Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Introduced as one of the nation’s “premier Cuban-American poet and novelist,” Virgil Suarez recited original contemporary poems influenced by his youth, family and modern American and Cuban societal issues. Authoring six poetry collections, four novels, two short story collections, and a memoir, Suarez began the evening’s poetry reading with a few new pieces to test out on the audience. In the poem, “Owl Pellets,” Suarez contrasted his daughter’s surprisingly intelligent American youth with his own military influenced-educational Cuban youth. Within the poem he recollected his elementary school memories of cleaning AK-47’s blindfolded, and I intrinsically contrasted the governmental influence of Cuba and America. The next poem, “Purple Finch,” was slightly disturbing. In the opening lines Suarez intricately describes a purple finch and relays the scent of the bird to triggered memories of his youthful journeys to whore houses with his father. Embarrassed and flabbergasted, Suarez would flee from the room and wait in the lobby for his father to return. Suarez then proceeded to take a few minutes to explain that he writes a lot of poetry about Vietnam veterans, even though he himself is not a vet. He explained his interest by describing the reasons Cubans immigrated to America – social, economic, and political freedom – and the ever-present influence of communism. When the Cubans would immigrate to America they were automatically drafted after being granted their visas. The citizens that remained in Cuba were automatically drafted, fashioning a war against each other in Vietnam, Cuban versus Cuban-American. The poem entitled “Saigon” expressed the Cuban anger towards the United States’ suppression of communism. Again, Suarez’s poem brought American history influenced by Cuban resistance into the limelight. The next topic of Suarez’s poem, “Exegesis,” was his plight with the English language. Throughout his English class with Louis Simpson, at LSU, Suarez believed the class was saying, “exit Jesus,” and had no idea why that related to their topic. Years later he came across the definition of the word and explained how he commonly utilizes it in classroom settings. Moving his theme to religion, Suarez stunned the audience with his undressed nun in “Clothes Pins,” but later admitted that he was seeking revenge towards her “evil ways.” The last untested poem that Suarez read, “Profiling,” addressed the issue of America’s fear towards foreigners and was inspired while Suarez sat next to a man of Middle Eastern descent, flying to west coast. Suarez moved into more celebrated poetry by explaining his father’s hatred for his “sissy-son’s” poetry. Comically, Suarez explained himself as a closet poet and attempted to start off his career with fiction, thinking it was manlier. His father passed away in 1997 and since then has greatly affected his writing style. Although his father was a distant enforcer, he always appreciated his self-sacrifice to provide Suarez with a better life in America. In the poems “Upon Hearing that my Poetry is being Published Everywhere,” “Low Work Poem,” “Mango Eating in America,” and his most celebrated piece “American Drag Rap City J. Edgar Hoover in Havana,” Suarez addressed all of his influences and thoughts. I really enjoyed the reading, but felt that either the poetry or how he read it made the endings abrupt and unfinished. I realized that poetry readings are more for rhythm and digestion, then literary analysis and conclusions. Following the reading Suarez spoke about Cuba, how Americans knowledge of Cuba is clouded by governmental propaganda, and his hope to return to a free Cuba where he can stand up for his rights.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Current Events Section
(or Dichotomy)
All at once, a multitude of voices called out,
The left is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your money.
They hate your country.
They lie, slander, and deceive.
Then, a different set
The right is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your oil,
they want it at the expense of your country.
They are the liars, the deceivers.
I stood, overwhelmed.
Minutes later, I left with the overwhelming conviction
Everyone is wrong.
(or Dichotomy)
All at once, a multitude of voices called out,
The left is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your money.
They hate your country.
They lie, slander, and deceive.
Then, a different set
The right is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your oil,
they want it at the expense of your country.
They are the liars, the deceivers.
I stood, overwhelmed.
Minutes later, I left with the overwhelming conviction
Everyone is wrong.
Current Events Section
(or Dichotomy)
All at once, a multitude of voices called out,
The left is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your money.
They hate your country.
They lie, slander, and deceive.
Then, a different set
The right is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your oil,
they want it at the expense of your country.
They are the liars, the deceivers.
I stood, overwhelmed.
Minutes later, I left with the overwhelming conviction
Everyone is wrong.
(or Dichotomy)
All at once, a multitude of voices called out,
The left is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your money.
They hate your country.
They lie, slander, and deceive.
Then, a different set
The right is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your oil,
they want it at the expense of your country.
They are the liars, the deceivers.
I stood, overwhelmed.
Minutes later, I left with the overwhelming conviction
Everyone is wrong.
Current Events Section
(or Dichotomy)
All at once, a multitude of voices called out,
The left is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your money.
They hate your country.
They lie, slander, and deceive.
Then, a different set
The right is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your oil,
they want it at the expense of your country.
They are the liars, the deceivers.
I stood, overwhelmed.
Minutes later, I left with the overwhelming conviction
Everyone is wrong.
(or Dichotomy)
All at once, a multitude of voices called out,
The left is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your money.
They hate your country.
They lie, slander, and deceive.
Then, a different set
The right is wrong.
They own the media.
They want your oil,
they want it at the expense of your country.
They are the liars, the deceivers.
I stood, overwhelmed.
Minutes later, I left with the overwhelming conviction
Everyone is wrong.
Monday, March 22, 2004
CNN:
red, orange, yellow flash and flicker
sounds of torment and fear
destruction and hatred
flood our safe and comfortable living area.
Quickly, WBTV:
the station is changed.
artificial laughter screams,
sighs of relief emit from every corner.
CBS:
tan fit smiling faces heavily made up
report news without alarm—news from afar
that does not hurt those close to home.
FOX News:
a drawling man with a sure air
Donning a wide brimmed hat
Appease the masses.
ABC:
a waxen face with crimson cheeks
and a large forehead promises
change for all—a return of ‘our boys’.
Al Jazeera:
we do not see this news report
we are blind to the death we cause
we are content in our ignorance.
CRTVG:
Spanish news that we do not know exists
reports we do not see—only glorified highlights
only for a day, then we can forget without guilt.
Our blind eyes allow ignorance
To run rampant among us.
We accept ‘the lesser of evils’ as a philosophy.
How can we choose to look away,
To close our eyes, to shut our ears, to lock our hearts.
There is good everywhere if one looks close enough;
We must draw the good out of ourselves
And extend it past our home boundaries-
More important than democracy, capitalism, or free trade
We must spread love throughout the world.
any comments welcome! :)
red, orange, yellow flash and flicker
sounds of torment and fear
destruction and hatred
flood our safe and comfortable living area.
Quickly, WBTV:
the station is changed.
artificial laughter screams,
sighs of relief emit from every corner.
CBS:
tan fit smiling faces heavily made up
report news without alarm—news from afar
that does not hurt those close to home.
FOX News:
a drawling man with a sure air
Donning a wide brimmed hat
Appease the masses.
ABC:
a waxen face with crimson cheeks
and a large forehead promises
change for all—a return of ‘our boys’.
Al Jazeera:
we do not see this news report
we are blind to the death we cause
we are content in our ignorance.
CRTVG:
Spanish news that we do not know exists
reports we do not see—only glorified highlights
only for a day, then we can forget without guilt.
Our blind eyes allow ignorance
To run rampant among us.
We accept ‘the lesser of evils’ as a philosophy.
How can we choose to look away,
To close our eyes, to shut our ears, to lock our hearts.
There is good everywhere if one looks close enough;
We must draw the good out of ourselves
And extend it past our home boundaries-
More important than democracy, capitalism, or free trade
We must spread love throughout the world.
any comments welcome! :)
For me, writing poems has always been an exhausting endeavor because I am defintely a factually and structurally based person (left-brained I think). The creativity needed for poetry has always been like pulling teeth with me. This time around I felt the same way. I needed some kind of structure to get me going, and everyone's displayed poems on the blog did not assist me at all because they each uniquley radiated creativity. Without any parameters I was left to search for a subject that satisifed the correlation requirement. Once I settled on a subject I developed my own structure (yeah- I know it's not creative to have structure but I need it) and then played with some words and rhythm to display my emotions. I'm still not completely satisifed with my end product, but that isn't alarming in my case.
Ok, here is my PAC poem:
Never Normal, Never Dull
Back problems with wheelchairs and canes to hobble to teach-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Website design and too many overstressed honors students-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Virtual class via IM and an overhead projector-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Fire and lost schoolwork and snow with the ensuing chaos-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Poetry and politics and geology, with very few memos-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Geology professors and guest speakers and their presentations-
Ok, the class may never be normal, but those guys were dull.
Never Normal, Never Dull
Back problems with wheelchairs and canes to hobble to teach-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Website design and too many overstressed honors students-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Virtual class via IM and an overhead projector-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Fire and lost schoolwork and snow with the ensuing chaos-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Poetry and politics and geology, with very few memos-
The class is never normal, never dull.
Geology professors and guest speakers and their presentations-
Ok, the class may never be normal, but those guys were dull.
Conciseness.
What is it to be concise?
Succinct? Laconic? Terse?
Taking out all that is unnecessary and superfluous?
Or is it really just taking out the beauty of the written verse?
Conciseness is key, get to your point.
I don't have time for your dibble dabble.
I'm in a rush, we must hurry on.
Tell me what I need to know, don't ramble.
What happened to the days when life was luxurious?
When there were no deadlines or due dates?
When there was time to appreciate beauty and take in art?
When reading was used as the ultimate escape?
Now-a-days it's the faster, the better.
Reading is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
In my personal opinion I think that the entire world needs to slow down
Because life, in general, is moving too fast.
What is it to be concise?
Succinct? Laconic? Terse?
Taking out all that is unnecessary and superfluous?
Or is it really just taking out the beauty of the written verse?
Conciseness is key, get to your point.
I don't have time for your dibble dabble.
I'm in a rush, we must hurry on.
Tell me what I need to know, don't ramble.
What happened to the days when life was luxurious?
When there were no deadlines or due dates?
When there was time to appreciate beauty and take in art?
When reading was used as the ultimate escape?
Now-a-days it's the faster, the better.
Reading is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
In my personal opinion I think that the entire world needs to slow down
Because life, in general, is moving too fast.
This poem reflects the way that most college seniors feel when they are graduating with no job in site. Some people feel this way all the time. I dont feel this way, so dont worry I am not going to kill myself.
College
Have you ever wondered about life?
That is all I find myself doing these days.
What is the point of the madness?
The running, the walking, the sprinting, and then standing alone.
It seems funny to me that mankind is racing around,
Trying to finish the race that has no checkered flag.
Every car will crash eventually and no prize will be won,
So Why?
Perhaps this is a foolish question from a foolish man,
Who has yet to understand the big picture.
The big picture is just a far off fallacy,
Too close to the image to appreciate the complexity,
I don’t think that is the case.
You see, I can discern the bumps, the lulls, the colors, and the voids.
This picture doesn’t seem to be anything of worth from where I stand.
I guess that I will never know why.
My life will be over before I realize it has begun,
But I will waste no more time trying to see the point of it all.
I will just live as I live, with my eyes set to the task at hand.
I will live, I suppose.
I will live.
Have you ever wondered about life?
That is all I find myself doing these days.
What is the point of the madness?
The running, the walking, the sprinting, and then standing alone.
It seems funny to me that mankind is racing around,
Trying to finish the race that has no checkered flag.
Every car will crash eventually and no prize will be won,
So Why?
Perhaps this is a foolish question from a foolish man,
Who has yet to understand the big picture.
The big picture is just a far off fallacy,
Too close to the image to appreciate the complexity,
I don’t think that is the case.
You see, I can discern the bumps, the lulls, the colors, and the voids.
This picture doesn’t seem to be anything of worth from where I stand.
I guess that I will never know why.
My life will be over before I realize it has begun,
But I will waste no more time trying to see the point of it all.
I will just live as I live, with my eyes set to the task at hand.
I will live, I suppose.
I will live.
Here’s my poem……
Writer’s Block
Nothing but blank screen
Fingers run over the keyboard
Still nothing is there
Thinking and thinking
I do not know what to do
The clock is ticking
I’m racking my brain
Finally the light comes on
Ideas are flying
Only one line left
Too bad I am out of ideas
Here I go again…..
Writer’s Block
Nothing but blank screen
Fingers run over the keyboard
Still nothing is there
Thinking and thinking
I do not know what to do
The clock is ticking
I’m racking my brain
Finally the light comes on
Ideas are flying
Only one line left
Too bad I am out of ideas
Here I go again…..
College
Have you ever wondered about life?
That is all I find myself doing these days.
What is the point of the madness?
The running, the walking, the sprinting, and then standing alone.
It seems funny to me that mankind is racing around,
Trying to finish the race that has no checkered flag.
Every car will crash eventually and no prize will be won,
So Why?
Perhaps this is a foolish question from a foolish man,
Who has yet to understand the big picture.
The big picture is just a far off fallacy,
Too close to the image to appreciate the complexity,
I don’t think that is the case.
You see, I can discern the bumps, the lulls, the colors, and the voids.
This picture doesn’t seem to be anything of worth from where I stand.
My life will be over before I realize it has begun,
But I will waste no more time trying to see the point of it all.
I will just live as I live, with my eyes set to the task at hand.
I will live, I suppose.
I will live.
Have you ever wondered about life?
That is all I find myself doing these days.
What is the point of the madness?
The running, the walking, the sprinting, and then standing alone.
It seems funny to me that mankind is racing around,
Trying to finish the race that has no checkered flag.
Every car will crash eventually and no prize will be won,
So Why?
Perhaps this is a foolish question from a foolish man,
Who has yet to understand the big picture.
The big picture is just a far off fallacy,
Too close to the image to appreciate the complexity,
I don’t think that is the case.
You see, I can discern the bumps, the lulls, the colors, and the voids.
This picture doesn’t seem to be anything of worth from where I stand.
My life will be over before I realize it has begun,
But I will waste no more time trying to see the point of it all.
I will just live as I live, with my eyes set to the task at hand.
I will live, I suppose.
I will live.
Poem
deadlines. faster. better.
computers. technology? not me.
necessary. neccesarily boring?
maybe.
indecision.
Shakespeare, writing a TPS report on efficient plumbing repairs.
new discipline? Or newer form of it?
not sure. anxiety.
I prefer to stick to my
Coleridge, Conroy, Dickens.
security.
deadlines. faster. better.
computers. technology? not me.
necessary. neccesarily boring?
maybe.
indecision.
Shakespeare, writing a TPS report on efficient plumbing repairs.
new discipline? Or newer form of it?
not sure. anxiety.
I prefer to stick to my
Coleridge, Conroy, Dickens.
security.
Well, I think I have the same opinions as others when it comes to this poetry project. I think it is really hard just to sit down and write a poem and think it is "good". I guess it just seems like a hard thing to write when you are worried about how it will be graded. But basically, I am trying to revise some ideas and come up with the best possible product, so we will see how it all goes.
Sorry, the last 4 blogs were catching up since the fire, the blogs for (in order): 3/9-11, 2/26, 3/2, and 3/4 (group). I think I am caught up now?! I will put my PAC poem up tonight once I get it more revised.
This was a group post that Leslie and Jonathan actually put up for our group.
1) I originally started at Duke University and spent my freshman year there before transferring to Clemson. In high school, I never considered Clemson because it was so close to home (Greenville). However, I wasn't completely happy at Duke and thought it wasn't worth the $38K per year. That summer after freshman year, I took a class at Clemson with the intention of transferring the credit back up to Duke. I really enjoyed the class and lab with it, and I made several really good friends while in the summer course. I realized that Clemson wasn't too close to home (making that drive every day for the class showed me how long it was), and so I decided at the last minute that I wanted to transfer. So, the day classes started for fall semester, I enrolled here. It was the hardest decision in my life to decide to transfer, but also one of the best, I now believe. I have opportunities at Clemson for research and all that I wouldn't have had at Duke b/c of all the grad students there, and I have gotten just as good of an education for about 1/10 the cost.
2) My major at Duke had been biomedical engineering, which Clemson doesn't offer (only a bioengineering minor), so I wasn't sure at first what I would major in here. That first semester, I just took some various science classes and loved my microbiology class. The professors in the department were great, the material was fascinating, it was a small major, and the students in it were very friendly. I love my major and my department and the people in it and the small size!
3) Rocks come to mind when I think of Geology. My brother is a political science major (freshman) at Vanderbilt, and he is taking a Geology 100-level course to fulfill a science gen. ed. requirement. The joking name for the class is "Rocks for Jocks" because it is an easy science class for non-science people. So rocks is mainly what comes to mind.
The hardest part for me for this collaborative project is the chaos with the computer layout and webpage design among all the different groups. Each group has their own way they want to do it and have done it, and now at the last moment we are having to change all those groups' hard work on the webpage. Ideally, looking back, we should have had the 4 groups and then a 5th group who were responsible for the web design and layout. Each group would have submitted their info to the web group, who would have found pictures and graphics and would layout the whole site and then create it. It is hard to change to one system once we have all done it different ways. Also, the hardest part for this has been losing my written portion in the fire! I did not enjoy having to re-research and re-write the same thing again- not fun!
Ok, now that I have rejoined the world of the living with a computer and internet access (yay!!), I am trying to catch up on the blog and work on my PAC project. Frankly, I wasn't too stressed about the PAC project and had scribbled down some ideas and lines, but then after reading the blogs and people's poems, I am worried! Maybe I am not taking this seriously enough and stressing enough? At the same time, maybe mine will be horrible and not nearly as interesting and captivating as the ones on the blog already? Obviously, I am continuing to work on it, but I wonder if mine will not be good enough because I'm not stressing about it? Oh, the life of an honors student- we feed off each other's worry- we'd be so much calmer if we never spoke or compared worries and stresses?! Can someone please tell me the due dates for things now? I am not sure whether the online syllabus is correct or not. PAC is due tomorrow, correct? And the presentations for the website are on Thursday, with next Tuesday being the date it is all to be completed? What about the geology project? After that boring talk on the Thursday before break, I am less enthused about it, but hopefully will get some excitement back. When are various parts of it due? Also, where do we stand on getting the website together for the big project? I have my part written again for my group's section and after revising it, will send it to Kim this evening. Is there anyone else to send it to? I also have the flyer designed for my group's section, which I will bring tomorrow. Do I need to do anything else? I'm asking this of my group and the class as a whole. Thanks for putting up with my being so out of it the last 3 weeks!
Sunday, March 21, 2004
I didn't really resent this too much - but I should like to say that I feel it would only be fair to make liberal arts classes integrate science into their curriculum, in the interest of fairness.
when I practice to uhh... lie
An Ode to Technical Writing
when I write to catch the eye
do I have to lie?
SEC has it all in hand
all across this great land
boardrooms reined into reason
(as long as money isn't in season)
sure politics is interesting
social security is political seasoning
long term projections integrating birth rate and basic demographics...
whoa! did I show you these cool graphics!?
by 2050 you'll be paying 50% to fica on your tax form
(assuming no immigration and little reform)
sure geology is thrilling
constant volcanoes and oil drilling
as long as you don't talk to professionals
it's filled with tons of thrills
oh, and my resume
testing how far my employers' trusts lay
of course I'm qualified
while I was an RA no one died
leadership qualities? I've got a few
built orphanages in the Himalayas, smelt the morning dew
my experience? It goes for years
I even helped design a few Leers
however, my moral compass, it is offcourse
awash in the ocean without Morse
but to catch you attention
must I engage in truth retention?
not all marketing is deception
even during a national election
certainly I catch your attention with my rhyming couplets
as much as any media circus on sextuplets?
when I practice to uhh... lie
An Ode to Technical Writing
when I write to catch the eye
do I have to lie?
SEC has it all in hand
all across this great land
boardrooms reined into reason
(as long as money isn't in season)
sure politics is interesting
social security is political seasoning
long term projections integrating birth rate and basic demographics...
whoa! did I show you these cool graphics!?
by 2050 you'll be paying 50% to fica on your tax form
(assuming no immigration and little reform)
sure geology is thrilling
constant volcanoes and oil drilling
as long as you don't talk to professionals
it's filled with tons of thrills
oh, and my resume
testing how far my employers' trusts lay
of course I'm qualified
while I was an RA no one died
leadership qualities? I've got a few
built orphanages in the Himalayas, smelt the morning dew
my experience? It goes for years
I even helped design a few Leers
however, my moral compass, it is offcourse
awash in the ocean without Morse
but to catch you attention
must I engage in truth retention?
not all marketing is deception
even during a national election
certainly I catch your attention with my rhyming couplets
as much as any media circus on sextuplets?
I tend to agree with most others in the class. I do not like this assignment at all. I'm not generally a creative person and even more so not in poetry. I've always hated the poetry assignments in school. I like to read it, but I'm not a poet for a reason. I'll give it a shot- but I also agree that its even harder to write one on a subject given. Especially one that doesn't evoke a lot of emotion out of me such as technical writing class.
