november 20

Sometimes life is our literature.  Yesterday, this happened:

So, today we'll be creating space for any discussion that needs discussing, and we will be integrating our ideas about reality with our ideas about poetry.

For starters: an exercise in Remix and "the medium is the message."  Watching the news visual with each of today's tunes: "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen & "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones

JOURNAL TOPIC:
As author Salman Rushdie put it, "A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep."  Write a poem about yesterday's events, or what you think it says about our culture and the people in it, or anything else that fulfills Rushdie's description of the poet's work.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discussion
3. Hamlet
4. Poetry option: "Immigrants in Our Own Land" by Jimmy Santiago Baca

HW:
1. Begin reading Act V of Hamlet
2. Option: Write a 1-2 paragraph response to "Immigrants in Our Own Land" in which you describe your relationship with RHS and school in general.  Are you a proud native, a curious tourist, an optimistic immigrant, or a pessimistic immigrant?  Why?  Use real examples/stories to illustrate your ideas.