Rant/Poetry
Close your eyes for a moment,
See the world blind,
Look back at history with these eyes and rewind.
Venture deep beneath the culture.
The history left lost.
A world without struggle
Triumph or loss.
We are what we lose.
Nothing more, nothing less.
We are the internment camps,
We are the slaves,
We are the emotions left staved.
We are typical at best.
I am nothing but an image.
The one you wish to see.
Tied down by shackles in a system against me.
Our fight is not black, our fight is not white.
Our fight is green.
And we fight for our rights.
Would it matter if I was white,
Would it change what I write?
Do I have to be black?
To see that its people of all creeds, colors, races and denominations that are
Under attack
They create problems, ones without solutions
To veil us from seeing the solution is cutting down an age old institution.
The resolution much clearer when we open our eyes,
Come to the conclusions and wholly realize.
Its not the white man’s fault nor a black man’s problem.
They pickpocket and control, their murderous robbers
Blow up the bank
Watch Wall Street Fall,
Or Watch them reach into your pockets and go for it all.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Poetry Rant
Rant/Poetry
Close your eyes for a moment,
See the world blind,
Look back at history with these eyes and rewind.
Venture deep beneath the culture.
The history left lost.
A world without struggle
Triumph or loss.
We are what we lose.
Nothing more, nothing less.
We are the internment camps,
We are the slaves,
We are the emotions left staved.
We are typical at best.
I am nothing but an image.
The one you wish to see.
Tied down by shackles in a system against me.
Our fight is not black, our fight is not white.
Our fight is green.
And we fight for our rights.
Would it matter if I was white,
Would it change what I write?
Do I have to be black?
To see that its people of all creeds, colors, races and denominations that are
Under attack
They create problems, ones without solutions
To veil us from seeing the solution is cutting down an age old institution.
The resolution much clearer when we open our eyes,
Come to the conclusions and wholly realize.
Its not the white man’s fault nor a black man’s problem.
They pickpocket and control, their murderous robbers
Blow up the bank
Watch Wall Street Fall,
Or Watch them reach into your pockets and go for it all.
Close your eyes for a moment,
See the world blind,
Look back at history with these eyes and rewind.
Venture deep beneath the culture.
The history left lost.
A world without struggle
Triumph or loss.
We are what we lose.
Nothing more, nothing less.
We are the internment camps,
We are the slaves,
We are the emotions left staved.
We are typical at best.
I am nothing but an image.
The one you wish to see.
Tied down by shackles in a system against me.
Our fight is not black, our fight is not white.
Our fight is green.
And we fight for our rights.
Would it matter if I was white,
Would it change what I write?
Do I have to be black?
To see that its people of all creeds, colors, races and denominations that are
Under attack
They create problems, ones without solutions
To veil us from seeing the solution is cutting down an age old institution.
The resolution much clearer when we open our eyes,
Come to the conclusions and wholly realize.
Its not the white man’s fault nor a black man’s problem.
They pickpocket and control, their murderous robbers
Blow up the bank
Watch Wall Street Fall,
Or Watch them reach into your pockets and go for it all.
I'm Here Because
I'm here because of people. Lots of them in every creed, color and denomination. I'm here because of this room, these opinions and the drive to have more of them. I'm here for a job. I'm here for New York.
I was born half way around the world. In Manila. I was no more foreign there then I was when I was born here. My birth parents were Italian and Filipino. I didn't look every other child. I was the lightest of the group and even had curly hair.
When I was adopted I found the same difference. Cloudy Manchester, England hadn't know a Filipino that wasn't a housekeeper or gardener. Tiny Rochester New York hadn't known a Filipino at all. I am diversity.
Most people can't even tell what I am. Except for New York. In New York, I'm one of many. My opinion is not a lone voice in a solo of peoples, rather a chorus in much vaster skyline that is the City.
I'm here just for that. I'm here to find voice that echoes that isn't my own. We're all here for that. Even Lifelong New Yorkers acknowledge this city may be unbearable at times, but its home to the fullest extent. Home is where we the voice resonates. Where an opinion may not go agreed upon but acknowledged in the broader sense. Home is New York. Hopefully for a long time.
I was born half way around the world. In Manila. I was no more foreign there then I was when I was born here. My birth parents were Italian and Filipino. I didn't look every other child. I was the lightest of the group and even had curly hair.
When I was adopted I found the same difference. Cloudy Manchester, England hadn't know a Filipino that wasn't a housekeeper or gardener. Tiny Rochester New York hadn't known a Filipino at all. I am diversity.
Most people can't even tell what I am. Except for New York. In New York, I'm one of many. My opinion is not a lone voice in a solo of peoples, rather a chorus in much vaster skyline that is the City.
I'm here just for that. I'm here to find voice that echoes that isn't my own. We're all here for that. Even Lifelong New Yorkers acknowledge this city may be unbearable at times, but its home to the fullest extent. Home is where we the voice resonates. Where an opinion may not go agreed upon but acknowledged in the broader sense. Home is New York. Hopefully for a long time.
Class Standing
Connections to the Passage
“Class Standing has a significant impact on chances for educational achievement.
Class standing, and consequently life chances are largely determined at birth…”
-Reality 5
This passage is particularly striking because Mantsios directly conflicts with the American ideology of the “pursuit of happiness”. He believes firmly that people are supplanted in one social structure. I personally agree that a person may not be able make more than his mother or father, but I believe Mantsios slights every single person whom took jobs outside of the industrial world. Mantsios I personally feel Mantios’ “realities” are nothing more than his own pessimistic mantra for an unfulfilled and jaded life.
I agree that all poverty levels are at alarming rates, and the debts of Americans are now bearing the fruit of their consequences. However Mantsios’ numbers seem to account for the human element. That when people are supported by their families regardless of expenses, they have an opportunity to succeed.
I chose this article because I too often write on the strife of other
“Class Standing has a significant impact on chances for educational achievement.
Class standing, and consequently life chances are largely determined at birth…”
-Reality 5
This passage is particularly striking because Mantsios directly conflicts with the American ideology of the “pursuit of happiness”. He believes firmly that people are supplanted in one social structure. I personally agree that a person may not be able make more than his mother or father, but I believe Mantsios slights every single person whom took jobs outside of the industrial world. Mantsios I personally feel Mantios’ “realities” are nothing more than his own pessimistic mantra for an unfulfilled and jaded life.
I agree that all poverty levels are at alarming rates, and the debts of Americans are now bearing the fruit of their consequences. However Mantsios’ numbers seem to account for the human element. That when people are supported by their families regardless of expenses, they have an opportunity to succeed.
I chose this article because I too often write on the strife of other
Dialogue
On the Purpose of Learning
Four writers are in the midst of a discussion on the purpose of the work they are doing. They discuss the inspiration for their professions and the circumstances that created who they are.
Leigh Phillips: “If writing isn’t written out of desperation, I’m not sure I’ll ever have any interest in reading it.”
Min-zhan Lu: Sounds about right.
Sherman Alexie: I agree.
Andre Lorde: Sure.
Leigh Phillips: Well I don’t.
Sherman Alexie: Sorry?
Leigh Phillips: I used to believe that all writing was out of some sort of innate struggle for existence or meaning in the world. To free themselves from sort of pressure placed upon them before they were even born.
Min-Zhan Lu: Well then you were completely right. I was born in the midst of the Cultural Revolution. I, like some others, were driven by the will to read and write in the name of a better life promised by Dickens, Hawthorne, Bronte and Austen.
Sherman Alexie: I learned to read from a Superman comic.
Min-Zhan Lu: Not quite the same…
Sherman Alexie: Exactly the point, I learned to read on the basis of piecing things together. I had no innate drive at three years old to read. I knew my father liked reading therefore I liked reading.
Audre Lorde: Is the alphabet responsible for the book?
Leigh Phillps: What?
Sherman Alexie: She’s right. The building blocks of how we learn have no relationship to what we will later share, teach and write. I first learned how to read in symbolism. I’d look at a strip of comic as a paragraph. A sort of fence of words that allowed me to focus solely on such, however those paragraphs now have nothing to do with the full essay.
Min-Zhan Lu: Which is?
Sherman Alexie: Which is now I am a teacher. A representation of the greater good a person of my background can be if they apply themselves to literature.
Audre Lorde: Well we can all agree on that.
Min-Zhan Lu: Still, I disagree. I was born into class struggle. A word I hadn’t heard of before I had known English. Moved by what I had read and did everything I could to make a life for myself in a land that accepted such peoples.
Leigh Phillips: I think we all were. But the point I think were now taking in is that people don’t really know what they’re going to be until confronted at the crossroads of their lives. Perhaps at a confirmation of what they already knew they would be.
Sherman Alexie: See I agree with everything but that. I was born a Spokane Indian. I knew the moment that I figure out Superman that I was to be much more than what I was destined in a typical reservation.
Lorde: When I was young, I attended Church School. Sister Eymard would batter our knuckles. Forcing literature upon us. We knew she was crazy, she would later die in a madhouse. But I was left a writer and left a poet.
They pause and look at Lorde.
Lorde: Even if we can’t admit it. Someone made us who we were.
Lu looks down. Holds and then smiles in defeat.
Min-Zhan Lu: You know I forgot.
Leigh Phillips: Forgot what?
Min-Zhan Lu: When I was young there was a teacher. Who affirmed English as not just a language of learning, but a language of Liberty.
Sherman Alexie: Literature and intelligence is a dangerous thing. They make for a dangerous person, one different from the others. A sort of life vest from ignorance.
Audre Lorde: A bleak heroism of words that refuse to be buried alive with the liars.
Four writers are in the midst of a discussion on the purpose of the work they are doing. They discuss the inspiration for their professions and the circumstances that created who they are.
Leigh Phillips: “If writing isn’t written out of desperation, I’m not sure I’ll ever have any interest in reading it.”
Min-zhan Lu: Sounds about right.
Sherman Alexie: I agree.
Andre Lorde: Sure.
Leigh Phillips: Well I don’t.
Sherman Alexie: Sorry?
Leigh Phillips: I used to believe that all writing was out of some sort of innate struggle for existence or meaning in the world. To free themselves from sort of pressure placed upon them before they were even born.
Min-Zhan Lu: Well then you were completely right. I was born in the midst of the Cultural Revolution. I, like some others, were driven by the will to read and write in the name of a better life promised by Dickens, Hawthorne, Bronte and Austen.
Sherman Alexie: I learned to read from a Superman comic.
Min-Zhan Lu: Not quite the same…
Sherman Alexie: Exactly the point, I learned to read on the basis of piecing things together. I had no innate drive at three years old to read. I knew my father liked reading therefore I liked reading.
Audre Lorde: Is the alphabet responsible for the book?
Leigh Phillps: What?
Sherman Alexie: She’s right. The building blocks of how we learn have no relationship to what we will later share, teach and write. I first learned how to read in symbolism. I’d look at a strip of comic as a paragraph. A sort of fence of words that allowed me to focus solely on such, however those paragraphs now have nothing to do with the full essay.
Min-Zhan Lu: Which is?
Sherman Alexie: Which is now I am a teacher. A representation of the greater good a person of my background can be if they apply themselves to literature.
Audre Lorde: Well we can all agree on that.
Min-Zhan Lu: Still, I disagree. I was born into class struggle. A word I hadn’t heard of before I had known English. Moved by what I had read and did everything I could to make a life for myself in a land that accepted such peoples.
Leigh Phillips: I think we all were. But the point I think were now taking in is that people don’t really know what they’re going to be until confronted at the crossroads of their lives. Perhaps at a confirmation of what they already knew they would be.
Sherman Alexie: See I agree with everything but that. I was born a Spokane Indian. I knew the moment that I figure out Superman that I was to be much more than what I was destined in a typical reservation.
Lorde: When I was young, I attended Church School. Sister Eymard would batter our knuckles. Forcing literature upon us. We knew she was crazy, she would later die in a madhouse. But I was left a writer and left a poet.
They pause and look at Lorde.
Lorde: Even if we can’t admit it. Someone made us who we were.
Lu looks down. Holds and then smiles in defeat.
Min-Zhan Lu: You know I forgot.
Leigh Phillips: Forgot what?
Min-Zhan Lu: When I was young there was a teacher. Who affirmed English as not just a language of learning, but a language of Liberty.
Sherman Alexie: Literature and intelligence is a dangerous thing. They make for a dangerous person, one different from the others. A sort of life vest from ignorance.
Audre Lorde: A bleak heroism of words that refuse to be buried alive with the liars.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Biograpgy of Writing
1) I do not remember the exact time I acknowledged words. I do remember always asking my mother to read me billboards or magazine covers. The one thing I remember specifically about words is that I types of dialects that I heard at a young age. In my first eight years I had experienced the Mancunian accent, Scouse accent, American accent as well as learning Tagalog at a young age.
2) The first book I ever read was called Football with Dad. It was an English book about a young boy attending a soccer match with his father. The book was actually about a young boy learning to read off of the shirts of the players. In Soccer, players would have sponsors on their jerseys as a way of earning money. I remember the book had some sort of rhythm. In which a stanza was repeated every two or three pages. The book, I imagine, was written for my age level, Which was about 4-5 years old.
3) I’m fairly certain I now speak only Standard American English. However as a child I was subject to a North English Accent as well as hearing dialects in London. I lived in England from the ages of 3-6, then once again from the ages 9-11. When I talk with my friends, I sometimes carry a slight New York accent. However I try my best to not sound regional. I attempt this because having lived in a place with regional dialects, I saw it as almost a deficiency.
4) Having moved several times in my life. Each and every time I moved I experienced some difficulties assimilating to the language of the place I was in. Every new place one lives they acquire a dialect or knowledge of dialect different from the one previous. I find that the biggest jump in language was moving back to the United States. The spelling of word and pronunciation is often difficult to adapt to. However I find that I’ve done a good job in speaking Standard American English.
5) One memory that I can vividly remember that pertains to reading and writing was moving back to the United States when I was just seven. I had remember when the teachers would single me out for the pronunciation of “Colour” and words of that nature. While it was embarrassing, I only thought how two places which spoke the same language could pronounce and spell words differently.
6) One particular time writing went very poor for me was during a time I had wrote a letter for acceptance into a program. I had wrote extensively about my interests and intentions if I had been accepted into the program, but never actually stated I was interested in joining the program. It read something to the sort of a list of all my credentials with little to no intention being made. I received a letter back a few days later from the President of the program with a question as to what exactly I was writing him for. I learned then and there that writing always needs to be proofread because the human mind often overlooks what seems like “givens” in the writing world.
7) I have fallen in love with several pieces of writing in my time. I, as cliché as it may seem, love the writing of JD Salinger. At 13, Holden Caulfied’s experiences were very reflective of my own feelings. I have always had a strong interest in free-verse poetry of Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg as well as the abstract T.S. Eliot.
8) I would say that my father was very influential in my writing and reading. He often encouraged me to read books that I liked. So many times, teachers will try to force a set of literary beliefs down the throats of students to the point where they no longer enjoy literature. I enjoyed reading books that appealed to the child in me. As I grew up, the literature I read became mature. Therefore I progressed naturally in literature.
9) Diaries or journals have not been effective in developing my person. I often will write certain things from time to time when I feel the need to express myself. I do however write songs for a musical project (I wouldn’t call it a band). I often reach a level in which I feel I have nothing to offer on a piece of paper and retreat from writing until the time is right.
10) I often read, however its mostly stories or pop-lit such as Chuck Pahlaniuk. I often read when I find that TV is no longer entertaining, which it can be at times. Or when I am on the road en route to some place. Reading has developed me just as much as television, music, film and personal interactions have. I would not say reading affects me more than any of those.
11) I often like to write upon inspiration. Songs or poems are often more powerful when they are inspired rather than created. I will use both computer and pen. I usually write when and where I get the inspiration. There really is no set place in which I write. If I cannot write in the source of inspiration, I will often re-create days later by being in the place in which I was inspired.
12) I consider myself a person who can adapt easily to any situation. I excel at being able to adjust to situations to succeed. I feel like I write in a very a relatable but unique tone. I suppose if there is one thing I’d like to learn it would be how to create writing rather than have it inspired. I’m not sure I can contribute much to the learning community. I don’t see myself as a person interested in teaching others in a classroom setting.
2) The first book I ever read was called Football with Dad. It was an English book about a young boy attending a soccer match with his father. The book was actually about a young boy learning to read off of the shirts of the players. In Soccer, players would have sponsors on their jerseys as a way of earning money. I remember the book had some sort of rhythm. In which a stanza was repeated every two or three pages. The book, I imagine, was written for my age level, Which was about 4-5 years old.
3) I’m fairly certain I now speak only Standard American English. However as a child I was subject to a North English Accent as well as hearing dialects in London. I lived in England from the ages of 3-6, then once again from the ages 9-11. When I talk with my friends, I sometimes carry a slight New York accent. However I try my best to not sound regional. I attempt this because having lived in a place with regional dialects, I saw it as almost a deficiency.
4) Having moved several times in my life. Each and every time I moved I experienced some difficulties assimilating to the language of the place I was in. Every new place one lives they acquire a dialect or knowledge of dialect different from the one previous. I find that the biggest jump in language was moving back to the United States. The spelling of word and pronunciation is often difficult to adapt to. However I find that I’ve done a good job in speaking Standard American English.
5) One memory that I can vividly remember that pertains to reading and writing was moving back to the United States when I was just seven. I had remember when the teachers would single me out for the pronunciation of “Colour” and words of that nature. While it was embarrassing, I only thought how two places which spoke the same language could pronounce and spell words differently.
6) One particular time writing went very poor for me was during a time I had wrote a letter for acceptance into a program. I had wrote extensively about my interests and intentions if I had been accepted into the program, but never actually stated I was interested in joining the program. It read something to the sort of a list of all my credentials with little to no intention being made. I received a letter back a few days later from the President of the program with a question as to what exactly I was writing him for. I learned then and there that writing always needs to be proofread because the human mind often overlooks what seems like “givens” in the writing world.
7) I have fallen in love with several pieces of writing in my time. I, as cliché as it may seem, love the writing of JD Salinger. At 13, Holden Caulfied’s experiences were very reflective of my own feelings. I have always had a strong interest in free-verse poetry of Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg as well as the abstract T.S. Eliot.
8) I would say that my father was very influential in my writing and reading. He often encouraged me to read books that I liked. So many times, teachers will try to force a set of literary beliefs down the throats of students to the point where they no longer enjoy literature. I enjoyed reading books that appealed to the child in me. As I grew up, the literature I read became mature. Therefore I progressed naturally in literature.
9) Diaries or journals have not been effective in developing my person. I often will write certain things from time to time when I feel the need to express myself. I do however write songs for a musical project (I wouldn’t call it a band). I often reach a level in which I feel I have nothing to offer on a piece of paper and retreat from writing until the time is right.
10) I often read, however its mostly stories or pop-lit such as Chuck Pahlaniuk. I often read when I find that TV is no longer entertaining, which it can be at times. Or when I am on the road en route to some place. Reading has developed me just as much as television, music, film and personal interactions have. I would not say reading affects me more than any of those.
11) I often like to write upon inspiration. Songs or poems are often more powerful when they are inspired rather than created. I will use both computer and pen. I usually write when and where I get the inspiration. There really is no set place in which I write. If I cannot write in the source of inspiration, I will often re-create days later by being in the place in which I was inspired.
12) I consider myself a person who can adapt easily to any situation. I excel at being able to adjust to situations to succeed. I feel like I write in a very a relatable but unique tone. I suppose if there is one thing I’d like to learn it would be how to create writing rather than have it inspired. I’m not sure I can contribute much to the learning community. I don’t see myself as a person interested in teaching others in a classroom setting.
English B
My Theme for English B
By: Andrew Alcott
I write this theme in the heart of life.
I am twenty, without anchors and without strife.
I’m not married, no children nor pain.
I suppose I write this theme in vain.
For what it’s worth, life hasn’t been so hard.
I’ve endured and sacrificed and even left scarred.
A testament to which that all that remains.
The emotions left after encounters with pain.
I take out a pen, metronome in mind.
Rewrite my life to paper as the way I want it to be.
In some years from now I want to be able to walk away.
Without repercussion think and say what I need to say.
Change motions, change patterns.
Be warm in winter’s cold.
Remember what was new which will then be so old.
My themes for this course,
The summation of “me”.
Is be much more wiser
And somewhat more free.
By: Andrew Alcott
I write this theme in the heart of life.
I am twenty, without anchors and without strife.
I’m not married, no children nor pain.
I suppose I write this theme in vain.
For what it’s worth, life hasn’t been so hard.
I’ve endured and sacrificed and even left scarred.
A testament to which that all that remains.
The emotions left after encounters with pain.
I take out a pen, metronome in mind.
Rewrite my life to paper as the way I want it to be.
In some years from now I want to be able to walk away.
Without repercussion think and say what I need to say.
Change motions, change patterns.
Be warm in winter’s cold.
Remember what was new which will then be so old.
My themes for this course,
The summation of “me”.
Is be much more wiser
And somewhat more free.
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