Maps To Anywhere

This book was slightly confusing to me.  It seems to just be a collection of short stories that tell about his background and family and history.  I don't exactly understand what the stories have to do with maps.  On page 37, the narrator uses terms associated with maps to describe Mrs. Mazel, stating that her topography amazed him.  Throughout the short stories, that seems to be a the theme for the writer.  He is frequently associating maps with every day life and memories from when he was a child.  Also, with the ways in which he tells the history of the Earth and other details about it, it seems like he is trying to make maps of the world come to life through the telling of stories.  It seems like he is trying to make it all feel real to the reader.  Truthfully, it was rather difficult for me to follow the stories because of how much he jumped around to different times and different places.  It could work for others as a way of keeping things from getting dull, but I found it hard to really indulge in what the writer was trying to portray with all of his stories.

Fiction Packet 3- Peter Markus

The work I would like to talk about is from Peter Markus's "The Singing Fish."  There are three short stories that are all related that use a very simple style of text.  There is a lot of repetition of words in each of the three stories.  I think the theme here is to use words to compare to tangible things to make them feel tangible for a visual effect.  In the second story at the very end, he is talking about pictures drawn on the side of a cave but he is calling them words.  He says, "Our hands, us brothers, we keep looking with our hands, and we do not stop looking until the words themselves- mud and fish, moon and river, brother and girl- they become bones."  They way that actual objects are compared to words seem to be portraying that these objects are created with the use of words and the way they are put together.  The moon and river and brothers and girl are created from the words of Peter Markus and I believe that they way he writes is trying to point out to the reader that you can create anything with your words.  They may look like simple text on a piece of paper, but the way you utilize them can paint of picture of meaning by the way you use them together.

Another thing I would like to point out is that in his first story, "When it Rains it Rains a River," I liked how he used the phrase, "We like to make mud, in the rain, out of the dirt."  Although this is a very simple sentence, it causes the reader to visualize these brothers running in the rain and tearing up the dirt.  The writer is using his words in a way that causes implications of what is going on which provides imagery for the reader.  Simple, yet effective.

Juice

I suppose I'll start by saying that this short story is extremely odd.  It is pretty clear to me that the subject is schizophrenic or something of that nature.  The writing is disorganized and her perception of the world and society is very strange.  On page 31, she says, "I looked that night as a ten-year-old would.  The next time I looked, a few weeks later, I was twelve."  Obviously, this doesn't make any sense.  She also describes the signs that her sister makes and claims that they are art and that people go to view them.  I think her perception of the people looking at the signs are to appreciate the art of them rather than their purpose of directing people. 

I'm having a hard time understanding the purpose of this story.  It seems like its sort of taking a snapshot of her mind and what is going on inside.  The story jumps around to several places.  She describes the mountains by her home and she seems to be aroused by them. Later, she is on a train and then chasing her next lover down an alley.  The part at the end where she calls every time she goes to bed "sleeps" is very strange.  Maybe she doesn't ever sleep and that's why she has this crazy perception of the world around her?  "Once every two hundred and eighty sleeps the person's mind clears.  The places of things make sense.  She thinks, I am alive and so all these things." (Pg 59) Clearly, she is not getting any sleep because she is out of her mind!

The writing style toward the end seems to represent her mind flow.  The writing becomes separated with no real paragraphs, just statements.  Also, the statements are odd and unrelated which seems to be representative of her thought processes. 

Overall, I did not have a very clear understanding of the point of the story.  So far, I just believe that the subject is out of her mind and the writer is attempting to capture that through her writing style with the statement of random facts and the ways in which the story jumps around.

Reaction to Fiction Packet #1

Thank you for the grace period!! Life is crazy at times.

Of all the short stories in this packet, the most entertaining for me was "Misdemeanors."  This "tough ex-con" who is the subject of the story isn't tough at all.  Of all of the places to rob, he chooses the bowling alley.  The fact that he did no preparation whatsoever is also pretty hilarious.  No gloves for his hands, no bags for the cash, not even a tool to break in.  Honestly, this guy deserved to be busted, for he is a horrible criminal!  I really enjoyed the way the writer portrays how big of an idiot this guy is by first describing how he tells people that he was a big, tough ex-con and following it with the fact that he failed miserably with the crime he committed.  The detail that he was one penny short of a felony charge stressed the fact that he wasn't even in enough trouble to have the title of an ex-con; he didn't even go to prison.  Also, adding the detail that he exited the building with his pants around his ankles and socks on his hands really put the frosting on the cake.  This is an extremely short story and every sentence here is very valuable for the meaning of the story.

The most touching of these stories would probably be "Walking the baby to the liquor store."  The writer starts by describing how stressed the father is and how there are so many things on his mind that could potentially distract him of his fatherly duties.  The story then takes a turn and describes how being a father is the most important thing in life.  By taking the time to do this one small thing that the child absolutely loves to do every day, he finds a purpose in all of the work that he does.  To him, the walk to the store might be a 20 minute walk that is rather dull, but to the child, the writer describes how it is comparable to Cleopatra traveling to Rome.  The world is so big to the little girl, and she finds so much joy in the walk, despite being bothered by the Doberman.  It seems that the father is finding joy in the walk just because she is, and he is also finding the peace he needs to go on.  A child's life may also seem simple, but I feel like adults try to find ways to bring that simplicity back to their own lives vicariously through their children, which is highlighted by the story.   

The Right to Write by Julia Cameron

This was my favorite piece out of the assigned reading.  I have always found it difficult to get started with writing, and I felt that the advice Cameron gives here was helpful to me.  She instructs ways to get started that help the words flow, for once you begin, it is much easier to continue.  One exercise that she suggests to get the words flowing is to make a list of ten sentences or so, each begin with “Writers are…” and the writer is instructed to fill in the rest.  Anything to get the words flowing is a good start.

She addresses a lot of issues that people face when trying to write.  Often times, people find themselves coming up with excuses for why they cannot write that day.  Perhaps time or life events will not permit you the opportunity that day.  She claims that she does not make time for writing.  Writing is something that must be done, so she makes time for other things. 

She also describes that there are not certain people in the world who are writers.  We are all writers, we were born to speak and communicate, why are we limited by a title?  She claims that we are all able to be writers; it is whether or not we assess the abilities inside of us to be the writer that we aspire to be.  Everyone is capable of putting words on a page, and to say that one is not a writer would be to make a blatant lie.  The ability to write lies in all of us, for we all are able to communicate.

Intro

Greetings!

My name is Leigh Sutter and I am a fourth year student in the Business program and will be majoring in Marketing.  I am originally from Whitmore Lake, MI which is a tiny town north of Ypsilanti and my favorite place to be.  It is a place where I find comfort, family and peace of mind.  Growing up in a small town has made me who I am today, for I have learned a high degree of manners which I often feel is lacking in the rest of the world.

When I'm not being consumed by school and work, I enjoy listening to music.  A few favorite bands would probably be Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin but the list doesn't end there.  My favorite hobby would be going fishing with my dad, something that I've done my whole life.  If I'm not doing some type of work, you'll find me outside enjoying the weather.  I LOVE baseball and wish there was such a thing as a girls baseball league but I am not so fortunate.  I'm also a big fan of darts, mostly because I recently found out that I'm not too shabby and kicked some butt.

Not much else to say so far.  Let the creative writing journey begin!

~Leigh~