Mythology has never ceased to interest me. It is the center point of all cultures and despite modern lives becoming more secular, it can be seen in pop-culture world wide. It's attempts at demystifying creationism and death are both varied yet inter connective. These questions have been with man kind from the beginning and no matter what region of the earth you are from, you are culturally soaked in ideas and myths that reflect your beliefs. There are many examples of how these mythologies still exist and have even been commodified in popular culture. One of particular interest is our love of the flesh eating undead.
According to Wikipedia, the zombie origin is from an African descent associated with voodoo practice. This myth was eventually popularized in the 60's thanks to George A. Romero's terrifying films and still holds relevance today. AMC's the Walking Dead is a cultural phenomenon. It's popularity as a comic has spun off into a television show, video game, and theme park attraction. Why we are so attracted to the idea of our loved ones coming back to rip us to shreds and eat our flesh needs a lot of research from both a sociological and semiotic approach, but one thing is sure, this mythology about life after death has existed for years and doesn't seem to be dying fast (No pun intended).
There is no escape from mythology. They are the most important stories we have to share, and one could even argue that all stories stem from some sort of mythology. All you have to do is look at the cover of a movie or record and you will see connections to mythologies thousands of years old. Every death metal album cover is caked in blood and features the demonic image of some satanic figure or another. We are steeped in myths no matter where we go.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Poems #2 & #3: Two Haikus
The Wheel of Becoming
The Buddha is here –
A rabbit eats the new grass
in the dead of fall.
Gert
The cat brought a gift
A rat head clung to its spine!
Thank you my dear friend
The Buddha is here –
A rabbit eats the new grass
in the dead of fall.
Gert
The cat brought a gift
A rat head clung to its spine!
Thank you my dear friend
Poem #1: The Bookstore Shelf
The Bookstore Shelf
I laced up my boots and headed west,
My big toe stuck out like the hand of a compass.
Yearning for answers the search engine just could not find,
I scoured the remains of bi-ways, high-ways, and filth ridden city streets
Longing for the jazz that was birthed from Benzedrine poetry.
Wanting to read the sun drenched wrinkles of an immigrant’s face like a sacred map,
To find the callused feet of a biblical martyr
Who could reset my path like a wipe of a hard drive.
Too many dreams wound up in poetic devices to see
The new mother’s milk that is tainted with melamine,
A father despondent in his cubicle cell,
And the older sister with ringing ears in her superstore hell.
While grandmother calls for comfort only to find
A backed up answering machine that chimes: “Inbox full”
Everyone is full of these things that define
Us not as people but the commodities we buy.
But who am I to judge such findings?
I embody a commodity so over played and overpriced.
The college student who believes that the book store shelf
Provides truth to this life with words that are dead.
Created by those whom time has declared
Commodities to buy from a bookstore shelf.
I laced up my boots and headed west,
My big toe stuck out like the hand of a compass.
Yearning for answers the search engine just could not find,
I scoured the remains of bi-ways, high-ways, and filth ridden city streets
Longing for the jazz that was birthed from Benzedrine poetry.
Wanting to read the sun drenched wrinkles of an immigrant’s face like a sacred map,
To find the callused feet of a biblical martyr
Who could reset my path like a wipe of a hard drive.
Too many dreams wound up in poetic devices to see
The new mother’s milk that is tainted with melamine,
A father despondent in his cubicle cell,
And the older sister with ringing ears in her superstore hell.
While grandmother calls for comfort only to find
A backed up answering machine that chimes: “Inbox full”
Everyone is full of these things that define
Us not as people but the commodities we buy.
But who am I to judge such findings?
I embody a commodity so over played and overpriced.
The college student who believes that the book store shelf
Provides truth to this life with words that are dead.
Created by those whom time has declared
Commodities to buy from a bookstore shelf.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Poetry Exercise
ENGL 495: Multigenre Literacy in Global Context
Poetry: Creative
Poetry: Creative
Complete the following creative writing (poetry) exercises.
1. Alliteration and Assonance Lists
Create a list of word pairs and phrases that are built around alliteration or assonance. Remember, alliteration is when words in close proximity start with (or contain) the same consonant sound (as in pretty picture). Assonance is when words in close proximity echo vowel sounds (bent pen). Try to come up with at least ten of each.
1. crazy cat
2. sad song
3. right flight
4. bad fad
5. can’t rant
6. slick Rick
7. sour skittles
8. damp dog
9. dirty Dan
10. flower power
11. hot shot
12. zany zebra
13. mellow yellow
14. mighty mouse
15. won’t worry
16. ask Allison
17. night flight
18. stable cable
19. worry wart
20. quiet queen
A quiet queen murmured a sad song
As the damp dog swallowed the mighty mouse
“Oh slick Rick cannot please me!” she cried
So dirty Dan quieted that worry wart
With his hot shot skills and a bag of sour skittles
2. Metaphors for Life
Make a list of significant life events – birth, death, graduation, marriage, having children, starting your own business. Next, come up with a metaphor for each of these events. Remember: a metaphor is when we say one thing is another thing. A simile is when we say one thing is like another thing.
Metaphor: Life is a dance.
Simile: Life is like a box of chocolates (as a metaphor, this would be life is a box of chocolates)
Tip: Choose metaphors that are visually interesting. Metaphors for life as a dance or box of chocolates are both concrete and easy for readers to visualize.
Birth is a death sentence
Birth is like a blooming flower
Death is an open door
Death is like a homecoming dance
Graduation is a terrible lie
Graduation is like a kick in the ass
Marriage is a foot that found its shoe
Marriage is like a bear constantly clawing at a beehive trying to consume what’s left on the inside
Having children is an open wound that you love to smell
Having children is like eating an apple and realizing it’s bruised
Starting your own business is a sure fire way to becoming a greedy asshole.
Starting your own business is like kicking yourself in the genitals.
Birth is a death sentence
With each contraction you become aware
That life is a stopwatch
Constantly counting down your seconds with each
Tick Tick Tick Tick
You are four ticks closer
To an inevitable end
But do not fear a tragedy
Death is an open door
Taking you beyond
To where we know not
3. Lyrics and Musicality
Choose a catchy song that you enjoy and rewrite the lyrics, but stick to the rhythm and meter. Try to go way off topic from what the original lyrics were about. You can play the song while you work the exercise or search for the lyrics online and use those as your baseline. The idea is to get your mind on the musicality in your writing.
(Original Song: “Tuna in the Brine”)
I swallow tuna fish whole while everyone’s hole
Gets sewn up
Yet you stuck around
In my room and straddled the polar bear’s neck
That’s nesting
The hound in the farthest corner is near
Eats all of my fingers raw off so
Please leave your heart to feed it
You’ll have to fake another lie and chew another pill
And empty your lunch like a kid against their will
Grab everything that you are and feel free to
Tamper the sacred fat bible
Cause you’ll forget it all son if you come at all
To keep your word you’ll have to lose, lose, and lose
Forcing the truth seeing the colors but you see
Nothing is everything
Lusting for change yet changing nothing
Feeble imbeciles are ruling everything
It’s time for your pill like a kid against their will
For my pregnant eyes are mind fucked permanently
To all of the people who keep drinking the spit
From my mouth
You’re feeding my ID
Yet you still take it rough
You’ll have to fake another lie and chew another pill
And empty your lunch like a kid against their will.
http://www.writingforward.com/writing_exercises/writing-exercises/poetry-writing-exercises-post
Reflections on Poetry
I found it interesting trying to explicate a poem by an existentialist thinker like Walt Whitman by utilizing poetic devices. There seems to be so much personal interpretation that happens when each individual reads his poems, that viewing his poetry as a formalist seems pointless. I am a firm believer in the idea that meaning doesn't only come from logic. Meaning can be a product of experience alone.
In the Zen school of buddhism, the practice of koans is trongly emphasized. Koans tend to be similar to word problems one might find in math, yet they have no logical answer. This might seem silly for some people, but the idea is to seek out meaning in an emotional realm rather than a logical one. In a sense you feel the answer rather than think it.
This is how I feel about some poetry, and in particular the poem A Noiseless Patient Spider. There is only so much you can do through explication. This poem requires both a logical interpretation as well as an emotional one in order to fully appreciate it.
In the Zen school of buddhism, the practice of koans is trongly emphasized. Koans tend to be similar to word problems one might find in math, yet they have no logical answer. This might seem silly for some people, but the idea is to seek out meaning in an emotional realm rather than a logical one. In a sense you feel the answer rather than think it.
This is how I feel about some poetry, and in particular the poem A Noiseless Patient Spider. There is only so much you can do through explication. This poem requires both a logical interpretation as well as an emotional one in order to fully appreciate it.
Final Poetry Essay
Nicholas Jerrems
Professor Wexler
English 495esm
September 13, 2012
Poetry Analysis
The transcendentalists of the late 19th century were known for their philosophical exploration of experiences outside of the physical realm. This type of search is evident in Walt Whitman’s A Noiseless Patient Spider. Whitman’s poem explores themes relating to the meaning of life, or rather, the search for it. According to an essay from Papers on Language and Literature "For Whitman, the very process of questioning, searching, and existing in uncertainty is the vital element of spiritual health, as opposed to certainty of the soul's destination" (Smith). Explicating this poem would prove to be quite fruitless from a strictly formalist school of thought, so it seems necessary to adopt a transcendentalist lens in order to fully appreciate the texts meaning. This meaning not only exists in its content, but its form as well. In order to explicate Whitman’s poem, it is necessary to focus on its imagery, free verse form, and its objective correlatives.
Imagery plays a vital role in Whitman’s poem. From the very first line, “A noiseless patient spider” (1), whitman is utilizing a small physical image to eventually convey a large spiritual experience. The poem flows thematically in the shape of a triangle. We start at the top focusing on a small image, and move down to the large open base at the bottom. The spider is nestled on a peak of rocks, or as Whitman put it, “promontory” (2). Throughout the first five lines of the poem, it would even seem as if the point of the poem may be no different from that of a haiku’s; to convey a simple image. Yet understanding the poem’s context in relation to the literary movement of the time should nudge us towards the belief that this imagery isn’t merely for picture painting, but for metaphorical representation. In line three, the spider’s environment is noted as being “vacant” (3). Such a strong word has some kind of importance-even if that importance isn’t clearly visible yet. With well thought-out poetry, no single word can be taken for granted. Vacancy relates to emptiness. Emptiness in the human experience tends to relate to sadness and confusion. One simple word can have that much meaning. The fourth and fifth lines describe the spider’s action of “[launching] forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself/Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them” (4-5). The action of “launching” suggests an urgency or importance in the action. There is a certain level of anxiety coming from the image that has been painted for the reader. The sixth line is the first time the author refers to a human quality by referring to their “soul” (6). The spider imagery is used in a metaphorical sense to portray the author’s soul. This sort of abstract relationship is further emphasized through the use of the poem’s form.
Free verse form tends to seem like the lazy way out. This is not the case. If anything, it is the exact opposite for anyone who has attempted to write free verse. No longer are there guidelines there to hold your hand, but you are left to the expanse openness of a blank page and your imagination. Whitman’s poem utilizes free verse form in order to create a freeing tone. The poem deals with endless expanses of space and mind, as seen in lines 7-8: “Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space/Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them.” Therefore, the poem’s lack of an immediate sense of structure contributes to the overall feeling that there is no guidance in his search. If this poem were put into a sonnet instead, the tone would feel more constrained and limited. Whitman’s poem is a perfect example of how form can reflect the meaning.
Now lets step away from being a stuffy formalist for a moment and get back into the liberating study of thematics through imagery. Line eight creates an image of a soul, or spider, wandering around trying to make connections amongst the “spheres” (8). The sphere seems to be a metaphor that uses the image of a planet floating in an endless space to convey the isolation of each individual human being. The soul tries endlessly to make connections between various other souls hoping to find comfort for the existential crisis. In the next line the author uses imagery once again by showing a “bridge” (9) and “anchor” (9) as some sort of concrete solution to this endless wandering. They are the connections that give life meaning. Although it is not blatantly stated, the spider’s endless search for a place to anchor its web is similar to a human being’s search for belonging in life. The final line connects the two images of the spider and the soul by stating “Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul” (10). The author neatly ties the two together to show the correlation between searching for purpose and place in the universe.
It is important to note the use of objective correlation, whether it is intentional or not. Although the spider seems to be the inspiration for the poem, its importance lies not in its specific definition, but in the theme and emotion the spider-imagery is able to get across. This is what really makes poetry special. When a person sees something in nature and finds a way to personify through their writing, there is a sense of interconnectivity amongst things. This is certainly something that someone like Whitman would want to emphasize. By allowing the reader to discover the meaning behind the metaphors, rather than blatantly handing it to them, he engages them and allows the excitement of discovery to heighten the emotional reaction to the poem’s meaning.
Whitman’s poems are much more than they seem. They require self discovery and participation in order to be fully realized. To approach these strictly with literary devices defeats the purpose of his poetry. According to Whitman himself, “no one will get at my verses who insists upon literary performance, or attempt at such performance, or as aiming mainly towards act or aestheticism” (592 Kennedy). What was touched upon in this essay is only skimming the surface of the poem, and I would be foolish to state that my exploring of poetic devices to describe this poem are substantial enough to convey its meaning. Although imagery, free verse form, and objective correlation are helpful in explicating this poem, they can not do it alone. Whitman’s poem is similar to a zen koan in that the meaning isn’t necessarily logical in a way that intellectuals would expect. It must be experienced. Although I did what was possible to fully explicate it to its core, like all good poetry, everyone needs to experience it for themselves.
Works Cited
Kennedy, Walker. “Walt Whitman”.The North American Review , Vol. 138, No. 331 (Jun., 1884), pp. 591-601.Published by: University of Northern Iowa. Article Stable URL: http:// www.jstor.org/stable/25118392
Smith, Ernest. "'Restless explorations': Whitman's evolving spiritual vision in Leaves of Grass." Papers on Language & Literature 43.3 (2007): 227+. General OneFile. Web. 19 Sep. 2012.
Whitman, Walt. "A Noiseless Patient Spider." 100 Best-loved Poems. By Philip Smith. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. N. pag. Print.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Poetry Essay Rough Draft
Nicholas Jerrems
Professor Wexler
English 495esm
September 13, 2012
The transcendentalists of the late 19th century were known for their philosophical
exploration in regards to experience outside of the physical realm. This type of search is evident
in Walt Whitman’s A Noiseless Patient Spider. Whitman was never necessarily an existentialist,
but this poem definitely explores themes relating to the meaning of life, or the search for it.
Explicating this poem would prove to be quite fruitless from a strictly formalist school of
thought, so it seems necessary to adopt a slight transcendentalist lens in order to fully appreciate
the texts meaning. Despite popular criticism of the transcendentalist movement in which they
were viewed as “mystics” rather than scholars, Whitman’s poem utilizes a few important poetic
devices that aid in delivering the meaning of his poem. It is important to focus on the imagery of
the poem, its free verse form, and its objective correlatives in order to properly explicate it.
Imagery is the main conveyor of theme in Whitman’s poem. From the very first line “A
noiseless patient spider” (L1), whitman is using utilizing a physical image to eventually convey a
spiritual experience. The spider is nestled on a peak of rocks, or as Whitman put it
“promontory” (2). Throughout the first five lines of the poem, it would even seem as if the point
of the poem may be no different from that of a haiku that’s purpose is to convey a simple image.
Yet understanding the poem’s context in relation to the literary movement of the time should
nudge us towards the belief that this imagery isn’t merely for picture painting, but for metaphorical representation. In line three the spider’s environment is noted as being
“vacant” (L3). Such a strong word should anchor in the reader’s mind as holding some type of
importance, even if that importance isn’t clearly visible yet. Vacancy relates to emptiness,
emptiness in the human experience tends to relate to sadness and confusion. One word
describing the spider’s surroundings can have that much meaning. The fourth and fifth lines
show the reader the spider’s action of “[launching] forth filament, filament, filament, out of
itself/Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them” (L4-L5). The action of “launching”
suggests an urgency or importance in the action. There’s a certain level of anxiety coming from
the image painted for the reader. The sixth line is the first time the author refers to a human
quality by referring to their “soul” (L6). The spider is imagery used in a metaphorical sense to
portray the author’s soul.
Something really neat about this poem is how its form relates to its content. Through the
use of free verse, Whitman is able to structure the poem in a way that shows the “vacancy” and
emptiness felt by the author. Lines one through five of the poem represent the first stanza that
paints the image of the spider for the reader. As the author gets further into the relation of the
spider to his soul, the stanzas become singular lines, spaced by an emptiness of page. For
example, in the 7th line the author states that they are “Surrounded, detached, in measureless
oceans of space” (L7). When the poem is viewed in print, this line is in fact surrounded by the
other lines, but detached from them since they are now separate stanzas. Whitman creates the
“oceans of space” on the page through the use of form to visually portray the meaning. By this
time the reader is only a little over half way through the poem, but they can already make
assumptions about the theme of the poem. The soul is similar to the spider in that it is in anendless search for something, “[launching] forth filament” (L4) and trying to make connections
with a web of meaning.
Line eight creates an image of a soul, or spider, wandering around, trying to make
connection amongst the “spheres” (L8). Spheres seems to be a metaphor that uses the image of
space, or planets, to convey the isolation of each individual human being and how the soul tries
endlessly to make connections between the various ones. In the next line, the author uses
imagery once again by showing a “bridge” (L9) and “anchor” (L9) as some sort of of concrete
solution to this endless wandering. They are the connections that give life meaning. Although it
is not blatantly stated, the spiders endless search for a place to anchor its web is similar to a
human being’s search for belonging in life. The final line connects the two images of the spider
and the soul by stating “Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul” (L10).
The author neatly ties the two together to show the correlation of searching for purpose and place
in the universe.
It is important to note the use of objective correlation, whether it was intentional or not.
Although the spider seems to be the inspiration for the poem, it’s importance lies not in its
specific definition, but in the theme and emotion the spider imagery is able to get across. This is
what really makes poetry special because when a person sees something in nature and finds a
way to personify it with their emotion, their is the sense of interconnectivity amongst things. And
this is certainly something that someone like Whitman would want to emphasize.
Professor Wexler
English 495esm
September 13, 2012
The transcendentalists of the late 19th century were known for their philosophical
exploration in regards to experience outside of the physical realm. This type of search is evident
in Walt Whitman’s A Noiseless Patient Spider. Whitman was never necessarily an existentialist,
but this poem definitely explores themes relating to the meaning of life, or the search for it.
Explicating this poem would prove to be quite fruitless from a strictly formalist school of
thought, so it seems necessary to adopt a slight transcendentalist lens in order to fully appreciate
the texts meaning. Despite popular criticism of the transcendentalist movement in which they
were viewed as “mystics” rather than scholars, Whitman’s poem utilizes a few important poetic
devices that aid in delivering the meaning of his poem. It is important to focus on the imagery of
the poem, its free verse form, and its objective correlatives in order to properly explicate it.
Imagery is the main conveyor of theme in Whitman’s poem. From the very first line “A
noiseless patient spider” (L1), whitman is using utilizing a physical image to eventually convey a
spiritual experience. The spider is nestled on a peak of rocks, or as Whitman put it
“promontory” (2). Throughout the first five lines of the poem, it would even seem as if the point
of the poem may be no different from that of a haiku that’s purpose is to convey a simple image.
Yet understanding the poem’s context in relation to the literary movement of the time should
nudge us towards the belief that this imagery isn’t merely for picture painting, but for metaphorical representation. In line three the spider’s environment is noted as being
“vacant” (L3). Such a strong word should anchor in the reader’s mind as holding some type of
importance, even if that importance isn’t clearly visible yet. Vacancy relates to emptiness,
emptiness in the human experience tends to relate to sadness and confusion. One word
describing the spider’s surroundings can have that much meaning. The fourth and fifth lines
show the reader the spider’s action of “[launching] forth filament, filament, filament, out of
itself/Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them” (L4-L5). The action of “launching”
suggests an urgency or importance in the action. There’s a certain level of anxiety coming from
the image painted for the reader. The sixth line is the first time the author refers to a human
quality by referring to their “soul” (L6). The spider is imagery used in a metaphorical sense to
portray the author’s soul.
Something really neat about this poem is how its form relates to its content. Through the
use of free verse, Whitman is able to structure the poem in a way that shows the “vacancy” and
emptiness felt by the author. Lines one through five of the poem represent the first stanza that
paints the image of the spider for the reader. As the author gets further into the relation of the
spider to his soul, the stanzas become singular lines, spaced by an emptiness of page. For
example, in the 7th line the author states that they are “Surrounded, detached, in measureless
oceans of space” (L7). When the poem is viewed in print, this line is in fact surrounded by the
other lines, but detached from them since they are now separate stanzas. Whitman creates the
“oceans of space” on the page through the use of form to visually portray the meaning. By this
time the reader is only a little over half way through the poem, but they can already make
assumptions about the theme of the poem. The soul is similar to the spider in that it is in anendless search for something, “[launching] forth filament” (L4) and trying to make connections
with a web of meaning.
Line eight creates an image of a soul, or spider, wandering around, trying to make
connection amongst the “spheres” (L8). Spheres seems to be a metaphor that uses the image of
space, or planets, to convey the isolation of each individual human being and how the soul tries
endlessly to make connections between the various ones. In the next line, the author uses
imagery once again by showing a “bridge” (L9) and “anchor” (L9) as some sort of of concrete
solution to this endless wandering. They are the connections that give life meaning. Although it
is not blatantly stated, the spiders endless search for a place to anchor its web is similar to a
human being’s search for belonging in life. The final line connects the two images of the spider
and the soul by stating “Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul” (L10).
The author neatly ties the two together to show the correlation of searching for purpose and place
in the universe.
It is important to note the use of objective correlation, whether it was intentional or not.
Although the spider seems to be the inspiration for the poem, it’s importance lies not in its
specific definition, but in the theme and emotion the spider imagery is able to get across. This is
what really makes poetry special because when a person sees something in nature and finds a
way to personify it with their emotion, their is the sense of interconnectivity amongst things. And
this is certainly something that someone like Whitman would want to emphasize.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Can Song Lyrics Be Poetry?
After years and years of being told what poetry is by the education system drilling children's minds with Shakespeare Sonnets and the Romantics, it is sometimes hard to decide whether or not modern day music lyrics are acceptable as poetry. This topic is rather subjective, and I'd like to think the proper way to think of song lyrics is as being "poetic" rather than "poems". Remember, I said the definition of poetry is subjective, therefore my definition may not ring true with yours. Regardless, this being my blog, I guess I'll post my opinion. To me, poetry does not have music and melody accompanying it. Melody is key to music and requires specific pitches in a specific succession each and every time. This does not mean that song lyrics do not share poetic characteristics. In most scenarios, modern day songs spark more emotion in youth than Blake or Byron. Regardless, I'd like to share a song that has lyrics that are quite poetic in my own opinion. I guess it is up to you to determine if the lyrics are poetry or not. I'm not here to tell you some universal definition of poetry since if I did, it would only be a lie. Art needs subjectivity. Without it, it's not art. It's math, science, or business. None the less, here you go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QFD-PhJRsk
Now if you have watched the video, you can see that it utilizes quite a bit of metaphor. If you try to take a direct approach to the song, you will find the lyrics to be kind of ridiculous. I'd suggest taking a semiotics approach to it and find the symbolism in the song and relate it to yourself. I doubt there is universal meaning to the lyrics. There may be a specific meaning to the singer himself, but I think it is up for interpretation to the listener. Whether or not you think it is poetry is another question. I'll stick to my opinion of keeping song lyrics in their own category, but I do think it shares some characteristics with a poem. This idea is not to take any of the validity and power away from lyrics. I think songs are just as important as poetry, and probably even more important to most of us. I just think it's deserving of its own category since it requires the usage of melody over meter to emphasize its meaning. Honestly, it doesn't really matter all that much. Just enjoy songs and poems and don't let the ramblings of an over analytical skeptic English major ruin it for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QFD-PhJRsk
Now if you have watched the video, you can see that it utilizes quite a bit of metaphor. If you try to take a direct approach to the song, you will find the lyrics to be kind of ridiculous. I'd suggest taking a semiotics approach to it and find the symbolism in the song and relate it to yourself. I doubt there is universal meaning to the lyrics. There may be a specific meaning to the singer himself, but I think it is up for interpretation to the listener. Whether or not you think it is poetry is another question. I'll stick to my opinion of keeping song lyrics in their own category, but I do think it shares some characteristics with a poem. This idea is not to take any of the validity and power away from lyrics. I think songs are just as important as poetry, and probably even more important to most of us. I just think it's deserving of its own category since it requires the usage of melody over meter to emphasize its meaning. Honestly, it doesn't really matter all that much. Just enjoy songs and poems and don't let the ramblings of an over analytical skeptic English major ruin it for you.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Literacy on a Global Scale
Thank you for visiting my blog that is focused on exploring the concepts and ideas that make up the area of study called multigenre literacy. My name is Nicholas and I am a graduating senior at CSUN in Southern California. When looking at literacy from a global perspective, one has to address the issue of the always evolving media technology and how it relates to the field of literacy. While I understand why electronic devices have gained a bad rap due to their ability of distraction and anti-socializing the average person on a social networking site, we cannot deny that they are becoming more prominent in our culture to the extent that many joke about our smart phones as being "Life Support". I truly believe that technology needs to be grasped and utilized in teaching literacy since it is in fact a legitimate form of communication. At one point, the ability to print was the newest technology and provided a way for people to communicate ideas on a mass scale. Now, although the internet is quite convoluted and considered the "new wild west", it has the ability to reach people on a global scale.
The globality of the internet allows us to reach people on far opposite ends of the earth with a mere click of a mouse button. If this kind of technology is utilized properly, we can promote literacy to the global masses and allow everyone to have access to a literate future. Obviously there are a lot of kinks and issues in trying to introduce literacy on a global scale via modern day media with differing political and social views, but none the less, the idea is the seed necessary to grow the idea. I believe that as a society we need to find ways to unite education and technology into one package that is more relevant to the new generations.
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