Hungry Minds...Thirsty Souls

Today, I read "Hungry Minds: Tales from a Chelsea Soup Kitchen" by Ian Frazier. This was an article written in the New Yorker in 2008. I found it to be a very moving and inspirational piece. I thought the description of the church itself was very beautiful and vivid: "It has a high, arched cathedral ceiling supported by cylindrical pillars that rise to Tuscan-style groined arches. Natural light comes into the nave through tall and narrow stained glass window whose age and artistry make them rarities in themselves" (page 1). I could easily visualize the church based on the impressive descriptions by Frazier. I also really liked the imagery in the description of the church after it caught fire: "That night, the church is blackened, dripping, open to the sky" (page 5). I found it sad that these people visiting the soup kitchen have to face the cold NYC air, homeless; the descriptions of people stopping at the writer's workshop table to button their coats and put on gloves was sad. However, the uplifting part about it was that this church feeds hundreds of hungry people every day. I really liked how Frazier phrases it on page one of the article: "Talking about hunger and being hungry are two different things; talk can wait for a convenient moment, but when you're hungry you're hungry right now."

I really liked Frazier's short detailed descriptions of the people who came to the writer's workshop meetings. There were several small glimpses into the appearances of each person as well as what they wrote about. I can't imagine actually sitting in on the writer's workshop and listening to what these people write about. Each has such a different experience with life, and although most are not happy stories, I imagine they are certainly very interesting. Also, I really liked that one of the volunteers from the writer's workshop took the time and effort to put together the "Food for the Soul" anthology of writing from the workshop (page 3). The fact that she went out of her way to help get some of these people published was very refreshing. I also really liked the title of the anthology, since the writing came from a soup kitchen. I was honestly amazed when I learned that it costs $2,700,000 a year to keep the soup kitchen running. It's sad that the church is having problems getting and/or keeping donors, and it really makes me want to consider donating to the church when I have a career and can afford it!

More Image Grammar

I also wanted to mention that I really liked the activity on page 51 of Noden's Image Grammar. This activity is one that I remember Professor Noden reading aloud in class when I had him a few semesters ago. Called "Beating Rhythms of Literal Repetition," the activity uses the parallel structure of literal repetition, which Noden describes as repeating the exact same words to create an echoing refrain. The part that immediately stood out to me as memorable was the repetition that I instantly remembered so well from class. Something about Mr. Noden's voice was very memorable to me as he read this passage. Reading the passage to myself silently, I can literally still remember and hear the exact way in which Mr. Noden read this. I realize now that the passage was so memorable because of the repetition and the shocking twist of meaning at the end: "Remember the day I borrowed your brand new car, and I dented it? I thought you'd kill me, but you didn't...There were lots of things I wanted to make up to you when you returned from Vietnam. But you didn't." (page 51). The shock value of this last line managed to stick with me, which reinforces the idea that literal repetition can indeed construct great dramatic effects. Noden also uses the example of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," which also uses repetition. The sound of the beating heart, whether real or imaginary, caused great tension in the story.

Noden also has strategies in relation to this idea of literal repetition (page 60). The first, "Add Grammatical Music to a Sketch," has students add repeated words (either prepositions, subordinate clauses, or relative pronouns) to further the depth and imagery of descriptions. The example of the remote mountain cabin is an excellent one. The only concern that I have about this strategy is that I hope that students don't overdo the use of rhythm and repetition in their writing after this activity.

Image Grammar

I was reading Harry Noden's book, Image Grammar, and was really impressed with what I found. First of all, I thought it was really cool that I was sitting there reading a book by a teacher whom I have already had a class with at Kent State University. His book is supposed to be pretty popular, and I can see why. I really like how he organized the information in Image Grammar, starting each chapter with concepts, then ending each chapter with teaching strategies that coincide with the concepts from that chapter.

The first chapter talks about brush strokes, the idea that the writer is an artist who paints images with writing. I think this is a beautiful and interesting way to look at writing. "A well-described fiction or nonfiction work creates the mental equivalent of a film, leading readers through a visual journey of endless images with close-ups, action scenes, and angle shots. Creating art that shows requires...the ability to select words like colors on a palette and apply sentence structures like brush strokes to a verbal canvas" (pg 4). The five basic brush strokes that Noden speaks of are: 1) the participle, 2) the absolute, 3) the appositive, 4) adjectives shifted out of order, and 5) action verbs. I really like the use of participles, as in the example with hissing, slithering, and coiling snakes. The added description really does paint a picture; actually, it goes beyond just the visual picture because I can actually imagine the sounds the snakes are making. This and the other brush strokes are all great tools to make students' writing more detailed and colorful. I especially like page 11 which shows the writing of an eighth grader who blended different forms of brush strokes into his horror story about a spider. The brush strokes that he added are listed in bold, and they really do greatly improve his story. I was impressed. Noden of course also has teaching strategies that go with this idea of brush strokes. I will definitely consider using some of his ideas and strategies in my future classes, especially because I think students' writing would benefit greatly from it.