict it.
    The last two poems probably interested me the most because they were types of poems that I had never heard of before, which was another reason why I liked them. Not only did Sheila share pieces of her life with us, but she also taught us new things about english and literature. "What My Grandmother Told My Mother on Her Wedding Night" was a sound poem. It sounds just like it reads. The poem is exactly the advice her grandmother gave her mother before she got married. I like it because it's real. There's no metaphorical meaning behind it. It's just short and to the point.
    The last poem, "Dear Aliens," was a letter poem -- it was written in the form of a letter. It's sort of a love poem about a woman and her husband. He has an obsession with outer space and aliens, but she doesn't mind. When he says that they're going to come and take him away, she says, "If they take you, I'm going too." What I liked most about this was the loyalty. No matter what her husband believed in or how crazy he may have seemed, she stays by his side and believes too.