ENTRY 19: Response to the poem selection section

Actually, as a novice of poetry editor, I met with problem at the first turn of selecting the poems among a pile of works. Actually, everyone’s preference for a poem is different from others, and so do I. For myself, I don’t like the poem or other literal works with so much direct description of the internal emotion of the first person; that is to say to describe one’s internal feeling with sensational words. So in my own poem, I’d like to describe the things as a third person, which means to tell the story of others. But, it is just my preference, so I have to try to judge poems without this kind of bias and ask the advice of the group members. Also, as English is not our native language, so some choice of the words and the meaning will be confused. So the problem is, maybe what he/she wants to convey is very meaningful and understandable by me; however, it doesn’t mean he/she adopts the right word and can be perceived by everyone. Also, because most of the contributors are also the novice in the poetry, so most of the work is not mature; the meaning maybe confusing and the distribution of the poem is not proper. 

ENTRY 18：Response to the film Interstellar by Christopher Nolan

The film Interstellar was on the screen in China recently, being hot discussed by the audience. It is directed by Christopher Nolan, the director of many other popular science fiction films, including Inception, a successful film won its popularity in the year of 2010 and leaves its profound influence on the audience by its unique and novel story. Actually, for in my own opinion, I think it very interesting to find the connections between the two films by the same director. In Inception, it explores the infinite inner world of human being to show the power, the potential and amazing ability of human being, which exhibits the huge of human being as we have great, potential power inside out body. Whereas in the Interstellar, it explores the outside of the earth, into the solar system, the galaxy and the alien galaxies, which shows how small and weak we human beings are in face with the universe. As for this film, the complex physical formulas and the huge data information has astonished me, which knocks on my mind constantly with the word “all the things can be true.” I really impressed with one of the film reviews that I’ve read, which can translated like “you come to the dark cinema from your ordinary life, and you step into a different life which lead you on a fantastic journey; you are into the play from layer to layer; but a film always has its ending, and you have to be out of the play from layer to layer, flowing out of the cinema with the crowd, immersed in the ordinary life as a vulgar in lanes and streets.” Actually, it's hard for an adult who has already formed a stable worldview to change his lifestyle or the worldview simply because of one film. They said all the story were based on the existing knowledge with the aid of Kip Stephan Thorne as consultant; but actually how to view the world base on yourself. The world can be enormous, and it also can be small.  

ENTRY 17：Response to “America” by Allen Ginsberg

“America” is a poem by Allen Ginsberg in the collection of Howl and Other Poems written in 1956.  This is an era of Cold War with an intensified conflict between the so-called democratic America and the communist Soviet Union. The poem contains many rhetorical devices which strengthens the themes of the poem. In this poem, the poet personifies “America” as a lost lover, and adopted a very disappointed tone to have a, seems like, dialogue with the lover. He uses the devices of sarcasm, irony to accuse the America of chasing after its own profit for its international status rather than focusing on the humanity. As a whole, this poem exemplifies a good work with the rhetorical devices of irony and sarcasm and it also aroused the national reflection on the American problems.

ENTRY 16: Identify An Emotional Change in the Poem

Emotional change: The memories of the childhood show the emotional change from the three to six lines in the first stanza. At first, the narrator is simply gazing at the snowscape, but when the memories of the childhood flow into his head, the feeling of loneliness and isolation comes out.

How change: The poet creates this change by using the contrast between the memories of the childhood with the reality he was experiencing now. As we can see in three to six line of the first stanza, he described scenes in his memory, like palms, cereus, and white keys, all of which are dynamic and full of vigor and are the representations of life. In reality, what he has inside is loneliness, a kind of isolation from the outside so he waits to hear a step by others, which he shows in the 4 and 5 lines in the second stanza. And the life representations now are replaced with the white, stiff, cold snow, lacking the vigor but with silence. 

selected poem

Absences

It's snowing this afternoon and there are no flowers.
There is only this sound of falling, quiet and remote,
Like the memory of scales descending the white keys
Of a childhood piano- outside the window, palms!
And the heavy head of the cereus, inclining,
Soon to let down its white or yellow-white.

Now, only these poor snow-flowers in a heap,
Like the memory of a white dress cast down...
So much has fallen.
And I, who have listened for a step
All afternoon, hear it now, but already falling away,
Already in memory. And the terrible scales descending
On the silent piano; the snow; and the absent flowers abounding.

ENTRY 15： My Refection on the Poetry Editing

I thought a piece of poem was very easy to publish until part of publication job fell to me. Working in the poem section, I think I leant a lot towards how to evaluate a poem. For the editing of the poem, there are three steps; substantive editing, copy editing and proof reading. For the substantive editing, the content and the substance of the poem count a lot. In this part of work, I learn that the rhythm and the choice of the words are also very important for a good poem to convey a sense of profession. Though, grammar is not emphasized a lot in the poem, but the break of the sentence assigned in different lines with different kinds of punctuation really works to deliver all kinds of different meanings. I realize that the poem is really a thing need to taste, to smell, to feel with all your senses to feel the beauty of poetry. For the work, though encounter a hard time as I have trouble working in the editing part, I would do my best.

ENTRY 14：Response to "Good Luck, and Good Night"

The film Good Luck, and Good Night was filmed in 2005, however, it was presented in the old fashion with the color of black and white. The film depicts how the staff in the news company of CBS conspired to help the unfair charge of those who were innocent and to criticize the guilt of the McCarthy government for its unreasonable cruelty towards people. The whole country seemed under the terror of the Soviet Union. Individuals or organizations did something relevant to the Communism would lose their jobs and kicked out of the society, and most seriously, would put into the death without explanation.

This story was based on the real events in the 1950s. The justice won the final success and the leading character Murrow and Friendly somewhat shook the status of the McCarthy in the politics. I really admire those heroes here, who dare to fight with the authority to associate their own life goals with the society, bring the justice to the people. As this is the real event, so it is very inspiring for us as we have someone to learn from by his appealing charisma. Also, I realize that job is not only a tool to earn money but also a place for you to achieve your life goal. 

ENTRY 13：Appropriation

Barge Haulers on the Volga is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Russian realist painter Ilya Repin. This work depicts the laboring men working on the Bolga River. On the picture, all of the men seem exhausted, and they almost collapse forward but they have to continue their work with the last energy. This work celebrates the hardworking laborers and their dignity, but it also criticizes the feudal forces in Russia, under which the Russian laborers suffered a lot.

I draw a leisurely person with a cup of coffee in his hand. The person is lying on the land with a very casual posture, which is a very common icon to stand for the leisure; and the cup is a very universal icon to represent the coffee area. The combination of the two icons expresses a sense of leisure, which do a great contrast with the original work where the laborers work really hard. I want to add this icon to give the picture intense contrast to help the audience better understands the idea of the original work. 

ENTRY 12：Revision of Billy''s Story

Problems:
In Billy's story, there are too many characters appearing in one time, also along with sudden appearance of the settings, like the rain and the lighting, which seems too coincident, and it is also a little bit messy and confused for me. Also, the appearance of Kaya in the graveyard is weird as she is simply come to say sorry to Marty but get killed, which is too abrupt. This story seems to try to be emotional and full of love under the theme of "death", but it is to hard to be felt as there are too many small sotries in one big story, which are not further developed. In a word, there is no focus in this big story. Also, some plots seems ridiculous.

How to fix.
I will cut off some unnecessary characters. In order develop a focus on this big story, I only adopt the these charaters: Jack, Marty, Kaya, the Mafia boss and a number of his men. The characteristics of the main characters will be better develped, and I will focus on the love between Martin and Kaya and the friendship between Marty and Jack.

Jack hid behind the grave to wait for the Mafia boss, with whom he would negotiate with for a peace. However, when he saw the gangs with the Mafia boss, he felt desperated; he thought he should never be so stupid to trust a man who never to be worthy of being trust. When he just decided to come front of the grave to surrender and wait for the death, he suddenly was  stopped by a force. He turned round only to see Marty was there, hiding behind a grave near him, holding up a gun with caution, behind whom was his girlfriend, Kaya. "Why are you here?" he whispered in a low, deep voice. Actually, he could feel the wetness in his eyes; it was a feeling hard to describe when he saw his friends was with him when he was near the death. Marty gave him a gun, smiled to him, "It is so lucky for you to have a coward friend who can be brave for you." It was a long sentence in this rush hour when the death approaching without hesitation, but Marty  whispered the whole sentence. In the confusing eyes of Jack, Kaya confessed, "he came for you, I came for him." In one second, with one faith, the three rushed in front of the grave and fiercely shot with the gangs.

...

who survived?
L.O.V.E

ENTRY 11：The Disabled Man

The man moves on the road,

with hands covered with dust,

the little, cute friends adhering to his fingers every step.  

Touching every single of the land he goes through,

he knows how long he has gone with fingers.

He feels the land, cherishing all the perception he got,

Hard, soft, warm, and cold, only he knows with the bare hands.

He got proud,

being proud of able to measure the land,

a skill others hardly get.

He approaches the world with all his passion,

where full of people,

a place with warm land.

He expects the warmth from the bottom of his hand,

like the cotton pillow on the bed he once saw through the window.

The thistles and thorns are present in front of him.

Having no choice, but move on.

The man moves fast, anxious, with the dirty hands.

Red blood offends the crowd.

He gets confused, why the world abandon him with cruel back.