Beethoven- Shane Koyczan (Spoken Word Analysis)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppwowTJg0mI

I would first like to credit Shane Koyczan for this phenomenal piece of writing I was moved by. There are several aspects to the presentation of this poem that help it to have a profound impact on the viewer. Koyczan has parts throughout the poem where he describes something very dramatically and in a fast pace, this creates imagery while also showing passion about the topic. However, what is most grasping is the way Koyczan ends these intense descriptions by slowing everything down and whispering or saying a few words very softly. A clear example of the speaker using this method to impact the audience is when he says moving at the speed of sound, the words "moving at the speed" being very fast paced, while the word "sound" being whispered and drawn out for effect. Also, the poet cleverly uses other sounds throughout the poem to create imagery, such as when he says snaps his fingers at the very beginning of the performance when referencing Beethoven's abusive father. These snaps represent the abuse from his father and the sound helps the viewer to form a clear image. Finally Koyczan uses repetition of Beethoven's name to remind the readers of who he is talking about , and the lines "not good enough" each time getting louder and louder, to show the intensity of Beethoven's Father's expectations. Near the ending Koyczan even sings part of Beethoven's Ode To Joy as an ode to the beauty of his music.

 The writing of the poem is also extremely well done. Several lines are clever, insightful and original such as "The man got down on his knees for no one, but amputated the legs of his piano so he could feel the vibrations through the floor. The man got down on his knees for music." The poem also begins and ends with the same word, "listen". Koyczan uses the word at the beginning, addressing the audience to listen, then ends the spoken word with the sentence "to know the man all we ever had to do was...listen." Because the poem is about the genius of Beethoven's compositions, the word "listen" is very appropriate and provokes the audience to find the beauty in the poem as well as Beethoven's legacy.

Patchwork Poem

Across the lines of straighter darker trees,

at the crystal moon at the red branch

lie

safe and sure forever and ever

the whir of sober birds

(Birches-Robert Frost)

(If You Ever Forget Me- Pablo Neruda)

(On the 24^th Of May-

(Lovesong- Ted Hughes)

(A Late Walk- Robert Frost)

Paradise

A world that spins cyclically

like a carousel,

playing music vibrantly

while silently reminding me

of childhood dreams

A world so maxed with mystery

that all the rain that fell

would be explained in history

by a deity

straining his spaghetti

A world where all the earthites

are happy with themselves,

appreciating zebra stripes

where the beauty of the night

feeds off the beauty of the light

Short Story Reflection

Writing my short story was engaging and enjoyable. I found certain devices we learned in the memoir unit such as how dialogue can work effectively, and where to use present and past tenses were extremely helpful in this unit as well. The most challenging aspect of writing the short story was deciding how much detail to include. It was hard to draw the line between what was essential in filling in the holes of the story, from what was just minor detail. In the end I cut a lot of what I had written out, and I found it to be a lot better after doing so. Still, I think a bit more could have been edited out. I enjoyed writing the story a lot, and I liked the idea for it, although in some parts I found it difficult to fully put my vision on paper, especially the parts of dialogue between the protagonist and burglar. Most of the short stories I like are written in first person perspective. In first person narration, the characters recount the events in their own voice (often with an ambiguous opinion behind it), allowing the reader to question the story's credibility and to develop knowledge of the character that is more intuitive. I find the writing in short stories told in first person narration is very meticulous and difficult because the author is trying to convey the opinion of the narrator in every sentence without contradicting themselves. Finally, when a short story is written in first person you get a very vivid idea of the epiphany the character experiences, I like being able to see the character's approach and often times relate to it and sharing the epiphany. Overall I thought my story had a good basic idea to it. However, it lacked some explanation and the writing was a little shaky in parts. I'm still getting used to switching between the past and present tenses in order to apply suspense to certain parts of the story, and I'm not entirely certain I did an accurate job of this. Naming my work also seems to be a recurring struggle for me, next time I will have to put more thought into it. What I did like about my story was the symbol of the house, and the intro which was a flashback to the climax. Ultimately, writing the short story was difficult, but very fun. I will definitely try it again.

Character Sketch (The Eulogy of Cato)

“I thought perhaps I might need an introduction, but I see that we're all familiar with each other. I ask you to join me in remembering and celebrating the life of my brother Cato.

Growing up with Cato was an absolute privilege. Thanks to him I was one of the few kids who never experienced boredom. He seemed like a certified summer vacation professor. He taught me how to get lost in my own thoughts, unwind, and forget about the practicality of things when it was appropriate. I remember in our younger years, when my friends and I would be playing football, or king of the hill, and we'd ask Cato to join. He hardly ever did, but somehow still managed to become the appointed leader of our pack. That was what amazed me, Cato was never really conceited or even engaged, but the kids could still recognize his adventure and spirit . We called him Ferdinand because he liked to watch on the sidelines with his head in the clouds, he loved that. It didn't take us very long to stop playing football. We'd have to ask him of course, but Cato invented numerous games, and pretty soon those were all we played. He even invented his own card game.

I'm sure everyone here knows he wasn't a big fan of practicality over doing what he felt was right. In fact I did his homework up until grade seven, can you believe that?! However, his disposition to dream didn't stop him from being extremely successful in university, or in the job category, becoming an actual university professor. Of course success based on money and acknowledgment was a side note, Cato had his own system for defining success.

One of the things I admired most about him was his ability to atomize any competition he felt with others, instead focusing only on an endless battle with himself. Easier said than done. That was Cato's super power, his ability to let all envy slide and solely focus on his own limits. This power was also, in my opinion, what allowed him to always be satisfied.

I don't believe anyone was close to Cato recently, not even myself. He became pretty reclusive. However, that was in his nature, and I'm sure if by some strange occurrence he wasn't already at peace in his own mind, he is now. I can see him up there, wearing a floppy robe and sandals. Boy does that ever suit him. I can see him looking down at us with his buggy eyes and those big old round glasses, wearing his famous half grin. We're all familiar with that grin he'd wear, while everyone talked around him, like he knew something we didn't. I can just see him there now, teaching the angels how to metaphorically live on the clouds.”

55 Word Short Story

"Briiinnggg", echoed through the musty, forlorn house. A voice accompanied it, "Faunia the phone!". It continued ringing, "FAUNIA THE PHONE!". The voice brought tears to Faunia's chin. "Faunia the phone!". She wept. She answered it. Then Faunia walked into the next room and whispered "hush Pete". The parrot became silent, and so did the house.

Memoir Reflection

Before this unit I wasn't familiar with the idea of a memoir, I just assumed these type of stories were all regarded as Biographies. The Glass Castle was definitely a good introduction to memoirs . The story held my attention throughout the entire thing, and although much of this can be credited to the interesting events that unfolded in the story, after writing my memoir I realized that the style of writing the author portrays the events through was even more gripping. Jeanette Walls successfully tells the story as if she was recounting it in person to the reader. It's amazing how when reading it you feel like you develop a knowledge and understanding of Jeanette and her family and how much emotion it can provoke by knowing that these events really happened. When writing my memoir I tried to take into account that this familiarity and connection a reader develops with the characters in the story is extremely important in that it not only helps people to relate to the story, but also insures that the reader regards the characters and events as believable and true.

Another admirable quality of Jeanette's writing in the Glass Castle that I tried to incorporate in my memoir is her ability to adopt a younger perspective perfectly. I found this to be challenging when writing my memoir, but partially avoided it by choosing a memory that took place closer to my current age. Overall I found the memoir difficult to write, but very enjoyable. I have never produced a piece of writing as personal as this, and I found through re-living the moment and writing it down, I gained insight into my views on myself and my family.

Unfortunately, I think I possibly focused on the description of the setting a bit too much. In the end I'm happy with the story I produced and the messages displayed in it, but I feel as though the story might have been more effective with more character development and less description of the scenery. Also, showing and not telling was difficult at first, but through dialogue and actions I found it easier to say less and less about a character, but still inform the reader about their personality and nature. Understatements are one thing I found very difficult to incorporate. Although they were extremely effective in the Glass Castle, I found it challenging to include them in my memoir because the perspective I was telling it from was much older. I tended to overstate things in several parts of the story, and although I don't think it took anything away, it didn't contribute anything either.

Ultimately, writing the memoir was an experience I enjoyed. I like some things about my memoir such as the repetitive symbol of the sand. I feel as though I put in a good effort, but there are also some things I regret not thinking about more such as the title and the opening. 

(picture taken on Gros Morne, Bonne Bay, Newfoundland)