Week 6 (TR205)

Toward the end of Week 5 I saw a number of you in my office.  I was deeply moved by so many of the essays that you read.  Again and again I am surprised by the way words can come together and transmit to perfect strangers something unique about the writer while at the same time reminding each of a shared humanity that often transcends age, gender, place of birth, and any other so called distinguishing factors.

I heard stories in the third person that were masterfully woven to curtail the ache and pain of the experiences being told, and others in the first that often drew tears from the reader and also listeners in the room.  What courage and strength in the tenderness of the writing and sharing!  Early in the semester I overheard someone say that they had never written anything that had moved them to tears.  I don´t remember who that person was, but I do know that over and over again in that past week that the emotional content of so much of what has been written has been strong and moving.


I wanted to share another poem this week.  I recalled it as I was listening to you and wondered at and savored the great mystery that enfolds us all.  It comes from a far away and gentle voice, the Buddhist monk and teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh.  In the poem he writes about the nature of identity and the power of names and naming.  Hope it stirs your imagination and souls a little bit as you put the finishing touches of your essay.

Please Call Me by My True Names

Don't say that I will depart tomorrow --
even today I am still arriving.
Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
of all that is alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable
of seeing and loving.
I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his "debt of blood" to my people
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.
My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart
can be left open,
the door of compassion.

1989

A Word about Essay Submissions

Your essays will be due toward the end of the week.  Make sure to bring a typed, stapled, doubled space copy of your essay on Wednesday.  (Remember to invest in one of those baby staplers as I don't carry one in my backpack.)  You will also need to submit the paper to Turnitin.  To do so, visit the site and use the following information

Website:  https://www.turnitin.com
Class ID:  5614357
Password: imagination

Please remember that I will not read any essays that are not first submitted to Turnitin.  Also, any late submissions will receive a 50 point deduction.

As you put the finishing touches on your essay, don't forget to look at the rubric for this assignment to help you avoid any pitfalls in your approach.

Regarding Other Work this Week

We begin work on Essay #2.  The theme of the text will be one that you choose.  It will need, however, to come from your writer's notebook.  Make sure that your notebook is up to date; don't leave it home this week.

Readings+

Writing Down the Bones, hope you are enjoying this simple and profound read.  Please read  on and respond to "Original Detail" (41-42) and "The Power of Detail" (43-44).

Service-Learning Opportunity

We are celebrating Gandhi's life and engaging in service-learning this coming Saturday, October 6.  Meet at the Roots in the City Garden at 9am.  If anyone is interested, a caravan will leave from the Kendall Campus at 8:15am from Lot 13 of the Kendall Campus; check the map to avoid confusion.  You can receive four service-learning hours and up to 35 extra-credit points if you turn in a 500 word anecdote/reflection of the event.  To sign up and get directions, please use the Facebook event link.