Name All The Animals

After completing the incredibly depressing (yet well-written) The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, we asked our creative writing teacher for something a bit happier. He responded by giving us Name All The Animals, a memoir by Alison Smith which starts off with the death of her older brother. Although not exactly any happier than The Bell Jar, because the character isn't clinically depressed, the story has lighter moments and the main character is more likable. I personally like the book, although not as much as I liked The Bell Jar. I was immediately interested in it because of the title, and the book has remained equally interesting. I like that with the death of her brother the family's opinion on religion changes; Alison's parents turn to religion, but she believes God has walked out of her life and she is unable to reconnect with her faith. I'm not thrilled with the book so far, but I at least like that it's interesting and I hope the book becomes slightly less depressing.

Sylvia Plath Poetry.

The Beast: Like all of her other poetry, this doesn't make any sense. The poem jumps around in each stanza. However, unlike the others, I didn't necessarily dislike this poem. Some of the lines were slightly amusing; "I've married a cupboard of rubbish," and "The sun sat in his armpit." Lines like these, which I don't think are meant to be funny, made me laugh anyways and lightened the mood of the poem (which was quite depressing, like everything else she's written). This poem, unlike others, manages to stay on one topic (for the most part), which made it slightly more enjoyable.

Female Author: I chose this poem because of the name. I ended up liking it more than any of the others I've read by her. It seems most normal and it represented an actual idea, and the metaphors and similes and all those parts of speech related to the poem, instead of going off into some other abstract meaning which I didn't understand.

I Am Vertical: This poem is quite depressing. The title was intriguing, but the first line immediately depressed me; "I am vertical, but I wish I was horizontal." She goes on to talk about how she wants to be dead and buried in a cemetery. I know most of her poetry is sad, but this is the most depressing one I've read so far. Because it talked about death in the first line, it set a horribly upsetting mood for the entire poem, opposed to just being vaguely dark like some of her others.

Sheep in Fog: Like the others, I came across this poem because of the name. Aside from that, I didn't really like anything about it. It talked literally about sheep in fog (and the meaning behind it was one I didn't grasp). I couldn't connect to the images she produced and even though it sounded rather nice, I didn't react to it in any particular way. It wasn't as depressing though, which was nice.

Metaphors: I like this poem a lot. Even though it didn't make any sense, for some reason, I still liked it. I think because the title was "Metaphors" and you have that idea of a metaphorical poem in mind, the fact that it literally doesn't make any sense is okay, and it just works.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

About a week ago, we began to read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath for my creative writing class. I'd already read it over Christmas break, but I'm finding that, unlike other books, I enjoy reading it again. I like the style of writing that Plath uses; the way she describes things are interesting and not common. I would definitely recommend this book. However, it wouldn't exactly be the best book for someone going through a bad time-it really is depressing. Even when life seems to be going well for her, things always end up taking a turn for the worse and she ends up just as miserable as she was before. If you're willing to read it despite this, the book is very good. It's well-written and interesting, and because it's based off her life, it's unique and unlike any other story I've read. Overall, I really enjoyed the book the first time I read it, and I'm enjoying it again.

Unsettling America Poems

Mnemonic-Li-Young Lee

I liked this poem most out of all of the ones we looked at today. I'd found it before we read it in class, because we read another poem on the page before it. Anyways, I liked how the poem started; "I was tired. So I lay down. My lids grew heavy. So I slept. Slender memory, stay with me." I liked that it wasn't full of illusion and metaphors, that it was sort of simple and gave you an introduction to the poem that wasn't full of imagery and description. It was different from the other poems in that way, which set it apart and made it more memorable. I also liked the repetition in the poem, because it wasn't the exact same thing. Well it was, but the sentences were worded differently; "I was cold once. So my father took off his blue sweater." opposed to "Once, I was cold. So my father took off his blue sweater."
I liked the way the poem is written, and I like it a lot more than the other Li-Young Lee poems that we've read so far. Something about it made it easy to relate to, even though it doesn't really apply to my life at all.

Betsey Brown

1. I can relate to a lot of the scenes in the book, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. However, one of the ones that stuck with me the most was when Betsey and her siblings concocted a plan to send Bernice away. I've never done something that mean, but I've definitely at least tried to think of a way to get people I didn't like out of my house.
2. I would want to spend time with Greer, because I think out of all of the adults, he's the only one that actually provides the family with the things he feels they should have.
3. Whenever people talk about how Betsey lives in the "rich colored neighborhood," I'm confused. This isn't exactly what bothered me, but I am a little confused because Jane talks as if they're poor, but it's been said several times that they're not.
4. I think Shange plays with grammar and sentence structure the way she does because she wants to reflect the tone of the time period; also, it gives the book a more unique feel than it would've had otherwise.
5. I think that while Betsey will continue to struggle, she'll end up okay, because it's a coming-of-age story and that's generally what happens in these kinds of stories.

Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange

We've just begun reading a book called Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange. We've only read the first and part of the second chapter, so I can't talk too much about the book or even whether I like it; simply because I don't know enough about it.
The book centers around a family in St. Louis. The parents and five children live in a small house with their maternal grandmother. The first chapters detailed their morning and their interactions with one another; the size of their family seems to make everything a jumbled mess of relationships.
So far, I've enjoyed reading the book, although I find it rather confusing.

The Good Thief

   We were introduced to The Good Thief far before we actually held a book. For weeks our creative writing teachers raved about how fantastic the book was, how great of a read it is for teenagers and how much we would enjoy it. Writers and Books, a local establishment that offers writing programs for kids and adults all year long began a city-wide reading campaign; "What if all of Rochester read the same book?" The idea is to get everyone reading and talking about one specific book. That book is The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti. The book's main character, Ren, grows up in an Catholic orphanage in the 19th century. He was given to them without a hand and therefore has spent all of his eleven or twelve years at the orphanage and doesn't have much of a chance of being adopted. So, when he is adopted, he's thrilled. Unfortunately for him, he soon discovered he's been adopted by a thief who forces him through grave-robbing, petty theft, lying and all sorts of different scams. 

    The Good Thief was a good read. It had adventure and excitement, it wasn't overly predictable and the characters were, for the most part, likable and easy to relate to. However, I didn't think it was all that my teachers thought it was. It was nothing more than a good read. It has achieved wide-spread popularity amongst both teens and adults, which is something I respect, and it doesn't have the horrible plot and characters that books such as Twilight does.

     However, I didn't (and don't) have the fantastic opinion of the book that my teachers do. I found it to be a lot like Oliver. In the interview Hannah Tinti does state that while people have compared Benjamin and Tom to Bill Sykes and Fagin, she doesn't believe they're that similar. I however, thought there was a huge similarity to the entire play. There were differences, of course, but I was disappointed by the lack of originality the book held at times.

     Hannah Tinti will come visit our school on March 24th. I'm eager to see what she says about the book and the inspiration she draws upon as a writer; regardless of how I personally feel about the book, it is highly successful and well-liked by many, and simply for that I respect her and think meeting her will be a worthwhile experience.