CREDIBILITY

a poem

Wolf’s Trees J. D. McClatchy

If trees fall in a wood and no one hears them, Do they exist except as a page of lines That words of rapture or grief are written on? They are lines too while alive, pointing away From the primer of damped air and leafmold That underlie, or would if certain of them Were not melon or maize, solferino or smoke, Colors into which a sunset will collapse On a high branch of broken promises. Or they nail the late summer’s shingles of noon Back onto the horizon’s overlap, reflecting An emptiness visible on leaves that come and go. How does a life flash before one’s eyes At the end? How is there time for so much time? You pick up the book and hold it, knowing Long since the failed romance, the strained Marriage, the messenger, the mistake, Knowing it all at once, as if looking through A lighted dormer on the dark crest of a barn. You know who is inside, and who has always been At the other edge of the wood. She is waiting For no one in particular. It could be you. If you can discover which tree she has become, You will know whether it has all been true.                                                                                             for Wolf Kahn

AWESOME

“Pain Is Weakness Leaving the Body” by Kirk Schlueter

Posted: 13 Apr 2018 12:00 AM PDT by Rattle


Kirk Schlueter


PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY

They lashed the nine-year-old to the plow.

This is not a metaphor.

His older brothers knotted the reins across his skinny shoulders.
Their horse was dead and the field had to be planted,

and the brothers, though some were six years older,
were lazy. So they made the youngest do it,

only five days after watching his favorite brother
lowered into the small grave: stamp of shovel onto dirt.

No cross, no prayers. Just the corpse

he wasn’t allowed to hug goodbye for fear of typhus.
And he did it, the boy. He plowed,

sucking his own breath in hard hour after hour,
cutting row after row of earth for corn seed,

his knobby legs and narrow shoulders the only weight

dragging the blade through rocky Illinois clay,
until the sun crawled into his stomach

and he collapsed, not even unlashing himself
but taking care to avoid the seed as he threw up

the day’s long work, all the light within him.

He did this all summer and when the harvest came in,
no one said a word of thanks—not his brothers,

not his father too sick to leave bed. But still he plowed

the next summer unasked, and the summer after that,
to save the money for the horse, and though no one

ever once offered a word of praise or even that old standby,
a gruff pat on the head, he never once complained.

If I tell you that boy was my great-grandfather,
can you understand what I learned those candy years

I was a boy—that your face is a mask you never take off,

and only men broken on the earth’s dark axis
let their trials conquer them? No one ever said it,

but I took it in each time I woke at four a.m.
to my father’s boots tramping up and down the driveway

to break the ice with a shovel,
each time my grandfather pulled his own weeds

until he had to slump in the shade and fan his head
with a faded St. Louis ball cap.

A man endures what must be endured, a body’s toil,
the cringing static of the mind, and if he ever feels

he’s falling, that he can’t take another damn step,
well, he sucks in his breath, and endures that too.


—from Rattle #58, Winter 2017
Rattle Poetry Prize Finalist

__________


Kirk Schlueter: “For me, poetry is an escape. No matter what the subject matter, I think there’s something inspiring and powerful in how the poet shapes the words and delivers the emotion. I try to always read poems on my lunch break for the small shivers of wonder and beauty they give me in the middle of the day. For me, poetry lives between the hum of ordinary moments, providing a spark that lifts us momentarily to something greater. And the best poems I read, the poems I try and fail over and over again to write, embed that spark so deep it stays with you for hours and days and years afterward (think Charles Wright, think Vievee Francis). Enjoy all these poems as you would your favorite snack: cheese and crackers, apple slices, vegetables dunked in ranch. And then smile! Because whoever you are, you’re really great, and I appreciate you reading. Now go be awesome.”

CREDIBILITY

I WANT A WIFE

 The essay I mentioned in class:

I Want a Wife

Judy Brady

I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother. 

Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife? 

I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and, if need be, support those dependent upon me. I want a wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a wife to keep track of the children’s doctor and dentist appointments. And to keep track of mine, too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat properly and are kept clean. I want a wife who will wash the children’s clothes and keep them mended. I want a wife who is a good nurturant attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure that they have an adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the park, the zoo, etc. I want a wife who takes care of the children when they are 

sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need special care, because, of course, I cannot miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose time at work and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in my wife’s income from time to time, but I guess I can tolerate that. Needless to say, my wife will arrange and pay for the care of the children while my wife is working. 

I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need the minute I need it. I want a wife who cooks the meals, a wife who is a good cook. I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals, serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying. I want a wife who will care for me when I am sick and sympathize with my pain and loss of time from school. I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and change of scene. 

I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife’s duties. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come across in my course of studies. And I want a wife who will type my papers for me when I have written them. 

I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When my wife and I are invited out by my friends, I want a wife who will take care of the babysitting arrangements. When I meet people at school that I like and want to entertain, I want a wife who will have the house clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not interrupt when I talk about things that interest me and my friends. I want a wife who will have arranged that the children are fed and ready for bed before my guests arrive so that the children do not bother us. I want a wife who takes care of the needs of my guests so that they feel comfortable, who makes sure that they have an ashtray, that they are passed the hors d’oeuvres, that they are offered a second helping of the food, that their wine glasses are replenished when necessary, that their coffee is served to them as they like it. And I want a wife who knows that sometimes I need a night out by myself. 

I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. And, of course, I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it. I want a wife who assumes the complete responsibility for birth control, because I do not want more children. I want a wife who will remain sexually faithful to me so that I do not have to clutter up my intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I must, after all, be able to relate to people as fully as possible. 

If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh new life; my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free. 

When I am through with school and have a job, I want my wife to quit working and remain at home so that my wife can more fully and completely take care of a wife’s duties. 

My God, who wouldn’t want a wife? 

From Ms.Magazine, 1972. Copyright © 1970 by Judy Syfers.

THEY SAY/I SAY

On Monday, you must present an "outline" of the paper you will write about the class-chosen topic of RACISM. This outline may be as simple as the example I have posted at the bottom of the page, or as detailed as a formal outline. Please understand that many writers find outlining saves them time and ensures their papers are well organized. 

In order to complete the "outline", you would be wise to first actually read the course packet materials about this assignment. Your They Say/I Say essay will end on page 4 and should have 7-8 paragraphs of similar length. 

You may incorporate additional research into any section. You should add at least four and up to eight additional sources. Research may help explain the issue you have chosen. They may support, counter, or expand on what your They Say anchors offer. They may help you to clarify and support your position in the I Say paragraph or paragraphs of your paper. 

How to get there from here:

What interests you about racism? This is not what you know the most about. It is not what you already have a strong opinion about. Instead consider: What do you want to understand better? This will lead you from topic to ISSUE.

Who or what are the primary stakeholders in this issue? What are the various positions and where do they come from? How are different groups or organizations impacted by this issue? You are looking for two entirely credible and worthy positions—neither STAKEHOLDER is identical to your own position. 

What essays or articles or historical documents best represent the two stakeholders? These will become your TWO ANCHORS. You will not be discrediting them, but finding a way to honor their concerns. You should read around the views—look for corroborating evidence to explain, support, and perhaps (only maybe) counter them. Write a formal précis for each anchor source.* 

Finally, what is your position? Your THESIS should develop last, but your best guess works for now. Expect your focus, opinion, and thesis to change in the process of researching and coming to understand your anchors and the broader issue you have chosen. 

*NOTE: If you find a better anchor than the ones listed in a previous post, or as you research you discover that another source provides a better anchoring position, you may change your anchor(s). 

_______________________________

At the minimum, you must prepare five sentences for Monday. My example below has 6 sentences. What to hand in on Monday:

ISSUE: Choose a specific issue—we brainstormed this in class. Examples might be impact of racism on education, health, life expectancy, economic or social opportunity, or safety. The relationship of racism to military service or police response. 

ANCHOR: Choose two anchors. You have several sources in your possession, and some are more appropriate choices as anchors than others. A previous blog post lists some of those covered in class. However, you are not limited to the sources we covered in class. Write 1-2 sentences for each and add the title and author in square brackets.

I SAY: Add your I Say view in 2 sentences. This is the part of your paper likely to shift the most as you continue researching your issue and thinking about it. This section, in fact should change. The goal of research is to explore an issue, to learn and grow in understanding, and to enter a conversation about ideas and issues beyond your personal experience. 

PLUS: You must include a précis for each of your anchor sources.

Jan Priddy

Ms. Priddy

Writing 121

12 February 2018

Our Extraordinary Experiment

ISSUE: The ideals of the United States were revolutionary, insisting on liberty and justice for all people, regardless of station in life. 

ANCHOR #1: Our nation was founded on the egalitarian notion that all people have the same rights to justice and opportunity. [NOTE: I plan to use a historical document to define this idealistic vision: The Declaration of Independence.] 

ANCHOR #2: More than one hundred and fifty years after federal law moved to make slavery illegal, we have not achieved equality for people of color. Too many of our white citizens have demonstrated active hostility to achieving equity. [Coates’s essay in The Atlantic, “The First White President”]

I SAY: The United States has made enormous advances in social justice, edging closer and closer to the idealistic vision at its founding. 

In many ways, we have failed to achieve our vision. 

TRANSITIONS

TRANSITIONS: stock words/phrases & the paragraph hook

LOGICAL RELATIONSHIP	TRANSITIONAL EXPRESSION
Similarity	also, in the same way, just as ... so too, likewise, similarly
Exception/Contrast	While this may be true, it is also true, but, however (careful of this one—it belongs in the middle of a paragraph), in spite of, on the one hand ... on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet
Sequence/Order	first, second, third, ... next, then, finally
Time	after, afterward, at last, before, currently, during, earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently, simultaneously, subsequently, then
Example	for example, for instance, namely, specifically, to illustrate
Emphasis	even, indeed, in fact, of course, truly
Place/Position	above, adjacent, below, beyond, here, in front, in back, nearby, there
Cause and Effect	accordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefore, thus
Additional Support or Evidence	additionally, again, also, and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, then
Conclusion/Summary	finally, in a word, in brief, briefly, in conclusion, in the end, in the final analysis, on the whole, thus, to conclude, to summarize, in sum, to sum up, in summary

The paragraph hook is a more sophisticated and stronger connection.

You probably use the paragraph hook often in your own writing without knowing it and see it constantly in your reading without realizing it (as in this sentence, for example). But to take full advantage of its possibilities, you should learn to use the paragraph hook consciously, to direct and control it for your own purposes. Control, remember, is the essence of style, and the handling of transitions is an important part of any writer's style.

To see how the paragraph hook differs from the standard transitional device, look first at the example below. Here the transition from one paragraph to the next is accomplished by a standard transition alone-the word but:

Mark Twain is established in the minds of most Americans as a kindly humorist, a gentle and delightful "funny man." No doubt his photographs have helped promote this image. Everybody is familiar with the Twain face. He looks like every child's ideal grandfather, a dear old white-thatched gentleman who embodies the very spirit of loving-kindness. (Standard transition)

But Twain wrote some of the most savage satire ever produced in America....

The standard transition indicates clearly enough that the writer is preparing to take off with a new idea in opposition to the one in the first paragraph. But the transition is far too abrupt. The leap from one idea (how Twain looked) to the next (how he wrote) is simply too great to be handled by a mechanical transition. Observe how much more firmly the paragraphs hang together with this transition

…a dear old white-thatched gentleman who embodies the very spirit of loving-kindness. (paragraph hook)

The loving-kindness begins to look a little doubtful in view of some of his writing. For Twain wrote some of the most savage satire ...

Here you see demonstrated the simplest kind of paragraph hook. The last word of the first paragraph is hooked into the first sentence of the second paragraph and used as a point of departure for introducing another idea. This repetition hooks the paragraphs together solidly. The hook need not be one word; it can be a phrase. It should not, however, exceed two or three words.

Although the last word or phrase of a paragraph frequently serves as the simplest and strongest kind of hook, you can go back farther than this, sometimes to even better effect:

   …a dear old white-thatched gentleman who embodies the very spirit of loving-kindness. (deeper hook)

   This dear old white-thatched gentleman happens to be the author of some of the most savage satire ...

Generally speaking, the last sentence of a paragraph is the best place to find the hook for your new paragraph, for this sentence is the one freshest in the reader's mind. If you go back much deeper than this, you will usually need a multiple hook, as in this example:

    No doubt his photographs have helped promote this image.... He looks like ... the very spirit of loving-kindness.

(Still deeper: the multiple hook)

To accept such an image is to betray greater familiarity with the photographs than with the writing. For Twain wrote some of the most savage satire ...

Here both image and photographs are repeated, thus "double hooking" the paragraphs to make up for the greater distance between their first and second appearance. The greater the distance, the more likely you are to need a multiple hook. But no arbitrary rule in this matter is possible. Let your inner ear and your good sense guide you. The important thing is to remember the reader. Make certain that the connection is clear to him. But don't insult him by making the connection too clear-that is, by repeating huge sections or whole sentences from the preceding paragraph. One or two key words will do the job.

All the examples so far have been simple word or phrase hooks. Another variation of the paragraph hook is the idea hook. The principle is the same; you hook into the preceding paragraph, but instead of repeating an exact word or phrase you refer to the idea just expressed, compressing it into a single phrase:

   Mark Twain is ........................................................................................... the very spirit of loving-kindness. (Idea hook)

   Such a view of Twain would probably have been a source of high amusement to the author himself. For Twain wrote some of the most savage satire ...

Or   Any resemblance between this popular portrait and the man who reveals himself in his writing is purely imaginary. For Twain wrote ...

SOURCES ON RACISM

Online:

• Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-crosleycorcoran/explaining-white-privilege-to-a-broke-white-person_b_5269255.html

from Gale:

• "Ain't I a Woman: Revisiting Intersectionality by Avtar Brah and Ann Phoenix
• "The Power of Teacher Expectations by Seth Gershenson and Nicholas Papageorge
• "Raising Arguments About the Potential Influence of Implicit Racial Bias in Police Stops" by Sherri Lee Keene
• "I Am Not a Racist, and So Are You" by Stephen Beckner

FOUR ANCHORS: You may use any two of these as anchors, or another source(s) if you choose. Anchor sources must come from the most credible sources you can find. The four below will be handed out on Thursday. 

• "The First White President": https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/the-first-white-president-ta-nehisi-coates/537909/ sh

Journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates’s essay published in The Atlantic, “The First White President” (2017), describes the racism and white supremacy that is deeply rooted in Donald Trump's presidency. The essay goes on to provide examples of the systemic racism that paved the way to Trump’s presidency. Coates provides evidence to show that the demographic group that is the most supportive of Trump’s presidency is the white population along with other examples of systematic racism throughout history in order to explain white supremacy.  The essay continues to give examples of systematic racism throughout history and the white population has consistently been involved given the upper hand. Coates writes for those with concern and knowledge of today’s political climate.

• "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack": http://code.ucsd.edu/pcosman/Backpack.pdf [NOTE: there are many, many versions of this article online.] j

• "The Development of Prejudice in Children" by Timothy J. Bergen, Jr. [Gale]a

Professor of Education Timothy J. Bergen, Jr.’s essay in Education, “The Development of Prejudice in Children” (2001), argues that children are not born with prejudice but are taught prejudice by the people around them and their environment. Bergen goes to explain the steps of forming prejudice for children and how they morally change as well. As Bergen continues he uses studies to prove his position and shows how the evidence is relevant to his position. Bergen explains the way children discriminate and how whether it is conscious or not adults that are close to the child and even society help form these discriminations. This essay is meant to be read by a mature audience due to the comprehensibility and content though it will inform the reader about prejudice in children and how it develops.

• "Children Are Not Colorblind: How Children Learn Racism" by Erin N. Winkler, Ph.D [Gale] c

Assistant professor in the Department of Africology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erin N. Winkler’s [Ph.D.] study, “Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race” (2009), addresses the concept that children are not as “colorblind” as people think they are. Winkler soon describes that children categorize people when they are under the age of one and continue to categorize people throughout their entire life and ways to address the “R” word to children, which can be an uncomfortable subject for many. She presents this theory and several examples to get a better understanding of prejudice and racism in America’s society. The article was intended for the public and people interested on the source of prejudice in people.

More, perhaps, to follow. If you find something great, share the wealth—send me an email with a link.

OPENOFFICE + LIBREOFFICE

Apache Open Office is free word processing software. You may download it for free in the version compatible for your computer and operating system—Microsoft, Mac, and Linux. 

https://www.openoffice.org/download/

Open Office provides the option to turn off widow and orphan controls. Seriously. It's free. 

I believe Libre Office, which is also free, offers the same feature. 

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/

WIDOW/ORPHAN

• Widow: A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page/column, thus separated from the rest of the text.
• Orphan: A paragraph-opening line that appears by itself at the bottom of a page/column.

Both MLA and APA (the two most common manuscript formats you are likely to be required to use in college) require widow control to be turned off. Microsoft Word is still the gold star program for word processing. You may find it is given to you free or for a small fee when you enter college. Take advantage of that opportunity, if it is available. 

I have not yet researched the reviewed programs below, but there are free word-processing programs available (see post above). The features of programs suggested may or may not include widow/orphan disconnect. Complaints about GoogleDocs failing to provide this feature date back several years. Nevertheless, GoogleDocs does provide safe storage and access to documents from any device. So there is that. 

Here is a link to one review: https://www.thebalance.com/free-word-processors-1356338

Another focusing on online software: https://www.thebalance.com/free-online-word-processors-1356661

A review of cross-platform programs: https://www.investintech.com/articles/tenwordalternatives/

And another: http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-word-processor

NOTE that all of this alternative software appears to be free. You will likely find others, if you search.