April 26, 2018
by odonnell18
Comments Off on Maggy’s Final Gerard Response
“Rabbit” feels like the most “personal” essay we have read in this collection. “Records” kept us at a distance. In other words, “Records” felt more constructed than “Rabbit.” This second to last essay came across as more deeply felt, and … Continue reading
April 26, 2018
by kirven18
Comments Off on Kollin’s Response to “Rabbit” and “Before: An Inventory”
I loved that Gerard, on the first page that begins the essay “Rabbit,” describes her grandmother’s house–the old stacks of Playboy, boxes of liquor, and letters written on old, brittle paper– in such vivid, evocative detail. In reading her descriptions, … Continue reading
April 25, 2018
by thom18
Comments Off on Emma Thom: “Rabbit” and “Before: An Inventory”
Sunshine State began with a personal account and it ends (well, almost ends) with another personal account. “Rabbit” tells the story of Gerard’s grandparents; there’s no embellishing, nothing fictional, just her own barebones experiences. Where the first essay seemed to … Continue reading
April 21, 2018
by gullicksen18
Comments Off on Lydia’s Response to “Snow Blind” and “Gift”
“Snow Blind” and “Gift” were the last two stories in Elizabeth Strout’s Anything is Possible. “Gift” tells the story of the Applebys directly after hearing about Annie from Dottie at her bed and breakfast. The point of view in this … Continue reading
April 19, 2018
by thom18
Comments Off on Emma Thom: “Stone Mattress” and “Torching the Dusties”
After reading the titular story, I think it’s safe to assume that some element of feminism is present and important in this collection. A lot of it is ridiculous and farcical — the three old women plotting against another man and … Continue reading
April 19, 2018
by odonnell18
Comments Off on Maggy’s Atwood Responses (April 19)
I find it interesting that in a collection of stories that often questions the submissiveness/passiveness of women in reality or perception the title story would be “Stone Mattress.” Verna, like most of the other women, carries some kind of male-imposed … Continue reading
April 18, 2018
by gullicksen18
Comments Off on Lydia’s Response to “Stone Mattress” and “Torching the Dusties”
These stories, “Stone Mattress” and “Torching the Dusties,” were some of the stranger stories in the collection, but both continued the themes of unlikable men and old people that have been present in almost every story so far. Death threats have … Continue reading
April 17, 2018
by kirven18
Comments Off on Kollin’s Response to Limón pp. 79-101
As I said last class, upon my first read of Limón’s “Day of Song, Day of Silence,” I thought mostly of a similar poem, Katherine Larson’s “Statuary.” Not only were the contents of the poem similar, both about some large, exotic bird, but … Continue reading
April 16, 2018
by JGB
Comments Off on Han Gan’s “Night-Shining White”
April 16, 2018
by JGB
Comments Off on “Mese di Marzo”
Detail from Francesco del Cossa‘s Mese di Marzo: