Tag: The Art of Reading
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We’re all gonna die.
Death is something we don’t like to think about much, especially our own. I don’t believe it’s good to dwell on it too much, because there’s a lot of life to live. But that life really doesn’t mean much without death. Think of it as a deadline that you never know when it’s gonna come.…
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How I Read a Poem
I remember when my seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Lauderback, assigned us Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” She read it aloud, paused a couple of seconds, lifted her head from the book and asked us, “Okay, so, what does the poem mean?” I bet that happened to some of you. In that moment,…
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Wandering Thoughts on Aesthetics
1. Here’s the Oxford English Dictionary definition of “aesthetics:” “Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty; Giving or designed to give pleasure through beauty. Basically, it’s the study of art–its creation (by the artist), and its appreciation (by the one who loves art). One thing about art: it’s not real. It’s artificial. A mountain range…
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For My Students
I’ve opened this blog for my students, and am starting in the fall semester of 2017, when I am teaching two classes at Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles: an introduction to Creative Writing (ENG 106) and Poetry Workshop (ENG 151). I’m writing at a time when I’m not sure what writing is about,…