Percy's Perfect Pies

Jack Prelutsky writes great poems for children (...and teenagers... and adults!). They're lyrical, silly, and some of them are terrible tongue-twisters. I read "Percy's Perfect Pies," a poem about a baker named Percival, and his assortment of disgusting creations. Prelutsky uses a number of poetic devices in his poem, like assonance, which is repeating vowel sounds, and alliteration. An example of assonance is the pie titled "Wasp in Walnut Walrus Sauce" (49). The 'a' sound is repeated throughout the name. The Ws make this also a good example of alliteration. This piece of writing doesn't directly link to visual literacy, but it can be related to what we've done in class. Alliteration, assonance, goofy word choice, and rhyming are the elements that give style and meaning to the poem, just like shot angle, distance, and composition provide meaning in a photo or movie.
The poem lists off twenty-four different pies, all of which sound revolting, and are impossible to say without stumbling over yourself, or laughing. I think the poem appeals to younger children because of the silliness, but the multiple poetic devices make it worth looking at when you're older, too. I love this poem in all its ridiculousness. Even the bakers full name, "Percival P. Puffinwuff," makes me laugh (48). Whenever you're feeling gloomy, I recommend you check out a Jack Prelutsky book. It'll take you right back to childhood.

Prelutsky, Jack. It's Raining Pigs and Noodles. New York: Greenwillow, 1993.

Photograph

Photographic Approaches

In this chapter from one of Freeman Patterson's books on photography, two main approaches to nature photography are compared. One is documentary, and the other is interpretive. Patterson explains that there is no solid line separating these two approaches, and a photographer should create their own ideas on them. I'm glad I picked this chapter to read, because it gave me lots of new information. I was especially interested in the documentary approach, because most of what we learned in class was about drawing meaning and emotion from a photo, which falls in the interpretive category. Documentary sounds to me like photographing things in their natural habitat, capturing their characteristics - how an animal lives, or in what environment a certain plant usually grows. It seems like it'd be a nice break from having to deduce a meaning from a picture, as it's more scientific. Personally, I like both types of nature photography (not that I'm experienced or anything, just from what I've seen). Something that surprised me is that Patterson didn't seem to have a preference. No opinions came across in the chapter. He was simply educating the reader, leaving them to form their own opinions and try each approach with an open mind.


Patterson, Freeman. Photography of Natural Things. Toronto: Key Porter, 1982.

I Like The Music

I recently rediscovered one of my favorite old picture books, called I Like The Music. It's a story about a girl in New York City who loves hearing music played in the streets, but not in stuffy concert halls. In the end, her grandma insists on taking her to yet another symphony, but this time it's in Central Park, at night. The girl suddenly changes her opinion - maybe orchestras aren't that bad after all. The story is written in a really fun, rhythmic way, and is almost a song when you read it out loud. Try reading this passage for yourself:
I like the beat
Of my feet
When my shoes hit the street
And I rapa-tapa-tapa
On the hot concrete.
No parade,
Just the maid
With her Dixieland mop,
Soppin' with the boppin'
All around the bus stop.
I remember loving hearing this book read aloud to me as a kid. For all of you who still love reading picture books, I definitely recommend it.
One connection I noticed between this story and Siddhartha is that both main characters try out new things that they previously wouldn't even think of. For the girl in I Like The Music, her new experience is the symphony in the park, which shows her a better side of orchestral music and even gets her to change her mind about it. For Siddhartha, he experiences an entirely new lifestyle, one of wealth and luxury. He previously looked down upon this, but had never known it for himself. When he finally lives it, his opinion is confirmed, and it almost drives him to suicide. Although Siddhartha doesn't change his mind, unlike the girl, they both gather new life experiences that give them firsthand wisdom to use in the future.

Komaiko, Leah. I Like The Music. U.S.A.: Harper Trophy, 1987.

(I couldn't find the city in which it was published, but it did say USA, so I hope that's okay. Also, I tried to do the double indent for the quotation, but the 10 spaces I put it didn't show up in the post.)

Should Homer be considered an early feminist or an old-fashioned sexist?

Homer was possibly one of the first feminists of all time. He was even daring enough to show his respect for women in his famous epic, The Odyssey. When Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca and is in his home disguised as a beggar, he witnesses his wife tricking all her suitors, telling them to bring her gifts so she can decide which man to marry. Penelope is actually strongly loyal to Odysseus, and only wants gifts for the heck of it. Here, Homer suddenly rejects the previous, weaker version of Penelope, who had only sat in her room and wept. He is portraying his belief that women too can have cunning. Homer also shows his point of view through the character Calypso, a nymph who has captured Odysseus. When Hermes tells her she has to finally let Odysseus go, she flies into a rage. Calypso complains how the gods are sexist, allowing male gods to have relationships with female mortals, but forbid goddesses to have relationships with male mortals. The nymph's speech is a means for Homer to send a message to society. He is saying that he doesn't agree with the inequality of relationships, how the men always have the upper hand. He believes relationships should be well balanced, giving the women just as much say as men.
Pallas Athena is another strong female character in The Odyssey. Not only does she guide Odysseus through the entire epic, but she creates peace in the end. A fight breaks out at the house of Odysseus' father, Laertes, as attempted revenge for the slaughtering of the suitors. But Athena steps in with a great command to all, ordering them to stop fighting. She tells Odysseus that war is not always the answer. Through this scene, Homer depicts a woman as very wise. In fact, the woman is wiser than the man. Homer never would have depicted this notion had he been sexist. Homer also shows his respect for women in a morbid way. When Odysseus recounts his journey to the underword, he describes seeing Agamemnon. Agamemnon had been murdered by his own wife on his return from Troy. Clytemnestra, his wife, was without doubt a wicked woman. But Homer depicts battles, deaths between men as honorable and heroic. So to include a woman as a fighter and murderer puts them at the same level as men. From his positive portrayals of women in the Hellenic ages, Homer tells us that he viewed women as equals to men, a revolutionary idea in his patriarchal times.

A Box of Pastels

This week I read the poem "A Box of Pastels" by Ted Kooser (a former Poet Laureate of the United States). This poem describes the poet's experience holding a box of pastels that had previously been owned by Mary Cassatt, an impressionist painter. Kooser notices that warm colors seemed to have been used the most, cool colors the least. He links this to Mary Cassatt's personality, saying "She'd had little patience with darkness, and her heart held only a measure of shadow" (63). I've decided I love this poem, and Ted Kooser's imagery. I especially like the phrase "a simple wooden box in which a rainbow lay dusty and broken" (63). The rainbow, of course, is his metaphor for the pastels. The poem even gets to me emotionally, reminding me of my grandma and her love for creating paintings. Actually, I can look over to the shelf next to me right now, and touch the sleek black box of pastels she gave me. It turns out I didn't inhereit that particular artistic ability, but I'll never be able to throw away that box, especially after reading this poem. I think I'll start reading more poetry by Ted Kooser, since I like his style so much.

Kooser, Ted. Delights & Shadows. Port Townsend: Copper Canyon, 2004.