In yesterday's class, we looked at yet another example of personal essay. John McPhee is a much-celebrated literary journalist with a booklist as long as your arm. In the year this essay was published--1975--as the preface to the piece says, McPhee was publishing his 12th AND 13th books. And he's still going. He's published twenty-seven books--which doesn't include occasionals he writes for a little magazine called "The New Yorker." Man's a machine. I just listened (yes, listened--while working last summer) to one of his more recent, called Uncommon Carriers--and it was amazing.
So--we'll have our first workshop on Thursday. For those of you who missed Thursday, it is your job to contact me in order to get the essay we are workshopping.
As promised, here are some questions/guidelines to think about while responding to Heather's essay:
1. What comes through for you as a reader? What is this piece about?
2. What is the thesis or insight of the essay? What question is the essay considering?
3. What was your first reaction upon finishing it? How did that change
after reading it again? What did you learn, experience, or feel reading this piece?
4. What did you notice or learn about writing from working on this piece?
5. What was successful for you in this piece? What is the most effective aspect of what you read?
6. Look at the structure of the piece. Comment specifically on how the writer has used relevant elements from the list below. Give examples and describe how the use of these elements affects the content or deep subject:
ESSAY
Idea
Image
Anecdote
Research/Evidence
Form
MEMOIR
Time
Tense
Point of View
Scene/Summary/Flashback
Image
Form
7. How would you describe the voice of the essay or memoir?
8. How would you describe the language in terms of rhythm, original detail, formality, presence, power?
9. What's missing--gaps, leaps you can't make, logical inconsistencies, openings you wish the writer would develop further, loose ends.
10. What questions do you have for the writer?
11. What ideas, beliefs, or experiences do you bring to this piece that might contribute to your reading of it?
1. What comes through for you as a reader? What is this piece about?
2. What is the thesis or insight of the essay? What question is the essay considering?
3. What was your first reaction upon finishing it? How did that change
after reading it again? What did you learn, experience, or feel reading this piece?
4. What did you notice or learn about writing from working on this piece?
5. What was successful for you in this piece? What is the most effective aspect of what you read?
6. Look at the structure of the piece. Comment specifically on how the writer has used relevant elements from the list below. Give examples and describe how the use of these elements affects the content or deep subject:
ESSAY
Idea
Image
Anecdote
Research/Evidence
Form
MEMOIR
Time
Tense
Point of View
Scene/Summary/Flashback
Image
Form
7. How would you describe the voice of the essay or memoir?
8. How would you describe the language in terms of rhythm, original detail, formality, presence, power?
9. What's missing--gaps, leaps you can't make, logical inconsistencies, openings you wish the writer would develop further, loose ends.
10. What questions do you have for the writer?
11. What ideas, beliefs, or experiences do you bring to this piece that might contribute to your reading of it?
Wow, messay is defined in the urban dictionary. Excellent:
ReplyDeleteMessay:
A term used to describe a cross between a message and an essay, on the popular myspace website or similar. Usually overly long and elaborate, with minimal point.
They even give an example:
Dr A: Did you get my messay?
Ms B: Yeah, but I couldn't be bothered to read it or reply to it yet
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=messay