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Transcript of Freshmen English Anthology
THE ROAD I CHOOSE TO TRAVEL
A Personal Anthology
Christian DunnApril 12, 2006
Freshmen English HonorsHarwood Union High School
Dunn
Acknowledgements
I thank Ms. Stahl, my Freshmen English Honors teacher who led
the class in the right direction during the creation of my
anthology, and answered my many questions during the time.
I thank Mr. Macleod, who sat next to me every day of class that
we discussed this anthology, for helping me when I was confused
by an assignment, which happened very often.
I thank Ms. Guion and Ms. Kalantari for allowing me to use their
works of poetry in my anthology the day before the entire project
was due.
I thank my parents for allowing me to use my computer to type
many parts of this anthology when I should not have been using
the computer at the time because of other reasons.
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This Personal Anthology is dedicated to
Everyone who reads this anthology
With a thirst to find a work which is captivating to them
As these works are for me
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Contents
Preface 7
Ten Brief Quotations 12
Albert Einstein
“No Amount of Experimentation” 12
“You Cannot Simultaneously” 12
Muhammed Ali
‘Silence is Golden” 12
Aristotle
“A Likely Impossibility” 13
Benjamin Franklin
“A Clear Conscience” 13
“Be Civil to All” 13
“An Investment in Knowledge” 13
C.S. Lewis
“Safety and Happiness” 14
Voltaire,
“A Witty Saying Proves Nothing” 14
“There is a Wide Difference” 14
Walt Whitman
“The Habit of Giving” 15
Works by Five Poets 16
Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken 16
Dust of Snow 17
The Lockless Door 17
Shel Silverstein
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Ations 18
Eighteen Flavors 19
The Oak and the Rose 19
Galway Kinnell
Blackberry Eating 20
Daybreak 21
Telephoning in Mexican Sunlight 22
Emily Dickinson
"Hope" is the Thing with Feathers 23
I’m Nobody, Who Are You? 24
Success 24
Langston Hughes
The Dream Keeper 25
As I Grew Older 26
Dream Variations 27
Martha Collins
Lines 28
One Piece of My Own Poetry
Growing Up 29
One Piece of My Own Prose
In Response to I Shall Finish the Game 30
Three Prose Excerpts 31
George Orwell
Excerpt from 1984 31
ScienceDaily.com
What Is Time?
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C.S. Lewis 32
Excerpt from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe33
Works by Students 34
Janice Guion
Response to The Loosing of the Shadow 34
Hannah Kalantari
Response to The Loosing of the Shadow 35
Analina Aitken
Response to The Dragon of Pendor 36
Biographical Sketches
Janice Guion 37
Hannah Kalantari 38
Analina Aitken 39
Bibliography 40
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Preface
An anthology is a collection of writing, and this is my collection of writing
that I have compiled for my Freshmen English Honors class. As I found works of
prose, poetry and quotation that I enjoyed, was able to relate to or wanted to
read over again, I created this anthology. A phrase of poetic advice that I
followed as I compiled this anthology is from a poem by Robert Frost, The Road
Not Taken, which is on page 16 of this anthology. The poem speaks of choosing
a path, a path that is in the forest in the poem, but could also be a path of
choices in life. The last three lines of the poem convey the wise advice that
comes from The Road Not Taken:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.
I have followed this advice to the compilation of my Freshmen English
anthology in the way that I looked for works to place in it. Much of the works in
this anthology are or were inspired by writing that is less traveled by and
through than many of the popularly read works. In the English class that I am in,
instructed by Ms. Stahl, I have read and responded to works of writing which I
would not have traveled by if I were not in the class, and that has made much
of a difference in the writing that I enjoy and add to my anthology. One lesser
traveled by but ingeniously written novel that we read in my English class is The
Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin. The responses to the novel in class
inspired the writing of many good works of poetry by students in the class. My
anthology includes works by other students in the class in response to The
Wizard of Earthsea. A part of a poetic response by Janice Guion to chapter 4 of
The Wizard of Earthsea on page 34 of my anthology, which is entitled The
Loosing of the Shadow, which speaks of the unknown danger and darkness that
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the protagonist of the story, Ged, loosed onto Earthsea during a bitter duel with
his rival, Jasper:
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Unwanted AwakeningsDanger, hiding on unturned pagesAn opening into an unknown world
When I read these lines, which are toward the beginning of the entire
poem, these lines set the poem to the beat of a drum, strong, and tough to
combat if the beat of the drums is the beat of the darkness that was released in
the time setting of the poem. Every syllable in these lines has the sound of the
drums that would be played to accompany this poem if it were read in an
ancient story telling ceremony, a quick yet robust beat. Then, when these lines
are read to the beat of a drum, the entire poem and the story it responds to can
be told to the beat of a drum.
Another path that is followed less frequently than others is the
examination of the vast array of perspective of places, people and objects.
Things appear differently when they are viewed from a perspective that they
were never looked at through before. I have included in my anthology a
response that I wrote in September of 2005 to a short story by Isak Dinesen,
entitled I Shall Finish The Game. My response is from the perspective of the
young hunter who is hunting, waiting and watching for the deer that is soon to
come into his sight:
From behind the blind, you are hidden. Nothing in the
forest will see or sense your presence if you remain
silent. There you wait, the patient hunter, your eyes
darting around looking for your prey. Silently, gun poised,
you wait for the deer to get in the position of your sight.
This writing is in response to a detailed observation of the perspective in
I Shall Finish The Game. The entire passage is on page 30 of my Freshmen
English anthology. During our class reading and discussion of the story, I wrote
several passages in response to the story from the perspective of different
characters and objects in the story, including from the perspective of the deer,
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the knife used to kill the deer, and the hunter’s perspective. Something cannot
be understood completely if it is not viewed from many points of view, and this
is why being aware of perspective is important.
The difficulty and importance of perspective is found in a quotation by
the Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, which I have included in my anthology
on page 13:
A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.
That which is possible and true is true, regardless of what is regarded as
likely. However, something that is less difficult to comprehend has the tendency
to be regarded as the possibility, even though the true possibility is often
regarded as unlikely. A change in perspective is very important in order to be
assisted in finding what actually is possible and what is true. For example, if you
were trying to find the exit in a gigantic maze cut in a full grown cornfield, it
may seem impossible from the perspective of someone in the maze, but if they
were to view the maze from the air, from that elevated perspective they would
easily find the pathway to the exit, and see things that in the overall design of
the corn maze that they would not have been able to walking in the maze itself.
Someone seemingly stuck in a maze would start to think of what they think is
likely, that there is no exit, even though the unconvincing yet true fact that
there is, in fact, an exit to the maze. The willingness to accept an unconvincing
but true possibility is usually the path less traveled, as opposed to the easier to
comprehend impossibility.
Another pathway with a destination, which is so much needed in the
world, is the pathway of honesty, justice and kindness, which leads to the
destination of safety and happiness. A quote by C.S. Lewis explains that safety
and happiness for everyone on earth can only be acquired through integrity:
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Safety and happiness can only come from individuals, classes, and nations being honest and fair and kind to each other.
This quote is a part of my anthology on page 14. An unfortunate quality
of many nations and people is that honesty, fairness and kindness is often the
path less traveled, and peace on earth is something that cannot be earned by
war, but it must be worked for through honesty, justice and kindness between
every person, between the rich and the poor and from nation to nation. I added
this quote to my anthology because it shows the very important, lesser-traveled
path in the direction of peace.
In the later days of summer, when so many forest paths have been
traveled and worn by the many travelers, there is another, sometimes lesser-
traveled experience of blackberry picking. Galway Kinnell captures the tasty
wonder of looking through the prickly plants and finding what may be the
plumpest, ripest blackberry in the forest that I come to enjoy in September so
well in writing in Blackberry Eating:
…certain peculiar wordslike strengths or squinched,many-lettered, one-syllabled lumps,which I squeeze, squinch open, and splurge wellin the silent, startled, icy, black languageof blackberry-eating in late September.
This part of the poem by Galway Kinnell, which I added to my anthology
on page 20 is my favorite part of the poem because it allows me to taste the
taste of blackberries with the juicy vocabulary. The word that Kinnell uses in
Blackberry Eating that is my favorite is “splurged”, which allows me to taste a
rush of sweet blackberry juice rushing into my mouth. I was introduced to
Kinnell’s poetry because Blackberry Eating was a poem that was given to my
English class by Ms. Stahl as a five minute write poem to respond to. A poem
that replicates the sweet taste of blackberries is one that I enjoy to read
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repeatedly, and that is why I have added Blackberry Eating by Galway Kinnell
into my anthology.
My Freshmen English anthology has been influenced by several lesser-
known paths in the forms of poems, prose and quotation that I would not have
traveled in a different English class, and these new paths have made an
improving difference in my perspective of poetry. I have enjoyed and still enjoy
the short stories, poetry and novels that I have been reading in English class,
and each of the works in my anthology have significance to me that I explain for
each work of writing, from sound, meaning or perhaps something too complex
to describe, but partially comprehensible through language. Much of the writing
in my anthology is not mine, but its importance and effect that it has on me
when I read it is something that is mine to remember. I welcome you, the
reader of my anthology, and I invite you to find significance in these poems in a
way that is uniquely yours.
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Ten Brief Quotations
No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.
(Albert Einstein)
Discoveries are very fragile. Some things can never be proven, but a
single shred of something that disproves can prove an entire idea wrong. In the
world of science and mathematics, so much work is required to convey your
ideas to others and to show an idea, hypothesis or theory to be correct, but so
little work is required to disprove an idea even if only a tiny amount of
information disproves it.
You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.
(Albert Einstein)
This quote tells us that if you are preparing for a war, you cannot prevent
a war from happening. It is significant because much of the world today feels as
though it is possible to both prepare for war by stockpiling weapons of mass
destruction and prevent war at the same time. According to this quote, both
actions cannot be possible at the same time, and much of the world, preparing
for and trying to prevent war are performing futile actions.
Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.
(Muhammed Ali)
This quote reminds me of my best option when I’m in school or
elsewhere. It is much better to remain silent when you don’t know the answer to
something to keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, if you open your mouth and
say something, if what you say is wrong, you will only put yourself in a position
worse than when you were before you opened your mouth. I have learned this
from times in the past when I have said things that I later regretted for a longer
time afterward than I would have waited without an answer.
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A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.
(Aristotle)
It is often more preferable, or at least easier, to accept something that is
likely but impossible rather than a possibility that may seem unconvincing.
However, it is better to think of the possible rather than the impossible, and
look past an unconvincing appearance and look toward the possibilities.
A good conscience is a continual Christmas.
(Benjamin Franklin)
Having integrity and doing nothing to be guilty of makes life as enjoyable
as Christmas every day. When you are nice, fair, honest and subordinate, the
heavy weight of guilt does not hold onto you like a heavy ball and chain and you
feel much freer than a time filled with guilt.
Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.
(Benjamin Franklin)
It is never my desire to be the enemy of another person, and it is always
my desire to be friendly to everybody. While it can sometimes be hard to avoid
having enemies, I strive to be civil to everyone and to make no enemies. An
enemy in life takes time and energy from what you want to do into defense
against an enemy, but being friendly and civil gives energy and enjoyment. This
quote by Benjamin Franklin also says that you can only be friend to one person,
and this seems true. While you can be a friend with many, and that is a good
thing to be, it is not possible to have two ‘best’ friends.
An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.
(Benjamin Franklin)
There are many things in life that can be invested in. Stocks and bonds
are monetary investments, but there are investments in life that also need to be
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taken. It is important to invest in friendship, integrity, friendliness and physical
shape, but the investment that will give back the most in interest in the long-
term course of a lifetime is the investment in knowledge. An investment in
knowledge can be obtained by getting the most out of education and learning
as much as you can, and then when you are well into your life in later years, the
interest of wisdom will help you through, followed by the interest of friendship
and integrity.
Safety and happiness can only come from individuals, classes, and nations being honest and fair and kind to each other.
(C.S. Lewis)
There will not be safety from terrorism and violence when there is also
deception, dishonesty, injustice and unkindness to others. No peace treaty can
survive if the nations involved are deceitful to each other. If there is no honesty,
what is to stop nations to turn against a mere document declaring peace?
Honesty, integrity, justice and kindness are so important for these reasons.
A witty saying proves nothing.
(Voltaire)
This is very ironic because it is a witty statement in itself, and yet it
proves nothing because of what it states. If it were true, then it would be an
oxymoron, disproving itself as well as every other witty quote ever quoted. The
presence of irony in a statement makes a statement interesting to me and one
that I enjoy to take a few moments to ponder whenever I read it.
There is a wide difference between speaking to deceive, and being silent to be impenetrable.
(Voltaire)
When you speak to deceive, you are only tearing yourself down, but
when you are silent, you can be impenetrable to a verbal onslaught. A person
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who always is deceitful and speaks lies in every sentence will rarely be trusted,
and when someone is no longer trusted, they will have wished they have been
silent. Anyone who regrets something that they earlier said will wish they were
silent. If you remain silent and speak only with integrity, you will have no
regrets.
The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give.
(Walt Whitman)
Giving can be a difficult task at times, but I feel that it is true that once a
person starts to give, it will become less of a chore or a burden and more of an
enjoyment. I feel such a satisfaction whenever I know that I have given to
something that will help others who need help so much. If I, or anyone, started
to give as a habit, it would become something to look forward to every day, and
this would help those who truly need help.
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Works by Five Poets
Since I am in the state of Vermont as I compile this anthology, I find it only
fitting that works by the great poet and Vermonter, Robert Frost are the first of
the works of poetry I have here. Frost’s poetry has such a pure simplicity and
appreciation for Vermont nature that, when I read it, brings me to a quiet place
in a forest. The quiescence of Frost’s poetry has a calming effect and some of
his works, such as Dust of Snow, is a short poem which reminds me to find a
little something to enjoy in a day on those days that don’t work for me, like a
crow shaking snow down from a tree. Here are three of my favorites of Frost’s
poetry, and the first poem is one that has become very famous for all those
living or who has lived in Vermont.
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The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that, the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.
Dunn
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Dust of Snow
The way a crowShook down on meThe dust of snowFrom a hemlock treeHas given my heartA change of moodAnd saved some partOf a day I had rued.
- Robert Frost
The Lockless Door
It went many years,But at last came a knock,And I thought of the doorWith no lock to lock.
I blew out the light,I tip-toed the floor,And raised both handsIn prayer to the door.
But the knock came again.My window was wide;I climbed on the sillAnd descended outside.
Back over the sillI bade a 'Come in'To whatever the knockAt the door may have been.
So at a knockI emptied my cageTo hide in the worldAnd alter with age.
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I remember back to the year when I was in primary school, and I read and heard
so much of the poet Shel Silverstein. The poetry of Silverstein was abundant at
the school in large books like Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic.
I enjoyed hearing and reading the poetry of Silverstein so much back in my
younger years, and I enjoy it today when I revisit it in the creation of my
personal anthology. Silverstein’s works bring me back far in my memory, in
retrospection of my earlier, younger years of listening to stories and poetry.
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Ations
If we meet and I say, “Hi”That’s a salutation.If you ask me how I fell,That’s consideration.If we stop and talk awhile,That’s a conversation.If we understand each other,That’s communication.If we argue, scream, and fight,That’s an altercation.If later we apologize,That’s reconciliation.If we help each other home,That’s cooperation.And all these 'ations' added up,Make civilization.
- Shel Silverstein
Dunn
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Eighteen Flavors
Eighteen luscious, scrumptious flavors –Chocolate, lime, and cherry,Coffee, pumpkin, fudge-banana,Caramel cream and boysenberry,Rocky road and toasted almond,Butterscotch, vanilla dip,Butter brickle, apple ripple,Coconut and mocha chip,Brandy peach and lemon custard,Each scoop lovely, smooth, and round,Tallest ice-cream cone in town,Lying there *sniff* on the ground.
Blackberry Eating
I love to go out in late Septemberamong fat, overripe, icy, black blackberriesto eat blackberries for breakfast,the stalks very prickly, a penaltythey earn for knowing the black art of blackberry-making; and as I stand among themlifting the stalks to my mouth, the ripest berriesfall almost unbidden to my tongue,as words sometimes do, certain peculiar wordslike strengths or squinched,many-lettered, one-syllabled lumps,which I squeeze, squinch open, and splurge wellin the silent, startled, icy, black language
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I was introduced to the poetry of Galway Kinnell this year and I have
enjoyed reading Kinnell’s works. So much information for the senses flows from
Kinnell’s poetry. The taste of blackberries, found in Blackberry Eating, the sight
of pink sunset in Daybreak, and a squeaky chittering in Telephoning in Mexican
Sunlight are all vivid descriptions for the senses in the poetry. The sensory
exploration in the poetry is something that makes me want to read the poetry
again, continually diving into the “squinch” and “splurge” of blackberry eating.
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Daybreak
On the tidal mud, just before sunset,dozens of starfisheswere creeping. It wasas though the mud were a skyand enormous, imperfect starsmoved across it as slowlyas the actual stars cross-heaven.All at once they stopped,and, as if they had simplyincreased their receptivityto gravity, they sank downinto the mud, faded downinto it and lay still, and by the timepink of sunset broke across themthey were as invisible
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Telephoning in Mexican Sunlight
Talking with my beloved in New YorkI stood at the outdoor public telephonein Mexican sunlight, in my purple shirt.Someone had called it a man/womanshirt. The phrase irked me. But thenI remembered that Rainer MariaRilke, who until he was seven woredresses and had long yellow hair,wrote that the girl he almost was"made her bed in his ear" and "slept him the world."I thought, OK this shirt will clothe the other in me.As we fell into long-distance love talka squeaky chittering started up all around,and every few seconds came a sudden loud buzzing. I half expected to findthe insulation on the telephone linelaid open under the pressure of our talkleaking low-frequency noises.But a few yards away a dozen hummingbirds,gorgets going drab or blazingaccording as the sun struck them,stood on their tail rudders in a circle around my head, transfixedby the flower-likeness of the shirt.And perhaps also by a flush rising into my face,for a word -- one with a thick sound,as if a porous vowel had sat soaking upsaliva while waiting to get spoken,possibly the name of some flowerthat hummingbirds love, perhaps"honeysuckle" or "hollyhock"or "phlox" -- just then shocked mewith its suddenness, and this timeapparently did burst the insulation,letting the word sound in the openwhere all could hear, for these tiny, irascible,nectar-addicted puritans jumped backall at once, as if the air gasped.
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"Hope" is the Thing with Feathers
"Hope" is the thing with feathersThat perches in the soulAnd sings the tune without the wordsAnd never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;And sore must be the stormThat could abash the little birdThat kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest landAnd on the strangest sea,Yet never, in extremity,It asked a crumb of me.
Dunn
Emily Dickinson’s poetry does a good job of trying to explain some
unexplainable things in life, like the existence of hope and the feeling of
watching success from a spectator’s perspective. Hope is something that is
never lost, a bird that sings its tune, sometimes very quietly, but always sung.
Dickinson’s poetry conclusively captures and in short time tries to explain some
intangible things like hope and success, and an almost bizarre interpretation of
that feeling of “nobody”. I was introduced to Dickinson’s poetry in my Freshmen
English Honors class in the year of 2005 and I have enjoyed her poetry since
that time.
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I'm Nobody? Who Are You?
I'm nobody! Who are you?Are you nobody, too?Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell!They'd banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!How public, like a frogTo tell your name the livelong dayTo an admiring bog!
- Emily Dickinson
Success
Success is counted sweetestBy those who ne'er succeed.To comprehend a nectarRequires sorest need.
Not one of all the purple hostWho took the flag to-dayCan tell the definition,So clear, of victory,
As he, defeated, dying,On whose forbidden earThe distant strains of triumphBreak, agonized and clear
- Emily Dickinson
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The works of Langston Hughes show the importance of dreams, and
being a dreamer. Dreams should be protected from the roughness of the world:
protected from criticism, abuse, and doubt so their value and the hope they
allow can stay with the dreamers. Hughes shows us that are dreams should be
protected in something soft, like a blue cloud cloth, and that they can remind us
of things later on in life so vividly that the dream becomes bright like the sun
before they are almost completely faded by forgetfulness. Hughes’s works on
dreams reminded me of this importance, and that I should not abandon dreams
even if in many years they become nearly forgotten. Here are some works that
speak of dreams.
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The Dream Keeper
Bring me all of your dreams,You dreamers,Bring me all yourHeart melodiesThat I may wrap themIn a blue cloud-clothAway from the too-rough fingersOf the world.
- Langston Hughes
As I Grew Older
It was a long time ago.I have almost forgotten my dream.But it was there then,In front of me,Bright like a sun--My dream.And then the wall rose,Rose slowly,Slowly,Between me and my dream.Rose until it touched the sky--The wall.Shadow.I am black.I lie down in the shadow.No longer the light of my dream before me,Above me.Only the thick wall.Only the shadow.My hands!My dark hands!Break through the wall!Find my dream!Help me to shatter this darkness,To smash this night,To break this shadowInto a thousand lights of sun,Into a thousand whirling dreamsOf sun!
- Langston Hughes
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Dream Variations
To fling my arms wideIn some place of the sun,To whirl and to danceTill the white day is done.Then rest at cool eveningBeneath a tall treeWhile night comes on gently,Dark like me--That is my dream!
To fling my arms wideIn the face of the sun,Dance! Whirl! Whirl!Till the quick day is done.Rest at pale evening...A tall, slim tree...Night coming tenderlyBlack like me.
- Langston Hughes
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Lines are important for mathematical people like me, and Lines by
Martha Collins is a poem that feels so good to read because it reaffirms the
many places where lines are found. The world is full of lines, and lines are found
beyond the realm of a geometry class. Lines shows how lines, connecters from
point “x” to point “y”, can be a line of vision, a line of communication, a line of
fire, or, of course, a line between two points. Lines, in a line of communication,
are a pathway of conversation, a line of direct eye contact between two. Of
course, for me, lines will always have the most significance to me as a
connector between two points, perhaps “x” and “y”.
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Lines
Draw a line. Write a line. There.Stay in line, hold the line, a glancebetween the lines is fine but don'tturn corners, cross, cut in, go overor out, between two points of noreturn's a line of flight, betweentwo points of view's a line of vision.But a line of thought is rarelystraight, an open line's no partyline, however fine your point.A line of fire communicates, but dropyour weapons and drop your line,consider the shortest distance from xto y, let x be me, let y be you.
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One Piece of My Own Poetry
Things change with time, and a time of such immense change is the
transition from childhood to later years, when things you thought in the past are
not the way things are. Wishes that you may have made as a 5, 6 or 7 year old,
you may not want them anymore because you see things differently, and yet
they may be coming true at a time you don’t want them to. Of course, as a
teenager or an adult, you can’t have a tantrum when things aren’t going your
way, rather the only thing you can do is deal with it in silence, and you feel like
nobody else can know.
Growing Up
I’m sorry if you don’t like this –But there is no other way.You are getting older,Your childhood wishes are coming true,And yet you don’t want them.You don’t like it,But you can’t have a tantrum.You are on your own.Your life is in your hands.
- Christian Dunn
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One Piece of My Own Prose Writing
The pressure and silence of a hunt is evident in this writing, and the
reader can connect with the waiting and watching of a hunt, and the intense
emotions involved. Perspective is very important in this passage, the location of
the hunter, hidden from the deer, and the possibility to feel the perspective of
the deer in the sight of the hunter. The sweaty palms the hunter feels from
holding the gun remind me of times when my palms become very sweaty when
I nervously await a presentation, grade or some other unknown outcome until,
slowly, the final outcome is within sight as you slowly begin what you were
nervously awaiting.
In Response to I Shall Finish The Game
From behind the blind, you are hidden. Nothing in the
forest will see or sense your presence if you remain silent. There
you wait, the patient hunter, your eyes darting around looking for
your prey. Silently, gun poised, you wait for the deer to get in the
position of your sight. Your palms become sweaty, and your eyes
lock onto the neck of the deer. Nothing to alert it of your
presence, slowly, you pull back on the trigger.
(Christian Dunn, 2005)
In response to I Shall Finish The Game by Isak Dinesen
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Three Prose Excerpts
It was curious to think that the sky was the same for everybody,in Eurasia or Eastasia as well as here. And the people under the sky were
also very much the same everywhere, all over the world, hundreds orthousands of millions of people just like this, people ignorant of oneanother's existence, held apart by walls of hatred and lies, and yet
almost exactly the same people who had never learned to think but werestoring up in their hearts and bellies and muscles the power that would
one day overturn the world.
(George Orwell, 1984)
Everyone in the world is different, and yet everybody is so close to being
the same. The book 1984 struck me as a world that everything that would make
a person free is taken away, a terrible place. The restricted, dictatorship similar
world of 1984 is what would exist if a nation became so restricted with laws and
regulations that virtually every action became regulated by laws, and everyone
was monitored by a “big brother” like government.
In the world of today, there are already concerns of “big brother” like
developments. Although George Orwell’s vision of the year 1984 did not take
place in 1984 or anytime in the beginning of the 21st century, the possibility still
can’t be ruled out for the future. A world ruled by a “big brother” would be a
world like that described in this excerpt, one where everyone is held apart by
walls of hatred and lies. Concerns of “big brother” arise in the world of the
internet, “cyberspace”, where more and more actions are being monitored by
governments. Various governments have spied upon phone conversations and
data transfers. When more laws and more invasion of personal privacy come
into existence, a nation is closer to a life with a “big brother” monitor and rights
more restricted than those in a communist nation.
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What Is Time?
The concept of time is self-evident. An hour consists of a certain number of minutes, a day of hours and a year of days. But we rarely think about the fundamental nature of time.Time is passing non-stop, and we follow it with clocks and calendars. Yet we cannot study it with a microscope or experiment with it. And it still keeps passing. We just cannot say what exactly happens when time passes.
Time is represented through change, such as the circular motion of the moon around the earth. The passing of time is indeed closely connected to the concept of space.
According to the general theory of relativity, space, or the universe, emerged in the Big Bang some 13.7 billion years ago. Before that, all matter was packed into an extremely tiny dot. That dot also contained the matter that later came to be the sun, the earth and the moon – the heavenly bodies that tell us about the passing of time.
Before the Big Bang, there was no space or time.
“In the theory of relativity, the concept of time begins with the Big Bang the same way as parallels of latitude begin at the North Pole. You cannot go further north than the North Pole,” says Kari Enqvist, Professor of Cosmology.
One of the most peculiar qualities of time is the fact that it is measured by motion and it also becomes evident through motion.
According to the general theory of relativity, the development of space may result in the collapse of the universe. All matter would shrink into a tiny dot again, which would end the concept of time as we know it.
“Latest observations, however, do not support the idea of collapse, rather inter-galactic distances grow at a rapid pace,” Enqvist says.
(Science Daily)
This excerpt from ScienceDaily is an excerpt that appeals to me because
the concept of time is such a mystery. The short excerpt here does a good job of
summarizing what many physicists have come to believe about time and it is
comprehensible by anyone who is curious about the subject. Time and space
are virtually infinitely complex and far extends its complete comprehension by
humans. We can have vast evidence support a human comprehensible view of
time and space, but we can not prove its truth through any method on earth.
The vast expanses of the concept of time can be attempted to be explained in
this short excerpt.
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Everyone agreed to this and that was how the adventures began. It was the
sort of house that you never seem to come to the end of, and it was full of
unexpected places. The first few doors they tried led only into spare bedrooms,
as everyone had expected that they would; but soon they came to a very long
room full of pictures, and there they found a suit of armor; and after that was a
room all hung with green, with a harp in one corner; and then came three
steps down and five steps up, and then a kind of little upstairs hall and a door
that led out on to a balcony, and then a whole series of rooms that led into
each other and were lined with books -- most of them very old books and some
bigger than a Bible in a church. And shortly after that they looked into a room
that was quite empty except for one big wardrobe; the sort that has a looking-
glass in the door. There was nothing else in the room at all except a dead
bluebottle on the window-sill.
"Nothing there!" said Peter, and they all trooped out again -- all except Lucy.
She stayed behind because she thought it would be worthwhile trying the door
of the wardrobe, even though she felt almost sure that it would be locked. To
her surprise it opened quite easily, and two mothballs dropped out.
Looking into the inside, she saw several coats hanging up -- mostly long fur
coats. There was nothing Lucy liked so much as the smell and feel of fur. She
immediately stepped into the wardrobe and got in among the coats and rubbed
her face against them, leaving the door open, of course, because she knew that
it is very foolish to shut oneself into any wardrobe. Soon she went further in
and found that there was a second row of coats hanging up behind the first
one. It was almost quite dark in there and she kept her arms stretched out in
front of her so as not to bump her face into the back of the wardrobe. She took
a step further in -- then two or three steps -- always expecting to feel
woodwork against the tips of her fingers. But she could not feel it.
(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe)
The beginning of adventure starts with curiosity, and in the Narnia
stories, Lucy shows much curiosity. As she felt and moved her way back inside
the wardrobe, she realized that there was no end, and another world to explore
inside the wardrobe. Many things in life can be like the discovery of Narnia in
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Lewis’ Narnia chronicles. Through curiosity and pushing forward (or backward,
in the case of a wardrobe), a completely new and undiscovered world of
discoveries can be found.
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Works by Students
When a poem is read and it can be read with the imaginative sound of
the rhythmic beating of a drum, it has a sound of intensity and power. This is a
poem that I enjoy to read to a roaring, fast beat of the drums, a beat for every
syllable. A mystery exists in the “black hole of blinding brightness” in the poem,
the place from which the shadow came. How a bright black hole’s existence
could be possible makes me wonder about what a bright black hole would look
like. The sound and imagery in this poem is the sensory images that make this
poem enjoyable to read and the reason that I added it to my anthology.
Response to Chapter 4 - The Loosing of the Shadow
Jealousy, hatred, rivalryUnwanted AwakeningsDanger, hiding on unturned pagesAn opening into an unknown worldA world where darkness casts the shadowBlack hole of blinding brightnessMysterious shadow released into the world
Is this the end?An island, safe…
For now.
- Janice Guion
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How a very large message fits so well into so few words in this poem is
something important in a poem. Poems are best when words that are needed
are removed and all that remains is the imagery that is conveyed by the poem.
This poem is very good at telling the story of how and why Ged summoned the
shadow in very few words. When a story is told in few words, it is often easier to
understand when there are many words.
Response to Chapter 4 - The Loosing of the Shadow
GedSpurred by JealousyScorned by JasperWarned by VetchNightGed SummonedA shadow.
- Hannah Kalantari
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The story of how the Dragon of Pendor was forced to forever leave the
villagers of Roke in peace is told with such a rhythm and pleasant sound that it
sounds as if it has been told for centuries in ceremony. A rhyme scheme in the
poem makes each line support the next line in a poetic story which flows with
such a pleasant rhythm. The choice of words used to create the rhyme scheme
works well with the story, and there every line in the poem fits so well that each
line in the poem belongs where it is. The sound of the poem, led by a well suited
rhyme scheme provides enjoyment for me when I reread this poem.
Response to Chapter 5 – The Dragon of Pendor
He stood upon the harbor sandA monstrous beast rose upon his commandA dragon with scales as black as nightWhose spikes and talons made quite a sight“You must be here in search of my hoard”, said he with a roar.“Tis not true, I ask you only to stay here forever more”“Very Well,” said the brute with a sigh,for young Ged knew his name, ‘twas an eye for an eye.’So dragon and wizard then parted waysAnd in Pendor the great monster lays.
- Analina Aitken
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Biographical Sketches
Hannah Kalantari was born in Berlin, Vermont on October 6th of 1990.
She is currently a first year student at Harwood Union High School and a
student of Ms. Stahl’s Freshmen English Honors course. The poem Ms.
Kalantari wrote, entitled Response to The Loosing of the Shadow was written
in response to The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin. The idea of the
poem was to capture the main ideas of the chapter such as “shadow” and
“darkness” using as few words as possible, inspired by Ms. Stahl’s editing and
revision of responses to the chapter.
Ms. Kalantari enjoys horseback riding, and her favorite pet is her foal
whose name is Piccolo. She also greatly enjoys playing the piano and has been
playing the piano for several years. In warmer weather, Ms. Kalantari likes to
cool off with a swim, and in all weather, she enjoys reading a variety of books.
Her favorite type of poem that she has wrote is a “Five W Poem”, which is a
poem which is five or six lines and each line describes the setting using each of
the “five Ws”: who, what, where, when and why and an optional sixth line can
describe ‘how’.
The bacon potato casserole that Ms. Kalantari’s mother cooks is her
favorite food, while asparagus and raw zucchini are foods that she does not
like. She dislikes the chore of cleaning her family’s chicken house because it is
a very messy job.
Ms. Kalantari currently lives in North Fayston, Vermont.
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Janice Guion lives in Waitsfield, Vermont with her mom, dad, and two
younger siblings, Tracy and Stephen. She currently attends Harwood Union
High School as a 9th grader. The poem that she wrote that is in this anthology
was inspired and based on Chapter 4 of The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula
LeGuin. Her favorite food is eggo waffles with raspberries.
Ms. Guion’s favorite book is The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. She
enjoys to play her PlayStation 2, reading, and mountain biking. Her cousin,
Katie, who is a freshman at the University of Vermont is a role model for Ms.
Guion. Ms. Guion’s favorite poet is Shel Silverstein because she says that his
poems are so funny and she has been reading them since third grade.
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Analina Aitken lives in scenic Waterbury Center, Vermont and attends
Harwood Union High school as a 9th grade student. Ms. Aitken is also a
student of Ms. Stahl's Freshmen English Honors course at Harwood. She
enjoys poetry and reading a lot. She wrote the poem that is in this anthology in
response to Chapter 5 of The Wizard of Earthsea. Ms. Aitken wants to become
an acclaimed writer after high school and college.
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Bartlett, John. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Little, Brown Publishing.
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Collins, Martha. Some Things Words Can Do. Riverdale-on-Hudson, NY: Sheep
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Dickinson, Emily. Poetry for Young People.
Dunn, Christian. Growing Up. Five Minute Write. 2005.
Dunn, Christian. Response to I Shall Finish the Game. Ms. Stahl’s Class. 2005.
Einstein, Albert, and Freeman Dyson. The Expanded Quotable Einstein.
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Frost, Robert and Edward Connery Lathem. The Poetry of Robert Frost : The
Collected Poems. Henry Holt and Co, 1969.
Guion, Janice. Response to Chapter 4 of The Wizard of Earthsea. 2006.
Hughes, Langston. Langston Hughes Reads. Caedmon Publishing.
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Kalantari, Hannah. Response to Chapter 4 – The Wizard of Earthsea. 2005.
Kinnell, Galway. Selected Poems.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. New York: HaperCollins
Childrens Books, 1995. Original, ©1950, C.S. Lewis.
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Orwell, George. 1984.
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Silverstein, Shel. A Light in the Attic. Harpercollins Childrens Books. 1981.
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