Wordy Rappinghood

Writers: Tina Weymouth, Laura Elizabeth Weymouth, Lani Weymouth

Title: Wordy Rappinghood

What are words worth? 

What are words worth? - words 

Words in papers, words in books 

Words on tv, words for crooks 

Words of comfort, words of peace 

Words to make the fighting cease 

Words to tell you what to do 

Words are working hard for you 

Eat your words but don’t go hungry 

Words have always nearly hung me 

What are words worth? 

What are words worth? - words 

Words of nuance, words of skill 

And words of romance are a thrill 

Words are stupid, words are fun 

Words can put you on the run 

Mots pressџx, mots sensџx, 

Mots qui disent la vвэit? mots maudits, mots mentis, 

Mots qui manquent le fruit d’esprit 

What are words worth? 

What are words worth? - words 

Its a rap race, with a fast pace 

Concrete words, abstract words 

Crazy words and lying words 

Hazy words and dying words 

Words of faith and tell me straight 

Rare words and swear words 

Good words and bad words 

What are words worth? 

What are words worth? - words 

Words can make you pay and pay 

Four-letter words I cannot say 

Panty, toilet, dirty devil 

Words are trouble, words are subtle 

Words of anger, words of hate 

Words over here, words out there 

In the air and everywhere 

Words of wisdom, words of strife 

Words that write the book I like 

Words won’t find no right solution 

To the planet earth’s pollution 

Say the right word, make a million 

Words are like a certain person 

Who can’t say what they mean 

Don’t mean what they say 

With a rap rap here and a rap rap there 

Here a rap, there a rap 

Everywhere a rap rap 

Rap it up for the common good 

Let us enlist the neighbourhood 

It’s okay, I’ve overstood 

This is a wordy rappinghood, okay, bye. 

What are words worth? 

What are words worth? - words 

What are words worth? 

What are words worth? - words 

​He’ll stop … don’t stop … stop.​

51 Birch Street Family

51 Birch Street is a documentary film about a family where the mother just goes through an unexpected death just three weeks after having pneumonia. After watching the family you ask yourself many questions about your parents. Are they really happy with each other? If everything a cover up? Are they actually loyal? Is there anything we as kids should know about our parents if they are hiding anything? You also see many close end tied themes as well such as love, loyalty, hatred, adultery(I guess indirectly) and mainly commitment. What do you all think are the main goals of the film. What are they trying to tell us even I don’t know because I think of it as a point where they are just talking about one family, it doesn’t happen to all families. But basically what did you all learn from this short film. 

51 Birch Street

51 Birch Street is a documentary film detailing the lives of the suburban Block family before and after the sudden passing of the family's mother/wife. In watching, the film seems poised to address many different themes ranging from love, marriage, fidelity, to the underlying mystery regarding parents and family. Not only does it settle these themes upon itself, but I think the film also seeks to get the viewer to address some of the difficult questions that it proposes. Can we really resolve our problems with our parents? If so, when is the right time, is there a right time? How much can we really focus on the past, and what aspects of it should we focus on? How much of our past should we ignore? Do we really want to know "the truth," how much of the truth can we really be ok with if any at all? There are many more questions that are asked and that can be interpreted, but these are some of the main ones I got. Either address some of the questions if you want, or speak about what you think is the purpose of the film. What sort of things the film make you think about or what did you think the film was asking or trying to get across?

6 Word Memoirs

After reading the 6 word memoirs reading, you can see how much it actually grew from when it first started. Not only that but people who participate in these 6 word memoirs aren't always the same as you would think they are based on their 6 words. If you were to write a 6 word memoir right now, what would it be? It could be about anything now, before, or even in your future.

6 Word Memoirs

What literary techniques do these six word memoirs all have in common? Do they tell a story? Are they nonsense? Pointless to write?

How To Make a March/Spectacle

In How To Make a March/Spectacle, Allen Ginsberg uses to strong tone to persuade people on how to make a march. His Writing style really confused me because of how the writing was written. Did you get the main point of march? Do you like his writing style? What where some literary devices used during this literary piece?

"Love is An Act of Listening" (StoryCorps)

"Love is An Act of Listening" presents a tapestry of American stories, commemorating and reflecting the oral history of America with the voices of everyday people. Each one captures a moment in time whether it is historical, emotional, or personal, which defines who we are. The foundation and purpose of StoryCorps was to shed some light on the untold stories, unsung heroes, untold tales and anecdotes of everyday people to reflect experiences and wisdom that are just as compelling and relevant as compared to those of celebrities. We get an insightful snapshot into everyday people's lives and how they are shaped by the events and people around them. Why is it important to share narrations and stories of other people's lives? Do you believe the foundation and enterprise of StoryCorps helps people get an insightful glimpse into the perspective of other people's lives
and take something away from it, or perceive it as a maudlin way of somber and pointless tales to which we are all indifferent to?

Howl

In “Howl” parts one and two, Allen Ginsberg portrays events that I believe happened to him and his friends. This story is hard to follow along with because it is all over the place. In all of the events that Ginsberg writes about, everyone is on drugs doing wild things. This piece seems to me that Ginsberg is just writing down past stories he’s witnessed or been part of. What did you think of his writing style? Anything that stood out?

Loy

Throughout the whole story Loy seems to be confident in her words. She seems to be telling other women how they should carry themselves, and how women and men are different. The Manifesto seems to serve as a guide to keep an inequality between both men an women. What are some differences between men and women Loy writes about in her Manifesto?

The Feminist Manifesto - Mina Loy

  In the Feminist Manifesto, Loy puts forth an argument that men and women are not equal in society. Loy is very forceful in her speech, she uses the second person ( you) to involve the reader personally with her arguments. She also provides personal questions for her reader. This forces the reader to ponder whether or not they agree with what is being said. One question she asks is: " Professional and personal careers are opening up for you- Is that all you want?"  The whole speech had a very aggressive tone to it. She is very vocal in her argument. An example of this is how she bluntly puts "Men and women are enemies". She argues that women must give up their "virtue" in order to improve their equality in society.

How do you think that Loy's writing style affects her message?

PIlls and shit - lenny bruce

In his piece Lenny bruce talks about different types of drugs. He incorporates different other pieces in his own piece. Personally i found this piece very hard to follow. He starts off saying that in England heroine isn't a big deal but they'll throw a person in jail for smoking weed which would make you think that he's pro-marijuanna but he doesn't even smoke. He often refers to weed as "shit". Why do you think that is? Also what is his over-all point? Did you follow along easily and if not why? What stood out about his style of writing and why?

DADA MANIFESTO 1918

The problem with Dada is that dadaists attempted to quantify and destroy art by creating it. But only dadaists know Dada isn't actually art. The thinking, in an extended sense, is that dadaist work could never be in a museum, it could never be admired, it could never been collected. Because since it's not art- society doesn't need to value it. But this anti-art thinking lies only within the dadaist thought. To anyone else (perhaps at the fault of 'true' and 'perceived' cultural value situation in the modern art world), dada is art. But today, we can see dadaism failed- it's just a movement in art- it never transcended anything. Because today, even the slightly cultured expect 'weird' to automatically be art. It can't be anything else. The point is further secured when the author demonstrates disgust when science becomes speculative. It stops being science. Dadaist thought naturally says art without purpose stops being art. Looking at the greater philosophy of dadaism, one could say that dadaism became (or always was) an exclusive club of artists that just hated their art being called art for the sake of being art. But right here, now, I'm proving dadaist's most fundemental point- the absurdity of it all. 

I loved how this was written - long winded explanations cut short with petty and uninformed personal interjections. "...I do not explain because I hate common sense."

What did you think? Could you see where a dadaist is coming from in terms of thinking about the world?  - Ben Schmidt

Pills and Shit: The Drug Scene - Lenny Bruce

In "Pills and Shit: The Drug Scene," Lenny Bruce takes a spin on things and makes fun of the strict system involving drugs. Bruce uses a series of monologues. These monologues are used to portray a humorous point of view about drugs. Do you think that Bruce's use of monologues helps convey his message or do you think that it is hard to follow and understand? Overall, what is the main point Bruce is making? What are the literary techniques Bruce uses?

MLK- Birmingham Letter

In light of his predicament in  being thrown in jail, rather than submit to his situation,  Dr. Martin Luther King decides to write a letter to the clergy of Birmingham. In his letter,  he addresses many issues and his purpose in being in Birmingham.  In the beginning of the letter Dr. King address the clergy by bringing up what was said in opposition of the actions of him and his followers being “ unwise and untimely.”  He later discusses his purpose of being in Birmingham, that in fact,  he was invited, and not “ an outsider coming in”,  the oppressive segregation that is engulfing the community of Birmingham, as well as his non-violent campaign and its processes.  Furthermore, throughout his letter Dr. King uses many examples of historical and religious leaders who have implemented a system of direction action such as Gandhi. What does this do for the reader, does it offer a sense of validity to his argument?  Does it hurt his argument? Tone of the letter?  Any literary techniques that stick out at you?

"The Achievement of Desire" - Rodriguez

"The Achievement of Desire" - Rodriguez 

Rodriguez uses his "scholarship boy" life to bring out his insecurities about being the joke of the family. It seems as though his family members may be jealous because they didn't get to live his life and didn't receive higher learning. Once he became a prized boy he shared all of his success with just his parents. How does his 3rd person view about his life make you feel can you relate to this? If so, explain how. Although he was embarrassed by his parents because they had low education but he took pride in them.

"The Achievement of Desire" - Rodriguez

Rodriguez illustrates his "scholarship boy" life in both direct and lateral ways. He used several 3rd person view points to introduce how that "scholarship boy" grow up in schools and his family. As a scholarship boy, he was laughed at by his brother or other family numbers. "A family joke", he said. That influenced his childhood seriously. Actually, he was a prized boy and felt proud to share his successes with parents. But successes also made him pride so he intended to hurt his low educated parents by teaching them what teacher said in class. There is also some inside conflicts Rodriguez mentioned in this article. I like how he smiled to people who praised him like "Your parents must be very proud of you." He did shyly smile! But his strong inside still felt embarrassed by his parents which is pretty interesting. "A primary reason for my success in the classroom was that I couldn't forget that schooling was changing me and separating me from the life I enjoyed before becoming a student." I love this part which cost his twenty years to realize. In the scholarship boy's story, he could not control the relationship between school and family. By the way, he felt so tired to act two characters in those two places which is a highlight in his future life.

How to Tame a Wild Tongue- Anzaldua

Throughout the reading Anzaldua mixes in the Spanish language. Many others do this to help one understand the speaker's point of view. How does Anzaldua mixing in the Spanish language with English effect you as the reader? Do you think it helps you get a clearer understanding of the speaker, or does it make the reading more confusing and difficult to understand?

How to Tame a Wild Tongue

How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Anzaldua talks mainly about identity of a Mexican American girl growing up in North America. She discusses that the language she and the people in her community speak is heavily judged upon. At school kids were always told to speak English because this is America, and on the other hand  she was being called a "cultural traitor" by people of her culture because she was speaking English instead of Spanish. Anzaldua also stated that her people are being taken away and deprived of their culture because they are forced into being someone they are not. They have to adjust to the language and the people and the author believes she will never truly be herself until she does not have to translate for others. There were so many different types of Spanish she spoke and each identified her as a different person. In this story the author stated she will not be herself until she stops translating for the English speaking people. Do you think she has found her true identify in this story since she did not translate everything? Why should people be accepted as they are and not be forced to learn a different language just to fit in?

"When We Dead Awaken" - Rich

In "When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Revision", Adrienne Rich discusses ways or concepts for women to overcome or "awaken" from the hold that men contain over literature. Rich validates her points by using examples in writing, including Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" and a few of her own like "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" and "Orion". Do you think by showing her own positives and negatives within her writings, she gets her point across better? Do you believe that women are forced to write work appealing to men in order to appeal to the masses? If so, how do you think women writer's could "dead awaken"?

Zhi Huang (respond to this)

In "Remembering my childhood on the continent of Africa" by David Sedaris we learn about the childhood of Sedaris. In this short piece Sedaris also envies the childhood of Hughs who has a very different childhood unlike any other. Sedaris goes in detail of how Hughs childhood consist of taking class trips to the slaughterhouse of Ethopia and stories of pythons lurking the school gym. Sedaris seems to bash his childhood and even calls it dull compared to Hugh's. Why do you think he feels this way? What other literary techniques are used in this piece? What did you think the overall message of the story?

BLOG DATES

1/27 - Zhi, Kamran (Sedaris)
1/30 - Shamir, Priyanka (Adrienne Rich)
2/2 - Mallory, Anisha (Anzaldua)
2/6 - No Blog (Lethem)
2/10- Teiron, Yilin (Rodriguez)
2/13 - Brenden, Angel (Alexie, MLK)
2/17 - Maria, Shinelle (Bruce)
2/20 - Ben, Jacob (Dada Manifesto)
2/24- Joe, Matt (Mina Loy, Margaret Atwood)
2/27 - Alex, Steve ( Ginsberg)
3/10 - William (Love is An Act of Listening)
3/20 - Evisa, Kevin, Sammy (6 word memoirs)
3/31  - Michael, Danielle - (51 Birch Street)

Alma

In “Alma,” Junot Diaz gives the reader so much of a story in such a short space. Would you say he is successful? If so, how? What makes it so effective? Is it his use of vulgar language? If you look at his sentences, they are long and energetic. What does that do for the overall story? How about the use of repetition? He writes, “An ass that could drag the moon out of orbit. An ass she never liked until she met you. Ain’t a day that passes that you don’t want to press your face against that ass or bite the delicate sliding tendons of her neck.” What does that do for the reader? Other than the obvious break up in this story, what is Diaz’s story truly about? Make sure to refer to the story!

Welcome!

Welcome to English 1000C! This is where we will discuss readings, thoughts and ideas before coming to class! During the semester, we will be focused on writing, but to write well, we must read! The syllabus includes a wide range of readings in different styles that I hope will inspire you to experiment in ways of expressing yourself. There is no one right way to write. That is why I want you to explore and write, rewrite and continue to explore with the goal of finding a writing voice of your own. This blog is a place to simply react to readings before class. What did you think of the reading? What is a major theme, perhaps? Or how did the author choose to write about it? Do the fragments do something to you as a reader? What about those long sentences? Those short ones? What about the repetition of that one word he or she keeps using throughout the work? What impact does that have on you? How does the form of the piece work? etc . . . 

Each week, 1-2 students will post a "formal post" about the reading of the week. Everyone else is responsible for responding to the post.