Imitation

As you begin to transform a fairly formal, academic research paper into a personal essay, you'll need to play around with the kind of voice you want to use on the page. Your homework is to find a paragraph (should be about ten to twelve sentences minimum) in your favorite book, article or poem (if it's a poem, it should be at least three stanzas, let's say), and to, as we did in class, mimic it as closely as possible. Use the same punctuation, number of words, and even some of the same verbs and nouns if you'd like, but be sure the pacing is closely styled after that of your author. For your title, please write: "Imitation of _______ by _______ ________" inserting the title and author's name.


If you don't have a piece of writing at hand, you are welcome to choose one of the short stories, essays or poems from the excellent literary magazine, Gulf Coast, to imitate. (Be sure to click on one of the brown titles, these are the ones available to read online). Don't forget to write "Imitation of _____ by _____ _____." 


Have fun! 


And remember, this one is required.

Tucson Books!

Hey, nothing ever happens in Tucson. Wait, there's a huge book fair! Your assignment, should you choose to accept it (for UP TO five extra credit points) is as follows: 1) Attend a reading or panel discussion at the Tucson Festival of Books this weekend. There should be local and visiting authors of all kinds, so find a topic, film screening or author that interests you. (Watch this trailer to get a sense of what the event entails.) 2) After going to at least one event hosted by the Tucson Festival of Books, please pretend that you came home to find a nasty editorial in the Arizona Daily Star about how there is no culture in Tucson. In the form of a comment to this blog, please write an editorial (300 words) refuting this claim, using detailed observations from your experience at the book fair. In other words, (whether this is your actual opinion or not) you are arguing that Tucson does in fact have a cultural scene, and detailed references to your experience at the book fair are your proof.


Enjoy!

Extra Credit Opportunity: due the Friday before Spring Break

First, re-watch "Many Moons" and be sure you've written down a list of observations. Using at least five examples from the "text," discuss the underlying message(s) encoded in this video. Why was that object, text, lyric or dance move used in the video? How does this "short film" contribute to the discussion we've been having about black female sexuality in the media? What is the visual rhetoric of this video implying about our culture at large?

Second, watch and jot down details from L.E.S. Artistes by another genre-defying artist, Santigold. Think about the themes here: distinctive personal style, lyrics, historically resonant visual tropes... Are there any similarities with Monae? What is it that both of these artists seem to be saying about the identities expected from them by the media? Are there other artists you can introduce to this discussion, who defy the expectations imposed on them?


Your totally unique, thoroughly analytical response (with as many quotations and references to critical articles about the artists and interviews with them as you'd like) should be about 600 words. You can earn, depending on the quality of your response, up to seven extra credit points.