Sunday, January 25, 2009

welcome to spring semester!

Hello! I hope that you've enjoyed a pleasant, long winter break, despite the long, cold days. I'm excited to be back in the classroom, and I'm really excited about my classes: English 101: Composition, English 102: Composition, and English 278: Multi-Cultural Literature in America. 

I'm also excited about a few campus-wide events:

February 4 and 5: National Teach-In on Climate Change Issues
This evening (Feb. 4) and day long (Feb. 5) event will bring everyone on campus together to explore the issues facing our environment from a variety of perspectives. Grab a cup of free coffee (bring your own mug to really be green) and settle in for some awesome presentations. 

April 1: Poetry Day
UW-Manitowoc celebrates National Poetry Month with a day long infusion of poetry. The day will include open-mike time to share poetry, a viral poetry initiative, and a workshop and reading by acclaimed poet Chuck Rybak. 

I look forward to spending this semester with you!

Friday, January 9, 2009

haikuproject

You're cordially invited to check out haikuproject, a collaborative project created by my winterim poetry class.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

eng 255: william blake and john keats

John Keats' poem "Ode on A Grecian Urn," is a classic discussion of the art/life dichotomy. In this tracing of the Sosbius vase, we see a moment frozen in time--all potential, with no direct action. Is this better than the action completed, and potential depleted?

William Blake was famous for creating illuminated manuscripts of much of his poetry. You can find digital images of these marvelous works of art at the online Blake Archive. For a brief biography of this talented, radical visionary, see the Academy of American Poets website.