In Defense of Escapism

It happened just last week:  I went down to the high school library and checked out a copy of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. 

"Are you kidding?" the librarian asked, "You have so much reading to do!"  (She knows the amount I read for grad school well, considering I complain about it to her 24/7.) 

"I know, I know.  I just need something to read to get my mind off all this reading."

It sounds ridiculous, but reading is my main form of escape from the trials of daily life, even when those trials are...reading.

In Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century, Cole presents a brilliant defense of many types of "lighter" or "low-brow" reading, including that of the romance novel. 

"If we exam[ine] literary female images in history, we can deepen our understanding of this longing and female attraction to contemporary romances, stories in which female sexuality isn't oppressed and demoralized and in which characters fall head over heals [sic] in love.  Consider the historical silencing of women's voices in literature and images of women in masculocentric literary works traditionally dominating English language arts classrooms...No wonder girls long for literature portraying women in happier circumstances and ending on a happy, yet predictable note..." (168-169). 

***Feminist disclaimer here:  obviously not all girls long for literature that is happy and predictable.  Some prefer hard-hitting, serious literature.  Some prefer both.  Some prefer neither.***

But it's true that many of my students who are young women gravitate toward romance or chick lit.  And it's also true that they often get teased for reading such, as the stereotype is that such books are poorly written, predictable, trashy, fluff, etc.  Some of them probably are.  But does it matter?

Many moons ago, on our classroom blog during my last year of undergrad, I wrote a post defending Twilight.  My argument was that, even though I personally thought Twilight was drivel, at least students were reading.  And, I proposed, mightn't students then move on to "deeper" literature?

Since then, I've read a study that suggests that low-brow literature actually isn't a gateway to more academic literature, but I can't for the life of me remember where I found it.  Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Regardless, I've changed my thinking a bit since writing my original Twilight post.  I think that, even if romance books aren't a gateway to other literature, it doesn't really matter.  I personally want to read a variety of books from many genres, but who am I to say that others shouldn't stick with what they enjoy?  A woman I babysit for has shelves upon shelves of Harlequins and similar.  In all her bookshelves, I've never seen a book that's not a romance.  But this woman is a reader; no one could deny that.  She still experiences different perspectives, expands her vocabulary, gains empathy...all that I value in reading.

In high school, this was the one we passed around

I love Cole's closing statement on romances:

"Whether we value romance or not, if we don't respect teens' [or adults'!] interest, we can't expect them to respect ours.  The romance genre, more than any other, gives women a voice and provides a statement about the historical subjugation and objectification of women" (182). 



Certainly, I can value a person's reading interests even if they are different than mine!  Cole continues her chapter and the next by defending humor, sports books, and historical fiction.  She just keeps hitting it out of the park in this textbook.  Now, if you need me, I'll be curled up on my couch escaping from my homework through teenage werewolves in love.

Teaching Notes for Blue Lipstick

The following are some ideas for teaching Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits.

Grandits, John.  Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems.  New York:  Clarion       Books, 2007.

Author Information

·         Book and magazine designer who lives in New Jersey

·         This is his second book of concrete poetry; his first, Technically, it’s Not My Fault, was an ALA Notable Book

·         Identifies as a concrete poet and children’s author

Summary of Plot and Characters

            Grandits’s first book, Technically, it’s Not My Fault, follows a boy named Robert as he shares his life and complaints about his sister, Jessie.  Blue Lipstick is his Jessie’s side of the story.  Jessie expresses her high school life through concrete poetry (words that make pictures and patterns).  She plays volleyball and cello and occasionally fights with her parents and younger brother…not to mention her English teacher.  As she writes her poems, she begins tearing down walls she’s put up, or at least letting more people over to the other side, “I mean, a girl’s got to have some standards.”  She learns that even the popular, pretty cheerleaders like Andrea are regular people—most of them, anyway.  And even though blue lipstick isn’t her color, she’s going to wear it regardless.

Historical Placement/Relevance

            Blue Lipstick encapsulates the experience of adolescents in the early 21^st century.  Their joys, heartaches, and school & family dramas all make an appearance in this short but poignant book of poetry.  Students would enjoy this text because it obviously relevant to their lives now—something they often search for in their readings.  This would fit in perfectly with a poetry unit and appeal to those students who are artistic.  In our school, the art department does blackout poetry, so I could see them collaborating with the English department to do concrete poetry as well.  Or, since these poems could also be created using technology and different types of software, the computer programming classes could get involved.  The options for cross-curricular instruction with this book go beyond the norm of English/History or English/Science.

 

Annotated Bibliography

“A Brief Guide to Concrete Poetry.” Poets.org. 2004.

            http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-concrete-poetry

            This website gives a brief explanation of concrete poetry and puts it in a historical context as well.  I would use this in my introduction to the concept.  Furthermore, this site cites e.e. cummings and Dylan Thomas as two of the first poets to use concrete poetry, and these are two poets we already study.

“Five Reasons Why We Need Poetry in Schools.” Edutopia.  8 April 2013. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/five-reasons-poetry-needed-schools-elena-aguilar

            Sure, this is a blog post, but it’s one by a leadership coach who makes a great claim for why we should teach poetry in schools.   Since buy-in is so important for students, and they often ask “why are we doing this?!” sharing these reasons could be helpful.  I especially like number 3: “Poetry opens venues for speaking and listening, much neglected domains of a robust English Language Arts curriculum. Think spoken word and poetry slams… Shared in this way, poetry brings audience, authentic audience, which motivates reluctant writers (or most writers, for that matter)” and number 4: “Poetry has space for English Language Learners. Because poems defy rules, poetry can be made accessible for ELLs -- poems can be easily scaffolded and students can find ways of expressing their voices while being limited in their vocabulary. Furthermore, poetry is universal…”

Furnham, Adrian. “Writing as Therapy.” Psychology Today.  29 August 2013.

            https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sideways-view/201308/writing-therapy

            Dr. Furnham explains the value of psychotherapy, or “the talking cure” and how this translates into processing through “the writing cure.”  He specifically notes poetry, writing that “Poets have encapsulated great pain and pleasure as well as awe and awefulness [sic] in sparse beautifully crafted words.” He explains the psychology behind it, noting that “Writing is also often redemptive. And it helps because nearly always it involves some commitment to change.” I would have students read this to help them understand the psychology behind therapeutic writing and also to include some non-fiction into this unit.

“Visual Poetry App for iPhone & iPad.” Image Chef.  2015.

            http://www.imagechef.com/ic/visual-poetry-iphone.jsp

Since our school has iPads, this app would be the perfect way to integrate technology into our poems.  Students could choose between drawing out their concrete poems by hand or using this app to do it digitally.  This may be one way to include the computer programming classes.

Other Topics I Plan to Explore Further:

·         Writing as therapy

·         Best young adult poetry books

·         Making concrete poems digitally

·         Sites that show examples of concrete poems—many links are broken on the main sites for this

Review of Kelly Gallagher's Write Like This

*This review was written for another class (and is technically still a rough draft), but I've found his book so helpful that I want to share it in every medium possible!*

            By now, most English teachers are familiar with Kelly Gallagher.  His books Readicide and Deeper Reading are well respected in the profession.  His newest work, Write Like This, is sure to be no exception.  Teachers should come into this book prepared for a plethora of authentic writing prompts, samples, and ideas.  Indeed, Gallagher’s philosophy on writing can be summed up in that one word:  authentic.  He stresses the importance of teaching the types of writing which students will use throughout their adult lives.  Gallagher addresses each of these types of writing, using Common Core State Standards as a guide, with aplomb. 

            Chapter one begins with a probing question: “Do your students write well enough to become police officers?”  Gallagher explains that candidates for the California Highway Patrol must take an exam that specifically focuses on writing and is composed of questions quite similar to the ACT’s reading and writing portions.  Real-world applications are key for Gallagher, who argues on page 15, “My sense is that the writing requirements of most schools actually serve to limit our developing writers.  If we want young artists to develop their skills, we must move them beyond the narrowly prescribed school writing discourses found in most school districts and stretch them into areas that can be readily applied in the real world.”  He categorizes these real-world writing purposes into six categories:  express and reflect, inform and explain, evaluate and judge, inquire and explore, analyze and interpret, and take a stand/propose a solution. 

            An incredibly valuable tool Gallagher uses to argue the importance of these six writing purposes is a newspaper.  He argues that one can find any of these types of writing in a newspaper and gives examples of such.  He then breaks down his chapters into each type of writing.  For each writing purpose, he gives the reader many writing prompts that address both standards and these real-world writing types.  In addition to the prompts, he gives examples of his writing as well as student writing.  He includes tables with such student examples, although it’s obvious that these examples are the crème de la crème.  My one criticism of this and other teaching handbooks are that the examples tend to be much more sophisticated than the average high school student.  Rose’s Lives on the Boundary tends toward this as well.  It would be refreshing to see some examples that aren’t quite so advanced. 

            Since reading this book over the summer, I have used it innumerable times throughout the school year.  The most consistent way has been through my classroom blogs.  Last year I began blogging as a way to practice low-stakes writing combined with technology.  The posts simply took the place of paper writing assignments, however.  This year, I took Gallagher’s prompts and compiled them into a page on our classroom blogs.  I made a list of four to five prompts under each writing purpose, and I then assigned students two of each writing purpose.  Now, each time they do a blog post, my students choose whichever prompt interests them most.  This keeps them practicing authentic writing. 

            Teachers who don’t blog with their students can still benefit greatly from Write Like This.  The dozens of prompts are adaptable and could be used for many types of low-stakes writing and even for formative assessments.  Just as Lucille Schultz found that students do better when they are given developmentally appropriate writing assignments, Gallagher has supplied prompts that adolescents will find interesting and engaging.