Thursday, April 3, 2014

Bending Gender

Note: Oulipost #3: Select a single sentence from a newspaper article. Replace each meaningful word in the text [verb, noun, adjective, adverb] by its dictionary definition.  Definitions from dictionary.com and Wikipedia.



Source: Kevin Flanders. " ‘Men Who Cook’ dish up delicious delicacies"  Sentinel  [Belchertown} April  3, 2014: 1. Print.


Original Sentence
 Men haven’t always been known for their culinary expertise, but once again the Granby Music Parents Association has demonstrated that men certainly can cook.

Man
[man]
noun, plural men.

an adult male person, as distinguished from a boy or a woman
a member of the species Homo sapiens  or all the members of this species collectively, without regard to sex: prehistoric man
the human individual as representing the species, without reference to sex; the human race; humankind
a human being; person
a husband

haven't
[hav-uh  nt]
contraction of have not.

Usage note
See contraction

have
[hav; unstressed huh  v, uh  v; for 26 usually haf]
to possess; own; hold for use; contain
to hold, possess, or accept in some relation, as of kindred or
           relative position to get, receive, or take
           to experience, undergo, or endure, as joy or pain
           to hold in mind, sight, etc.

not
adverb
(used to express negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition)
U.S. Slang. (used jocularly as a post positive interjection to
            indicate that a previous statement is untrue)

always
[awl-weyz, -weez]
adverb


every time; on every occasion; without exception:
all the time; continuously; uninterruptedly:
forever
in any event; at any time; if necessary

known
[nohn]
verb

past participle of  know 
to have knowledge or clear and certain perception, as of fact or truth
to be cognizant or aware, as of some fact, circumstance, or occurrence; have information, as about something

culinary
[kyoo-luh-ner-ee]
adjective

of, pertaining to, or used in cooking or the kitchen

expertise
[ek-sper-teez]
noun

expert skill or knowledge; expertness; know-how
a written opinion by an expert

but
[buht]
conjunction

on the contrary; yet
except; save:.
unless; if not; except that
without the circumstance that
otherwise than

again
[uh-gen, uh-geyn]
adverb

once more; another time; anew; in addition 
in an additional case or instance; moreover; besides; furthermore
on the other hand
back; in return; in reply
to the same place or person

Granby
[gran-bee]
noun

 part of the  Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area; part of the town is comprised in the census-designated place of Granby

Music
[myoo-zik]
noun

art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color
the tones or sounds employed, occurring in single line (melody) or multiple lines (harmony), and sounded or to be sounded by one or more voices or instruments, or both
musical work or compositions for singing or playing
the written or printed score of a musical composition
such scores collectively

Parent
[pair-uh  nt]
noun

father or  mother
an ancestor, precursor, or progenitor
source, origin, or cause
 protector or guardian
any organism that produces or generates another

Association
[uh-soh-see-ey-shuh]
noun

an organization of people with a common purpose and having a formal structure 
the act of associating or state of being associated
friendship; companionship
connection or combination
the connection or relation of ideas, feelings, sensations, etc.; correlation of elements of perception, reasoning, or the like

demonstrate
[dem-uh  n-streyt]
verb (used with object), dem•on•strat•ed, dem•on•strat•ing.

to make evident or establish by arguments or reasoning; prove: to demonstrate a philosophical principle.
 to describe, explain, or illustrate by examples, specimens, experiments, or the like:
to manifest or exhibit; show:
to display openly or publicly, as feelings:
to exhibit the operation or use of (a device, process, product, or the like)

certainly
[sur-tn-lee]
adverb

with certainty; without doubt; assuredly
yes, of course 
surely; to be sure

can
[kan; unstressed kuh  n]
auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person can, 2nd can or ( Archaic ) canst, 3rd can, present plural can; past singular 1st person could, 2nd could or ( Archaic ) couldst, 3rd could, past plural could.

to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to 
to know how to
to have the power or means to
to have the right or qualifications to
may; have permission to

cook
[koo  k]
verb (used with object)

to prepare (food) by the use of heat, as by boiling, baking, or roasting
to subject (anything) to the application of heat
Slang. to ruin; spoil
Informal. to falsify, as accounts: to cook the expense figures

verb (used without object)

 to prepare food by the use of heat
(of food) to undergo cooking.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Tipping


Note: Oulipost #2 is lipogram -a text that excludes one or more letters of the alphabet. The ingenuity demanded by the restriction varies in proportion to the frequency of the letter or letters excluded. For this initial exercise, you will compose a poem using only words that can be formed from letters that are NOT found in the title of your newspaper. For example, if you are working with the Washington Post, you must avoid using words that contain the letters A, G, H, I, N, O, P, S, T and W.  My chosen newspaper was the Daily Hampshire Gazette.  That left me with only B, C, F, J, K, M, N, O, Q, U, V, W, and X to use.
  

Jock mock cow.
Knock on bum.
Cow, “Ow!  Fuck!”

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Harambee/Very Much Concerned



Note: Oulipost #1- Quote cento, while composing a cento, poets take lines from existing poems (traditionally without any alterations) and patch them together to form a new poem. Today, create a cento using only quotes referenced in newspaper articles. For example, if a newspaper article contained the line “It was a tragedy,” commented Detective Smith, the line, “It was a tragedy,” would be available for you to use in your poem. While you can’t change anything within the quotes themselves, you may choose to break a longer quote in half or use just part of a quote as needed.

Scherban, Debra. "Amherst students, faculty turn for  vigil in support of teacher"  Daily Hampshire Gazette  [Northampton] April  1, 2014: A1 and A6. Print.

We must remember, school is no place for hate
What most people do not see or know about is how
 deeply these violations have hurt her
and traumatized her.  She is genuinely fearful of re-entering
that building to resume her duties.

Let’s use this opportunity to dedicate ourselves to striving
toward greater civility among one another.

we will not stand by idly,
but that we will work in each
 moment to fight for the oppressed
and to take an active role in fighting
racism in Amherst.

I am hearing people say this is being blown
out of proportion.  It is a big deal and
 we need to let people know they need to take this stuff seriously.

I am destroyed by what happened to Ms. Gardner
It is important for me to take a stand as a minority student,

We felt it was important that we step out as a union and as educators to make sure students could see that we are united against racism and that we are committed as a body to ensuring the safety of every member of our school community.

We will continue to work with our community 
partners to engage all the issues.

She's, however, doing her best to work through it. 
We pray better days are ahead.

We all need to show our support and respect.