Snyder in The New Yorker

New Gary Snyder poem, featured in The New Yorker profile mentioned in class, for your enjoyment...

Prep-fest: section on Thurs.

Section meets this week
Oct. 30, at 7:30pm, Oakes Acad. 102.

Midterm next week means this be....ta da!...our own counter-cultural Prep Fest week.

Bring you, questions, texts, clever study strategies, summaries...

And then, think bluebooks and well-inked pens...

Writing, the fourth

...just before November...

Here are the options for your next writing piece. Please note the notes which trail them:

1. On "Alcatraz Is Not An Island"...
PBS.org has developed a useful site featuring the film and Native American issues in San Francisco. To deepen your study of Indian stakes in the region, do a reading of the website (other sites also welcome) and write a piece focusing on an issue, artwork, or aspect of the Alcatraz events. Since Alcatraz is the site of other San Francisco histories, you could also include research/information on those histories alongside the Indian histories.

Click here to access the PBS/Alcatraz Is Not An Island site.

Note: your piece needs to go beyond simple praise (i.e., "This was an excellent and important film"), criticism, or summary of the film/events. Go for a specific topic that expands purposefully on the narrative of the film.

2. On Gary Snyder...
Select an essay from A Place In Space and write a piece on its implications as an ecological/poetic/SF-regional intervention. In other words, what specific practices or ways of thinking does Snyder call for, and why? What problems does he see, and what are the ways to approach those problems? Quotes and close, careful readings of the text are always good bets here.

Note: take care not to let your reading fall into easy generalization. Snyder, at times, can seem very simple and "Zen"/universal -- and he is in many ways. HOWEVER, he's anything but casual. How can you read the piece so you can understand the depth of Snyder's points? Use your piece to work through his thinking and the specifics of the ideas.

As always, if you need ideas on how to approach the readings and develop questions, I'm happy to offer suggestions.

sc

midterm moving

As announced in class, the midterm is moving to: Tuesday, Nov. 4.

To prep., we will gather for section next week: Thursday, Oct. 30.
Bring questions, insights, study ideas...

sc

No. 3 - going after the imperial

Here's your task for the next writing piece:

As you've noticed by now, no doubt, Brechin's work is teeming! To help sink your teeth into some of its major themes - and more importantly, to work on how to think about SF - write on one (or more!) of the following:

1. Brechin (Brautigan, too) is interested in statues, buildings, urban landmarks. He talks about their symbolisms - stories which endure, sometimes becoming myths - as well as the other histories which have been lost or paved over...

Could a group like ours intervene in the forgetting of history - something which endures to this day? Methinks yes! For this week, then, select a San Francisco statue, building, urban landmark - if you're unfamiliar with the area, do some searching online. Choose a landmark that we have not treated in class, or one that is not discussed extensively in the text (so no Ben Franklin), - and do some Brechin moves. Try and find the official histories, and then, unofficial histories. What stories exist about this landmark? What have we forgotten? Then in a piece of ORIGINAL prose - describe what you think are the important details to understand when approaching the landmark today. Connect to Brechin's analysis of "imperialism" where possible...this will help prep. you for later writing assignments. And it'll make your blogging credits glimmer.

There's tons of material on the Internet. Use the web, your knowledge, and other sources.

On your posts, include links to online sources...another beauty of this group!

2. Brechin includes several advertisements and artworks to accompany his discussion of imperial San Francisco. As is the case today, advertisements tend to reflect dominant or at least popular attitudes at the time. Do a close reading of one of the ads included in Imperial San Francisco, and make specific links to Brechin's discussion (beyond simply saying - "this is a case of imperialism"). What is Brechin's point here? How do the components of the ad illustrate the particular aspect of imperialism Brechin is analyzing in that section? What ideas are being communicated? Who is communicating them? And what are the consequences of spreading such ideas to the masses? This exercise is designed to get us thinking about the ways media can play a key role in shaping popular thought...

I'm excited about this week's responses...onward, and all my hopes for revealing searches!

"Milk"

Hey gang. So, a 30 year-old San Francisco story is soon to be resurrected on the silver screen by Focus Features. Murder, gender/politics, San Francisco...these never get tired, but even so, why do you think this story in particular has been chosen for a second life on the screen? Why are we interested in this type of story right now?

here's a link to the scoop from the NY Times.

Writing piece, no. 2

Get ready for Brautigan, Brechin, and more, folks!

We're in for the psychedelic, tales of power, thinking ecological, and further exorcising the idea of San Francisco as "the gentlest of American cities," (as Jan Morris writes on the back of Imperial San Francisco).

But first, some information on the famed Fleet Week, and the Blue Angels performance this weekend. Anyone go? For those who didn't make it, some random (maybe) images: well-stocked souvenir stands, hordes of people - porting maps, children, ghiradeli ice cream cones - along the water, navy garb, chowder bowls.... No matter what your attitude is on this type of scene, twas another face of our city.

All this to say, as we keep traipsing through moments and movements in the city's history, what about the stuff going on today? What ARE the faces of the city these days, and how do they inform your idea of San Francisco, in addition to the post/Beat movements, and the geopolitical activity we'll see in Brechin's text? Anyone care to comment here?

Ok then, to writing piece, no. 2, due Thursday, Oct. 16.
Please write on at least one of these general topics:

1. Select a poem or passage from the Brautigan text. Do a close reading of the passage, noting elements of its style, themes, tones, etc. Then, connect your observations to concepts we've been pondering in class: counter-culture, the Beat movement, contado... What makes this work revolutionary? What sort of San Francisco does it envision?

2. What are some of the major contributing factors to the construction of a San Francisco "periphery", according to Gray Brechin? Name and reflect on key events and what sorts of movements had to happen for San Francisco to come into being. Are there patterns in the way the city is constructed - for instance, in terms of exclusion, power distribution, or domination? How might the idea of "imperial San Francisco" set the stage or leave a legacy for some of the literary works we've been reading?

And remember to include a question. The ones submitted last week were quite provocative.

Of course, if you have other questions/ideas that spin off of these topics, bring those in to your writing too.

More as we get deeper into the discussion...stay tuned.

Meanwhile - bring a jacket: "The morning fog...may chill the air...I don't care"
-sc

comment on!

Blog links are live, and you're invited to comment!

Please try and spread out your comments so that we don't end up with twenty comments on a single post, and zero comments on twenty posts. Ideally, each writing piece would have at least two comments by Thurs. I'm not expecting this to be mathematically perfect, but see what you can do to help keep things even for the group.

Before you get back to Reclaiming SF (now available at Literary Guillotine), Brechin, and various forms of trout, have a look your link to make sure all's dandy and functional - if not, send Stephanie a note.

Stay tuned for details on next writing piece - I'll have something posted by Monday.

In the meantime, if you want to watch Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAbtg9dz5P0

Enjoy! sc

Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg, Brautigan...

Hi, C Slugs...  

Here it is: list of possible topics for Thursday's post.  You have the option of selecting your own topic this week, but the ones below may be useful to consider early in the quarter. 

• What further "contado" links can we draw in the poems of Ferlinghetti or Ginsberg?  Illustrate this through a close reading of poem(s).  What does SF look like in these poems?
• How do Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg differ in their depictions of SF and its contado(s)? What are some examples?
• Both poets are interested in "extremes."  What conflicts do they depict, and how (if at all) do the poems attempt to deal with the conflicts?
• Comment on the figure of the Beat (see Peters) and/or Ferlinghetti, bohemian entrepreneur.  What questions were they most concerned with?  What sort of attitude did they have towards the academy, elite cultures?
• How do the poems balance between accessibility and artfulness?  

• You could also write on Brautigan, if you like to live on the edge.  Stay tuned for possible topics.

Also remember to include at least one question at the end of your post.

Bits and pieces:

Nothing due on Tuesday (but additional posts are most welcome)

No comments due on Thursday - only the post.  We'll begin marking comments next week.

Any comments/suggestions (blog name, pictures, etc.) would be grand -- you can email Stephanie or leave comments here.  In the meantime, stay tuned for updates.  You'll also get an e-mail when anything significant arises.

...to the stars!

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