The BIG READ in Cortland!

Dateline: Minneapolis

I’m here, as some of you know, at the BIG READ* orientation to meet other grant winners from around the country and to learn how to adminster the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) grant the college has been awarded to carry out a community reads celebration of Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451 (1953), which according to publicity here still sells 50,000 copies a year.

Colleague, Sheila Cohen (Literacy Dept.) and I chose this novel to highlight its themes: repression of free thought through censorship, a people who value books, the loss of culture and history, the constant demand to satisfy immediate visual and censory appetites by a drug induced and media saturated populace, the value of authentic human interaction and the value of the natural world, to name a few.

For Bradbury, our choice to use, misuse or discard books — represented by the novel’s both literal and figurative book burning — relates to all of these themes.

It’s been exciting to hear what various communities are planning for their BIG READ celebrations. But so far we are the only site that has actually been in touch with Mr. Bradbury, now 87, and living in Ca., in hopes of doing a teleconference with him that will be simulcast to other sites.

We will be reading this novel in ENG 619 as I am hoping the YA Lit class will have opportunities to be major figures in the BIG READ calendar of events.

If you know this novel, do share that with me. I would be very interested in hearing some of your suggestions for events that will support our community’s reading of Fahrenheit 451. I welcome your suggestions as well as comments and questions. Tomorrow is another full day of training for the grant which is modest (about $8,000) as befits our small community.

I was able to take a good walk today to the famed Guthrie Theater, a theatre I have always wanted to visit. I would like to see their current production of Jane Eyre, but I’m afraid I have to get back to 541! KES

*This is the link to the complete list of (16) books the NEA is sponsoring for upcoming BIG READ events.

Suggestions for Targeting a Journal for Your Article

Re: Here is the description of the next issue of THE ENGLISH RECORD’s theme:

Speaking from the Margin: Critical Literacy and Social Justice*

With so many troubles in the world, we as teachers need to remember one essential detail* words can have incredible power. Through literacy, teachers can empower students. Voices silenced altogether or pushed aside into the margins can be heard whispering. Let’s help those voices become stronger and be heard. We need to show our students how to help those voices change the world. Sometimes the voices off to the side of a text are not good voices but the voices of corruption hidden within text and through critical literacy we need to show our students how to critique those mummers between the lines. How do we as English teachers approach such a monumental task? How have you shown students the path to empowering marginalized peoples and at the same time call into question the messages from the dominant elite? In what ways have you used literacy to spark social justice? Please share your narratives, lessons, and experiences.

The introduction to your article and the discussion should target this theme IF in fact you are writing about a book that fits the theme and plan to send to this journal. You can locate other journals’ special theme issues or open ms. calls by going to their websites.

If you have a specific focus in mind, other than THE RECORD, get in touch and I will help. KES

*This is also the theme of the annual NCTE convention in NYC this month.

Chalk

Hi all,

After a super busy day of doing homework, I spent the night watching a movie. It was about teaching and I thought you all might enjoy it. It was recently released by an independent film company. Its called chalk. It’s really funny and I thought it captured some of the frustrations and politics of teaching very well. Has anyone else seen it? Just a warning, don’t watch it after you’ve spent the whole day doing classwork. It’s a funny movie but might leave you feeling frustrated.

Allison

Coe Booth

I once dated a female from Queens who had been in and out of shelters for a very long time(TMI) lol. She also had kids. When I went to visit her, she had finally gotten a place in the projects. I am familiar with the story which is told in Both’s novel “Tyrell”.

It gives a face to a problem which many Americans don’t care to see. She paints a realistic portrait of the day-to-day struggles that exists for millions of Americans who live without shelter.

The main character (Tyrell) is a high school drop out who has numerous problems that he faces at only 14. His father is in jail (again) and his mother is a second rate parent wanting her son to take care of her. Tyrell is forced to become a man before his time and must take care of his family. His girlfriend Novisha was his soul mate before she lied to him. He eventually meets Jasmine and they become friends.

These poor kids (Jasmine and Tyrell) are constantly being taken advantage of by adults. Although Tyrell is constantly being faced with opportunities to partake in illegal activities, he is seen continuosly fighting the temptation.

 This narrative is spoken through the first person. The first person is Tyrell,  so many would believe that the story is being told through a black male perspective. However, as one may continue to read, he or she may find that a womans voice becomes apparent. It is obvious that Tyrell is a sexually intrigued young man who likes women. The evidence becomes apparent in the various scenes where he asks Novisha to “take care of him” meaning they would interact in oral sex. As a young man who liked to be with women sexually, however, he often found himself in positions where he should not have been able to resist. He is seen sleeping with Jasmine (a very attractive latino women) but nothing happened. It is apparent that Booth’s voice comes through the character and I don’t know if this was done purposely. However, this novel is written through a womanist perspective (black feminists) and these types of novels are very often found at the top of the bestsellers lists. This is especially true when one compares novels written about black men where the black male characters “count” verses a novel written where they are seen to be considerably “less than” average. All of the black men in Both’s novel are dealing with some kind of problem and there is not one (black man) that amounts to any good.  There were no black men for Tyrell to look up to. It is true that his mother was not that exceptional either but Novisha’s mom was a very positive role model for Tyrell.

This omission of reponsible black men seems to be the secret of success for novels written from the “black perspective”. It has become the equation for black success novels. The plot has to be as follows: Black women characters or families without average men plus poverty, minus exceptional black men characters, equal a successful black novel which are usually written by black women. This has also been the case for many black movies and plays (the Color Purple, Beloved, A Raisen in the Sun).

When I initially began reading this novel, I believed that it would be best if it were critiqued through an African American Perspective. I now believe that perhaps analyzing this novel through a Feminist perspective would give the readers more insight. It would certainly give the author more justice.

Ray C.