Fiction Packet 2

I would definitely have to say that I liked fiction packet 2 much better. The stories in this packet were much longer then the other one but that is not the reason why I didn't like it as much. I didn't think the stories were very interesting. It was very difficult for me to pay attention to them.

The first story that was called Contagion, was a very detailed story. I think it's funny that the story is so detailed considering the main character had to be very detailed in his writing for his boss. I did like how the story was broken up into different sections like, "My Instructions" and "My Record and Journey". That made me interested in what was to follow in the paragraph,  wanted to learn about his journey and records. Some parts, though, were quite dull. The parts where they were going over the Rauchian theory and all the interns learnings, were very boring to me. I wasn't sure if it was important for us to know to understand the story, but I did not rain anything from it at all.

I believe the next story was called "Point and Line". This story was very frustrating for me. It seemed to jump around a lot and it was hard to follow. I couldn't really get the just of the story except for the fact about a little girl in the marketplace and about a cat. I wasn't sure how they went together and it didn't make much sense. I like when stories go in order and it tells a story in chronological order. It is more intriguing to me to read a story I want to read and can understand.

The last story that I read was called "People in Hell just Want a Drink of Water". This story was actually pretty good to me. I thought it was the perfect amount of details, just enough so that you can understand them and put it all together. I really enjoyed reading about the Tinsleys on page 103 of the story. It was very descriptive and I was able to get a picture in my head which makes the story more enjoyable because I can paint even more of a picture as the story goes along. Overall, the stories were ok. I think there is a lot that can make or break a short story. The amount of detail and the order of the story have seemed to be the two that bothers me the most.

Readings

So the first packet I read was the Attack of the Difficult Poems, and it was definitely an interesting one. I wasn't very fond of the how the writer wrote. However, it did have some good insight on how to read those difficult poems like the ones we read in the beginning of the semester. Especially in City Eclogue.  There was some language in here  that I was confused about but I still got the main points.

I thought the first two reasons she used when she was talking about hard poems were kind go cheesy and I don't necessarily think I have ever really thought those things to myself, the "why me" and self-blame. I realized that maybe those thoughts were directed towards writers possibly? I did like the point she made about how hard poems are normal and not abnormal. " 'Difficult' is very different from abnormal", that was a statement that made sense to me and I believe it is true! "Difficult poems are hard to read" is a very true statement and probably one of my favorites because I can relate. "Difficult poems are not popular" is also a statement I believe true, however I may be biased.

When she was talking about innovation, I thought where it said, "form follows not function but failure" is really cool. I think much more interesting content comes out of failures instead of trying to be perfect. Charles had a good point about how even though something looks minor on the outside of poetry, it is something major on the inside. And sometimes major things are just small and tedious. These are the points that stuck out to me the most because the made sense to me and I could relate to.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the fiction packet with all the short stories. I really enjoy short stories because they can keep my attention. There were some styles that I like more than others, however. I think my favorite short story was 'Wallet' by Allen Woodman. It is what made the most sense to me and was a true short story in my eyes. It made me laugh which is important to me.

There were a few that I was not that interested in, however. Some were the 'Mystery Stories' by Sharon Krinsky. I know there is no such thing as a short story that is too short but these were just too short for my liking. I just didn't see the point in writing a few sentences and calling it a short story. Another one that I wasn't very fond of was 'The Letter From Home' by Jamaica Kincaid. It was almost like a list of everything she came in contact with or did, which can be a cool way of telling a story, but it just didn't click with me. The rest of the stories however were very good and kept me attention which is what I need.

Poems

These Feelings

Before I used to think you were a curse,

Placed in my life to bring me suffering.

A bittersweet gift that made my life worse.

It was because you were so amazing

Now I realize you are my life's blessing

I wanted to be with you for so long

And now I love you more than anything

I have feelings for you that are so strong.

I will never hurt you or do you wrong.

I am no longer afraid to love you.

We are so perfect, I know we belong.

I'll love you forever, I swear it's true.

You are my life, my world, my everything.

I promise forever, my love I'll bring.

Waiting

I plan on making your life better

I plan on going through times of hard

I will never play role of debtor

If given your heart I will stand guard

Because once wronged ones heart is left charred

I would’ve waited forever only for you

Holding you in my highest regard

But by Gods will the waiting I don’t have to do

Unleashing my vengeance of captive love once barred

Blood Dazzler

I really enjoyed reading Blood Dazzler. I think it was easier to understand what I was reading because it is something we have heard about over and over again. It was also something we already knew so much about and we have all had our own feelings and emotions over it. Whether we knew someone involved, helped clean up, or donated money, we were all connected to the victims somehow.

I really like the style of this book even though it is still poems all the way through. There are poems that are supposed to be by other hurricanes like "Siblings" and poems that were said about voodoo. Some of the topics of the poems were repeated like the dog Luther. Some of them had some improper language but I think it was important to have that language because that is how the people down south talk. The language really captured the victims and what they had been through.

The poems were mostly in normal stanzas with no special forms. The only forms that were a little different from the rest were Tankas and the poem about Katrina hitting landfall on page 5. Even though they were in strange formations, they were a lot easier to read and focus on than the poems in City Eclogue.

My favorite poem was the one called "Only Everything I Own". I went to New Orleans on a mission trip after the storm and we helped clean up what still needed fixing. We would pass the houses that had the spray paint on it with the number of deaths or evacuated. Just to think, in that house was everything that person possessed. All of their memories and belongings were washed away in the floods. My favorite part about the whole book though is how the poems were coming from certain people or things. Also, just the way I can read the book and really understand and envision what is going on.