Day 6
Tues. Jan. 26
English lesson: Context and collocation cont’d
Sources of tension in three-line poems
Creating tension: “Southern Summers” and “The Mwiko”
Observations on Huangrui’s place essay
Homework
➤ Record 3-5 new words and phrases
Write down 3-5 words or phrases you notice between now and next class that you would like to add to your active vocabulary. Make sure to note the context in which you encountered that word or phrase (what was it being used to describe or talk about?) and its collocation (what other words appeared with it?).
➤ Find a podcast or two you might be interested in listening to
Download a podcatcher app, if you don’t have one yet. (I use Podcast Addict.) Search for podcasts online on subjects you’re interested in, and find a couple you might want to listen to.
You can also check out my podcast recommendations here, though there are many many other good podcasts out there — these are just a few I happen to like.
➤ Reread “The Mwiko,” write a new ending
Reread “The Mwiko” and come ready to share your answer to the question, “What does the mwiko, and the act of making ugali, mean to each character — to the narrator, the father, the sister, and (perhaps) the mother?”
Please also write a new ending in which a character does something with the mwiko — a physical action. Come ready to share your new ending.
➤ Write abstract titles for three-line poems
Write titles only for those poems you didn’t write — so ten poems in total. As much as possible, make the titles be entirely abstract. Try to use the titles to capture some sort of feeling or meaning that you perceive in the poem.
➤ Write a paragraph about an object
Write a paragraph describing the object you think you might write about for Essay 2.