The Accomplishments of Ted Kooser.
An interesting person can be someone with many talents. With a total of sixty four awards, Ted Kooser is an interesting person because of his ability to write award winning poetry, nonfiction books, and children 's books. Ted Kooser’s writings are often plainspoken and filled with literary devices. “Kooser’s poetry is understated yet manages to skillfully illuminate the small moments of life,”(Local Wonders 5). This is demonstrated in Kooser’s life as he will often sit in his reading chair writing essay’s or poems about a bug on the wall, or an activity a neighbor did. Kooser’s ability to be a diverse writer allows him to be one of the best writers of the twenty-first century. Kooser’s experience of attending
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Kooser displays this talent as he 's written poetry, nonfiction books, children’s books, and chapbooks. One of Kooser’s famous poems is the “A Birthday Poem” (Phelan 10). The poem “A Birthday Poem” is one of my favorite poems written by Ted Kooser. When I first read the title, I was under the assumption that it was about someones birthday. After I read the poem, I fell in love with how the poem is written in first person from a cow’s perspective on what takes place between sunrise and sundown. When first reading the title, people will often think it has to deal with a person’s birthday. However, Kooser is talking about the birth and death of a day. Throughout the poem, the cow describes how the sun is standing, then the farmer comes, and then how the farmer feast on his crops. Then the poem ends with the sun going down and the night is just beginning. Then the cow walks away into the dark. Kooser uses descriptive lines to create imagery through the poem. For example, “the sun stands with its heavy red head” (Kooser 7). When the sun rises in the morning it is often glowing red. Kooser Is a fascinating writer because of the way Kooser writes to a diverse group of individuals. In addition, Kooser’s poetry is written in a way where a five year old could understand it while also allowing an adult to ponder about the meaning of certain lines within the poem for
Devin Friedman is a creative storyteller who incorporates observant details in his writings, which makes the readers feel like as if they are part of the adventure. Devin attended the University of Michigan, and he was awarded as the winner of the Hopwood Contest. This contest was hosted by the university committee who appoints experienced judges and the Ann Arbor community to select winners in different writing divisions. In his recent years, Devin wrote for numerous publications such as The Best American Crime Writing, The Best American Travel Writing, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Esquire, People's Stories, and GQ. Out of the many articles Friedman has written in the past, “The Best Night $500,000 Can Buy,” “Famous People: James Franco,” and “The Unbearable Awkwardness of Being” are the ones I have chosen to read because of the interesting subject matters and the different writing styles.
Early on, poetry was often used with rhyme to remember things more accurately, this still rings true today, even though its use is more often to entertain. However, although it appeals to both the young, in children's books, and the old, in a more sophisticated and complex form, people are bound to have different preferences towards the different styles of poetry. Dobson’s poetry covers a variation of styles that captivate different individuals. “Her Story” is a lengthy poem with shorter stanzas. It’s free verse structure and simplistic language and face value ideas might appeal better to a younger audience. This poem includes quotes with informal language that children or teens would better understand. It’s narrative-based style is easy to follow, and although the poem covers very basic concepts, it’s message is still communicated subliminally. This particular poem is interesting because it focusses on the universal experience of pain and it’s relation to time. Similar to this is “The Householder”, written in a cyclical style, opening with a “house” and ending with a “home”. With only three stanzas, it is
Often times, one’s impression of something is based on people or things that ‘stick out,’ or are memorable. People in the spotlight in contemporary popular culture, such as: musicians, writers, actors and other celebrities, are purposely making themselves ‘stick out,’ so that these people are memorable, or become more famous by heightening their national profile with outrageous statements, outfits, and actions. Literature, rather than using outrageous statements or actions, uses different kinds of characters and their corresponding actions to make works more memorable. J.D. Salinger, in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, uses the character of Holden Caulfield, a rebellious adolescent, and his stream of consciousness to captivate and relate
Alexie, Sherman. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” Writer’s Presence: A Pool of Readings. 5th ed. Ed. Robert Atawan and Donald McQuade. Boston:Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. 73-76. Print
Wright, Richard. "The Man Who Was Almost a Man." Literature and the Writing Process. Ed.
“Anyone lived in a pretty how town,” by E.E. Cummings, is a poem that alludes to the circle of life and how birth and death are a natural part of this cycle. This meaning is conveyed by a complex metaphor; broken down, this metaphor slides away to reveal the true social commentary behind it. This poem is an allegory; the speaker uses pronouns with unclear antecedents to mask the true meaning and add poetic flair to the simple belief he or she presents.
Schilb, John, and John Clifford. Sonny Blues. Making Literature Matter: An Antology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 337-60. Print.
Right out of the gate, Bradbury explains arguably the most important characteristic any writer can possess: love for one’s work. Instead of droning on about boring fundamentals, Bradbury leaps right into the fun stuff. Instead of espousing trite clichés about his craft, Bradbury embraces the passion and enjoyment that writing fosters. Bradbury immediately gains the reader’s interest by rejecting the conventional methods of discussing writing and instead focusing on why people love to write.
As Edgar Allan Poe once stated, “I would define, in brief the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.” The two poems, “Birthday,” and “The Secret Life of Books” use different diction, theme, and perspective to give them a unique identity. Each author uses different literary devices to portray a different meaning.
It's about sunlight. It's about the special way that dawn spreads out on a river when you know you must cross the river and march into the mountains and do things you are afraid to do. It's about love and memory. It's about sorrow. It's about sisters who never write back and people who never listen.” -pg. 85
The author skillfully uses literary techniques to convey his purpose of giving life to a man on an extraordinary path that led to his eventual demise and truthfully telling the somber story of Christopher McCandless. Krakauer enhances the story by using irony to establish Chris’s unique personality. The author also uses Characterization the give details about Chris’s lifestyle and his choices that affect his journey. Another literary element Krakauer uses is theme. The many themes in the story attract a diverse audience. Krakauer’s telling is world famous for being the truest, and most heart-felt account of Christopher McCandless’s life. The use of literary techniques including irony, characterization and theme help convey the authors purpose and enhance Into The Wild.
As every well-read person knows, the background in which you grow up plays a huge role in how you write and your opinions. Fuller grew up with a very strict education, learning multiple classic languages before she was eight years old. Fern grew up with writers all throughout her family and had a traditional education and saw first hand the iniquities of what hard-working had to contend with. Through close analysis of their work, a reader can quickly find the connections between their tone, style, content, and purpose and their history of their lives and their educational upbringing.
When it comes to education many individuals have different views on how children should learn things. A psychologist by the name of Jerome Bruner had his own theory when it came to education. Bruner is a very smart man himself, who went to school to study and to learn about many different types of psychology to understand humans completely to the best of his knowledge. He strived to learn about cognitive growth and learning so he could help children in the future. This is what helped him develop his theory into what it is today.
Writers of great intelligence often have many different works for which they are famous for. Throughout life, some specific moments in one’s life can be more impactful than others when someone decides on a future career. For authors, what may seem more often than not, their works are written because of an inspiration from something that happened during the author’s lifetime. That moment could be a personal achievement, a passionate belief of theirs in history (such as slavery or woman’s suffrage), or even a devastating loss of a family member. An author’s childhood roots from where they come from can often help paint the setting in their works. Mark Twain was no exception. Mark Twain wrote many exemplary novels throughout his life, many
Writing about any artist or author makes us more curious about the writer and his or her view of life. I believe every writer reflects his or her own perspective in their writings even if they did not talk about themselves; this will appear to the reader in one way or another.