This was honestly the most fun I've ever had in an English class, and this blog assignment actually made me enjoy writing for the first time in high school. I would much rather have the freedom to write about something that interests me like I got to do in my blogs, than be forced to write about a certain book or event in history. I also think that writing on a topic of my choice actually improved my quality of writing.
I've learned a lot about how poetry has changed over time, from poems that make no sense to me at all, to music I listen to everyday. Both types are different, but at the core, it is all poetry. From Tennyson to Ice T, poetry has evolved so much, which the blog assignment has really emphasized for me. It gave me a chance to delve into learning about the time periods that affected the poets, and how the poets affected their time periods. This cycle is what allowed poetry to evolve over time.
I also thought it was so interesting how so many of the poets we learned about were so active in a cause and stood for something they believed in, from African American pride to intense social criticism.
Before this class, I always thought of poets as old people who used a lot of symbolism to express life lessons which young people like me probably wouldn't care about. Now I know that these old poetry legends are much more that I thought. I learned that the subject matter is less important than the way the poets are able to formulate their thoughts and get it down on paper in a way that readers can relate to. It does really take a true genius to get a thought, a sentence, a word, or a letter to come out the right way. How well poets convey what they want to say it what makes them so amazing.
I can also now look at rap with a lot more appreciation. It takes rappers just as much skill as it does poets, if not more, as they have to mesh their words with music.
Without you guiding us through this whole process, I would never have learned to write blogs and I probably would not have ever considered writing a blog. I really liked how you gave us ideas to write about at first, and then gave us the freedom to choose our own topics.
A blog is like a blank piece of paper. It is really hard to know what to do with it, but once you get the first few words down, I learned that the rest will flow a lot easier.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Local Treasure: Frances Slocum
It was 1777 when Jonathan and Ruth Slocum's family travelled from Rhode Island to the Wyoming Valley. Apparently, this was not the right choice to make. This Quaker family was one of the few who remained in their home during the Battle of Wyoming in 1778 because they believed their friendly relations with the Native Americans would save them, and it did for a while.
Only a few months later though, in November 1778, the Delaware Indians struck again. This time, while the men of the family were away from home, the Indians took Frances Slocum and her retarded younger brother Ebenezer from their home.
Frances Slocum was only five years old at that time. Mrs. Slocum pleaded for the Indians to give her children back. To get Ebenezer back, the Indian's made her proclaim "See, the child is lame; he can do thee no good!" The Indians released Ebenezer, but refused to let go of Frances, carrying her away, never to be seen by her mother again.
For years, Mrs. Slocum and her brothers searched endlessly and hopelessly for Frances. Meanwhile, Frances was raised among the Delaware tribe and married a Delaware in her late teens. That marriage didn't last for long, and she eventually married a Miami chief named Dead Man. They moved to the Mississinewa River Valley in Indiana and had four children. Frances became known as Young Bear.
Frances remained hidden as an Indian for 59 years. In 1835, a white man named Colonel Ewing, who had good relations with the Miami tribe spent the night in Dead Man's village. The women who owned the cabin that Ewing stayed at revealed to Ewing that she was actually a white woman, and that she remembered her birth name was Slocum. At the time, Frances was widowed and living with her extended family. It is believed that Frances revealed her identity because she was old and sick and wanted to let go of a deep secret.
Upon returning home, Ewing sent a letter to Lancaster, Pennsylvania asking if anybody in the Slocum family had a relative taken by Indians. The letter was lost for two years, until one of Frances' brothers finally answered. In 1837, two of Frances' brothers went to see if their sister really was found.
Frances' brothers knew it was really her when they saw her, especially because they recognized the scar she had on her hand from when she was a child. However, they did not find the Frances they remembered. Frances communicated with them only through a translator and spoke only when spoken to. Despite her brothers' pleading for her to come home, she refused, saying she would feel like a fish out of water. She remained in her Indian settlement and eventually died there in 1847.
Frances Slocum
Frances became known as the "Lost Sister of Wyoming" as her story travelled the country. People from all around wrote stories about her and painted portraits of her. The following is a poem written by one of Frances' nieces named E. L. Schermerhorn:
"Let me stay at my home, in the beautiful West,
Where I played when a child—in my age let me rest;
Where the bright prairies bloom and the wild waters play,
In the home of my heart, dearest friends, let me stay.
'' 0, here let me stay, where my Chief, in the pride
Of a brave warrior youth, wandered forth by my side;
Where he laid at my feet the young hunter's best prey,
Where I roamed a wild huntress—O, friends, let me stay!
"Let me stay where the prairies I've oft wandered through,
While my moccasins brushed from the flowers the dew—
Where my warrior would pluck the wild blossoms and say
His White Rose was the fairest—0, here let me stay!
'' 0, here let me stay! where the bright plumes from the wing
Of the bird that his arrow had pierced, he would bring;
Where, in parting for battle, softly would say,
' 'Tis to shield thee I fight'—O, with him let me stay!
'' Let me stay, though the strength of my Chieftain is o 'er,
Though his warriors he leads to the battle no more;
He loves through the woods, a wild hunter to stray,
His heart clings to home—0, then, here let me stay!
"Let me stay where my children in childhood have played,
Where through the green forest, they often have strayed;
They never could bend to the white man's cold sway,
For their hearts are of fire—0, here let them stay!
'' You tell me of leaves of the Spirit that speak;
But the Spirit I own, in the bright stars I seek;
In the prairie, in the forest, the water's wild play,
I see Him, I hear Him—0, then, let me stay!"
Where I played when a child—in my age let me rest;
Where the bright prairies bloom and the wild waters play,
In the home of my heart, dearest friends, let me stay.
'' 0, here let me stay, where my Chief, in the pride
Of a brave warrior youth, wandered forth by my side;
Where he laid at my feet the young hunter's best prey,
Where I roamed a wild huntress—O, friends, let me stay!
"Let me stay where the prairies I've oft wandered through,
While my moccasins brushed from the flowers the dew—
Where my warrior would pluck the wild blossoms and say
His White Rose was the fairest—0, here let me stay!
'' 0, here let me stay! where the bright plumes from the wing
Of the bird that his arrow had pierced, he would bring;
Where, in parting for battle, softly would say,
' 'Tis to shield thee I fight'—O, with him let me stay!
'' Let me stay, though the strength of my Chieftain is o 'er,
Though his warriors he leads to the battle no more;
He loves through the woods, a wild hunter to stray,
His heart clings to home—0, then, here let me stay!
"Let me stay where my children in childhood have played,
Where through the green forest, they often have strayed;
They never could bend to the white man's cold sway,
For their hearts are of fire—0, here let them stay!
'' You tell me of leaves of the Spirit that speak;
But the Spirit I own, in the bright stars I seek;
In the prairie, in the forest, the water's wild play,
I see Him, I hear Him—0, then, let me stay!"
Sources:
Sunday, November 11, 2012
"Music hittin' your heart"
"Music hittin' your heart" is just one well-known line from the song "Fight the Power" but Public Enemy. Public Enemy is a hip-hop group recognized mainly for its songs expressing political criticism and issues within the African American community. This group originated in 1982 in Long Island, New York and is still together today, although the members in the group have varied over the years. Current members are Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, and DJ Lord.
This group is praised for having stayed together for so long AND for the subject matter they write about. "Fight the Power" really emphasizes the need for African Americans to really speak out and fight the whites because more than a century after being freed, blacks are still looked down upon by racist whites. They even refer to Elvis Presley in the song- "Elvis was a hero to most, But he never meant shit to me you see, Straight up racist that sucker was;" they are saying he is racist and that basically the white community as a whole is racist also. A few other really famous songs about social and political issues by Public Enemy are "Don't Believe the Hype," "Bring the Noise," and "Harder than You Think."
Public Enemy broke into the scene with their first album entitled "Yo! Bum Rush the Show" and instantly had a decent number of fans. However, the next few albums that followed did even better on the charts and they slowly became a very famous and highly successful group.
In addition to being at the top of the charts for many of their albums, Public Enemy received numerous awards, some of the greatest being the group's induction into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007 and its ranking as 44th in Rolling Stone Magazine's "100 Greatest Artists." This group has been together for 30 years, and is still going strong. Let's see what Public Enemy has in store for the next 30 years!
The video below is the music video of Public Enemy's hit song, "Don't Believe the Hype."
SOURCES:
http://www.publicenemy.com/
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/public-enemy/biography
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/public-enemy/fight-the-power.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0195982/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281318/
http://www.pgriff.info/
http://www.djlord.co/
http://www.allmusic.com/album/yo!-bum-rush-the-show-mw0000194784
http://www.limusichalloffame.org/
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vQaVIoEjOM (Video)
http://www.alancross.ca/a-journal-of-musical-things/2012/11/7/time-magazine-profiles-public-enemy-at-25.html (Picture)
This group is praised for having stayed together for so long AND for the subject matter they write about. "Fight the Power" really emphasizes the need for African Americans to really speak out and fight the whites because more than a century after being freed, blacks are still looked down upon by racist whites. They even refer to Elvis Presley in the song- "Elvis was a hero to most, But he never meant shit to me you see, Straight up racist that sucker was;" they are saying he is racist and that basically the white community as a whole is racist also. A few other really famous songs about social and political issues by Public Enemy are "Don't Believe the Hype," "Bring the Noise," and "Harder than You Think."Public Enemy broke into the scene with their first album entitled "Yo! Bum Rush the Show" and instantly had a decent number of fans. However, the next few albums that followed did even better on the charts and they slowly became a very famous and highly successful group.
In addition to being at the top of the charts for many of their albums, Public Enemy received numerous awards, some of the greatest being the group's induction into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007 and its ranking as 44th in Rolling Stone Magazine's "100 Greatest Artists." This group has been together for 30 years, and is still going strong. Let's see what Public Enemy has in store for the next 30 years!
The video below is the music video of Public Enemy's hit song, "Don't Believe the Hype."
SOURCES:
http://www.publicenemy.com/
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/public-enemy/biography
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/public-enemy/fight-the-power.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0195982/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281318/
http://www.pgriff.info/
http://www.djlord.co/
http://www.allmusic.com/album/yo!-bum-rush-the-show-mw0000194784
http://www.limusichalloffame.org/
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vQaVIoEjOM (Video)
http://www.alancross.ca/a-journal-of-musical-things/2012/11/7/time-magazine-profiles-public-enemy-at-25.html (Picture)
My Journey
Every person has an unique voice that comes through in their poetry. Whether it be Knight's depictions of the Black Arts Movement, or Whitman's celebration of the common man, each poet has an unique view on the world.
I have learned that there is much more to poetry than meets the eye. I now see poetry through a different lens, one with much more positive light. Don't get me wrong, I always respected renowned poets, but I never fully appreciated them. This class has changed that.
I now can see beyond the saggy pants and gold chains of today's rappers, and acknowledge how talented they actually are. Each rap tells a story, and not everyone can tell a story like they can.
Blogging is also something I have never really been a fan of, until this class showed me how empowering it can be. Your blog is your time to shine, to write about whoever or whatever is on your mind. It's also a great place to learn more about things you aren't very familiar with.
Each time I write a blog post, I have to do some research on what I'm talking about, that is if I want to have at least some credibility. In order to write about a poet, I need to research him or her and in doing that, I learn more about that poet. I learn about their writing process, their background, and even about other works they have done over the years.
Similar to poetry, blogging has no rules or restrictions. It can be as biased or as unbiased as you please, which is why it is so empowering. I can express my opinion freely without having someone tell me that it's wrong.
A blog is like a diary, a space in which you can express yourself or even just put your thoughts onto paper. The difference is, a blog is shared with the world and so someone out there is reading your words and feels the same way you do. For once, you're the author and someone out there is praising you.
Your blog is your unedited version of yourself.
Sources:
http://www.clemagazine.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Poet-Smurf.jpg
http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/glossaryItem.do?id=8102
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/E._E._Cummings#Poetry
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/Figurative-Language.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couplet
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/158
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Arts_Movement
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Skyscrapers, Cell Phones, & Indians?
 |
| A Native American boy dressed in traditional clothing today. |
Where would we be without our smart phones, laptops, and advanced transportation? It's unimaginable. So some may find it weird to think that Indians are still around to this day.
While many people mistakenly called them savage years ago, the Native Americans haven't strayed from their tribes or ethnic groups. Today there are more than half a million Indians in the United States and millions more elsewhere in the Americas.
Still trying to cope to the adjustment of white civilization, the Native Americans are in all different stages of development, from the most primitive to the most sophisticated. Native Americans speak more than 100 different languages and range economically from pauperism to opulence. A few have made money from oil and other natural resources found on their lands, but many live at near starvation levels.
There are some Native Americans that are educated and completely assimilated into white society; many live in nearly complete isolation from non-Native Americans. Generally, the Indians are still proud of their traditions and heritage, and many of them resist giving up or allowing themselves to be corrupted by white civilization.
Although the Native Americans don't want to become submerged by the white civilization, they realize that they standards of living must be raised tremendously. Without giving up their unique cultural heritage, the Native Americans have organized themselves into tribal councils to try to help the federal government settle on long-range programs of education, health services, vocational training, etc. The purpose of these programs is to assist them in solving many of their long-standing problems.
Nowadays, there exist about 300 federal reservations in the United States and 21 state reservations. Some reservations are restricted to one tribe, others are shared between many. The largest reservation is held by the Navajo tribe. Although these reservations are sovereign nations, the People are also considered U.S. citizens.
It's amazing to see how much the country has changed, but how some things remain the same. How certain groups can still manage to keep their traditions and heritage alive without being 'corrupted' by a more dominant civilization is an admirable trait. Our nation is so fascinating because we somehow manage to put together people of all different races and cultural backgrounds, and make it work beautifully.
Sources:
http://www.erenlai.com/media/articles/ma_indians01_en.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States
http://www.indians.org/articles/navajo-indians.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_reservation
http://www.indians.org/articles/native-american-life.html
The Birth of Jack
 |
| One of the many types of jack-o'-lanterns |
The tradition of decorating "jack-o'-lanterns" was originally brought to America by the Irish immigrants. The name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack.
According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay, and so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that he could use to pay for the tab. After the Devil had done so, Jack decided to keep the money in his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack freed the Devil eventually, under the condition that Devil would not bother Jack for a year nor claim his soul if he were to die.
The following year, Jack once again tricked the Devil into climbing up a tree. Once the Devil had reached the top, Jack carved a cross into the bark of the tree, so that the Devil could not get down until he had promised he would leave Jack alone for another ten years.
Jack died shortly after that and as the legend goes, God would not allow such a mischievous individual into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick that Jack had played on him, but still keeping his word, would not allow Jack into hell. Instead, he sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since.
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them in windows or near doors. This was supposed to frighten away wandering evil spirits like Stingy Jack.
In England, large beets are used for carving. Immigrants from all these different countries brought the jack-o'-lantern tradition with them to the United States. They soon discovered that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o'-lanterns.
Sources:
http://www.whitegadget.com/attachments/pc-wallpapers/75096d1315372894-halloween-halloween-photos.jpg
http://www.motherearthliving.com/natural-health/history-of-carving-pumpkins.aspx
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-jack-o-lantern.htm
http://www.novareinna.com/festive/jack.html
http://www.rapidimmigration.com/1_eng_immigration_history.html
Alexie's Poetry
Alexie writes a lot about the distress of those growing up on Indian reservations. Regardless of the serious matters and struggles he talked about in his first few collections though, he had a humorous undertone to most of those poems. The first two books were titled I Would Steal Horses and The Business of Fancydancing.
The fact that Alexie's subject matter is based on his own personal experiences really makes the reader feel for him in all of his works. His poetry deals a lot with the topics of poverty, racism, and alcoholism, especially in those first two books. There is so much suffering in these poems, but at the same time, there is still a feeling of love. His sense of humor lightens the mood of it though, making a serious and depressing matter more bearable to read about.
To learn more about this great poet, filmmaker, and writer, watch the video of his interview below.
sources:
http://www.hangingloosepress.com/fancydancing.html
http://www.wellpinit.org/timeline
http://www.slipstreampress.org/horses.html
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/sherman-alexie
http://www.bpj.org/poems/alexie_whitman.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJmRaLUcVU8 (video)
http://www.seattletimescompany.com/luminaries/prof_alexie.html (picture)
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Planned Parenthood and the "Pill"
For many years now, the most popular form of birth control has been referred to as the "pill." Numerous people in the medical field contributed to the creation and development of this contraceptive all throughout the 1950s. It was eventually approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in May of 1960 and first sold that same year.
Without Planned Parenthood though, the birth control movement would not have been nearly as successful as it was. Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization providing female and reproductive health services, established in 1921 by Margaret Sanger. Sanger set out on a mission and successfully accomplished her main goal- an easy contraceptive in the form of a pill. This first "pill" was named Envoid, and within the first 5 years, one in every four women had used the "pill."
Not only did Sanger and the others who were part of the organization have a huge impact on the success of the contraceptive pill, but they had a significant impact on both the women's and birth control movements as well. The effects that the establishment of the "pill" had on women has forever altered their feeling of control and freedom in their own lives.
Now, instead of having intercourse and not being able to control pregnancy, women have a very effective means of controlling it. They were able to be more free to sexual intercourse without the consequence of pregnancy every time they did so. This was so beneficial to women and their husbands because they were now able to sort of "plan" their families. If a woman wanted to make love to her husband but they were not ready to have children of their own, they could do that.
sources:
http://www.fda.gov/
http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=3137
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/history-and-successes.htm
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/gallery/gal_pill_01.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_sanger.html
http://www.women-health-info.com/218-Birth-control-pills-facts.html(picture)
Without Planned Parenthood though, the birth control movement would not have been nearly as successful as it was. Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization providing female and reproductive health services, established in 1921 by Margaret Sanger. Sanger set out on a mission and successfully accomplished her main goal- an easy contraceptive in the form of a pill. This first "pill" was named Envoid, and within the first 5 years, one in every four women had used the "pill." Not only did Sanger and the others who were part of the organization have a huge impact on the success of the contraceptive pill, but they had a significant impact on both the women's and birth control movements as well. The effects that the establishment of the "pill" had on women has forever altered their feeling of control and freedom in their own lives.
Now, instead of having intercourse and not being able to control pregnancy, women have a very effective means of controlling it. They were able to be more free to sexual intercourse without the consequence of pregnancy every time they did so. This was so beneficial to women and their husbands because they were now able to sort of "plan" their families. If a woman wanted to make love to her husband but they were not ready to have children of their own, they could do that.
sources:
http://www.fda.gov/
http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=3137
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/history-and-successes.htm
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/gallery/gal_pill_01.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_sanger.html
http://www.women-health-info.com/218-Birth-control-pills-facts.html(picture)
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Deranged Debutante
Rich, white, young, beautiful girl: kidnapped and brainwashed. This was the story of Patty Hearst, which captivated the attention of the nation for years. Patty Hearst was the granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, a famous American newspaper publisher of the late nineteenth century, and the great-granddaugther of George Hearst, a multimillionaire. Her privileged upbringing and her rising acting career provided her with socialite status.
Young, beautiful Patty Hearst before her abduction
Hearst was 19 years old in 1974, when she was kidnapped from her 26-year-old boyfriend's apartment in Berkley, California by the Symbionese Liberation Army. This group, known as the SLA, was a left-wing revolutionary group that was especially active between 1973 and 1975. They were known for their acts of violence, including murders and robberies.
When Hearst was abducted, the SLA first demanded that their members in jail be released in return for Hearst. Their swap was refused; they then asked the Hearsts to donate 400 million dollars to California's needy. Patty Hearst's father agreed to donate 6 million dollars worth of food, but when he did so, the SLA refused to release Patty because of the poor quality of the food.
Interest was sparked in the case when the SLA released a recording of Hearst saying her father could have done better with the food. Hearst also denounced her family in other ways, and claimed that she joined the SLA and changed her name to Tania.
Just a few months later, Hearst was photographed robbing the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. During her time with the SLA, she participated in other illegal activity and declared her love for one of the main members of the group, Wolfe. She claimed that he was "the gentlest, most beautiful man I've ever known."
Patty Hearst photographed robbing the Hibernia Bank
The FBI and the SFPD finally arrested Hearst in September of 1975, along with one other member of the SLA. Upon her arrest, she listed her occupation as "Urban Guerrilla." During the months of her pretrial confinement, Hearst continued to identify herself as a member of the SLA. At trial in 1976, Hearst's defense claimed that she been brainwashed and suffered Stockholm Syndrome, a psychological phenomenon in which hostages eventually develop positive feelings towards and side with their captors.
During the trial, Hearst claimed that she had been sexually abused by members of the SLA, including Wolfe, of whom she had spoken so fondly. She said that she had been imprisoned in a dark, narrow closet for days. The defense claimed that Hearst's behaviors had been a result of this brainwashing.
The prosecution, however, offered evidence about Hearst's rebellious adolescence. The prosecution undermined her credibility by revealing inconsistencies and omissions in her testimony, especially her failure to provide evidence about other captured SLA members, and ultimately obtained a conviction.
After many efforts and attempts, Hearst was finally granted a full pardon by President Bill Clinton in 2001 and the charges against her were dropped.
Sources:
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/hearst/1.html
http://www.hearstcastle.org/history-art/historic-people/william-randolph-hearst
http://www.hearstcastle.org/history-art/historic-people/george-hearst
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbionese_Liberation_Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Wolfe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_pardoned_by_Bill_Clinton
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hearst/hearstbio75.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/images/story.bank.rob.jpg
Young, beautiful Patty Hearst before her abductionHearst was 19 years old in 1974, when she was kidnapped from her 26-year-old boyfriend's apartment in Berkley, California by the Symbionese Liberation Army. This group, known as the SLA, was a left-wing revolutionary group that was especially active between 1973 and 1975. They were known for their acts of violence, including murders and robberies.
When Hearst was abducted, the SLA first demanded that their members in jail be released in return for Hearst. Their swap was refused; they then asked the Hearsts to donate 400 million dollars to California's needy. Patty Hearst's father agreed to donate 6 million dollars worth of food, but when he did so, the SLA refused to release Patty because of the poor quality of the food.
Interest was sparked in the case when the SLA released a recording of Hearst saying her father could have done better with the food. Hearst also denounced her family in other ways, and claimed that she joined the SLA and changed her name to Tania.
Just a few months later, Hearst was photographed robbing the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. During her time with the SLA, she participated in other illegal activity and declared her love for one of the main members of the group, Wolfe. She claimed that he was "the gentlest, most beautiful man I've ever known."
Patty Hearst photographed robbing the Hibernia BankThe FBI and the SFPD finally arrested Hearst in September of 1975, along with one other member of the SLA. Upon her arrest, she listed her occupation as "Urban Guerrilla." During the months of her pretrial confinement, Hearst continued to identify herself as a member of the SLA. At trial in 1976, Hearst's defense claimed that she been brainwashed and suffered Stockholm Syndrome, a psychological phenomenon in which hostages eventually develop positive feelings towards and side with their captors.
During the trial, Hearst claimed that she had been sexually abused by members of the SLA, including Wolfe, of whom she had spoken so fondly. She said that she had been imprisoned in a dark, narrow closet for days. The defense claimed that Hearst's behaviors had been a result of this brainwashing.
The prosecution, however, offered evidence about Hearst's rebellious adolescence. The prosecution undermined her credibility by revealing inconsistencies and omissions in her testimony, especially her failure to provide evidence about other captured SLA members, and ultimately obtained a conviction.
After many efforts and attempts, Hearst was finally granted a full pardon by President Bill Clinton in 2001 and the charges against her were dropped.
Sources:
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/hearst/1.html
http://www.hearstcastle.org/history-art/historic-people/william-randolph-hearst
http://www.hearstcastle.org/history-art/historic-people/george-hearst
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbionese_Liberation_Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Wolfe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_pardoned_by_Bill_Clinton
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hearst/hearstbio75.jpg
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/images/story.bank.rob.jpg
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Tragic Poets
Over time, there have been numerous poets who have been mentally ill, often being depressed, bipolar, or alcoholics. Many of them even took their own lives. Some of the most well-known poets to have taken their lives are Anne Sexton, Randall Jarrell, Sylvia Plath, John Berryman, Adam L. Gordon, Sergei Esenin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sarah Teasdale and Hart Crane.
English poet Thomas Chatterton dead at age 17 from suicide by arsenic poisoning
Each poet had their own personal reasons to commit suicide, but researches compared the works of nine non-suicidal poets to nine suicidal poets and found similarities in the language of the suicidal poets that foreshadowed their downfalls. This research article was called "Word Use in the Poetry of Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Poets," published in Psychomatic Medicine in 2001. The authors and researches were James Pennebaker and Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, both psychologists.
According to Dr. Pennebaker, suicidal poets used first person singular words like "my" and "I" at much higher rates than those who were not suicidal, and they referenced other people much, much less. There was not much of a difference in emotional content between the two groups, although suicidal poets used words for human interaction much less, such as "listen", "talk" and "share."
It was also found that poets in particular were subject to a higher suicide rate than other literary writers and the public. Pennebaker noted that while all poets did not show signs of manic-depression or other mental illness, they were not a group that was known to be happy and cheerful. He also noted that the language similarities of poets who committed suicide could serve as "linguistic predictors of suicide" for modern poets today.
English poet Thomas Chatterton dead at age 17 from suicide by arsenic poisoningEach poet had their own personal reasons to commit suicide, but researches compared the works of nine non-suicidal poets to nine suicidal poets and found similarities in the language of the suicidal poets that foreshadowed their downfalls. This research article was called "Word Use in the Poetry of Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Poets," published in Psychomatic Medicine in 2001. The authors and researches were James Pennebaker and Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, both psychologists.
According to Dr. Pennebaker, suicidal poets used first person singular words like "my" and "I" at much higher rates than those who were not suicidal, and they referenced other people much, much less. There was not much of a difference in emotional content between the two groups, although suicidal poets used words for human interaction much less, such as "listen", "talk" and "share."
It was also found that poets in particular were subject to a higher suicide rate than other literary writers and the public. Pennebaker noted that while all poets did not show signs of manic-depression or other mental illness, they were not a group that was known to be happy and cheerful. He also noted that the language similarities of poets who committed suicide could serve as "linguistic predictors of suicide" for modern poets today.
Sources:
Tradition Goes Out the Window
 |
| A comic that mocks the Sexual Revolution |
The Sexual Revolution was the liberation of established social and moral attitudes toward sex, as the women's liberation movement and developments in contraception instigated greater experimentation with sex, especially outside of marriage.
This new concept of sexual liberation was extremely controversial at the time; it included increased acceptance of sex outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships. Following closely behind were contraception, public nudity, the normalization of homosexuality, and the legalization of abortion.
Many question how this came about to begin with; there are a few theories, but it is argued that one specific cause alone can not be attributed with this large phenomenon. One suggested trigger for the modern revolution was the development of the birth control pill in 1960, which gave women access to easy and reliable contraception. Another theory is that the revolution was more directly influenced by the financial independence gained by the women who entered the workforce during and after World War II, making the revolution more about individual equality.
Purchasing an aphrodisiac became "normal". Sado-masochism ("S&M") gained popularity, and "no-fault" unilateral divorce became legal and easier to obtain in many countries during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. All of these things became acceptable in a society that once ostracized women for having a baby with a man to whom she wasn't married to.
Other contributions that helped bring about this modern revolution of sexual freedom were the writings of Herbert Marcuse and Wilhelm Reich, who took the philosophy of Karl Marx and similar philosophers, and mixed together this chant for freedom of sexual rights in modern culture.
America's perspective was rapidly changing, and many were on board. Beginning in San Francisco in the mid 1960s, a new culture of "free love" emerged, with thousands of young people becoming "hippies" who preached the power of love and the beauty of sex as part of ordinary life. This is part of a counterculture that exists to the present, for today "hippies" would not be very socially acceptable.
Free love continued in different forms throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, but its more assertive manifestations ended abruptly, or disappeared from public view, in the mid-1980s when the public first became aware of AIDS, a deadly sexually transmitted disease.
The Sexual Revolution permanently altered America's view on abstinence, homosexuality, and more controversial issues like abortion. Although it opened many doors, there are still debates going on to this day about whether or not many of these practices are morally just; and I don't see everyone agreeing on one set answer anytime in the near future.
Sources:
http://www.greenberg-art.com/.Toons/.Toons,%20favorites/qqxsgNew%20sexual%20revolution.gif
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=sexual+revolution&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=nDOHUMCwH4St0AHD1YCICA&ved=0CBsQkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=721d8d413178fdae&bpcl=35466521&biw=1211&bih=684
http://www.isis.aust.com/stephan/writings/sexuality/revo.htm
http://sixtiesbritain.co.uk/history/2010/05/25/history-the-oral-contraceptive-pill/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_nudity
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=sexual+revolution&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=nDOHUMCwH4St0AHD1YCICA&ved=0CBsQkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=721d8d413178fdae&bpcl=35466521&biw=1211&bih=684
http://www.isis.aust.com/stephan/writings/sexuality/revo.htm
http://sixtiesbritain.co.uk/history/2010/05/25/history-the-oral-contraceptive-pill/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_nudity
http://www.exodusglobalalliance.org/whatishomosexualityp93.php
http://www.bpas.org/bpasyoungpeople/what-is-abortion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-fault_divorce
http://www.egs.edu/library/herbert-marcuse/biography/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/marx.html
http://www.bpas.org/bpasyoungpeople/what-is-abortion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-fault_divorce
http://www.egs.edu/library/herbert-marcuse/biography/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/marx.html
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The 1950's Housewives
When World War II broke out, a majority of American men left the country for war. As a result, the women took over the jobs (such as factory jobs) in America that those men previously had. The war ended in 1945, and as the 1950s rolled around, the men were reclaiming their previous jobs. Consequently, women's roles changed back to the housewife status, their priority being housekeeping and caring for their husbands and children.
This role of women though, was more flexible than it had been in the past. A large number of women actually kept the jobs that they had while the men went to war. The numbers of marriages and births rapidly increased in the 1950s, but at the same time, the number of women in the work force was also increasing.
Regardless of the increasing numbers of working women, it was still looked down upon if women worked, especially if her family already had a sufficient amount of money. It was looked down upon and a woman was deemed "selfish" if she had a job outside of their house but their family was making enough money already. It was still more culturally accepted for the woman to stay home, her focus being on creating and caring for a family.
Because of this changing role of women, the number of women attending college decreased during the 1950s. Many were instead getting married directly out of high school, around the age of 19. Women who DID attend school were encouraged to take classes in housekeeping and financing, being that they are expected to take care of those duties in the house, while their husbands worked.
SOURCES:
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/en/2008/08/28/what-men-want/ (picture)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_mrs.html
http://1950s.weebly.com/womens-roles.html
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii
This role of women though, was more flexible than it had been in the past. A large number of women actually kept the jobs that they had while the men went to war. The numbers of marriages and births rapidly increased in the 1950s, but at the same time, the number of women in the work force was also increasing.
Regardless of the increasing numbers of working women, it was still looked down upon if women worked, especially if her family already had a sufficient amount of money. It was looked down upon and a woman was deemed "selfish" if she had a job outside of their house but their family was making enough money already. It was still more culturally accepted for the woman to stay home, her focus being on creating and caring for a family.
Because of this changing role of women, the number of women attending college decreased during the 1950s. Many were instead getting married directly out of high school, around the age of 19. Women who DID attend school were encouraged to take classes in housekeeping and financing, being that they are expected to take care of those duties in the house, while their husbands worked.
SOURCES:
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/en/2008/08/28/what-men-want/ (picture)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_mrs.html
http://1950s.weebly.com/womens-roles.html
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii
Saturday, October 20, 2012
"The King"
Almost everyone knows who "the King" is. Elvis Presley is commonly referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll." Elvis was an American singer and actor, born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He lived from 1935 to 1977, passing away in Memphis, Tennessee. While a very popular actor, appearing in many commercials, TV shows, and movies, his first being the film Love Me Tender, I am going to focus on Elvis's true passion, singing.
As a teenager, Elvis enjoyed listening to pop and country music the most. His first record label was with Sun Records in 1954 in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1955, Elvis was sold to RCA Victor, and within a year he became a huge rock and roll sensation.
It wasn't just the voice and music that this man made, it was his handsomeness, humor, and charming character that made him so undeniably appealing to Americans. Women all over were "wooed" by this man's charm and the dance moves he pulled off so well on stage.
Proving his popularity, Elvis won many awards during his lifetime. Some of the most impressive being the Golden Globe award in 1973 (for best documentary film) and the Golden Laurel Award in 1966, for best male performance in a musical film (Tickle Me).
Elvis is very clearly one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th century, due to his charm, talent, and personality. He is still very well-known to this day, and probably will be for years and years to follow.
The video below is of one of Elvis's most famous singles, "Jailhouse Rock" (1957)
Sources:
http://www.funscrape.com/Search/1/elvis.html (picture)
http://www.elvis.com/about-the-king/biography_.aspx
http://www.rcarecords.com/
http://www.goldenglobes.org/
http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000394/
http://www.sunrecords.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049452/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056585/
As a teenager, Elvis enjoyed listening to pop and country music the most. His first record label was with Sun Records in 1954 in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1955, Elvis was sold to RCA Victor, and within a year he became a huge rock and roll sensation.
It wasn't just the voice and music that this man made, it was his handsomeness, humor, and charming character that made him so undeniably appealing to Americans. Women all over were "wooed" by this man's charm and the dance moves he pulled off so well on stage.
Proving his popularity, Elvis won many awards during his lifetime. Some of the most impressive being the Golden Globe award in 1973 (for best documentary film) and the Golden Laurel Award in 1966, for best male performance in a musical film (Tickle Me).
Elvis is very clearly one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th century, due to his charm, talent, and personality. He is still very well-known to this day, and probably will be for years and years to follow.
The video below is of one of Elvis's most famous singles, "Jailhouse Rock" (1957)
Sources:
http://www.funscrape.com/Search/1/elvis.html (picture)
http://www.elvis.com/about-the-king/biography_.aspx
http://www.rcarecords.com/
http://www.goldenglobes.org/
http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000394/
http://www.sunrecords.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049452/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056585/
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Reverse Commute
After the Great Migration of
African Americans to the industrial and urban areas in the North, the
subsequent sudden population shift of millions of African Americans back
to the South in just 35 years needed some explanation. Analysis of migration data
showed that the deindustrialization of the Northeast and Midwest, the growth of
jobs in the south, the lower cost of living in the South, and family ties in
the South were all factors of this "New Great Migration" beginning in
1965 and becoming more prevalent in the late 1900's.
Two of the
largest groups of people to contribute to this migration were recent college
graduates and the middle-class. The populations dramatically dropped in New
York and Northern New Jersey as they rose in the Southern United States,
especially in Florida, Georgia and Texas. In fact, Georgia and Texas became
known as the "brain gain" states because they brought in the most
African American college graduates from 1995 to 2000.
Outside the
Confederacy, the African American population in Maryland rose steadily,
especially in the areas surrounding Washington D.C. Analysis showed that the
African American population also shifted from Northern metropolitan areas like
Chicago and Los Angeles to Southern metropolitan areas, especially Atlanta. The
cities in California lost more African Americans than they even gained in the
1900's.
 |
| African American population according to 2000 census. Darker states show a greater population. |
The New Great Migration
was especially concentrated in the cities and states with the most economic
growth, like Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas.
The effects of
this migration and resulting population shift impact the government today. As
more and more middle-class African Americans leave the North to go to the
South, it is more difficult for government officials to count on tax revenues
in the North. Also, the owners of African American business are now suffering
from losing patrons, customers, church members, etc. to the South.
Today, as this
population change still continues, scientists and sociologists are looking into
the motivation and everlasting effects of this continual change.
Sources:
Monday, October 15, 2012
Erased from History?
 |
| Members of the Black Panther Party |
The Party's ideals and activities were so radical, it was at one time criticized by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover as "the greatest threat to the internal security of the United States." Despite the demise of the party, its history and lessons remain so controversial that established texts and media would erase all reference to the Party from American History.
The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey P. Newton, the seventh son of a Louisiana family relocated to Oakland, California. In October of 1996, around the time of the assassination of black leader Malcolm X, Newton gathered a few of his longtime friends, including Bobby Seale and David Hillard, and developed a skeletal outline for this organization. Originally it was named the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. They used the black panther as the symbol for the party because it was a powerful image, one that had been used effectively by the shortlived voting rights group the Lowndes County (Alabama) Freedom Organization. The term "self defense" was employed to distinguish the Party's philosophy from the dominant nonviolent theme of the civil rights movement.
Immediately, the leadership of the Party outlined a Ten Point Platform and Program. This Platform & Program articulated the fundamental wants and needs, and called for a redress of the longstanding grievances, of the black masses in America. The blacks were angry because they were still alienated from society and oppressed, despite the abolition of slavery at the end of the Civil War. Moreover, this Platform & Program was a proclamation that demanded the needs be met and oppression of blacks be ended immediately, a demand for the right to self defense, by a revolutionary ideology and by the commitment of the membership of the Black Panther Party to promote its agenda for fundamental change in America.
The Black Panther Party played a major role in the history of the blacks; they finally decided that they would stand for nothing less than the equality, justice, and freedom that they deserved. They decided that the color of their skin was not going to stop them from attaining these goals of freedom. Some believe that their ideals were a bit too radical, but would the black people have ever made it where they are today without the advances of this party?
Sources:
http://designermagazine.tripod.com/BlackPanthersPIC1.jpg
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/68134/Black-Panther-Party
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution
http://www.biography.com/people/j-edgar-hoover-9343398
http://www.biography.com/people/huey-p-newton-37369
http://www.biography.com/people/bobby-seale-9477529
http://www.blackpanther.org/speakers.htm
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Naropa Institute: Major in Self-Awareness
Imagine days in
college filled with Indian classical music, yoga, nature, meditation and
consciousness. Pushing your mental limits and looking within yourself is just
part of the experience of Naropa Institute. Located in Boulder, Colorado,
Naropa Institute was established in 1974 by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Naropa Institute Ceremony
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was the eleventh descendant in the
line of Trungpa tulkus, who were very influential teachers of Tibetan Buddhism.
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche went to England to study comparative religion and philosophy at Oxford University. He later moved to America, publishing six
books and establishing three meditation centers and a contemplation university,
known as Naropa Institute.
Chogya Trungpa Rinpoche
Chogya Trungpa Rinpoche
Many famous
intellectual artists and scholars have attended Naropa Institute, such as AllenGinsberg, Ken Wilbur, Anne Waldman, John Cage, and Meredith Monk. Naropa is
especially known for teaching many Beat poets. Ginsberg, Waldman, and Cage
later founded a poetry department at Naropa.
Based in the world’s wisdom traditions, the curriculum at Naropa fosters a sense of spirituality and
respect of diversity. Naropa’s students take these basic principles from the
institute into the real world, caring for and helping others as well as environmental stewardship. The belief is that each
personality will be able to benefit from some way at Naropa. For example, many
students are musicians, poets, environmentalists, activists, peacemakers, and
bookworms. Each student is unique and creative in his own way.
At the commencement of the year, each Naropa member bows, signaling respect and
thoughtfulness. To graduate, students must perform Warrior exams, which are
in-class oral tests in which students speak of their learnings and
accomplishments. Most classes are taught on the floor and promote
self-reflection in order that students challenge themselves personally and deepen their
trust in their own worth and goodness.
As
spiritual and pure as Naropa Institue seems to be, there was supposedly a scandal
at a 1975 Halloween party. According to a 1979 account from student editor, Tom Clark, the
founder Trungpa ordered the poet W.S Merwin and his girlfriend to strip. When
they refused, Trungpa’s security guards forced them to take off their clothing,
ignoring their calls for help. Other scholars complained that students such as
Allen Ginsberg had an unhealthy fascination with Trungpa’s preaching of Tibetan
Buddhistm. They believed that “Tibetan theocracy created a dangerous exclusivity
and elitism in literature.”
While
their has been some obvious controversy about the Naropa Institute, there is no
doubt that it has produced some of the greatest minds of the time, especially
those to later produce literature.
Sources:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/123
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=chogyam+trungpa&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1186&bih=622&tbm=isch&tbnid=paKrsv7de5iKVM:&imgrefurl=http://www.cynthiamacadams.com/chogyamtrungpa_1.html&docid=awJebDVYC84K-M&imgurl=http://www.cynthiamacadams.com/images/trnugpa1_lg.jpg&w=386&h=573&ei=SBN2UNvCA42v0AHY14GYAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=898&vpy=142&dur=21&hovh=274&hovw=184&tx=95&ty=113&sig=106803548166308161713&page=1&tbnh=127&tbnw=89&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:109
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=naropa+university&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1186&bih=622&tbm=isch&tbnid=LUG8-BLxTSvPYM:&imgrefurl=http://shambhalatimes.org/2009/03/02/acharya-simon-luna-and-the-santiago-gong/&docid=dwvQLy-vhmgP4M&imgurl=http://shambhalatimes.org/files/2009/02/santiago1.jpg&w=720&h=480&ei=sRN2UPO4BofB0QHO3oGoCQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=379&sig=106803548166308161713&page=1&tbnh=121&tbnw=171&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:152&tx=62&ty=49
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=chogyam+trungpa&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1186&bih=622&tbm=isch&tbnid=paKrsv7de5iKVM:&imgrefurl=http://www.cynthiamacadams.com/chogyamtrungpa_1.html&docid=awJebDVYC84K-M&imgurl=http://www.cynthiamacadams.com/images/trnugpa1_lg.jpg&w=386&h=573&ei=SBN2UNvCA42v0AHY14GYAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=898&vpy=142&dur=21&hovh=274&hovw=184&tx=95&ty=113&sig=106803548166308161713&page=1&tbnh=127&tbnw=89&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:109
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=naropa+university&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1186&bih=622&tbm=isch&tbnid=LUG8-BLxTSvPYM:&imgrefurl=http://shambhalatimes.org/2009/03/02/acharya-simon-luna-and-the-santiago-gong/&docid=dwvQLy-vhmgP4M&imgurl=http://shambhalatimes.org/files/2009/02/santiago1.jpg&w=720&h=480&ei=sRN2UPO4BofB0QHO3oGoCQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=379&sig=106803548166308161713&page=1&tbnh=121&tbnw=171&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:152&tx=62&ty=49
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Power to the Blacks!
 |
| A group of African-Americans doing the Black Power symbol. |
Many blacks of the time actually encouraged separate communities, and therefore separate arts and music from the whites. This may seem ironic to some because all anyone every heard was that the blacks wanted equal treatment and this just doesn't seem like the way to go about getting it.
BAM sought “to link, in a highly conscious manner, art and politics in order to assist in the liberation of black people”, and produced an increase in the number and visibility of African-American artistic production. Literature, drama, and music of Blacks “served as an oppositional and defensive mechanism through which creative artists could confirm their identity while articulating their own unique impressions of social reality.”
Before Blacks could inspire others, they had to first change the way that they viewed themselves. For generations, they had been belittled and told that they were inferior to whites, and now they had to break free of the oppression and become their own people. They had to escape from the white norms and strive to be more natural, a common theme of African-American art and music.
By breaking into a area typically reserved for white Americans, artists of the Black Power era expanded opportunities for current African Americans. Today's writers and artists recognize that they owe a large amount of their success to the Black Power's explosion of cultural orthodoxy.
"I think what Black Arts did was inspire a whole lot of Black people to write. Moreover, there would be no multiculturalism movement without Black Arts. Latinos, Asian Americans, and others all say they began writing as a result of the example of the 1960s. Blacks gave the example that you don't have to assimilate. You could do your own thing, get into your own background, your own history, your own tradition and your own culture. I think the challenge is for cultural sovereignty and Black Arts struck a blow for that," said Ishmael Reed, a modern American poet.
Sources:
http://ww2.madonna.edu/NEH/05/tunite.jpg
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/blackarts/historical.htm
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Black+Power+Movement
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/750
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Guts and Glory
Why was it that so many famous writers in the 20th century chose to serve in World War I rather than concentrate on their literary careers? It is said that at least 23 authors drove ambulances in the first World War, and many served in other ways, working in medical fields. Some of the most famous literary figures to do so were Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, e.e Cummings, and Somerset Maugham. Gertrude Stein also worked in the medical field during the war.
What was it that made the appeal to drive these ambulances so strong for these famous writers? And why did this occur in World War I more than in other wars? Up to this time, there were not many ambulance services to join. The first ambulance wagons were seen in the 1480's with Queen Isabella's forces and in 1792, the chief surgeon of the Grand Armee of France developed the first of these wagons specifically designed as ambulances. They had medical supplies and refreshments, but the first motorized ambulances were not seen until the late 19th century. The medical care of this time however, was not known to be of good quality. Early ambulance wagons were also pulled by animals, which did not prove to be very effective.
Early ambulance wagon
When the first automobile ambulance was created in Chicago in 1899, it had the an attractive allure due to its speed and novelty. Young, educated men were drawn to this and, in fact, many young men had to learn to drive first, before they could serve. There was also prestige to driving these ambulances, and volunteers were considered "gentlemen drivers"and equivalent to officers.
Early automobile ambulance
Moreover, a number of these famous poets and writers who became ambulance drivers did so because they did not pass the qualifications to serve. Some had bad vision, such as Hemingway, and in Maugham's case, some were too old or too short. People joined to help serve the country, to be with their friends and people they knew, and for adventure. Many of them simply joined the army to escape their dull lives. Many soldiers in the war, however, looked down on these ambulance drivers for having non-combattive roles in the war.
Being part of this war experience first-hand provided for a lot of literary subject matter. It inspired many of the famous poets and authors, as they had much time to think while driving and were emotionally moved by witnessing the suffering of war. Hemingway, for example, published A Farewell to Arms, which was about an ambulance driver who fell in love with a nurse in the war. e.e. Cummings wrote The Enormous Room about his own experience in a French prison.
After returning from war, many of these authors were too restless to stay at home. They continued to travel in order to experience and see new things, inspiring more of their later poems.
Sources:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/ambulance.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambulance_drivers_during_World_War_I
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1954/hemingway-bio.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/169718/John-Dos-Passos
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/156
http://www.ctspanish.com/legends/isabella1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Armée
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Farewell_to_Arms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enormous_Room
http://www.powerweb.net/bbock/war/trans.html
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=WWI+ambulance&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1186&bih=632&tbm=isch&tbnid=nPjh5lvQYOZHKM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ourstory.info/library/2-ww1/Keplinger/kepTC.html&docid=fAEguopZZd6yPM&imgurl=http://www.ourstory.info/library/2-ww1/Keplinger/thumbs/smk001tn.jpg&w=432&h=399&ei=ahxpUIW0HuH30gHT5YGoBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=800&vpy=302&dur=50&hovh=216&hovw=234&tx=104&ty=129&sig=106803548166308161713&page=1&tbnh=124&tbnw=134&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:118
What was it that made the appeal to drive these ambulances so strong for these famous writers? And why did this occur in World War I more than in other wars? Up to this time, there were not many ambulance services to join. The first ambulance wagons were seen in the 1480's with Queen Isabella's forces and in 1792, the chief surgeon of the Grand Armee of France developed the first of these wagons specifically designed as ambulances. They had medical supplies and refreshments, but the first motorized ambulances were not seen until the late 19th century. The medical care of this time however, was not known to be of good quality. Early ambulance wagons were also pulled by animals, which did not prove to be very effective.
Early ambulance wagonWhen the first automobile ambulance was created in Chicago in 1899, it had the an attractive allure due to its speed and novelty. Young, educated men were drawn to this and, in fact, many young men had to learn to drive first, before they could serve. There was also prestige to driving these ambulances, and volunteers were considered "gentlemen drivers"and equivalent to officers.
Early automobile ambulance Moreover, a number of these famous poets and writers who became ambulance drivers did so because they did not pass the qualifications to serve. Some had bad vision, such as Hemingway, and in Maugham's case, some were too old or too short. People joined to help serve the country, to be with their friends and people they knew, and for adventure. Many of them simply joined the army to escape their dull lives. Many soldiers in the war, however, looked down on these ambulance drivers for having non-combattive roles in the war.
Being part of this war experience first-hand provided for a lot of literary subject matter. It inspired many of the famous poets and authors, as they had much time to think while driving and were emotionally moved by witnessing the suffering of war. Hemingway, for example, published A Farewell to Arms, which was about an ambulance driver who fell in love with a nurse in the war. e.e. Cummings wrote The Enormous Room about his own experience in a French prison.
After returning from war, many of these authors were too restless to stay at home. They continued to travel in order to experience and see new things, inspiring more of their later poems.
Sources:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/ambulance.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambulance_drivers_during_World_War_I
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1954/hemingway-bio.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/169718/John-Dos-Passos
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/156
http://www.ctspanish.com/legends/isabella1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Armée
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Farewell_to_Arms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enormous_Room
http://www.powerweb.net/bbock/war/trans.html
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=WWI+ambulance&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1186&bih=632&tbm=isch&tbnid=nPjh5lvQYOZHKM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ourstory.info/library/2-ww1/Keplinger/kepTC.html&docid=fAEguopZZd6yPM&imgurl=http://www.ourstory.info/library/2-ww1/Keplinger/thumbs/smk001tn.jpg&w=432&h=399&ei=ahxpUIW0HuH30gHT5YGoBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=800&vpy=302&dur=50&hovh=216&hovw=234&tx=104&ty=129&sig=106803548166308161713&page=1&tbnh=124&tbnw=134&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:118
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