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.

Haiku Guy

Haiku has been something that I've always ignored. I don't enjoy reading it; I always feel like I'm missing something that everyone else can instantly grasp. The meaning of the haiku? Perhaps. I can read the words and the sentences and see that it's a haiku, but I cannot for the life of me enjoy it. It's too short, too clipped and the imagery and details just aren't poignant enough for me. At least, that was how I've felt about haiku ever since my fifth-grade self was introduced to it.
When I was given Haiku Guy to read, it was hard for me to stay open about it-I was inclined simply to dismiss it as more haiku nonsense and get through it as quickly as possible. However, as I began reading it,  I became more and more surprised. I liked it. I even liked the haiku in it (even the ones which Cup-Of-Tea deemed unsatisfactory). The way it was written reminded me a little bit of a book called The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff. Something about the way the book is written made it easy for me to read. The writing, while still being professional and retained the ability to create the vivid imagery that all good writing should, also had a simplicity to it that set it apart from other novels.
But more than just being a good book, something about it reminded me so much of haiku that it was almost (almost!) easy to write haiku while reading it. Something about the way the characters were described, the way they interacted with each other and the places they went and their reactions to these places was just... For lack of a better word, nice.
I found myself beginning to enjoy haiku. Not reading haiku (I don't think any amount of good writing could do that), but I enjoyed the challenge of writing haiku; of making my point in less than seventeen syllables, and making it sound pretty.
So for me, even more so than the book being a really great novel, it taught me to appreciate the art of haiku, and to even enjoy how challenging it is to write it. Any book that can do that has to be pretty good.