This Blog, Award nomination, Beowulf, and a Timely Article

Life changes, so must the blog. But I've always wanted the blog to be about deep-current human issues rather than the surface stirrings of gossip and wonders of the moment. I wanted discuss, not exhaust, topics.

I should be more consistent with a post on Friday (poetry) and one on Monday (fiction). If I have something small or extra, I'll slip it between on Wednesday. This seems a manageable schedule.

#

In 2019, I had few publications, but this brief one at quatrain fish was recommended for a Pushcart prize. If you page down, there should be another brief poem. They came from my long days and nights of driving around the countryside.

#

A professor opines that Beowulf may not have English origins.

#

George Packer at The Atlantic Monthly penned this glorious article about the downward trend of American Letters and points at what he sees as the culprit.

Updates on McLaw & How to Resolve Conflict

The Atlantic updated their article. At last, a good reporter. Thank you, Jeffrey Goldberg. Through no fault of the writer, the article clarifies some things, but not others. He is trying to get to the bottom of this.

Despite all the articles boldly claiming the contrary based on their reading into the lawyer's statement, the school's reaction was, in part, due to parents complaining about the books: "But some citizens did react to [the books], there were citizen complaints based on the book..." which doesn't surprise me. The original article wrote: "some parents tell WBOC they are concerned about safety." Yeah, they were. They probably prepared for the 2012 Mayan Armageddon, too.*

"McLaw had built a model of a school building in his home" -- "a" model, not any particular school, so it was likely research as well. It is not uncommon for writers to build a large database of information about a subject, draw maps, etc. to make sure the world they create is credible. Evidence dismissed.

I'm not sure about this: "asked an administrator to move classrooms, to one near the 'point of ingress and egress' of the school." That is bizarre although it gets more confusing why he would talk about his mother in this context.

One crime he is clearly guilty of: He is too enamored with $4 words**. Probably he should serve hard time in the halls of academia.* That may cure him.

Update updated: A response from McLaw himself this time. 

"I used to be in architecture and engineering. And as a result of that, as a hobby I built miniatures. And I built a miniature of a cruise ship, a miniature of a house, and a miniature school. Now given the situation, they have only focused on the miniature school,"

How did they get a hold of this model? Anyway, it seems even less incriminating than it wasn't to begin with.

It'd be nice to read the actual letter. I'm guessing the recipients didn't understand it due to McLaw's penchant** for $4 words. Maybe, if the letter comes out (not that it should or has to), I will side with those who messed up McLaw's life. But right now, their story is contradictory and incoherent.

* Jokes. 
** I use them, too, sparingly.

Conflict Resolution:

I am not opposed to parents defending their children. The passionate parent sometimes attacks while uninformed. Here's a simple resolution process that has been around for millennia: 

1. Ask your kid to resolve it. Have them call their teacher if need be. You may never need to get involved.
2. Gather information. Get your kid to say everything he knows. Ask, "Why did your teacher do/say that? Did you do something that caused this? What are you leaving out? You know I'm going to ask your teacher, so you'd better tell me everything."
3. Discuss the situation with teacher and your kid (try to understand where your kid's teacher is coming from). 
4. If it's not resolved, go up the chain: Principal, Superintendent, Board. 

Skipping steps in the conflict resolution process may cause unnecessary problems.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- Life, Thought and Work

Stories and Excerpts

• First stories from Collected Stories
• "The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World"
• "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"
• Excerpt from One Hundred Years of Solitude
• “Death Constant Beyond Love”
• The Autumn of the Patriarch (excerpt)

The New Yorker

• Personal History:  The Challenge:  A young writer proves himself.
• Richard Avedon's portrait of Gabriel García Márquez
• profile

The Modern Word (resources)

Nobel Prize.org

• Prize Speech
• Banquet Speech (in Spanish)

Interviews:

1. The Paris Review
2. Pete Hamill at Vanity Fair
3. Oprah
4. New York Times
5. The Atlantic:

• William Kennedy's long interview, "The Yellow Trolley Car in Barcelona, and Other Visions":
• "Faulkner created Yoknapatawpha County. Welcome to García Márquez' Macondo."
• Excerpt from same interview:  "The Origins of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Magic Realism":
• "Surrealism runs through the streets. Surrealism comes from the reality of Latin America."

Biographies, News and Appreciations:

1. FT.com: “[W]hat I like about you is the serious way you make up nonsense.”
2. Time: "And when he died on Thursday in his home in Mexico City, it did not seem impossible that a man could open his mouth and songbirds would fly out." 
3. Peter Carey
4. Edwidge Danticat
5. Edmund White
6. "Nobel author Gabriel García Márquez wins 17-year legal fight over murder classic: Colombian court rules against man who claimed author used his life story for main character in Chronicle of a Death Foretold."
7. Wikipedia
8. Mental Floss

Quotes:

• Policy Mic
• Buzz Feed

Opining on Education: What's Good, What's Not, Ways to Make it Better

James Van Pelt on why education is the same or better than ever.

"[V]ery little has changed with our kids.... I often hear older folks complain that the kids when they were in school were different. They were more respectful. They studied harder. They were in every way 'better.' 

"I just don’t believe it."

A husband who's happy his wife is leaving education. (News Observer)

"[S]he is free to live her life unburdened by the oppressive hands of incompetent legislators and school board members who wish to micromanage education."

Why Do Teachers Quit? And why do they stay? (The Atlantic)

"[B]etween 40 and 50 percent of teachers will leave the classroom within their first five years (that includes the nine and a half percent that leave before the end of their first year).... four percent higher than other professions."

"It’s... lack of respect.... Teachers... do not call the shots. They have very little say. They’re told what to do; it’s a very disempowered line of work.” 

“We are held up to a really high standard for everything.... It stems from this sense that teachers aren’t real people, and the only thing that came close to [making me stay] was the kids.” 

“When you’re in your early 60s and you’re still coming home with 65 hours of grading over two weeks…that’s very overwhelming. [But] I love working with teenagers. I love the relationships and I love being able to help them.” 

"...all the teachers I speak with... cared for their students deeply, but .... the workload, the emotional toll, the low pay—was just too much." 

"...schools that do a far better job of managing and coping with and responding to student behavioral issues have far better teacher retention.” 

"beginning teacher support[:] teachers who have... two small initiatives... (working with a mentor and having regular supportive communication with an administrator) are more likely to stay in the classroom.... Parental engagement and high student achievement are key factors."

Absolute Sterling Shatner Jackson

Bruce Sterling interview (with Cory Doctorow, Paul Di Filippo, Richard Nash, Ted Striphas, Matthew Battles, Marianne de Pierres, Giuseppe Granieri, John Sundman, Nils Gilman, Giuliana Guazzaroni):

Ted Striphas: Beyond the fact that neologisms can make for lively writing, why push the limits of language this way? 

Bruce Sterling: I know that can sound like "pushing" language, but from my point of view, social change reveals gaps in language.

 Sterling references this article from Atlantic Monthly (wiki):  "As We May Think" by Vannevar Bush

Seth Abramson stands up for Peter Jackson and The Hobbit, backing up his thoughts from the "canon," so to speak.

Below absolute zero?  Nature magazine

Captain Kirk to Commander Hadfield (William Shattner)