Month: March 2003

Blogfriends, help! help!

I again need to choose a novel for my advanced ESL class, the one with whom I read _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_ (with much success). At the level just below this one I taught Salinger’s _Nine Stories_.

I have been reading a bunch of novels over the past couple of weeks and I just can’t seem to hit on the right one.

Here’s what I’ve read:

Bee Season by Myla Goldberg (wonderful book, but too mystical?)

The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead (again a wonderful book but the dreaminess of it might be hard for foreign students)

After the Plague — short stories by T.C. Boyle (too crass and violent even if they do give an “accurate” picture of the USA — really good IDIOMS, though)

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez (to me, this had no narrative urgency)

considered a book called something like The Golems of Gotham and a novel by Y. Blak Moore — both of these were strikingly unsuitable.

Considering also

The English Patient (although I never actually thought this book was so interesting, I know lots of other people love it)

Sheltering Sky (I adore this book but I’m afraid it’s too dark and interior)

And here’s what I really like best, although it’s a truly SHOCKING book:

Dem by William Melvin Kelley (bitter bitter satire about whitefolks for black readers) but I’m not sure if with all its squirmy discomforts this is the best option for the classroom.

The problem is, I have to decide for sure by MONDAY! I could REALLY use some ideas. Here are the general criteria:

–no translations

–nothing too outrageously violent or sexual, but adult content is OK, of course

–under 300 pages

–vocabulary can be fairly sophisticated but I can’t, for example, teach _Lolita_

–must be highly discussable, bring up important issues

–Ideally it would be something that either “speaks to the immigrant experience” (but Sandra Cisneros, for example, would not be challenging enough for them) or that sheds some light on American culture, preferably contemporary.

–Should be well-written, engrossing, and not boring for me! These students tend to be pretty sophisticated. At the same time some colloquial language is desirable, too.

–Doesn’t absolutely have to be fiction, BTW. I considered Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickeled and Dimed in America but then decided to let another teacher take it.

I can speed read but I need your suggestions, for which I will be forever grateful, ASAP.

Thank you thank you!

My Dirty Mind

Side of a bakery truck:

“Big enough to service you,

small enough to care.”

Aaaaagggghhh get me out of here!

Nightmare experience about an hour ago in a ladies’ clothing store at the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Kings’ Highway:

A redneck muzak song came on “I’m proud to be in America/ where at least I can be free”… “There’s pride in the heart/ of every American”… I found myself getting steamed up, nutty, cursing audibly, had to leave the store in a kind of furious panic when I saw several middle-aged women SINGING ALONG, AAAAAGGGHHH!

Also tried to post this yesterday, to no avail (is this Ashcroft’s doing, perchance?):

WHAT’S THIS I HEAR?

Cheney’s daughter is a human shield in Baghdad.

Good girl!

May the sins of the father not be visited against her.

SPOOKY

THREE TIMES now I have tried to post this sentiment and Blogger each time has swallowed it mysteriously, so I am trying again:

Conviced as I am of the folly of human beings, I remain unconvinced of “the sanctity of human life”.

Let’s see if it goes through this time.

Maybe it’s just too ineffable.

WE ARE AN IDIOT SPECIES!

I am not talking about INDIVIDUALS.

I don’t want to die yet. I don’t want anyone I know to die either. Of course, I don’t want anyone “innocent” (whatever that means) to die.

But as a species, I’m not sure that we have earned the right to live.

Sad and enraging news from Rachel Levitsky, not about the war on Iraq but rather a grave domestic injustice:

Dear Friends,

Rachel Levitsky here. I’ve just returned from LA where I had a reading and was with Akilah Oliver, who has just lost her son, Oluchi McDonald, a beautiful 20 year old young man, to what is apparently a flagrant failure of the health care system. Many of you may already know the details but in case not, I’m sending this out to the folks on my list who I think may want to know what’s going on.

We don’t know much conclusively. Even the coroner is

evasive. What we do know is that Oluchi went into one

hospital with severe cramps and was tested for

appendicitis with inconclusive results and sent to

another hospital where he was not treated and died the

next day. It seems he had a blocked colon, a condition

like appendicitis, that is easily treated surgically,

and should be easily detectable.

Many of you are wondering what can be done to address

this horror and injustice in our community. (As

though the horror of the war and the Bush

administration’s push toward Fundamentalist Christian

State wasn’t enough.)

Here’s what we’ve organized so far. Akilah envisions a

three pronged approach:

1) Social Justice and Activism about the wrongs of the

health care system for poor people and people of

color. Akilah has started a group called “Somebody’s

Friend” and the first action is for folks to write

letters to the people at MLK/Drew Medical Center,

where Oluchi died. Back channel me if you’d like the

doctors, nurses names and the address. Anyone who

knows activists that may be effective in LA, please

forward that information to me at this email.

2) Legal–procuring an effective malpractice legal

team, and pursuing a possible civil rights case (CA is

one of first states if not the only, to have $250,000

cap on malpractice suits, however if Oluchi was turned

away for reasons of economy or race, there is a

federal case) and

3) Spiritual–assisting and supporting Oluchi on his

journey. This includes memorials, art making,

praying, etc. Akilah will be bringing Oluchi’s ashes

to Boulder, where he grew up, St Louis, where his

grandmother and extended family live, New York and LA.

There is a fourth element which is general financial

support for all these efforts. Akilah has no money,

had had a difficult time finding work in New York

where she’d been relocating before this happened–and

her unemployment had just ended. There are the fat

expenses of coroner, cremation, burial, retainer for

the lawyer, flying to the various places where Oluchi

has family and friends, staying in LA and making sure

things happen here, cell phone, mainaining apartments

and bills and the unexpected. Akilah does not have a

checking account. We are trying to figure out a way

for people who want to contribute to be able to do so

tax deductibly. Meanwhile here’s how you can get money (or other things) to Akilah:

1) Immediate Use: Send money order or blank checks

(that can be used to pay bills) to Akilah Oliver, c/o

Michael Farber, 1917 Rodney Drive, #211, LA CA 90027

2) DEPOSIT for need down the line: You can write

checks to Michael Farber to the above address or to me

at my address: Rachel Levitsky 458 Lincoln Pl #4b,

Brooklyn NY 11238. We’ll be establishing some sort of

account so that we can pay for things for Akilah.

3)I’ll let you know what happens if we come up with a

more streamlined system.

IF I ACCIDENTALLY SENT THIS TO FOLK WHO DON’T KNOW

AKILAH, PLEASE FORGIVE,

and feel free to send this to friends I may miss or

for whom I have no contact info,

I’ll be out of town again Saturday and Sunday and then more responsive to email.

Peace and

Be safe in these times and

Love,

Rachel

WAGE POETRY!

Slogans collected at the Peace Demonstration Saturday, March 22:

Shocked/ Awed/ Pissed Off

Shame Shame Shame

Hey Bush who are you kidding

Breasts not Bombs

Do We Hate Our Enemies More than We Love Our Children?

History tells us that empires do not last. Nations bleed themselves of resources to maintain a bloated military. They begin to rot from within.

Dear Terrorists–

George Bush is from Texas

[map of US with Texas enlarged, targeted]

Georgie: If we agree your dick is bigger than Saddam’s, will you call off the war? {picture of Bush crosseyed)

George W. hitler

The World will not stand the Strong to swallow up the WEAK.

–George W. Bush 1990

Jacques Chirac

You can have this back

We don’t need it any more

[pic of statue of liberty]

See you in the Hague Mr. Bush. Learn Int’l Law.

Oil on their minds

+ GREED in their hearts

= Blood on their hands

Rome Fell

Issam Sadak , Moroccan

DISAPPEARED in the USA

Report Card

George W. Bush

Does not Play Well with Others

(and runs with scissors)

Jesus is the answer Not War

Yee-Ha is not a foreign policy

Stop the cowboy discourse

Vets for peace say “Cheney to thefront”

I thought Bush was pro-life

Wanted: Osama Bin Bush

Bombs Kill Moms

Shame on US Media for propagating Bush’s lies

Truth, Reason, and Logic:

Causing Problems for Conservatives Everywhere

Illegitimate War

Illegitimate President

Silence is the voice of complicity

1 Second in Iraq=$1200=

1 year of a child’s education in 2000

US Foreign Policy Cucks

Stop Human Genocide [I asked her, why only human genocide?]

BUSH — the Only Dope Worth Shooting

How Can You Bring Democracy to Iraq When You’re Destroying it at Home?

Mr Bush: Get back to Domestic Issues —

You are no good at foreign policy

Actually you’re no good at domestic policies either —

VOTE DEMOCRAT.

How many lives per gallon?

Take the toys away from Junior.

The only Bush I support is my own.

Let’s not sleepwalk through history

Just cause?

Or just idiots?

Ye are not our shepherd and we are not your mutton.

Shock + awe = terror

The Bush junta’s crimes are shocking and awful.

Jesus CHOOSE Caesar

Baghdad destroyed along with democracy

Support our troops

End this War

George: liberate US!!

Brain Washington

[the asterisks below should be “does not equal” signs]

World opinion * focus group

Preemption * security

Disssent * treason

Democracy * occupation

Journalism * stenography

Peace * war

United Nations * irrelevant

Draft the bush twins

No more Bushit

You can’t liberate people by bombing the living fuck out of them.

What’s lovelier than a baby born on the eve of war, in exquisite defiance?

Welcome Jacob, son of Ange and Steve!

Where is Our Spring?

The war has no importance but emptiness. If I had a power to ban anything in the world, I would ban war. Recently, we can see a likelihood that war between Iraq and America will happen on TV, News Paper, etc. It absolutely has to be stopped.

What’s the purpose for having war instead of negotiation? Will we be happy after the war? Can we get some treat through the war? Of course not. Because after the war there is nothing but anger and madness which would cause a new war though the old one was over. Not to mention, the war makes a lot of harm and victims of not only soldiers but also innocent people bloodthirstily. In fact, my mother’s grandpa died because of World War 2 (1939-45) and many people in Hiroshima died by the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima City. Besides, after the war people who could barely evade death at that time were suffering from distress.

The second reason why I want to ban the war is clear. I don’t want to lose my life, family, friends and my peaceful future. If war happened now, I would rather die than living alone. I have a dream as everybody has a dream. I want to marry with a man whom I will really fall in love with. If I died because of war, I couldn’t go to heaven easily because I unfinished my future in the world.

That’s why I hate war and want to ban it. Can you figure out some plus of war? If you can, tell me your thought, but probably I won’t be able to nod with your thought. I wish we could have a peaceful world that would never have war again.

Chiharu Yokogoshi, Student, Hunter College NYC

NO.