More Stuff From Authors We’ve Studied
Here are some random things from authors we’ve studied, in case you’re interested or curious!
Nalo Hopkinson on not being white:
and on the political side of creating imagined worlds:
A video promoting a stage production of Larissa Lai’s novel Salt Fish Girl:
And here is Larissa Lai’s blog.
An interview with Rohinton Mistry, and another… and one where he talks about giving up his bank job to write novels. (Shades of Sohrab?)
An article by Evelyn Lau on experiencing racism in a multicultural city (Vancouver) and an interview.
Some more poems by Roo Borson. I think that’s about it…
And finally, a couple of interviews with Pico Iyer here and here, plus a long lecture by him on “Searching for Home/Self in a Fast-Moving World”:
Next Semester’s Courses
For those interested, I’ve posted a list of courses I’ll be teaching next semester, along with a brief description of each course. It’s available on the front page of this website.
MOSAIC!!!
It’s that time of year again!
Mosaic is a variety show put on by students, involving dances, songs, acting, speeches, and more. This year’s Mosaic evening will be held on this Friday, November 21st, at 5pm. It’s happening in the auditorium in the Student’s Center building. (Check in front of the English Language & Culture Department office for more details.)
I will remind you that if you are enrolled in one of my classes, then your attendance at this event is required regardless of whether or not you are an English Language & Culture major. Your attendance will factor into your grade. But it’s the easiest grades you’ll ever earn: come and enjoy an evening of student entertainment for free.
Two more things:
- Remember to sign in — otherwise the free grade can’t be given to you.
- Judging by past Mosaic evenings, dress warmly. I am trying to make sure the room will be heated adequately, but in the past, thathas not worked well. Choose warmth over fashion, even if it means bringing extra warm socks in your school bag. Trust me, if the heater doesn’t work for some reason, you’ll be glad you did.
NEW! Guide to Formatting Your Written Work
I can’t seem to find my older formatting guides, so instead, I’ve written up a new one and added it to the Some Advice For Your Professor section of this site. You can see the link in the sidebar, on the text Formatting Your Written Work, but you can also just click the link here to see the page. This information applies to written work in all of my courses, not just in writing courses… and it may be helpful for courses taught by other professors as well, so make sure to check it out!
Poetry Reading List, and Class Plans Thereafter
Here’s the reading list for the next couple of weeks. There will be a fair amount of reading, and you will be leading a discussion somewhere in here, so think about whether you’re interested in discussing poems, autobiography, short stories, or essays — there’s at least one of each available. I’ll be taking volunteers next class for the remaining leader spots.
Nov. 11th:
- Some final discussion of Smoke Signals
- Roo Borson — “City Lights” and “Summer River”
- Michael Ondaatje — “King Kong Meets Wallace Stevens”
Nov. 13th:
- Steve Noyes — “Fa Lun Gong”
- Alexis Kienlen — “chinese café,” “the boat,” “slant eyes chink,” “separate dinners,” “chinese funeral,” and “ancestor worship.”
- Michael Ondaatje — “Light” and “A Dog in San Francisco.”Also on Nov. 13th, the leaders for Nov. 18th will announce which poems we will study on that day, and new leaders will be chosen for Nov. 20th.
Nov. 18th (Leaders Ji Hyun & Xiaoxien (? Sorry, it’s hard to guess because it’s written in Hangeul!))
- Two of the three selections of poems from Dionne Brand, as selected by the leaders.
Nov. 20th (Leaders TBA):
- The remaining poem or poems by Dionne Brand
- Eric Ormsby’s four poems
In the following weeks, we’ll do the following (and need leaders):
Nov. 25th:
- Evelyn Lau’s autobiography Runaway, Chapter 1 & 2. Leaders TBA.
- Evelyn Lau’s short story (title TBA). Leaders TBA.
Nov. 27th:
- Pico Iyer’s essay “The Multiculture” from The Global Soul, led by TBA.
December 2nd:
- Watch Such a Long Journey in class, with your subtitles. No class leaders.
December 4th:
- Discuss Such a Long Journey (the film) and Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry, Chapters 1 & 2. Leaders TBA.
Smoke Signals
It’s here. Get it now, because I’ll be deleting this link in a day or two!
Next Week’s Speech Contest
There’s some confusion about the Speech Contest and what students are expected to do. I explained it at the beginning of semester, but I’ll clear it up once more for you:
- All students in English Language & Culture Department courses are expected to attend the two main Department events: Mosaic (in late November) and one day during the The Speech Contest event (which is on November 3rd, 4th, and 5th.)
- Attendance will be taken at these events and will affect your grade in English Language & Culture Department courses. Even if you are not a member of the English Language & Culture Department, if you are taking a course in our department, you are required to attend these events.
- You only need to attend ONE of the speech contest days: ie. Monday OR Tuesday OR Wednesday — it’s your choice. But you must attend at least one. The information about times and places (and who is speaking) is posted outside the Department Office, at 205 Dasol Gwan.
- Attendance at these events is in addition to, and not instead of, regular course meetings. It’s extra, and I’m not canceling classes for it. You’re expected to attend class as usual, in addition to attending these events.
- No, you cannot come for only one hour. You are required to attend for the full event if you want your grade to reflect attendance.
- Everyone is busy! (Even your professors!) So please don’t complain or feel frustrated, just try to have fun or learn something. I’m pretty sure you can do both if you try.
See you at the Speech Contest!
PDF Problems?
Some students have told me about problems opening PDF files. It seems that Adobe has upgraded to Adobe 9.0, and some older PDF files (especially made in non-Adobe software) isn’t displaying correctly anymore. If this happens to you, you can still access my PDF files using one of the following methods:
- Use an older version of Adobe. (Adobe Reader 8.0 works for me; here’s a Windows download link…)
- Try an alternative PDF reader like Foxit Reader.
- Email the file to yourself using Gmail. (It’s easy to make an account, if you don’t have one, and the storage space is huge so you can save spare copies of your homework assignments there forever!) When you open the email, scroll down to the attachment and select “View as HTML” at the bottom of the email and you should be able to see the essay text.
If these methods don’t work for you, then let me know and I’ll try find another way for you to access my PDFs, until I (maybe, someday) get a chance to ugrade them.
Resumes
Some students have discussed the upcoming job seminar that will come after exams. If you’re looking for a guide to writing resumes, there are a few online. I recommend most students use a Skills-Based resume, because it lets you highlight your strengths (abilities) and deemphasize your weaknesses (lack of experience).
I can’t find the model resumes I have on file — they’re on a hard drive in a box somewhere, and I’m still moving from one apartment to another — but there are some good guides online.
- This is a (pretty) good model of a skills based resume, though I’d cut the references section.
- There’s a lot of information (and samples) here.
- Believe it or not, the Canadian government has a pretty good page up on resumes… with samples!
Remember, the #1 rule for resumes is putting yourself in a good light. It’s your tool for selling yourself, so always find a positive way to express everything on it.
Another Comedy Routine about Tonto
Here’s a much better comedy routine concerning the relationship between The Lone Ranger and Tonto. This one is by the famous Bill Cosby:
It’s the first part, where Tonto says he doesn’t want to go to town, that I think is particularly worth considering…