What I Did for Lying Cotton Review?

As a staff of design group, I was responsible for the “About” portion of the Lying Cotton Review.  “About” page was expanded over the last few weeks, starting with a simple blank page and then being added several subpages. Its contents also were enriched through continuing updating, from a simple submission guideline to a almost fully functional “About” page. So far, it has consisted of five subpages: New to Here, Submissions, Contact Us, Acknowledgments, and FAQ part. The New to Here part includes the official introduction of our Lying Cotton Review, as well as its official purpose. And visitors are easily to reach the access of contributing in Submissions part. Relevant submission guidelines are also available there. Besides, the Contact Us part offers all accesses that visitors can contact Lying Cotton Review, including email address, Twitter link and FaceBook link. And all faculty advisors, participants, and support departments are being acknowledged in the Acknowledgments part. In addition, the distinctive part, FAQ, will answer most of visitors’  questions. FAQ covers a range of issues, and I believe visitors will like it. 

      By using different colors and fonts, the “About” page has stronger visual effect. It is more convenient for visitors to find the information they need in a short time. In the end, I really appreciate those who offered materials to me and those who provided me with technical guidance. Thank all of you.

Response to the Speech about the History of China-US Relations

In the history of China-US relations, we see ups and downs. Two countries are in different constitutional governments (China is in socialism; US is in capitalism). So it is unavoidable that the existing of conflicts between China and US. Since the reform and opening up, China’s economic development is in rapid, and  is recognized as a fact. But America’s integration strength is still the strongest one in the world. Thus, China and US are entering a new era in relations. Obama even ever said that the Sino-U.S. relation is one of the most important bilateral relations in the world. Therefore, I am an optimist about the future of Sino-U.S. relations. I think exchanges and cooperation would be an important part of the relations in the long run. Both countries will together face challenges, remove disturbances, cooperate and make efforts on the growth of the relations. 

Edit to the Poem "When He Was Gone"

5 Poems - Google Doc.

When He Was Gone       

I left the world behind, as your shadow crossed mine

The finger through my hair

locked in a black and white photo.

Once in a million years, a rose bled to death

but the blood no longer boiled under a violent moon

Memory was a bird that flies inside a bird.

She ate up stomach and extracted a broken soul

The sunset was a sinking ship on fire.

  The illusion of sunrise was reflected in the dying flame

Who is crying in the wind to catch the final straw?

Tears drill through the heart of a rock

without cutting any vessel or nerve

When he was gone, memory was just a overdue lie.

————————————————————————————————————————

• What is working well (what requirements of good poetry are here?)

     The poem creates plenty of strong images, like “the finger through my hair,” “a black and white photo,” “a blooding rose,” and so on. The poet is also talented in creating fancy metaphors. For instance, the poet likens memory to "a bird that flies inside a bird;” likens sunset to “a sinking ship on fire;” likens tears to a drill that “drill(s) through the heart of a rock.” Meanwhile, the poet personifies his images. The can bleed; the moon is violent; the rock has heart, vessels and nerves. 

     All of those dying images (the blooding rose, the sunset/the sinking ship on fire, a broken soul, the one who is trying to catch the final straw, the heart broken rock, etc.) make reader rethink the relationship between death and memory. In the end, the poet gives the philosophical answer/conclusion that once die, “memory was just a overdue lie.”

     In a word, the poem is working well on creating strong images and provoking to rethink.

• What is not working (what requirements of "good poetry" are lacking? or not quite working?)

     The poem is weak on interpretability. For example, the image derives from the lines “I left the world behind, as your shadow crossed mine/The finger through my hair/locked in a black and white photo” is weird and incomprehensible. Maybe there is some grammar errors. What’s more, readers may confuse the relationships among “I” “you” “she” and “he.” “She ate up stomach and extracted a broken soul.” The line also needs a explanation. Who is she? Is she a vampire? Whose soul was extracted? Similarly, some images relate to memory (the black and white photo; the flying birds, etc.); others relate to death (the blooding rose, the sunset/the sinking ship on fire, a broken soul, the one who is trying to catch the final straw, the heart broken rock, etc.), but their connections are vague.

• What needs to be changed?

 I think the situation lacking relations among images needs to be changed to strengthen its interpretability.

• Suggestions for how the poet might change.

I suggest to eliminate chaos. It would be helpful to reorganize the lines, or the order of appearance of images. Besides, to clarify the relationship between death and memory by adding a bit of connections among those images. Also, rewrite incomprehensible lines and help readers reduce underlying confusions.

Visual Art Appropriation Assignment 2

The Original Image:
-The sign of Red Cross Society of China (RCSC)

The Icon:
-A Cross (is opposite to a tick)

The Appropriated Image:

In 2011, the Guo Meimei event severely discredited the Red Cross Society of China(RCSC). (Guo Meimei, a young girl, who claimed to hold a senior position at the Red Cross Society of China, posted evidence of lavish living on her blog. ) Though the result shows Guo Meimei has no relation with the RCSC, the public still pay attention to scandals on China’s charity organizations, and some people think those scandals arise from the “philanthropy monopoly.” I switched the Red Cross to a cross, the opposite of tick. The commentary of this change is that RCSC is supposed to benefit the public; however, its monopoly on philanthropy causes its corruption. The appropriated image aims to against philanthropy monopoly of RCSC.

Response to "Choice"

Assignment:

Find a poem in English.

Identify the moment of change (is this an emotional change? a new intellectual understanding?)

Then the hard part: how did the poet create this change?

————————————————————————————————————————

"Choice" by Sudeep Sen: The Poetry Foundation
For the poem “Choice,” the last line, “choosing is a choice unavailable to me” is the moment of change. It brings a new intellectual understanding. The title of the poem is “Choice.” Audience are reading the poem with speculating on what choice of the poet’s mouth refers to. In the first stanza, Sen points out some things that beyond her choosing, like her grandmother’s cancer, her uncle’s mysterious disappearance, old friend’s estrangement, and the abortion of her children. Readers may think Sen tries to express her helpless about controlling things, or averting bitter experience. It is, but it is not just that. In the second stanza, Sen compares herself to a buddha who is using his fake smile to hide pain and painlessness. Sen says, “some things I once believed in/ are beyond my choosing.” She once believed in she has nirvana but now she realizes it is “someone else’s.” Because she has no choice to choose. “Choosing is a choice unavailable to me.” Therefore, we do not know the “choice” refers to “choosing” until the last line. It is a moment of intellectual change on understanding.

Response to “The Moment of Change” in Poems

The moment of change is common in poems. The moment hides the deep meaning of a poem. It makes the poem not superficial. Only understanding the moment of change in the poem, can readers find its deep meaning. As a poetry beginner, I have also been especially keen to create a moment of change in my poems. For example, in my poem “White Paper,” the moment of change occurs at “he tears off the piece of paper.” The moment suggests his families are died in the bombing. And in my poem “The Beggar,” the moment of change occurs at the stray puppy settles down on the man’s leg and the coming of two pence. It suggests the man is a homeless beggar just like the stray puppy. Both of them are a use of intellectual change on understanding. However, it is only low-level. I’d like to learn more and make progress on that. 

Response to Appropriation of Visual Art

Altered images through Photoshop technique are everywhere today. There are a group of people who are interested in Photoshop and create various new images to please the public audience (mostly Web-audience). In this class, it’s good to know the academic term “Appropriation.” It’s a magical art to appropriate the original image and combine with an icon or icons. Sometimes the iconic elements totally subvert the meaning of the original image, which is just for fun. You could also say it is a magic of icon. What’s more, the process of appropriating an image is also interesting. It even provides you with a sense of accomplishment, because you know you are creating something. 

Visual Art Appropriation Assignment

Original Image: 

This is a portrait of an old beggar.
The painting is a reflection and presentation of an old beggar’s real life. He is ragged, weary, and swarthy. He has to beg for money (mostly coins) because he is poorly off. 

Icon: 

This is a comic portrait of Ma Yun, or Jack Ma.
Ma Yun is the founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, a family of highly successful Internet-based businesses. He was just reported as the richest man in China and 18th richest man in the world the other day (November 2014, by Bloomberg Billionaires Index). Therefore, the headshot of Ma Yun is a well-known symbol of success and wealth.

Appropriated Image:

After switching the faces of the beggar and Ma Yun, the new image combines the both symbols of poor and rich. It’s kind of funny. It seems that the man is ragged but has an air of dignity and extraordinariness around him.

Edit to Billy's Story from "Seven Psychopaths"

Seven Psychopaths - Graveyard Scene - Youtube
Seven Psychopaths - Transcript (en)

Assignment:

Perform the role of Hans and edit a story to improve it.

Watch Billy's Story (of how this film should end)

(Billy includes other characters from the film here. It is not necessary to know who these characters are for you to understand the clip. Though I highly recommend watching this film.)

1. List the problems with this story.

1)Billy sets the Jack O’ Diamonds appearing with Bonny, a puppy, but he does not give the puppy a outcome.

2)Some characters’ appearing is funny and ridiculous, like Marty’s, Zachariah’s, the rabbit's and so on. (It’s funny that Marty just stay to observe and take notes; Zachariah carries a rabbit as well. )

3)Almost all dead die rapidly even meaninglessly for the theme of—peace, like the Vietcong guy, Kaya, “the black chick,” Zachariah, and Jack.

4)The whole scene is full of gunfire and confusion. Billy tries resorting to violence to gain peace, which is disapproved of the audience. 

2. Explain how you would fix these problems.

1)Make the puppy is a key role to twist the plot in the end. 

2)Make every character’s appearing reasonable but keep some elements like rabbit and graves.

3)No one will die but some wounded. It will be a real peace.

4)Add some strategy and tactics in scene. Delete most gunplay actions. The ending will be “peace for peace."

3. Fix the problems (you can do this in any form you like: a script, a story, a poem, a video that you show the class.) 

Exterior.

Cemetery. Night.

Jack O’ Diamonds sets everything. He arranges his friends, the seven psychopaths (including "the black chick", Zachariah, hans, Marty, Vietcong guy and some others unknown.) hiding in graves. But he carries his lovely puppy, Bonny, hiding behind a headstone (He says he cannot bear to cage Bonny in a grave. He thinks it is more reassuring to keep Bonny with him.) waiting for the Mafia boss. Once the boss shows up, he will whistle to call his friends out. 

After a while, the Mafia boss is coming. To his surprise, the boss shows up alone and unarmed. So he changes his mind and does not whistle. He set his back against the headstone, and asks the boss behind him, 

“Why are you alone?” 

“Can not it?” 

“Well, let’s go one on one. No arms. Have guts?”

“That’s what I am looking!”

Then, Jack sets Bonny stay behind the headstone. And he stands up, walks towards the boss, and disarms in front to the boss. After staring at each other for a while, they begin to fight with bare hands. Seven psychopaths are watching the one-on-one fight through grave’s crevices invariably. The boss is agile. He knows martial arts. However, Jack is suck in Kungfu. There are great disparity between them.

Seven psychopaths get a bit of anxiety. Marty believes Jack will lose, even die under the Mafia boss’ hand. So, he gets out of the grave silently and calls everybody out. He asks “the black chick" and Hans staying, and requests Zachariah and the Vietcong guy to go with him to break into the Mafia den, somewhere in the forests. Zachariah is not willing to go because he wants to be with “the black chick.” So he asks Marty, 

“Why me?”

Marty answers, “I know you have a rabbit. “

“So what?”

“So you are good at hooking up with rabbits, right?” Marty keeps saying, “The Mafia boss has also a rabbit, too. We need to abduct it.”

“What?” Zachariah is surprised.

“Come on. Just go!”

The three friends arrive at the Mafia den. Zachariah hooks up the rabbit successfully. However, they are discovered as they are leaving. Fortunately, the Vietcong guy beats back the attack of the Mafia gangsters. 

They carry the “hostage” back to cemetery but to see Jack twisting on the ground, bleeding all over the face. Jack still does not whistle. These friends cannot stand anymore. Marty shouts at the boss, 

“Hey, you, look over here!”

The Mafia boss is shocked when he sees his sweetie rabbit bound. He scolds, “What the fuck you doing? Do not hurt my Penny!”

“It depends on you. If you let him (Jack) go, I’ll let your little Penny go.”

“You are double-hcanted. You said one-on-one, and you cheated on me.” The boss sputters, looking at the lying Jack.

Marty irritates the boss further, “Um, I take it that you don’t agree.” Marty targets the gun on the rabbit. 

The boss grits his teeth, “You’ve forced my hand.” Then he snaps his fingers. 

Suddenly, a plenty of Mafia gangsters show up from the forest.

“Now, can you let Penny go? Or you guys no one will leave alive,” the boss laughs badly to them.

On seeing this, Jack O’ Diamonds says with pointing at those gangsters, “Thus, I’m afraid that even if we release your Penny, they won’t gone.” With that he whistles.

A tough fight is launched. 

The shoot-out.

In the tangled warfare, the rabbit Penny gets injured. It falls unconscious on the floor beside the headstone which right the one that the puppy Bonny hides behind. 

Bonny discovers Penny. 

Bonny comes to Penny. 

And Bonny licks Penny’s wounds, over and over again.

The Mafia inadvertently sees the friendly and peaceful scene. He goes numb, stands there, stares at the two lovely friends. Then everyone stops and turns to look. They all cannot help being moved.

Unknowingly, they all lay down the arms.

Response to Marty's & Hans' Story

Seven Psychopaths - Viet Cong Psychopath, Original (Marty's)
Seven Psychopaths - Self Immolation Scene (Hans')

Seven Psychopaths - Transcript (en)

Hans edits Marty’s story dramatically. We compared both stories on class, and discussed their similarities and improvements. Apart from what we have already discovered, there may be an important point missed. I think the most significant change in Hans’ version is the positive ending, and the previous one is quite negative. We have came up with that the Marty’s and Hans’ ending are destruction, but the difference is that Hans’ is self-destruction rather than Marty’s destructing enemies. The former just releases rage without considering any effects which would grows more and more hatred. This is why I called it a extremely negative ending. The later conforms to Buddhism and Confucianism, which suffuse Vietnamese life, to render good for evil. The Vietnamese gives up to revenge. The life biggest moral excellence is the mercy, and the biggest courage is admits mistakes. I think the Vietnamese’s self-immolating will awake the American society to admit mistakes. There is no doubt that it is a thought-provoking positive ending. And this is the essential change, in my view.

Response to “The Beggar”

"The Beggar" by Hanyu Chen

There is no doubt that the beggar is a marginalized group. I uses the metaphor of the stray puppy to explain the beggar’s experience of the society and relationship with the world. The beggar are homeless people in some extent. It is similar to stray dogs. They both are dirty and on one to depend on. So, I put them together at the end of the poem. And there is another reason, I leave a suspense in the poem about who the “He” is, and the answer is showed until the last line—that stray puppy lies beside the “he.” Thus, I put them together to unravel the suspense. 

     Besides, although beggars and stray dogs have similar experiences with the world, people may sympathize with stray dogs but do not feel sorry for some beggars. Stray dogs look for foods by themselves, but some beggars do not even though they are “able-bodied people.” They just ask for money without doing anything. I think the beggar is different from a busker. So, I tried to do not sympathize and romanticize them, and just describe their experiences. 

Writing Assignment 3_The Beggar

Assignment:

Write your own poem about a marginalizaed person.

Kooser uses the metaphor of the circus wagon to explain the blind woman's experience of/relationship with the world. Create your own simile/metaphor for your subject's experience with the world 

             The way they approach the world         

The way the world responds to them

Avoid feeling sorry for them or romanticizing them.

The Beggar

He saw a stray puppy sniffed commuters

on crowded sidewalks 

and rummaged through trash.

The first instinct

people gave way to stay off it, 

or looked straight forward 

passing it with quick steps

pretending not to see.

After a while,

the puppy came to him, 

rub itself on his leg

and settled down for a nap near him. 

He touched its head as usual….

"Cling-clang,”

there comes two pence. 

Response to the First Weekly Report of Journal

It was really excited to listen the first weekly report. It was a good chance for me, a junior staff, to know the progress made on other sections, which feed my curiosity. And I appreciated that every section was on tract, and our journal began to take shape. Though the name of our journal, Lying Cotton, is not my first choice, I believe I would gradually come to love it as the work progresses. 

   What’s more, it is kind of wonder that we created the Lying Cotton, just like sowing a seed. What we will do is to spread fertilizer to make it grows healthily. And someday, it will burgeon and harvest. I cannot wait to see the marvelous cotton (fiction, non-fiction, poetry and art submissions) grown on our journal. I would be proud of myself that I was one of the hard workers on the cotton field then.

Response to “A Blind Woman” after the Class on 10.27

"A Blind Woman" by Ted Kooser: The Poetry Foundation

I am always surprised to find some marvelous ideas on the class discussing, and again this time. The idea about “power” and the transfer of power is really smart. It is known that blind people cannot feel the light. However, at the beginning of the poem, the light is compared to liquid, which makes the light can be felt by the blind woman. Actually, it is us, the normal person, that makes the transition. That is, it is “the world” that is looking at the blind woman. Nevertheless, the transition happens after the circus wagon showing up. The blind woman tries to stride forward. At the moment, she becomes the observer, but not “the world.” And here is a question, “how does the blind woman transition from being the subject to being the observer?” I think it thanks to her courage to walk the footsteps to walk to front. She gains the power as soon as she strides forward. Here, the blind woman and “the world” switch the role, and the blind woman takes the power back.

  Besides, "the metaphor of the circus wagon to explain the blind woman’s relationship with the world” is also a quite smart point. I never thought those disabled people are being stared at just like the animals in the cage on the circus wagon. I think it is awful. We should not regard them like that. They are  people like us. They need power, too. And I appreciate that Ted Kooser does not "feel sorry for them or romanticize them."

Response to “A Blind Woman"

"A Blind Woman" by Ted Kooser: The Poetry Foundation

     The light in the poem is compared to a rain. The light shining on the woman from her forehead to breasts like a rain wets her face and sweatshirt. It is a marvelous symbols and tropes. From the first three stanzas, we seem to see a woman who closes her eyes stands or walks under the sunshine facing up into light. 

     The fourth stanzas focus on the woman’s shoes. The light spots on her shoes is compared to mud spots that circus wagon wheels splashed. Later, the woman chases the wagon with pushing her cane. It is seen that she is a blind. She chases the wagon means she is pursuing light, because the wagon can bring her light. She uses cane to poke and prod to perceive bars. When she passes through these bars, she is on the way of pursuing bright. 

     The last line is significant. The blind woman pursues bright "while the world cowered back in a corner.” The world is totally black for a blind. Therefore, the black world is behind the woman while she walks forward to the bright, which looks like “the world cowered back in a corner.” Destiny traps the blind people in the black, forcing them to look forward to forever bright. It’s quite sad. Ted Kooser may feel sympathy for the blind woman but also admire their positive attitude towards life. Me, too.

Response to “White Paper”

"White Paper" by Hanyu Chen
I created the idea from a song lyric “tearing out the page,” which comes out the ending is back to the beginning. It hints that what the hero does on the page is no longer meaningful to him. The song leaves the question open as to what causes the transition from the meaningful to the meaningless. In my poem “White Paper,” a story is created but hidden, as well as the transition is given. It is seen that he is a military officer and he is writing a letter. However, we do not know who is the receiver. His writing is disrupted at “Love, Your… .” Maybe he is writing to his old parents; maybe he is writing to his beautiful wife; or maybe he is writing to his lovely kids. Here it remains a space for audience to associate. But we all know that it is the one or ones that he loves. The young soldier’s report is the turning point in the poem. We can guess that the apostrophe in the line “… houses were bombed, and no one survived” indicates the bomb site. As soon as the officer hears the report, he tears out the letter, which suggests that the one/ ones he loves right live(s) at the bomb site and is/are died in the accident. It leads to the meaningless of the letter. It is also a harsh transition from happiness to sadness.

Writing Assignment 2_White Paper

Write a poem that involve (either as subject, theme or inspiration)

• beginnings=endings
• transitions

White Paper

He sits at a desk where there is 

a stack of white paper.

The green beret and the old rifle lie aside

watching the dancing pen 

in fascination. 

Coffee is refilled 

with a night over/ the dawning coming,  

leaving voluminous black yearning 

by lines.

He smiles, being going to write the last word….

A young soldier bursts in,

“Report, sir!” “… houses were bombed, and no one survived!”

The line stops as “Love, Your…”

Silently,

he tears off the piece of paper. 

Publishing Position

Publishing Innovation: Magazine staff roles and responsibilities in a nutshell

The Lying Cotton Review -- Positions. Google. Doc.

Design staff (8-11 positions)

• Manages and executes actual design ideas
• Responsible to acquiring, designing and managing journal website and online submissions
• May includes some programing

I would like to be a design staff. Though I am a person who wants to try a bit of every aspect, I like design best among all those aspects. I have loved design since I was a little girl, and I feel like I am going to living my dream in this journal project.
  I have a good taste of art. I will combine and balance functional aspects and aesthetic considerations. My blog design is a good proof. Furthermore, I notice that I this position (Design staff) needs 8 to 11 people. I am always a good partner and will have a good time cooperating with other staffs. The Lying Cotton Review will be a journal that is internally and externally beautiful.

Response to "10 Minutes"

"10 Minutes" by Ahmed Imamović
The main narrative is that an Asian man is touristing in Rome, Italy and he wants his photos developed. The Asian man waits for his developed photo about 10 minutes. The frame narrative is that the boy, Memo is asked to bring some water and bread, but when he comes back in 10 minutes, his parents are killed in blasts. Comparing and contrasting the two narratives, it is seen that both of them last 10 minutes, and they happens accurately simultaneously. However, the 10 minutes for the Asian tourist is so short. He even is surprised to the new technology which satisfy him get photos washed only in 10 minutes. On the contrary, the 10 minutes is a long story for Memo. During Memo’s trip to get food, he meet lots of his friends including neighbors, snipers, citizens and so on. Everybody at that time suffers a difficult life. Some of them even get injured because of the war. By contrast, the Asian tourist has a happy life. It is seen from his photos that he has a wonderful and happy tour with his family. Everybody in the photo has a big smile. Life is different for different people. It isn’t fake. Life is just so cruel. 

Response to Luna's Ekphrasis Poem

"Alcohol" by Luna and corresponding photo

It is a simple photo features a drunk young man on Oktoberfest. However, Luna’s poem has given the man a thoughtful story. The man’s "life dips into the alcohol, fuzzy and dazed.” Here, drinking seems to the man’s life style, and drunkenness seems to his living normality. He may be frustrated at career, relationship, health or something else. There is a huge gap between his expectations and the realities. He chooses to “stops the moment with a cups of alcohol.” The alcohol reflects his current life situation. It applies an usual way that juxtaposes the tangible with the intangible to create such a story. 

   I like the verbal phrase “chase after” in the sentence “He chases after jollification one  ruins himself.” The young man chases after happiness but what leaves him is endless daze. Such tangible happiness bases on intangible sadness. What he innerly really want to chase after is that intangible joy— of success (in life) rather than the crazy festival. 

Response to Paul's Ekphrasis Poem

Paul's Ekphrasis poem with the photo
This one could be regarded as a good ekphrasis poem. I was surprised to find a larger story towards such a simple photo through Paul’s poem. It is obvious that there are two parts of the poem. The first part simply depicts a man who are walking a bear. Readers cannot figure out what its deep meaning then, until Paul mentions ship and hero in the last part. Actually, I did not like his way to shift from the walking man to the ship until I know the hidden story. It seems that the man is a hero who ever steers the ship struggling in the ocean. But now, the ship is too old to continue sailing, and the man becomes a homeless person. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see that the homeless man finds a homeless bear. The bear saved the man emotionally. They walk along with each other with hope and keep moving forward. Therefore, a homeless person may not be an useless but a hero. It’s really a meaningful story which tells us to move forward, always forward no matter how difficult the life is.

Response to "Beginning"

"Beginning" by James Wright
The poem “Beginning” depicts what the narrater sees in wheat field on a peaceful moonlit night. In the poem, the moonlight is transformed into a metaphor for moon’s feathers, which is vivid and beautiful. Besides, the moon and the wheat are anthropomorphic, which creates a peaceful but dynamic picture. It seems that readers can feel "the moon’s young are trying their wings,” the moonlight is falling like hundreds of bright feathers, and the wheat is inclining forward to hear the sound of the falling feathers. What’s more, the slender woman who “lifts up the lovely shadow of her face," “steps into the air” and “is gone wholly into the air” just like a angel. It’s a process from darkness to light. On contrast, the narrater and the wheat still lean back toward their darkness. They are not as brave as the woman to break through the darkness and welcome the light. The moonlight stands for the light sudden breaks through the darkness. 

   However, what confuses me is its title “Beginning.” What is the beginning? Is the darkness or the sudden moonlight? The narrater and the wheat “lean back” toward the darkness in the end, so for them, the darkness is the beginning. For the woman, however, the moonlight is the beginning— which forward the light.

Response to Szymborska’s Poem after the Class on 9.24

"Photograph from September 11" by Szymborska
After I read Szymborska’s poem “Photograph from September 11,” I browsed some photos of 911 days ago, and specially searched for the photograph as what the Szymborska describes. Then I was surprised how simple the way that Szymborska uses. She just simply contextualizes the scene at the moment without any explains to the image. I call this kind of rhetorical device “白描” in Chinese, which means “line-drawing.” Now I know it could be called more professional and academic—ekphrasis. And according to the evaluation criteria of a ekphrasis poem, I know this poem “Photograph from September 11” is a good one with concise words but thought provoking.

  By the way, I was also surprised by the point raised by Evan’s group. They pointed out that the shape of the poem is in tower model. We can discover it when see it in distance. They explained that the first line break means the top of the Twin Towers or the floor where the persons jumped from, and the second line break stands for the ground, which consistent with the text of the poem. It was really a smart point.

Writing Assignment 1_Ekphrasis Poem: Road in the Foot

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/fall092414/f09_55956524.jpg

Reality:
A cyclist rides through the morning light in Richmond Park in London on September 23, 2014. (Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

Change: 
A cyclist is riding in fog, or mist. The harder he peers the harder it is to see, but he still advances bravely. It suggests that on our road of advance we are bound of difficulties, as long as you firmly look at the front, face them and advance bravely, then you won’t lose, because it is clear that road in the foot. 

Poem: 

Road in the Foot

He cycled in the mist

with wheels rotated by turns－

once, twice, never stop.

He was halted on moving

and is being kept 

on the road toward the distance.

Only leaving a black figure

with a blurring setting

and a hidden face. 

Is it hardly to see?

It doesn’t matter, as long as－

looking at the front.

He was scared.

Really? But－

he was still advancing.

Will he lose?

No, he won't, because－

road in the foot.


Maybe this one is better:

Road in the Foot

He cycled in the mist

with wheels rotated by turns－

once, twice, never stop.

He was halted on moving

and is being kept 

on the road toward the distance.

Only leaving a black figure

with a blurring setting

and a hidden face. 

It is hardly

to see the front.

He was looking at the front.

It is hardly

to see the front.

He was still advancing.

The front was full of haze. I swear.

I can only see－

road in the foot.

Response to the poem "Drawing From The Past"

"Drawing From The Past" by Jane Kenyon

After listening the two presentations on last class, I am very impressed with the poem named “Drawing From the Past” which was recommend by Spencer and Ruth. We know that the whole poem describes the scenes in the past from the title. The scene that the poet, Jane Kenyon, eats sandwiches with her mother is described concretely through a series of specific images like red tomatoes, white bread and so on, from which, it is seen that the memory of eating sandwiches with mother is still fresh for Jane. 

   Jane treasures that moment but, as the title shows, it has gone. For its reason, the key is her older brother. The sentence “My brother was good at it, and I was alert to that, too,” shows that Jane’s brother is better than her. Also, she can only enjoy the moment alone with her mother when her brother absent. So she worries her brother would take mother’s love away form her. That’s why she use the word “alert” rather than others. 

  I think there are two interpretations towards the poet’s emotion. First, it may be that all these great memories are gone and what Jane worries becomes a reality. That’s why the title emphasizes “the past.” Thus, the poet expresses her sorrow in the poem. And the other understanding is that it simply expresses her nostalgia for old days. And the poem just reflects the cute little girl, the past Jane who worries about her brother would stole the mother’s love from her. 

Explanation for Journal Name

The submission #1: "The Stream Bed”

A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream. If the stream stands for all beautifully crafted poetries, then the stream bed represents a platform that collects all of those poems. I hope the readers can deposit the rocks (distracting thoughts) in their hearts and take away the clean water (a simple pure mind) after they read the journal.  

The submission #2: “Fantasy”

This journal is going to bring the audience a rich, full of wild notion of poetry tour. Audiences would revel in the world of fantasy and enjoy the adorable imaginations which comes from poetic language.

Response to “Photograph from September 11”

What make this “good” poetry?

"Photograph from September 11" by Szymborska

   Szymborska uses line-drawing technique to describe the photograph from September 11 or, as her words, “this flight.” Though the description is so concise and simple without any rhetoric, such as the line “They jumped from the burning floors—“ and “above the earth toward the earth,” it let audience to imagine the scene at that moment and get chills in the shortest time. All lines in the first two stanzas describes the photograph, but starting from the third stanza, the poet gradually exposes the images that are not in the photo rather than only what we can see. All those invisible images like “hidden blood” “loose hair” “falling keys and coins” inspire more offscreen imaginations. People are easily to connect the offscreen imaginations with the photograph, and there is a dynamic picture, which guides audience to think about the horrible end of the person in the photo and make them feel a surge of grief and pain. In a word, Szymborska’s simple words that lead audience to imagine from the photograph to the offscreen situations and to the tragic end makes the poem good. 

   Furthermore, Szymborska said she can only two things for those poor people. One is “describing the flight,” which records the last moment of their lives; and the other is “not adding a last line,” which means to hide the terrible outcomes and leave a space to imagination and thinking. Such space may trigger the meditation for life and let ourselves learn to revere life; such space may reignite the sense of anger and outrage over the terrorist attacks; or both; or more. In any case, the remaining space for imagination and thinking also makes this “good” poetry.

Response to "Instructions on How to Play the Comb"

"Instructions on How to Play the Comb" by Katharine Rauk
This a sad poem describes a scene that Mrs. Delilah combs her hair lonely in an empty room. “comb” “hair” “grass” are three frequently used words in the poem. In my opinion, the comb is the bond between Mrs. Delilah and her son. Because every time Mrs. Delilah combs her hair, she is missing her son. What’s more, in some extent, the grass symbolizes the grass. Her son’s death (the death of body) leads to Mrs. Delilah’s spiritual death (the death of spirit). So Mrs. Delilah’s head just like her son’s grave. Therefore, Mrs. Delilah’s hair just like the grass on the grave. This is the explain of the sentence "Grass is the beautiful uncut hair of graves.” It is seen that Mrs. Delilah loves her son so much. 

Journal Presentation

Journal Presentation:

Labor Division: 
Re-organizing the information and materials, then presenting the speech. 

Overall introduction and Journal Editors: 

The Apple Valley Review is a semiannual online literary journal. Each issue features a collection of beautifully crafted poetry, short fiction, and personal essays. This journal was founded in 2005 by its current editor, Leah Browning. 

Content: (audience)

It covers poetry, fiction, essay; it also contains cover artworks which are used as a cover for every issue.

This journal combines different styles; it is unique and imaginative. The audience here is eclectic audience, who are willing to try new things.

Aesthetic:

Format/Layout

It is quite simple and clean, which shows a very concise beauty. It contains artwork at the top of the page, usually the pictures with painted figures and scenes. This kind of layout let audience easy to read. But it doesn’t have regular sections.

Genres:

Fiction, poetry, essays, artwork.

Publication platform:

It is published on the website where is accessible for most audience. Also, it is a print journal which published twice annually.

Like:

We recommend this journal because it is very suitable for those who prefer the literary works. We like the cover artworks, from which we can learn to adorn our own journal with several pictures to make the page more attractive. Also, we love the layout of this journal. As I said previously, this journal is simple and clean with concise beauty, which grabs the audience attention on the quality of the literature itself. 

Don’t like:

Actually, apart from its advantages, there are also some disadvantages. This journal is not rich in the content. The sections are very limited. It is exclusive of various fields, such as history, politics or science. 

Also instead of specifically categorize the works by its genres, this journal simply collect all genres in one issue, just like a book. So for our own journal, we suggest that we can contain more things to make the content rich. 

In addition, though it has pictures, but the meaning of the picture can hardly be delivered as it is simply used as cover of each issue without accompanying text to explain it. So in our journal, we will use the pictures /which are in accordance with the content of the poetry /in terms of its meaning. 

Sample piece:

The bees 

by Grant Clauser

First the bees disappeared
and the apple blossoms failed
to understand, so fell away
blown across the field.

The rivers shrank.  Dry algae
like dead skin, flaked off rocks.
Catfish settled into the mud
crusting over the roots
of weeping willows.

When milk stopped flowing
the mothers cried and everyone
noticed how quiet
the marsh had become.

We gathered the last books together
and told the children
to close their eyes
so they wouldn’t see
what was coming.

Next, let me show you a poem by Grant Clauser—-The Bees

(image)

We choose this poem as it has literary appeal through many beautiful images, such as bees, apple blossoms, river, catfish and so on. It is very finely written.

This poem is also very accessible as it not only describes the natural scenes, but also connects the things with our human beings, just like what the last stanzas describe. You can see mothers, children. It is very thought-provoking.

What’s more, you may notice that the bees only appear at the beginning of this poem. But with the disappearance of the bees, the emergence of many things follows, and leads us from a very beautiful moment to a thoughtful level. 

And what happens in the poem? I let you think for yourself.

In conclusion, his poem is consistent with the journal and can be a representative among his journal, as it is accessible, beautiful, and full of imagination. Just as the name of the journal shows in the words “the apple valley”

Response to "As We May Think"

"As We May Think" by Bush
1.What is the Bush’s context for research?

The article was published in 1945 when the Second World War had ceased. For years scientists devoted themselves to warfare. Inventions created at that time extended “man’s physical powers rather than the powers of  is mind”(The editor). Dr. Bush thinks that it is time to put energy in a new and meaningful direction which is inheriting knowledge.

2.What problem does he list?

1)There are lacking "bridge between disciplines.” Investigators cannot find time to grasp conclusions of thousands of other workers, let alone to remember.

2)The "methods of transmitting and reviewing the results of research are generations old,” which causes investigators cannot extract the “truly significant attainments” from “the mass of the inconsequential.”

3)Present processes to store a record will remain clumsy, slow and faulty in detail.

4)The problem to find an effective way to consult records.

3.What is the memex? 

               —description

Memex is a device for individual use, which is a sort of mechanized private file and library. It consists of a desk, a translucent screen and a keyboard. Material will be projected on the screen for convenient reading. Keyboard sets of buttons and levers. What’s more, associative indexing is the essential feature of the memex.

               —what does it enable the research to do

Individuals can mechanically store all their books, records and communications in memex and consult with exceeding speed and flexibility. He can leave one item in position while he calls up another. Memex can also presumably be operate from a distance.

4.Do we have anything similar to the memex today?

In appearance, the computer including laptop is similar to memex. It consists of desk, screen and keyboard. In function, Search Engines like Google, Baidu and Yahoo are similar to the memex. They collect thousands of materials and run by associative indexing. It’s quite convenient for people to do research. 

Welcome!