Day 7

Tues. Apr. 13

• Observations on Sheng Keyi

• Introduction to form

• Intro to character essay and “Proverbs of Hell”

• Reading by Bobby

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Homework

➤ Write a “postcard from the past”

Write a “literary postcard” (about 5-6 sentences long) about a place you know well, in the form of “once…; now…” Bring it to class and be ready to share it. Please also upload it to our Box folder.

➤ Read the instructions for Essay 3

Read the instructions and start thinking about who you might like to write about for this essay.

If you’re interesting in completing this assignment as journalism (a character profile), please message me now and tell me. If you want to do a journalistic character profile but don’t know who you want to write about or how to find someone to write about, we can talk about it, and perhaps I can help you.

➤ Read “Uncle Pat is the Law”

Make sure to check out my annotations in the electronic version of the article! (VPN required.)

Please come to class ready to share one sentence that you feel really characterizes either Uncle Pat or the town of Jean Lafitte. (In other words, a sentence that answers the question: What kind of person is this? or, What kind of place is this?)

➤ Read “The Proverbs of Hell,” write three new aphorisms

Read over this list of aphorisms. (You don’t need to “understand” all of them—in fact, many of them can’t really be “understood.”)

Pick one you like or find intriguing. Write three new aphorisms that express the same kernel of truth or way of seeing the world that you see reflected in it.

Make these be original aphorisms (don’t write a famous proverb or phrase that already exists).

Try to make each aphorism you write use different language from the original. (So if the Proverb you chose uses the words “dog,” “bone,” “love,” and “flower,” try to avoid using the words “dog,” “bone,” “love,” and “flower” in your threw new aphorisms.)

Upload your aphorisms to Box.

➤ (If you have time) start reading “Mazie” or “The Man Who Eats”

For Tuesday of next week I’ll be asking you to choose one of two longer essays about characters — “Mazie” by Joseph Mitchell and “The Man Who Eats” by Yiyun Li — and read in full whichever one you like most. If you have extra time you might want to get started on that, since the essays are on the longer side.