I've been thinking a lot about Raymond Carver and this blog and I think we are sort of missing out on a good experience here. I think we are (myself included) kind of stuck in this "we have homework" mentality and not putting all that we have in this blog. Our reflections are due on Thursday, which means that we have wasted a lot of time. Our reader responses have been really good, but now we have got to focus our attentions on teaching Carver. So I think we should take the next couple of days and really put everything that we can into the blog. I added a picture and I am going to poke around a little more tonight - see what I can find.
Anyone up for it?
I'll start things off by quoting from the NCTE book, something that I found particularly interesting.. Rubenstein writes:
In an often quoted line from his poem "Epilogue," Robert Lowell remarked, "Yet why not say what happened?" Critics frequently connect this line to the maxim of minimalism: Tell it like it is. To say what happened, what really happened, is essential to minimalist fiction and certainly to Carver's work. Though his fiction blends "a little autobiography and a lot of imagination" (Simpson and Buzbee 41), it strives to paint a realistic picture of a corner of our contemporary world. But the question is, through whose eyes is that picture seen? And how does truth depend on perspective? (75)
I am the type of person who likes to have things packaged neatly for me. I don't like clutter in my life, but strangely enough I do like clutter in my reading. What I mean by that is I truly enjoy having books and stories end like Carver's do. It gives me the feelings that I have contributed to the story, not just been passive reader. I've actually had to think about what I've read and the possible endings for that story. However, I anticipate that our students will dislike this initially. I've noticed that our students expect the author or the teacher to tell them what something is about.
So the questions that I am going to pose are: How can we teach our students to enjoy the clutter in their reading? How can we encourage speculation, natural prediction, and active imagination while reading stories like those Carver writes? How can we ease the uncomfortable tension that may arise from unhappy endings? What about no endings at all?
Finally - I found the trailer for Short Cuts, which is the film inspired by the writings of Raymond Carver. I'll include it below. Take a look at the cast, info, and awarm nominations by clicking here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108122/. It was nominated for an Oscar and has a great cast. None of the Blockbusters in the area carry the title, but I think you can get it on Netflix. It was $30 on Amazon, just in case anyone is interested.
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3 comments:
i remember the moment when i discovered that literature (and movies) weren't required by law to have neatly wrapped-up endings. i can't pinpoint the time, but it was near the end of high school and i rented an independent film from the local (non-chain--can you imagine) vhs tape rental store. it was an eye-opening experience. soon after that, i started reading fiction of my own choosing. i had spent most of my teenage years avoiding assigned reading to the extent that ALL reading became distasteful.
and i foudn out that i like clutter in my reading as well. which is why i shy away from formulaic romances, spy novels and the like.
(that said, shannon--there tends to be a lot of clutter in my real life as well.) =)
and yes, we have wasted a lot of time--and i think you are right that it is due to us viewing this space as "homework-y".
I think that the lack of ending is more "clutter free." You don't have to battle with that feeling you get when the ending isn't the one you expected. I think that students are so used to being told what stories are about and how they're supposed to be read, that Carver could really help show them that's it's not all about what the author was trying to say, or what the teacher thinks it means.
I know we could have done more here, but really, there's only so many hours in a day, and mine have been woefully filled. (Never sign an employment contract that states you'll have to cough up $700 to quit before your year is up, unless you can actually earn enough to afford to quit. >.<)
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