Snow: Notes on the accumulation of a season and a life by Linda Hogan

   

03/27/2011

     從台中回到台北的高鐵上，把在勤美誠品買來的最新一期 Orion 雜誌細細地讀了一回。其中有 Linda Hogan 寫的一篇散文。插畫是 Joy Garnett 畫的油畫。這位紐約畫家很擅長畫戰火延綿不絕的場景。我以為那種火熱熱地畫面在雪景裡很難表達。可是配合上 Linda 這次書寫的內容又是那麼巧妙。

        這篇文章一開始就談到死亡: "In my hands is a boreal owl who has died of West Nile virus" (Orion, March/April 2011: 66). Linda 撫摸著在手中垂死的北天貓頭鷹等待鷹魂離去。撫著他的羽毛，敘事者訴說著那手中觸感竟和霜降在厥葉上或是冬雪一般相似。文章開頭的敘事是溫暖火熱的等待，但死影如游絲氣息。讀到這裡，不免對靈魂的熱度起了疑心，駐紮在每個生命的體內，又是怎樣的溫度起伏? 染上病毒而頻臨死亡的 Boreal Owl當時除了等待生命結束之外，還能做些甚麼?

        Boreal Owl這種貓頭鷹我不曾看過，只聽過他的叫聲，Boreas 是希臘文北風的意思，Boreal 這形容北風的或是北極的形容詞，用在貓頭鷹身上除了將出生地點出來以外，Linda Hogan 還把季節跟這隻頻死的鳥族放在一起。這酷寒的冬日裡，伴隨著煙雨濛濛，濕冷穿心的週末午後閱讀這一篇文章，不免遙想起我在南卡羅萊納時的好時光---每周日陽光暖暖地灑在天地之間，我清閒地開車跑去騎馬的歲月，騎完馬回家還會跟家貓Dalton 打拳練太極...那些美好的時光與自由也只能是死亡或是北風過境之後，在深南方才能實現地片刻空閒。

        談到自然與存在，這篇散文中也提及作者在生命中有許許多多的動物們陪伴，因為這些動物們的接納，Linda Hogan 講起一個故事  Pueblo emergence story, 這神話似乎表達出人類也能夠甚至必須在某種程度上從動物身上獲得某種認同與需要。在馬兒的眼中她看到自己被接受，她說: “As I stand with the horses beneath the black, wintry sky, watching the elder one eat, her warm, dark eyes looking grateful for food as she chews and concentrates, the wild horse leans against me gently, and I think: I have been accepted. Perhaps she still holds the consciousness of a herd, and for her, I have become a part of it. So often, I have observed that being accepted by animals is something most human beings want and need” (Orion, March/April 2011: 67). 在沒有動物或是四季變換的世界，人類將會是多麼孤單? 因為雪，所以出現了只屬於北方的語言用來描述各式各樣的雪; 因為這一切的生成與大自然裡充滿的各種奇妙現象與危險，這生命才顯得充滿能量。 Linda 在這篇散文最後引起我無上的共鳴，我想只有個體自身明白我們與這個世界是共生體，才能熱情回顧生命情調中無窮無盡的更迭和悸動。

"Down by the creek, I see beaver tracks and remember how they were nearly made extinct in the 1700s for hats in fashionable Europe. Then I see the mountain lion pass by. I consider this new virus, West Nile, and how it has affected the birds, entire populations gone by one invisible thing. Ours is an alive world, ever changing, sometimes dangerous, but always amazing. The formation of our universe is ongoing, and I am one minuscule participant within in, as is one bird, one tree broken, one spreading virus, and I can only hope that my life will offer something back to this magnificent creation, this changing climate, this sacred earth, these lives all around me” (Orion, March/April 2011: 71)

(本文順為福島以及利比亞還有全世界祈禱，不論發生怎樣的天災人禍，總能懷抱希望和所有各種形式存在的生命與非生命體一起做出小小的期待與發揮微小力量。)

開花大象

春天來了，雖然腳步不快，兔兒精靈拿起鈴鐺，
叮鈴鈴、滴泠泠地，提醒大家春天已經來了。
欣喜的開花大象急忙綻開身上的繽紛等待春天經過。

English Literature Mid-Term Project Topic Proposal Assignment Sheet

English Literature

Class A & B

Topic Proposal for your Mid-Term Writing Project

Please answer the following questions:

Q 1: Which author or literary work in the Norton Anthology of English Literature will you choose to study for this Mid-Term Project? (3-4pages paper) Explain why you are interested in this writer or literary work.

Q2: What is the theme that you find most intriguing?

            Elaborate why you are interested in this motif.

Q3: Can you identify some special symbols or structures that make the story appealing?

Q4: Find three journal essays or book articles that you are most interested in? List the three essays by using MLA format. Make some brief comments or annotation about each essay.

For example:

* Sample descriptive annotation in MLA format for a book:

Cobb, Charles. Practical Communication for Technical and Vocational Arts. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear, 1987.

This text-workbook with tear-out pages has 13 chapters covering such topics as “The Basics of Communication,” “Work Orders and Estimates,” and “Other Necessary Forms and Records.” All chapters end in a “learning quiz” that reviews the text and projects that require students to write a response, complete a form, or prepare graphics materials. Six appendices cover grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary. Many examples of forms for memos, work orders, job records, insurance claims, maintenance requests, etc., are also included.

* Sample descriptive/evaluative annotation in MLA format for an article:  

Elliott, Dorrinda. “The Legacy of the Last Czar.” Newsweek 21 Sept. 1992: 60-61.

               

                Elliott offers an overview of recent forensic analysis of the Romanov grave site, as well as a brief description of the events surrounding the executions. The article quotes forensic experts and historians and includes the views of Russian citizens on the significance of finding and identifying the remains of the Romanov family. This article is important to my project because the quotes from Russian citizens do not appear in any other text I’ve read and, for this reason, have helped me to better understand the stakes of this issue for the Russian people.

Q5: What is your tentative title?

Q6: Do you have any questions while preparing for this assignment?

Example:

Please see the attached files as samples for complete this assignment.

(Check your Email)

Changing Lives through Literature

Waxler, Robert P.. “Changing Lives through Literature.” PMLA 123.3 ( 2008 May), 678-683.

680 Each reader has read the same story differently. A series of shifting voices emanates from the story and continues around the table, an ongoing and expanding conversation that reveals surprises, opening us to new possibilities just as it resists and conceals the unnamed ghost that we cannot fully grasp but that also calls to us, to our shared vulnerability. We all begin to position ourselves in the world through such multilayered exchange and negotiation, glimpsing, for a moment at least, the rich and strange complexity of other mortal lives as well as our own. Literature offers all of us this—the opportunity to let the rigid roles melt away for a moment, the pleasure of finding another voice, a voice that names us and calls us home.

English Composition

Topic Proposal for the Writing Project on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Please answer the following questions:

Q 1: What is the theme that you are interested in this book?

            Elaborate why you are interested in this motif.

Q2: Can you identify some special symbols or structure <Letter> that make the story appealing?

Q3: Find three journal essays or book articles that you are most interested in? Make some brief comments about each essay.

Q4: What is your tentative title?

Q5: Do you have any questions while preparing for this assignment?

Example:

Please see below as rubrics for completing this assignment.

Dominique Lamas  (Your name)

English Composition/ or English Literature

24 March 2011  (Due Date of this assignment)

Topic Proposal of Mid-term 

MLA format

1.  I will be using the movie Vitus for my paper.

2.  The structure is mainly in sequential order, but there is foreshadowing in the beginning of Vitus flying an airplane.  I also find it convenient that the character of the father does not exactly have his career together, making Vitus more eager to follow his dreams.  The character of the mother is also intriguing as she is a complete push over and tries to be a complete controller of Vitus’ life.  I also find symbolism in the fact that Vitus’ dream is to fly an airplane, and airplanes are flown in the clouds, representing dreams. J True

3.  The theme that I am mainly going to focus on in this film every human being’s desire to become independent and confident in themselves.  Despite the “leash” that Vitus’ parents try to keep on him, he still finds a way to discover his true self.

4.  When I typed the previous sentence and mentioned the word “leash” it made me think that maybe I could compare Vitus to a dog.  As crazy as it might sound, I see a dog being trapped in his cage or on his leash and think of Vitus.  Both want to be released and discover what is out there in the world.  So for the title of my paper I was thinking about “Who Let the Dog Out?” and in the introduction I would explain the comparison between Vitus and a dog, then in the conclusion I would answer the question, that Vitus let himself out. Ha! Very creative! Love it! (But perhaps a BAT would be even better? After all, he flys? So I would say perhaps A Bat-dog? Something monstrous but extremely creative?)

5.  With a cynical mood, symbolism of dreams, and a common theme of self-fulfillment Vitus is a movie that every dreamer would enjoy. (I am not sure about “cynical” either.)

6.  Question(s): Although I’ve already written my topic proposal, will it be possible for me to change my thesis or any other ideas I already mentioned after I watch the movie a second time?  (mainly because I’m not sure if “cynical” is the word I want to use for the mood.)  

親愛的，醒醒

    他輕輕地拍了拍她的臉頰
    沉睡中醒來的她撕開包裝紙吃起了抱歉

    他輕輕地搖了搖她的肩膀
    醒來的她抬頭仰望不曾見過的星空感受到震動

    他輕輕地拉了拉她的手
    掬起一把她喝不完的水
    水滴慢慢沿著她的頸項滑落
    像是在為她淨身
    洗淨世事的紛擾喧鬧

    他抱住了她
    沒有留下隻字片語離去
    如他來時一樣突然

Interview: My First Impression of Huafan

Child Prodigies? We need more adult prodigies!

這篇在 Havard Gazette上的文章，讓我想起小時候，
當我的弟弟每天傍晚在屋外跟小朋友玩時，
我在房間裡練鋼琴。每天兩小時，非常努力的苦練!
那時，一點也不覺得苦。只覺得很有成就感，為自己感到驕傲。

只是，那驕傲是不自在的。
因為我其實很想出去玩，很想要到稻田裡去奔跑。
或是去抓青蛙....

練鋼琴跟學習所有的事情一樣，都必須要有恆心，
不間斷地，
有自覺地精進。
回想起來，六歲到十二歲的我實在是太年輕了。
無法表現音符裡的許多技巧與情感。

和現在我學起大提琴感受到的單純快樂比較起來，
當時鋼琴的結構與技巧複雜，而小女孩內心結構過於簡單，
體現不了弦-外--之---音----。

看了楊文信在學習大提琴過程中自敘談到學習音樂的過程，
提及他決定要走大提琴家的路是因為發現若是自己演奏出來的樂曲能夠帶給
聽眾共鳴的感
動，
他將欣喜萬分。

那感動若是在生命需要得到能量時被啟發，
繼而能夠產生持續的力量發揮出來，
相信就能把靈魂裡愛與美的元素傳導到身邊....

本學期開課時間表

Pei-Ju Mona Wu’s

Teaching Timetable Huafan University 2011 Spring Semester

Time/Date	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri
8-10		英國文學史 A班 English Literature Class A		Office Hours
10:30-12		碩士班高級英文 Advance Writing		英國文學史 A班 English Literature Class A
12:00-13:00		導師時間 Mentor’s Hour	TA Hours: Arissa in House
13:10-15:00	英國文學B班 English Literature Class B	碩士班高級英文 Advance Writing	英文作文 English Composition
		Library or Dorm
15:10-17:00		Office Hours	英國文學B班 English Literature Class B

Dear all,

Welcome to 2011 Spring semester. I am glad that we finally meet again for another exciting semester.
If you wish to talk online instead of seeing me in person.
My skype pin is monawu0216. You may email me to make an on-line appointment.
I look forward to seeing you in classes.
All the best,
PJW