was just the best day ever in class. I gave a pop quiz, which I should not admit is intensely gratifying, good discussion all around, in which one student, appropos of almost nothing, announced she was bisexual. Several other girls were scandalized by this admission, their faces near to falling off. Some light bulbs flickered on above others' heads for the first observable time this semester. One student made an absolutely astute, killer observation on texts which encourage the reader to engage in a kind of composition simultaneous with the reading. Points for him. For almost all of them, today. Good classes. They had a kind of spark within them. When that happens my job is fairly easy.
***
Ordered out tonight: pancakes! I'm reminded of a fragment by Whitman on his wonderment over oranges shipped up from Florida. Of course, what wasn't a source of wonder for him?
***
Listening to: "Bring It On Home To Me," by Sam Cooke.
***
Tell me your good news.
About Me
- Paul
- Paul Guest is the author of four volumes of poetry and a memoir. His debut, The Resurrection of the Body and the Ruin of the World, was awarded the 2002 New Issues Poetry Prize. His second collection, Notes for My Body Double, was awarded the 2006 Prairie Schooner Book Prize. His third collection, My Index of Slightly Horrifying Knowledge, was published by Ecco Press/HarperCollins in 2008. His fourth collection, Because Everything Is Terrible, was published by Diode Editions. His poems have appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, Poetry, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. His memoir, One More Theory About Happiness, was published by Ecco in May 2010 and selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program. The recipient of a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2007 Whiting Writers' Award, Guest lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
3 comments:
Really??? You can order out pancakes?? I'm jealous. And Sam Cooke, ahhhh. . .
You really are having a good day.
*enjoy it* :)
I'm also shocked about the pancakes too. Where do you live, Heaven? That is too cool.
Good news? Hmmm... it was a perfect day to walk to the beach. My husband bought me M&M cookies. And two of my cats greeted me at the door. The little things in life...
Glad your day was so good as well. Surprise bi-sexuality announcements always make for good days.
You never know what will engage a class. Last week, one class interacted more than ever due to a discussion of current horror movies, which spawned innocently enough by our discussing argumentation and Stephen King's reasoning for people's love of horror films ("It was Lennon and McCartney who said that all you need is love, and I would agree with that. As long as you keep the gators fed.")
Today, one student exclaimed at the beginning of class, "I didn't like this story at all (in speaking of Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"). At discussion's end, she smiled, "I really like this story now. It makes sense."
It's a winner for all of us today apparently. :)
-Melissa
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