Novels of "Literary Merit"

I take any delineation of the "canon of important literature" with a heavy dose of salt, but here is a list of books that are safely within the College Board's definition of a book of literary merit:

Appropriate Books for the Open Response Question

Do not hesitate to email me at msdame3@gmail.com for recommendations.  I just reread The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and was once again floored by it.  Easy but intricate read, with astonishing prose.

Homonyms!

WARNING: This is dorky.



homonym - each of two words having different spellings and meanings but pronounced the same

Lucky's Speech

Here is a version of Lucky's speech begin performed:



It is obvious here how much Lucky's thinking bothers Pozzo.  Any ideas why?  What do we learn about Pozzo?

The World of Dickens Would Literally Make Us Sick

Funny, sad, charming or gross?  You decide.

A Visit to Dicken's World

A Very Good Bad Review of Midnight in Paris

Per our discussion of Hemingway, here is a woman in a beret giving the warmest lukewarm review I've ever seen:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2012/feb/09/midnight-in-paris-best-picture-oscar-video

P.S.  All the reviews are well worth watching!

A Journalist's Job

Katherine Boo is a journalist from the New Yorker who has just published an unusual piece of journalism covering the slums of India.  The NY Times reviews it here. Apropos of our discussions about how to represent the "other" and why, check out her last quote in the article:

 “I respect the division of labor,” she said. “My job is to lay it out clearly, not to give my policy prescriptions.” She added: “Very little journalism is world changing. But if change is to happen, it will be because people with power have a better sense of what’s happening to people who have none.”


For extra credit, look up Boo's new book or any books by Ted Conover or George Orwell.  Read the book and write a review, focusing especially on how and why they represent the disadvantaged in society.

On Behalf of Others PBA Resources

One in Eight Million: The Uncertain Gang Member Migrant Mother Photographs The Story Behind This Iconic Photo Random Family (check Amazon.com, you can use the "Look Inside" feature to read the excerpt) Two Tabloid Articles: America's Obsession With Tabloids Why We Need the Tabloids JR's Ted Talk For your Works Cited list: Febres, Joshua. “The Uncertain Gang Member.” 1 in 8 Million. NYTimes.com, October 15, 2009. Franklin, Marcy.  "America's Obsession With Celebrities and Celebrity News:  When Is It Too Much?"  <http://www.colorado.edu/pwr/occasions/articles/americas_obsession.html> Accessed 1/30/2012 JR. “JR’s TED Prize Wish: Use Art to Turn the World Inside Out.” TED Talk. Ted.com, March 2011. LeBlanc, Adrian Nicole. “Chapter One Excerpt.” Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx.  January 19, 2004. Linkof, Ryan.  "Why We Need The Tabloids" <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/opinion/20linkof.html> Accessed 1/30/2012 “Migrant Mother: Photographs by Dorothea Lange.” ActivInspire Flipchart, February 6, 2012. “The Photographs of Arthur Fellig, a.k.a. Weegee.” PowerPoint Presentation, February 1, 2012.

Be A Weegee!

The extra-credit projects just keep coming!  Next up:  take a photo that some would consider sensationalist or lurid (no nudity please!), but you believe has artistic or journalistic merit.  In a well-developed paragraph, explain why you believe the photo has artistic or journalistic merit.  Also include reasonable proof that you took the picture (you can just tell me where and when.)

On Photography by Susan Sontag

Hello and Welcome Back!

I have an extra-credit project for you right off the bat.  This week, we will be working on the ethics of documentary work.  Read the excerpt from Sontag's book On Photography and create a Read20 graphic organizer.  You may browse the internet for help understanding Sontag.  When you finish, write a well-developed paragraph answering this prompt:

What is Sontag's main point?  Do you agree or disagree?  Why or why not?  (You may say "somewhat", just explain your reasoning.)

http://www.susansontag.com/SusanSontag/books/onPhotographyExerpt.shtml