Friday, February 20, 2009

Something New or Interesting

Write a short paragraph that describes something new or interesting you have learned in this class. Write no more than 150 words in a single paragraph, please.

Posted by Brad at 2/20/2009 09:50:00 AM

18 comments:

Brad said...

Poetry shakes people up. That’s what I learned. It may seem simple to read a poem. Poems are short, after all, and although densely written, they at least offer the chance of understanding “something important.” There you go. Szymborska gets in your ear, doesn’t she? Szymborska challenges you every time. A dog’s “warm fur”! Doesn’t stroking its fur sound lovely? But what does it mean to “squeeze inside events”? I imagine a tight place, uncomfortable and unsettling and then ponder conversations with “the lamp switched off.” An old fashioned “lamp” — not the more familiar “light.” The translation is good; Szymborska betrays her age. She has the jaded eye of a long-lived woman. So I noted a look on students’ faces today that seemed to say, does she really mean what she says? As for me, I’m happy to follow her “spark on the wind” with my eyes.

February 20, 2009 at 8:12 PM
hyunni's place said...

“We are going to learn about the poetry.” When I heard this, my heart sank immediately and I wanted to hide. Thankfully, I learned something else. I learned about a life, and it was an awakening moment for me. The title of it was “A Note.” Later, as I read slowly and I really feel what she meant, especially a third stanza where she mentions about “a conversation held with the lamp switched off.” When I read that stanza, I soon remembered the nights when my sister and I were about to go to sleep, we had so much conversations, and a reason why the lamp switched off was it’s just a talk, trying not to remember anything, and soon it would be all forgotten. I heard “Poetry gives someone a hope to read and write.” Perhaps that’s true for me and I hope someday everyone feels that too.

-151 words.

February 21, 2009 at 1:07 PM
kenny said...

English 12 started with poem in this term which seems unfortunate for me. “The Way” is very difficult to understand. I doubt myself that imaginative powers in my mind have gone.

“A Note” is rather easier than “The Way.” My feeling of first, second and last stanza of “A Note” means a life of nature. It seems Szymborska told us that let’s live a quiet and peaceful life with the nature in her poem rather than serious or tight living. I found that her poem, “Hunger Camp at Jaslo” is much easier than “A Note”.

I want to learn the most popular poem of Canada. May be the poem would be easy to understand and has rhythm with alliteration like Korean famous poem. 123 words

February 23, 2009 at 8:19 AM
sam said...

At the first several classes in this term, we talked a lot about poems. I think the list poem is the most interesting one among all the poems we have learned. Sometimes poems could be difficult to be understood for a native speaker, not to say a student who learns English as a second language. So I feel hard to read or write the poems. But the style of list poem is clear and easy for me. After reading the list poems that Brad gave to us, I realized that the simple style can also express something important. When I began to write my own list poem, I found it was really an interesting but not a tough job. I can write what I like or not, or whatever I want to tell. I feel so free to write the poem. Then people may know what kind of person I am through this poem which is written in an easy way.

-161 words

February 23, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Eve Yan said...

Poetry allows people to apply their own imagination and emotion into the lines. While reading the “squeeze inside events”, I imagine of the view points in today’s society, everyone tried to squeeze the inside information, to gossip around, to find the most of all possible mistakes, to satisfy their own desires; “A Note” express it the opposite “dawdle in views, to seek the least of all possible mistakes.” Life is about spoiling full sensation; it could be a moment “to get covered in leaves”, “to rise on wings”, “to be dog” or “to tell pain.” Maybe, you may “mislay your keys in the grass”, so what, let us enjoy a simplest joy of this precious present by “follow a spark on the wind with your eyes.” Tomorrow, we may all have enough trouble of finding keys or whatever. Now, indulge and “keep on not knowing something important.”

147 words

February 24, 2009 at 9:57 AM
mia said...

In the poem, “A Note”, Wislawa uses very simple words to explore a big issue- what the life is. she says “catch your breath on the sand.” I can imagine people play with their family or friends on the beach under the warm sunshine. How relaxed they are; she says “rise on wings”. It makes me think of an eagle which is rising on wings soaring in the sky. How free he is! The poet tells us our lives could be that way. When most people think holding a conversation with the lamp switched off is common, the poet tells us that is “an extraordinary chance.” We should cherish that moment. That is given from the life. Also, I am impressed by the last line, “keep on not knowing something important.” People often label something to be important. Those so- called “important things” might upset you, make you nervous. Trying to know them as less as possible leads you to a happy life.

February 24, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Ashley said...

So far this term, I have learned a few new interesting things in English. Despite this being the second time I’ve taken English 12, I was surprised to absorb a lot of new information that I had never been taught. For example, I learned more about the 6 traits that lead to good writing. I’ve heard of them and the “6 point scale,” but it was only mentioned briefly in the past. I think it was great that we brainstormed as a class what we thought these points were and then went over what they were afterwards. The blog was also interesting to learn about. I enjoy reading other students’ entries and posting my own work as well. Lastly, I’ve learned that it takes practice to master the ability to interpret poetry. Even with English as my first language, I still have difficulty fully understanding some poems. With learning anything, the phrase “practice makes perfect” is completely true.

February 24, 2009 at 5:36 PM
ally said...

Poems are the kind of things that contain huge energy. Just in such short lines of words, you may get a strong feeling, a profound meaning, a smart inspiration or a fearful truth. When I was young (around the few years in my middle and high school), I had been fascinated by poems. That was why I enjoyed the process of creating “I Prefer”, because I could express myself in a familiar and satisfying way. However, from the following poems “The Way” to “A Note”, I was frightened right after I read them the first time. I couldn’t understand them at all. Maybe the charms of poems consist in the moment of epiphany after you read them again and again. When I finally realized the irony among the words of “The Way” about human smallness and the truth of life hidden in the form of “A Note”, I had to be amazed and admire the profound insight of these poets toward life.
--162 words

February 24, 2009 at 6:27 PM
Faye said...

I found poetry challenging, as I was often unsure of the meaning behind the poem. My understanding grew from teacher’s explanations, group discussions and our class blog.

I tried to understand what the poet’s intentions were within the poem and had difficulty deciphering the symbolism that the poet was attempting to convey. I discovered, from group discussion of “The Note”, that everyone had their own understanding of poetry, including the teacher. Group discussion expanded my thinking, gave me confidence and confirmed for me that there is no right or wrong answer. I can think freely as long as it makes sense within the poem.

I am grateful for examples the teacher gave us before assignments and having access to our class blog. Reading good essays written by other students helped to broaden my knowledge. Being exposed to different styles of writing and a variety of subjects has helped me to progress even further.

153 words

February 24, 2009 at 10:03 PM
selena wang said...

“A NOTE” is a very interesting poem. It looks very random, very easy, but, under the surface of these flat words, it contains a lot, a big picture. From “catch your breath on the sand” and “rise on wings”, it created a picture from ocean to sky, life is exist in these moments. In the first three stanzas, the poet is enjoying life in a very relaxing way. However, life is not always easy and happy, so we try to avoid big mistakes. Next, the poet extends with “a moment a conversation held with the lamp switched off.” This is the moment to image the life, also “an extraordinary chance” to review and discuss our life. Sometimes, life have tough time, such as” stumble up a stone” or “soaked in a downpour.” What should we do if “we mislay our key in the grass?” The poet suggested somehow people could manage to survive. So take it easy, and pay no attention to “something important.”

February 24, 2009 at 11:16 PM
Lauren said...

It’s extremely difficult to express your true emotions through writing. After reading the poem “The Way” I realized that most writers are trying to help the readers visualize a certain event that will be difficult to envision unless they were actually present at that time. Many poets leave readers speechless and spending endless nights awake trying to pry apart their poetry. It is much more likely to express your true feelings over poetry than stories and simple paragraphs. We have words to explain everything on the earth but do they really do those items justice? In poetry the writer can use words that might not make sense together but they express their true feelings at that time. I would like to have to ability to write more ingeniously and I look forward to learning more about it this course.

-139 words

February 24, 2009 at 11:29 PM
a crazy couple said...

“A Note”
Study poetry is one of my interesting activities in the life. I enjoy the philosophy of the great poets, but I hate week poems. They seem to me stupid, some worthless efforts to show off for something or somebody. I knew Wislawa Szyborska before coming to this class because she is a great poet. I always enjoy reading her poems and feeling her perspective to the world. I say “feeling” because I believe we have to feel the poetry with our spirits, not only understand it with our brains. I always learn many things new in the English classes. They are very useful for me and help me to understand better my errors. However, I like the literature specifically, and Brad is very good in this section. He makes me feel I’m learning every time, a new thing in his class, and this is the truth. (149 words)

February 24, 2009 at 11:33 PM
Grace said...

To be honest, I was never very interested in reading poetry before. I thought that reading poems was boring. In fact, I often suspected that a “poet” would take a simple thought or idea and make it hard to understand, and that is what we would then call a “poem”. In this way, it was absurd, I thought, to write poems then let people read them! But now, I find someting different. What is a poem? I believe that a poem can be considered a collection of short rhythmic sentences that a writer uses to try to convey an idea or thought to the reader. However, every poem may mean one thing to the poet, but you, the reader, can imagine anything. It is amazing! Different people reading the same poem will see a different world. Like in the poem “A Note”, some people found a simple life, but I found a diversified and bittersweet world for people to experience. What was the poet’s real idea? Maybe it is not important for the reader to get the poet’s exact meaning. Enjoying the process of imagining is enough, and maybe that is the poet’s real aim. So, let’s enjoy reading a poem!
-200 words

February 24, 2009 at 11:36 PM
Makassia said...

I’ve learned several things so far in the English 12 class. The first thing is reading a poem. Before, I used to read it silently and then tie it to “a chair and torture a confession out of it.” however, that did add only frustration for not understanding. I also used to skip any stanza that gives me trouble, ignoring the “every word is important in a poem” saying. But in English 12 class, I’ve learned that reading a poem aloud is the first thing you do and using imagination while reading. In addition, poetry brings many feelings like confusion, frustration and then the amazement. For example, Szymborska’s poem “A Note” was confusing when I did not get her message. But when I got it, I thought it was very intriguing, which made me place poetry on my “something important” list.

142 words

February 25, 2009 at 12:40 AM
Anonymous said...

For several days, my computer got infected by virus which made me freak and nervous. I thought I have missed much good stuff on blog. Yes, I am fond of reading other students posts, which I agreed to Brad that in writing “personality” is being shown. And reading others blogs also, is a rewarding experience.

Studying poetry makes me appreciate life deeply as a person. A poet, Szymborska in her poem, “A Note” strongly demonstrates its life appreciation, and emphasizes the beauty of countless events in life. I do admire about Szymborska dinstinct personality in her poem, “A Note” rather than in her lists poems, “I Prefer”. However, both poems inspired me more to understand the poets mind and feeling. In addition, her tone of voice is young, active and romantic- who is trying //to remember for a moment a conversation held with the lamp switch off// I imagine, how intimate a talk would be like. Another, I can easily grasp the different moods that the poet is trying to asserts; such as “stumble upon a stone”, “dawdle in views”, “mislay your keys in the grass” is just a reminder that- Life is full of fun, and surprises! For me, indeed, the meaning of the poem, “A Note” means having a life is to simply live, life to the fullest

February 25, 2009 at 3:17 AM
Juliette said...

How ‘s a Touching Poem Produced?

I started enjoying the creative images and expressions in poems “A Note” and “The Way” after reading them about ten times. The poets seem possess more senses than normal people. I can partially figure out, from Wislawa Szymborska’s Nobel Lecture: “The Poet and the World”, how a touching poem is produced. Only those genuine souls, as pure as “the still white sheet of paper”, full of curiosity and “love”, can expect the visits of “inspiration” conducing to fantastic poems with fancy “imagination”. It reminds me of Han Han, a 27-year-old Chinese young author, who ever tartly ridiculed those empty chaffy poems composed by some “professional” poets only seeking for fame and wealth. If he chances to read this lecture, he might admire Wislawa Symborska as a “genuine poet” who prefers to get rid of all “poetic paraphernalia”. This is the most interesting thing that occurs to me up to now.

(150 WORDS)

February 25, 2009 at 3:32 AM
yuwin said...

A Variety of Learning

Poetry is not difficult to appreciate or to me again. I used to spend a long time to read writers’ thought even though it was a short and simple poem. I usually gave up studying the poems at last. At the beginning of this term, I felt the strain when I heard that we would learn the poetry. Few weeks late, I have a new idea to touch the poems. At first, I have learnt how to write the list poem. I used simple words and the feeling to write the list poem. How excited it is. . At the same time, I have learnt how to discuss the poems and share the feeling with a group. Free association can makes more interesting for the poems. After that, we have a presentation to read our list poems aloud in the class. I have learnt different things in every class.
(154words)

February 25, 2009 at 3:45 AM
Kaycee said...

When I first entered the classroom, my heart pounded against my chest like I just ran a marathon. The room was filled with new faces. I decided to sit down at the very back, where it was far from other students. Then, the teacher (Brad Hyde) called my name. I was pleased and surprised that he remembered me. I thought he wouldn’t recognize me because we only spoke once before. It’s almost 1 month since I started this English 12 course and I have learned new things. During my first week at school, blogging was introduced to me. This was new for me and using it the first time was frustrating, but, eventually I became comfortable with it. In addition, while taking this course, I find my teacher and classmates interesting. Mr. Hyde is the most excellent teacher I have ever met in my life. I can see that he really cares for us (his students) unlike other teachers. I also notice some of my classmates as extraordinary. Some of them are incredibly smart – which makes me feel intimidated sometimes. However, I’m glad to have them as my classmates because I can learn from them. It’s been three weeks and I have learned something new and interesting.

February 25, 2009 at 7:35 AM

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