For Tuesday: "Sea, Rail, and Sky" (poems below)

SORRY--the questions didn't post on Thursday, and I apologize for missing this! You'll find them below...

READ the following poems: "Sea-Fever, Exaltation is in the Going, Exiled, All Day I Hear the Noise of Waters, From the Shore, Ships That Pass In the Night, Travel, I Like To See It Lap the Miles, Taking the Night Train, Night Journey, Window, High Flight, The Journey is Everything, Sympathy

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Why do so many poems use the metaphor of  "night journey" in their poems? How does traveling through the night help us see/experience life in a different way? Use at least one of these poems to explain this. 

Q2: Dunbar's poem, "Sympathy," is one of the most quoted American poems in the 20th century, with its familiar refrain, "I know why the caged bird sings!" What is being compared to a "caged bird" in this poem? Who might identify with the bird's song/experience? Clues in the poem itself?

Q3: Why do you think so many poems are drawn to water as a metaphor for human experience? How does it lend itself to many other interpretations? Consider a poem like "All Day I Hear the Noise of Waters," which states, "I hear the noise of waters/Far below,/All day, all night, I hear them flowing/To and fro." How does this relate to the way many of this poems talk about (or observe) the "water" all around them?

Q4: Some poems play a guessing game with the reader, and refuse to tell them outright what the subject of the poem actually is. Only be deciphering the clues in the poem (and the metaphor) can we guess its secret identity. For example, what is the poem "I like to see it lap the miles" actually about? And why might it resemble a horse to the poet? 

Paper #3: The Abstract

 

Your next assignment is in two parts: Paper #3 (Abstract) and Paper #4 (Allegory). I’ll talk more about Paper #4 in a few weeks. But here’s a hint: writing Paper #3 will give you everything you need to write Paper #4. That’s why I’m calling it an “abstract,” since an abstract is usually a summary or statement of a given work. I’m basically making you think about the conversation which will inform your final paper.

THE ABSTRACT: From our book Songs for the Open Road, I want you to find 2-3 poems that seem to use the same general or specific metaphor. Don’t just write about poems that talk about death, or time, etc., but a specific way they talk about time. For example, both “The Sacred” (p.12) and “Pennsylvania Station” (p.38) talk about cars and train stations as churches. The poets describe each one in terms of something holy, which helps people go on pilgrimages to find themselves and attain peace. Discuss how your poems translate these metaphors into a real experience of life. Don’t just summarize them; help us see the way each poem uses specific words, images, and ideas to alter our perspective through the metaphor. ALSO, explain why you find this metaphor meaningful…how do you relate to this metaphorical concept?

OR, you can use 2-3 poems and songs from anywhere in the world, as long as they develop the same general metaphor and you can clearly show this connection. Using our book is easier, since the poems are all there, and we’re going to discuss the majority of them. But if you have other poems or songs that are meaningful to you, and that you feel can better contribute to this assignment, be my guest.

Remember, the more you analyze these poems and understand how they develop their shared metaphor, the easier Paper #4 will be to write! (hint, hint).

REQUIREMENTS:

• No page limit, as long as you write something meaningful
• Find 2-3 poems or songs that share a similar metaphor or theme
• Discuss the metaphor/theme clearly in your paper: don’t just say “these two poems both talk about death in different ways.”
• Explain why this metaphor is meaningful to you and your experience

ABSTRACT DUE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11^th BY 5pm [no class that day]

For Tuesday: Selected Poems from Songs for the Open Road (see below)

For Tuesday's class, I want you to read the following poems:

* "The Land of Beyond," pages 8-9

* Roadways," pages 9-10

* Highway," page 11

* The Sacred," page 12

* The Road Not Taken," page 13

* "Acquainted With the Night," page 14

* "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," page 15

* "Escapist--Never," page 18

Then, choose ONE of them to answer the following questions:

Q1: What is the controlling metaphor of the poem? For example, is it something like, "life is like a dream," or "a car is like your soul," etc.? Explain how the poem develops this basic metaphor through one of the lines of the poem. Why does this change the way we understand or experience this basic metaphor?

Q2: Discuss a line in the poem that doesn't make immediate sense. Or, a line that seems to mean one thing, but after re-reading it, could also mean something else. Explain how we might read and understand this line, and what makes the line confusing or ambiguous (with more than one meaning). 

For Thursday: Songs for the Open Road: Poems below...

On Tuesday, we discussed how common figurative language is in our society, and how almost everything we say and think contains a metaphor. Here's a brief refresher for those who either missed class or accidentally "dozed off" (to use one of the metaphors we discussed!).

1. Everyday speech is made up of metaphors, because we can't think abstractly. We need to place concepts such as time, sleep, love, death, belief, etc., into concrete terms that relate to something we do know. A metaphor (or simile) puts one things into terms of another to make the unknown knowable, or to suggest another aspect of this idea. 

2. For example: "I fell asleep," "I woke up." Both are metaphors. You don't "fall" asleep, since you can fall asleep sitting up, standing up, or simply laying down. "Falling" is a metaphor that explains the process of "going" to sleep...you feel like you're free falling into a state of unconsciousness. When you wake up, you feel like you're rising "up" into consciousness. Both are metaphors that explain a strange, abstract process that we otherwise wouldn't have words for.

3. Other common ones (see if you can get these): "Can I borrow your time?" "I have time to kill." "Life's a bitch," "No, love's a bitch." "I am SO over him." "Your school called looking for you." "Table #3 wants his check." 

4. Since all of these metaphors are so common, we no longer recognize them as poetry. So what poetry does is make NEW metaphors out of old ideas, so we can see the world through a new lens or perspective. One of the most common metaphors that poetry likes to play with is: "Life is a Journey." Most of the poems in this collection use this general metaphor to create hundreds of new poems that suggest new ways to understand what life is, how we live it, and what the purpose of living truly is.

READ THE POEMS ON PAGES 1-7 FOR THURSDAY, THEN CHOOSE ONE POEM TO ANSWER ALL THREE QUESTIONS:

Q1: Discuss an interesting metaphor in the poem that makes you see one thing/idea in terms of something very different. How does it work, and what makes it so new or interesting for you?

Q2: How does this poem use the idea "life is a journey" in a new or interesting way? How do we see life, growing old, dying, or exploring new things in terms of something different? Does the poem make you more hopeful about life, or more pessimistic about life? 

Q3: Poems are songs, meant to be read aloud and sometimes, even set to music and sung (song lyrics are also poems, though we rarely read them without the music). If this poem were a song, what kind of music would it be? How would this kind of music help us 'hear' the meaning of the song? 

See You Next Week: Tuesday, Oct.19th

REMEMBER that Paper #2 is due today by 5pm! The assignment sheet is on the blog, but you can also click here: https://grassocomp1.blogspot.com/2021/10/paper-2-assignment-curriculum-of-travel.html

No class on Thursday since it's FALL BREAK, but we'll be back the following class day, on Tuesday, to start the second part of the course. We'll be looking at metaphors of travel, and how poetry can change how we understand the concept of travel and how it can affect (and improve) our writing. 

Be sure you  have the book Songs for the Open Road: Poems of Travel and Adventure for next week. You don't have to read anything for Tuesday, but I'll give you a reading assignment for the following Thursday.

Let me know if you have any questions! Enjoy the break...

No Class Tomorrow: Unexpected Cancellation !

 Class,

A meeting I had scheduled tomorrow was forced to move up to tomorrow morning, and I have to miss our class to attend it. Therefore, I'll go ahead and CANCEL TOMORROW'S CLASS (sob!) and let you start working on your paper! :) 

I won't make you do the in-class writing I had planned for today, but instead, I have a few exercises to help you start the paper (listed below). Feel free to respond to any of these as a way of starting your paper 'in the middle,' since each one would be a great way to start writing and introduce the conversation. Remember Paper #2 is due next Tuesday, and NO CLASS on Tuesday, since the paper is due, so you get 3 days off! (since Fall Break starts on Thursday--lucky!). Let me know if you have any questions since I should be back in town by around 2 or 3. 

INTRODUCTION EXERCISES (optional, and you DON'T have send them to me--they're designed to get you writing 'in the middle' on Paper #2):

• Option #1: In the essay, "My Own Private Iceland," Chayka writes, “We need to rehumanize tourists and tourism as the other and realize that we are also tourists. Tourism is part of our society” (71). What would you say to someone who also argued that "the best students are also tourists, both in the world and in life"? 
• Option #2: In Budd's essay, "The Volunteer's Dilemma," he suggests that volunteer tourism is “an international sin,” bound up in the “white-savior complex” (50). Imagine that you just bought your plane ticket to go to Africa (or someplace similar) to do volunteer work for a semester. How would you respond to this accusation? 
• Option #3: In Anderson's essay, "Rick Steves Wants to Set You Free," he quotes Steves as saying, "fear...is for people who don't get out very much" (17). Use this quote to explain why you feel that traveling is an essential part of getting an education. How does it teach you not to be as afraid of the world outside your door (and the people who live there)? 
• Option #4: Some writers have suggested that airplane travel is one of the greatest contributors to global warming, and have suggested we boycott air travel altogether. Yet if he did, this would make much tourism impossible. What do you think is the greater 'good': to see the world or save the planet? 

Good luck and I'll be around for questions and concerns. Otherwise, see you after Fall Break the Tuesday after next Tuesday. I'll send you a reminder about class on the blog and via e-mail.

For Tuesday: Chayka, "My Own Private Iceland" (pp.61-77)

NOTE: Be sure to see the Paper #2 assignment BELOW this one! It's due the Tuesday after next Tuesday (Oct.12th).

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: What does the author mean by "overtourism" and why is this an actual problem, even for countries that rely on tourism to bolster their economy? Why does it affect Iceland in particular?

Q2: The idea of authenticity vs. inauthenticity is similar to ideas of beauty that Jones discussed in her essay, "Such Perfection." Is "authenticity" a universal quality, or is it subjective? Do popular places become less attractive? Is this why the barista at then of Jones' essay says, "It's nice for the tourists...But I'm accustomed to the view and prefer others" (110). 

Q3: What does Chayka mean when he writes, "Countries and cities must constantly perform their identities in order to maintain the flow of tourists" (69)? How can anyone "perform" their identity, since performing suggests acting. Is the very idea of tourism somehow inauthentic? And what might it mean that tourists prefer inauthentic 'authentic' experiences? 

Q4: The essay opens with the author's experience looking at the northern lights in a room where he has a perfect view, without a snowmobile, and without wearing a jacket. It's convenient and only cost him $20. Why is this one of his best experiences in Iceland? How might this be his response to the naysayers who say that Iceland has become a victim of "overtourism"? 

Paper #2 Assignment: A Curriculum of Travel

English 1113

Paper #2: A Curriculum of Travel

INTRO: For our second conversation paper, I want you to become part of a ‘real world’ conversation about travel, one that could actually impact you here at ECU. Imagine that ECU, like many other universities, wants to institute a mandatory one semester travel-abroad requirement. This states that you have to spend at least one semester studying or serving in another country as part of your normal tuition. The idea behind this is that travel will help you become “a citizen of the world” (Steves), assist you in your personal “search for meaning” (Budd), and help us participate “in the illusion of another life” (Chayka).

PROMPT: The university has invited you, a first-year student, to weigh in on the discussion: should the class of 2025 be the first class to have this international requirement? In this paper, you’ll have to make a recommendation, responding to the conversation of travel as we’ve discussed in class. Your audience is other students who don’t yet know the conversation of travel and why they should care (or support) your views. How can you explain to them why it matters? Some questions to consider are:

• Does travel make you a better person? Who thinks so?
• Is travel an essential part of anyone’s “education?”
• Is travel a way to ‘give back’ to the world as a first-world country?
• Is it fair to make travel part of an already jam-packed curriculum? Is it more important for some majors than others?
• Could travel help you find your major and calling in life? Or would it simply delay your graduation?
• Is travel too dangerous and/or irresponsible in the age of COVID and climate change? Why contribute to more “overtourism”?
• How have your own experiences of travel shaped your response to this question?

SOURCES: You should use at least TWO primary sources from our book both to help illustrate the conversation and/or to provide NAYSAYER responses. Remember the Naysayer is the person who has another point of view than yours. If you think travel is important, think of people who might not agree with you and why (and some of our essays might offer this perspective). Similarly, if you’re against travel as part of the curriculum, why might people like Steves and Budd disagree? Or any of our previous authors? Additionally, you should use at least TWO secondary sources to help expand your conversation. These should be outside articles about travel, college, careers, COVID, climate change, etc. We’ll talk about finding sources in class on Thursday.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 3-4 pages double-spaced, though you can do more
• Must use at least 2 primary and 2 secondary sources
• Use of a Naysayer as part of your conversation
• All sources cited according to MLA format with a Works Cited page
• Due TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12^th by 5PM