Oh! Weakness of Joy

"Love-thirty, love-forty, oh! weakness of joy,

The speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy,

With carefullest carelessness, gaily you won,

I am weak from your loveliness, Joan Hunter Dunn. "

A few years ago, I discovered the British poet John Betjeman and all his wonderful eccentric rhymes and playfulness. Betjeman was a contemporary of many of the poets I teach (TS Eliot, WH Auden), yet he isn't included in the Norton Anthology of British Literature. Philip Larkin said that "The quickest way to start a punch-up between two British literary critics is to ask them what they think of the poems of Sir John Betjeman. For while their author has attained nearly every honour open to a writer of verse in this country, his work and its reputation still evoke a remarkable variety of response here."

I want to throw the first punch in support of Betjeman's work, specifically the poem "A Subaltern's Love Song" (an excerpt from the poem begins this post, and I'll include the entire poem at the end).

Why do I like this poem? Let me count the ways: first, it's a comic love poem, and I love British humor (humour?). Secondly, it rhymes in ways that invite me to laugh and bounce along with it, like a tennis ball gaily hopping across the surface of a grass court on a country estate in rural England. Thirdly, I love the ways the words feel in my mouth when I read it out loud. The diction is impudent and surprising: this is the only poem I've ever read to use the word "euonymus," and I love the line "Oh! strongly adorable tennis-girl's hand!" And lastly, there's the satisfying ironic twist of an ending. So read and enjoy--and lament that Betjeman, despite being poet laureate, isn't viewed as "serious" enough to join the Official Canon of British Literature as selected by Norton--or Longman. He's just too accessible, too much fun?

A Subaltern's Love Song
by John Betjeman

Miss J. Hunter Dunn, Miss J. Hunter Dunn,

Furnish'd and burnish'd by Aldershot sun,

What strenuous singles we played after tea,

We in the tournament - you against me!

Love-thirty, love-forty, oh! weakness of joy,

The speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy,

With carefullest carelessness, gaily you won,

I am weak from your loveliness, Joan Hunter Dunn.

Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn,

How mad I am, sad I am, glad that you won,
The warm-handled racket is back in its press,

But my shock-headed victor, she loves me no less.

Her father's euonymus shines as we walk,

And swing past the summer-house, buried in talk,

And cool the verandah that welcomes us in

To the six-o'clock news and a lime-juice and gin.

The scent of the conifers, sound of the bath,

The view from my bedroom of moss-dappled path,

As I struggle with double-end evening tie,

For we dance at the Golf Club, my victor and I.

On the floor of her bedroom lie blazer and shorts,

And the cream-coloured walls are be-trophied with sports,

And westering, questioning settles the sun,

On your low-leaded window, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn.

The Hillman is waiting, the light's in the hall,

The pictures of Egypt are bright on the wall,

My sweet, I am standing beside the oak stair

And there on the landing's the light on your hair.

By roads "not adopted", by woodlanded ways,

She drove to the club in the late summer haze,

Into nine-o-clock Camberley, heavy with bells

And mushroomy, pine-woody, evergreen smells.

Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn,

I can hear from the car park the dance has begun,

Oh! full Surrey twilight! importunate band!

Oh! strongly adorable tennis-girl's hand!

Around us are Rovers and Austins afar,

Above us the intimate roof of the car,

And here on my right is the girl of my choice,

With the tilt of her nose and the chime of her voice.

And the scent of her wrap, and the words never said,

And the ominous, ominous dancing ahead.

We sat in the car park till twenty to one

And now I'm engaged to Miss Joan Hunter Dunn.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

         

            Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian is the one novel that has been forever burned into my memory within the last few months. I have had dreams about the novel on many occasions, and I can truly not get the potency of McCarthy’s writing out of my head. It wasn’t the violence, but the beauty. McCarthy’s style speaks to my soul. His novel has truly opened up whole new arenas of fascination for me.  I have been reading more and more about the Wild West and Native Americans. I keep close watch on anything Blood Meridian related, such as music and the progress of a possible film adaption.

            Beyond the scalping and pillaging there is one of the best-written novels I have ever laid eyes on. McCarthy’s works often escape comparison. I have read nothing like a Cormac McCarthy novel. The four I have read have been heart wrenching, triumphant, and mostly evil, but I have always walked away feeling better about just about everything. More so, McCarthy has truly inspired me to write more often. I do not want to mimic him, but his style has started a hunt for my own.

            I recommend this novel simply for the intense study of two characters: the kid and Judge Holden. Their demeanors and beliefs could not be more polarizing, yet they both engage in the same murderous lifestyle. The kid and the judge are two of the most amazingly crafted characters I have ever encountered. In usual McCarthy style, the novel ended with me craving an explanation of not only their individual character, but of their relationship as well.  The most intriguing thing about Blood Meridian was I could literally visualize the entire scenery. Amidst such bloodshed and madness, McCarthy was able to depict a rugged and beautiful Western territory. The description of the scenery is challenged in size by only the characters in the novel. The depth at which McCarthy expands through his characters is uncanny, and I am truly blessed to have read his words. 

(Below are two songs Ben Nichols of Lucero wrote and recorded based on McCarthy's novel.)

Ben Nichols "The Kid"

Ben Nichols "The Last Pale Light in the West"

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

My favorite book of late was Mudbound by Hillary Jordan.  I love how, like The Help, the story is told from each character's point of view except the father-in-law. It is the story of two families, one black and one white, in a small southern town after World War II.  Both families have young men that served overseas and both come back to a town that hasn't changed much, although they have.  In the meantime, the young mother who was used to living in cities must learn to live on the farm:  cleaning house, killing chickens, raising kids, taking care of her bigotted father-in-law.  It's a story ripe with conflict, love, and hatred.   The story line interweaves the lives of these characters and climaxes when the white WWII vet must decide the fate of his black friend who has been captured by the Ku Klux Klan.  "What's it gonna be?" said Turpin.  "His eyes, his tongue, his hands or his balls?  Choose, nigger lover." It's just such a heartbreaking tragedy, but everything about the novel invites interesting discussion: the themes, setting, Biblical references, etc. 

A couple of my favorite lines from the book follow.
Jamie:  "The soil was so wet from all the rain it was like digging into raw meat."
Laura:  "When I think of the farm, I think of mud.  Limning my husband's fingernails and encrusting the children's knees and hair.  Sucking at my feet like a greedy newborn on the breast . . . I dreamed in brown."
Laura:  "I fell in love with my brother-in-law the way you fall asleep in the car when someone you trust is driving--gradually, by imperceptible degrees, letting the motion lull your eyes closed."

There are also many references to cleaving--both Biblical and secular, that I found interesting.
Laura:  "There's a lot of talk in the Bible about cleaving.  Men and women cleaving unto God.  Husbands cleaving to wives. Bones cleaving to skin.  Cleaving, we are to understand is a good thing.  The righteous cleave; the wicked do not."
Laura:  "It would be six years into my marriage before I remembered that cleave has a second meaning, which is 'to divide with a blow, as with an axe'."
Laura:  "I never saw the axe blow coming."

Seriously, how often do we go through our lives and never see the axe blow?  We just aren't prepared for the onslaught that changes the path of our lives forever.  Looking back on my life, I see the stumps where the axe had fallen forcing me to grow in a different direction. I can also look back and identify those times where I cleaved to someone or something like bones to skin. 

I read Mudbound and Kathryn Stockett's The Help in succession, and it was one of those times I longed desperately for a book club.  It would be such a great discussion! 

This Lullaby

Sarah Dessen's This Lullaby is a book I've loved since high school. I still remember picking it up in Barnes & Noble and flipping through trying to decide if I wanted it or not. Easy decision at that point, because I saw all the elements that appealed to me: good love story, nerdy musician hero, music, frequent mentioning of The Beatles, a teenage girl who is forced to be grown- up, the lack of a father, and the anticipation period between high school and college. All of these were things I could relate to and so my decision was made.

In reading the book, I realized our heroine Remy and I had few similarities beyond what I discovered in my rapid skimming in the bookstore. She's worth rooting for, even if she is a little rough around the edges, and that's exactly what I did. The story twists and turns as Dexter (of course the nerdy boy has a nerdy name) doggedly pursues Remy, knowing he is far from her type. Like her father, the endearing Dexter is a musician, and Remy has a strict "No Musicians!" rule.

As a hopeless romantic I love returning to the story once in a while to follow Remy and Dexter through their constant circling (arguably one of the best parts of a relationship-- the anticipation!) and wait with bated breath to see if they actually get together-- if Remy can get over the trust issues her dad left her with and open her heart to Dex.

You're Such a Doll!

One of my all time favorite novels is Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. Published in 1966, Valley of the Dolls was the first "chic lit" novel of its' time. It sold nearly 30 million copies making Susann the first woman to achieve this many book sales. Valley was considered quiet risqué, as teenage girls would find themselves hiding in their closets, reading, bathed in candlelight. The Three protagonists, Jennifer, Anne, and Neely Spend most of the novel struggling to chace what is nearly always out of reach. Their internal and external struggles highlight the plot line with juicy love affairs and later, their affliction with "dolls" (Speed pills and sleeping pills). The old Hollywood glamour is contagious. In fact, Susann caught some heat from Hollywood because the three protagonists aptly resemble the late Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, and Brigitte Bardot. Susann then paved the way for other female authors such as Jackie Collins and EL James, the author of my beloved Fifty Shades. Susann's other books Once is Not Enough and The Love Machine are equally fabulous in their own right!

Okay for Now

I love what one Amazon reviewer says about my favorite YA novel of 2011: "I'm reminded that great books don't always have to be over 500 pages long with tiny font sizes and filled with heavy, ponderous thought-matter. Instead they can be unassuming, with a slightly tacky cover and filled with the every-day life of a boy, Doug, who deals with an abusive father (although you wouldn't hear him admit it), a bully of a brother, a mother with a beautiful smile and a whole cast of characters making up the stupid town life of a stupid small town in New York."

Okay for Now (by Gary Schmidt) tells the story of Doug Swieteck whose family has moved to a new home (he calls it “the Dump”).  It’s 1968, Doug’s brother is in Vietnam, his family life is crazy, and he’s illiterate.  Baseball keeps Doug sane, and an elderly volunteer at the local library offers to teach him to draw, as they work to sketch copies of pages from Audobon’s Birds of America.  The bird images mirror the struggle and beauty in Doug’s life – but the real strength of the novel is Doug’s voice:  wrenchingly honest, even as he lies to himself, mixing humor with stoicism.  Here are two sample passages:    

“Detention that afternoon was with Mr. Ferris, because the eighth-grade teachers took turns monitoring After School Detention – which probably put them in really good moods.  So I stayed in his room after school and waited for the other twisted criminal minds to come join me for ninety minutes of forced study.  It didn’t help that it was one of those perfect, blue, cloudless days where the trees are starting to golden up and the breezes are cool like they are during a World Series and you could imagine having a catch with Joe Pepitone or Horace Clarke or someone like that but instead you’re sitting in the physical science room and it turns out that you are the only twisted criminal mind so you’re all alone while Mr. Ferris works on his next Lab Preparation” (123-124). 

 “….When I finally did go upstairs, all the lights were off and my brother was in bed.  The covers were drawn up over his head.  You know, when someone has been crying, something gets left in the air.  Its’ not something you can see, or smell, or feel.  Or draw.  But it’s there.  It’s like the screech of the Black-Backed Gull, crying out into the empty white space around him.  You can’t hear it when you look at the picture.  But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there” (138)

The audio book recording, (listen to a sample at the link) read by Lincoln Hopp, is also pitch perfect.  When a novelist creates a character with a strong voice, I love to hear that voice – and this is a great performance for summer car trips.  

Novel I've Read

A novel that surprised me, thanks to Professor Ruzich, is The Thirteenth Tale. From the synopsis, the story did not sound too terribly exciting but I was so very wrong. From the first few pages I was hooked. A slightly creepy bookworm that basically lives in a bookstore and tries to unravel a gothic mystery, if that does not sound like my ideal life then I do not know what does. I have never been able to get this novel out of my mind and it remains one of my all-time favorites.



I have always had a philosophy about reading, whether it be novels or anything else. Nothing I read is useless. Yes, that even includes Twilight, though I will never subject myself to those stories again. Reading is meant to do several things (though not necessarily all at once): shape what kind of literature is personally enjoyable, think critically about meaningful issues, relieve stress, shape what is considered "good" and "bad" literature, understand different perspectives, have human experienceds not personally available, give advice on issues, and help to communicate with the world. Novels and reading in general needs to be an integral part of anyone's life because all can benefit. 

Matching Struggling Readers with Books

Matching Struggling Readers with Books

As Zach and Kylene Beers have put it: ""But for it to be really good, I think that's gotta be for me to decide." The inevitable struggle for English teachers is the struggling reader. Zach is an adolescant boy being talked about in the article "Matching Struggling Readers with Books" and he talks about his experience with books and book recommendations. Like many other struggling readers, Zach struggles with reading and finding enjoyable texts because his experiences with literature are limited. This is something that teachers have to overcome if the love of reading can even begin to blossom in the hearts of students like Zach.

Zach brought up interesting points that I hope to discuss with fellow classmates and peers. Zach spoke of how people approach him with "good" book recommendations that he has not liked in the slightest. This brings to light the question of "what makes a good book?" If only this question could be answered simply. Unfortunately, tastes for literature are so varied that it is impossible to pinpoint a collective canon of universally loved works. My question to everyone is "what defines a good book to you?"

Teachers, according to the article as well as my own thoughts about this subject, should not judge the "goodness" of a book by its complexity or awards. In fact, books with simple plots and many pictures are good scaffolding tools for instilling the love of reading in students that struggle. The biggest goal of teaching is motivation since it is key to understanding, enjoyment, progress, and retention. Starting small and building up to harder reading is not a crime. In fact, it may be the best way to help struggling readers.

(PS: TO EVERYONE. I accidently placed this on my personal blog instead of the class blog. Sorry for the confusion.)

"We Real Cool"

The article “Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Harlem Renaissance in an Urban English Class” by Andrea Stairs is a well-written and informative piece of literature highlighting teaching strategies used in schools where minorities are the majority and where lessons must become personal. Immediately upon reading this article I was blown away at the successes of two student teachers, Cara and Laura, while teaching in an urban Boston classroom. Stairs documents their unique approach to teaching culturally sensitive material in an urban classroom in a very inspiring and informational manner. The article is definitely one I will be hanging on to. 

Stairs’ article was immediately appealing to me for several reasons. The most interesting part of the article to me was the fact that these two inexperienced student teachers were able to formulate effective pedagogy in an environment many Education majors would be very afraid of. Cara and Laura recognized the fact that “diversity is an asset that enriches the learning of all students” and directly played off their environment (38). Their use of rap music, jazz music, and poetry appealed to the students in their urban classroom because they were familiar to their cultures. For the student to be truly at the center of instruction, teachers must appeal to what the students already know and identify with. Also, Cara and Laura adopted tactics that ultimately gained them respect from the students. Their students were engaged by their approach, and the classroom became a true learning environment despite anything going on outside of it.

             

The most important idea I took away from this article was that “Cara and Laura believe that the success of the lesson hinged on their relationship with their students" (40). Often forgotten, it is the relationship between teacher and a student that is responsible for engaging discussion and the comfort that enables true learning to occur. I praise Cara and Laura for their bravery and for their creativity. If you are teaching in an urban classroom, Andrea Stairs’ article on culturally responsive teaching is a must read.

How to Light a Fire

As a woman who grew up reading, it's difficult for me to comprehend that

See? Some boys DO read for fun!

1) there are people who don't like to read
2) a lot of those people are boys because reading "isn't masculine" so
3) there has to be some sort of lure to spark a student's desire to read.

In Elizabeth Greef's article "Lighting the Fire: Inspiring Boys to Become Readers," she talks about the different ways to motivate schoolboys to read books and delves into the reasons why it's such a battle in the first place. One of the primary reasons Greef cites is that reading is not masculine. It's considered "passive and feminine" so boys don't want to do it. A fair portion of the blame is also placed on the fathers and other men in their lives, because children learn by example and seeing older men forsake reading in lieu of sports or television inadvertently tells boys that reading is for girls.

Even the cover is kind of girly...

Since the novel I want to do my lesson plan on is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, I think it's important to explore what is so off-putting about literature in general to boys, particularly a book with a girly-sounding name. Nevermind that the book is told from a guy's point of view about the girl he loves. Getting the boys intrigued is important, but it's more important if they like reading in the first place.

Greef and her colleagues conducted a study at St. Andrew's Cathedral School for boys, surveying students to find out what sort of books they liked to read or if they liked to read at all. While 50% of the boys said that they liked to read, only a sad 26% would call themselves readers. Greef attributes this to the adult male problem and shared the argument that if we can get men to read, we can get boys to follow suit.

This is not all boys want to read about.

Greef offered suggestions to help boys get excited about reading. One was the Literature Circles program, which  is "an intensive reading program, which encourages the habit of daily reading for enjoyment, using attractive contemporary well-written books with a strong story" because boys are drawn (like most others) to a strong plot and relatable characters. The Literature Circles program is done in conjunction with the English department and the school library. The school library, it turns out, has a major influence over student readers, particularly when it is well-stocked, attractive, and run by a competent, helpful librarian who is willing to make recommendations. Who knew?

While books adapted into movies were popular, like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, Greef was all about the action books for boys because she feels that boys today are too restricted and not allowing them the option to explore through the world of books contributes to their disdain for reading. As a jumping off point, this is okay. To get students excited about reading anything in general will certainly make it easier to get them to do the required reading. However, today's society is incapable of the delayed gratification that comes from reading a book, so I'm not in agreement with Greef's push to incorporate all sorts of technology into reading.

Power = Reading

I am definitely for promoting reading in all students from all walks of life and with all interests and backgrounds. That being said, I don't feel that only giving students the "fun books" to read is really furthering their education. Yes, we all want to read the occasional Koontz novel under the covers or The Watchmen, but as educators it is our job to encourage students to broaden their horizons and expand their minds to new sorts of adventures, to cheerlead the "boring" books and give them something to relate to. By giving in to the confines of only allowing them to read books they KNOW they'll like, we are sort of pigeon-holing students instead of setting them on a path to greatness. As Greef says multiple times, reading is power.

A review of "Flotation Strategies for Sinking Students: Kids, Cops, and Communication"

In February 1989, Carol Jago authored an article for the English Journal that discussed how she motivated students in her senior high remedial English at Santa Monica High School by partnering with the local police department.  Many of Jago's students live the lives that most parents warn their children about: drugs, sex, alcohol, and gangs.  Her students saw little connection between what they were learning in high school and the real world.  Jago partnered with Officer Joe Analco, who was the community relations officer for the police department.  Officer Analco would come into Jago's classroom once every week and would sometimes bring guests along with him.  Analco's continued presense in the classroom estabished relationships for students with the police department that were not driven by animosity and mistrust.  Jago would link the topics that Officer Analco discussed with relevant examples from literature.  Students would then write or discuss about what they heard, read, and experienced.  Students began to see the link between literature and life, and how their actions, attitudes, and appearance are read by police and others outside their social circles. 

Growing up in a white, suburban neighborhood, I am a bit intimated by the idea of teaching in an inner city school.  Jago's article basically advices teachers to care and respect their students enough to meet them, but not leave them, where they are.  Part of that responsibility comes from giving kids the freedom, space, and safety of discussing the more intimate parts of their lives as they relate to literature, but it cannot end there.  It also requireds teachers or speakers showing that have made mistakes, learned, and rebounded as well.  Jago recognized that it would be virtually impossible for all schools and police departments to arrange this kind of relationship, but she believes it was not about Officer Analco's position as much as what he offered to the kids: continuity, trust, respect, honesty, and presence. 

I'm not sure how school districts or teachers would handle this arrangement.  The strongest connections I have ever had with literature were based on personal identification or empathy with the characters.  If we are guiding students toward reading and writing, because of the personal catharthis that reading and writing provide, then how do we handle those situations where a student confesses something dangerous or illegal? Are we violating student trust, district policy, or the law, and which is more important to protect?  Where do we draw the tattling lines: keep the addict's secret, but expose the dealer; don't tell on the pregnant student whose parents don't know, but expose the girl who at one time entertained thoughts of suicide?  There is great value in having students in high-risk schools (or any school) reestablish positive relationships with law enforcement agencies, and it is important and rewarding to have students recognize how literature can mirror  reality to reflect the human condition; however, everyone needs to be aware of the limits of those relationships when literature and reality collide.