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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 250 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
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- Reading responses are due by 10pm on the day PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading
It’s probably just me, but I actually had a little hard time trying to read Ferguson’s chapters. The way the author wrote her sentences got me a little confused, but after reading it a couple of times I got the hang of it. I like her opening sentence. “I am not a migratory bird.” She is a very lucky person and she knows it. She has always had a home to go back to where she doesn’t have to live in fear. The people that are crossing the border on the other hand do live in fear. They live in constant fear. Throughout the whole essay she did little things that I really liked. Instead of saying Mexico she would write there. Over there. Just writing “there” instead of Mexico sounds like we’re really far away from them. In reality the countries are like close neighbors who complain a lot about the property fence. I really liked it. The worst fear we have is losing a football game, or losing a phone, something that people would consider “first world problems”. Over there though, people are afraid of real problems. Problems that force them to migrate north in order to experience opportunity and possible hope. It’s very powerful writing and I’m more impressed by how little she wrote. Her other two chapters just kind of sets the background. She explains a lot about her likes and dislikes and how she grew up around the border. The second chapter was more on how she started doing her documentaries so in a nut shell it’s again simple, but the groundwork gets set up quickly. Karr’s chapter was about recollection of memories. It’s not easy to remember everything accurately, but with a little work and training on how to peel between the threads we can be pleasantly surprised by how much we actually remember. Like all the clowns inside a little clown car. They just keep coming out.
ReplyDeleteWord Count: 324
Juan Garcia Jr
In Kathryn Ferguson's "To Begin" portion of her book: The Haunting of the Mexican Border, she solidifies the foundation on the content of her book. She begins with the notion around fear. She opens up by stating the difference between her and the people she encounters on the same roads but on different paths. She realizes and appreciates the fact that she is not a "migratory bird." She shows homage and respect the the situation she is in because unlike her, the people she passes by are of this nature. She has someone where to call home, these people don't. She talks about the fears of her native country, the one where a person freaks if they are not in contact with their partner/significant other, while these people have real life issues to worry about. They seek opportunities on our land, these people seek a chance. On Guns and Geishwin, she talks about her childhood background and what she saw growing up. She even recalls people from Mexico arriving at her hometown in Tucson, Arizona for work and then returning back home. She even described the events like there was a "wire lying on the ground and we crossed the border like birds". On Chs. 2, Job. Ferguson, talks about a possible low point in her career but a point of huge self-realization upon what really matters to her, and that's her happiness. She applies for a job that's apparently she is over qualified for but that doesn't matter to her. She just wants to do something she loves before she loses on her investment, her studio and her bills. She takes on a job working at a studio and eventually gets hired at $4.80 an hour, below minimum wage, but she just wanted to have fun and be happy. She couldn't put a price on it. On The Past Vigor's, Karr explains memory and how powerful of a tool just a slight memory can hold. Just by someone hearing a certain sound, or taking in a certain scent, unlocks a flood of potential memories and still shots of that moment. The author explains that she would even provoke a fake debate with a colleague, professor or student in which she asks the class what happened after the event. They begin to record their material only to see that although the situation happened in front of everyone the same, the way they interrupted it was different amongst them all because a fight such as this, is not viewed the same from the perspectives of the students.
ReplyDelete-Ruben Loa Jr
In Ferguson’s “To Begin” and following chapters the reader learns about the author and her background, where she is from and what she wanted to do. I shared the reading with my father and he related to it a lot more than I could. I recognized the themes from the stories he would tell me…about how beautiful the motherland was and how in the 90’s things changed and became dangerous for everyone but the dope pushers. I loved the author’s determination and can-do attitude in the last chapter, how she stayed true to herself and instead of caving in and turning to a job just for the money, she decided to take the longer less sought road of perseverance and stuck to her arts.
ReplyDeleteIn Mary Karr’s “The Art of Memoir” I noticed similarities between her first chapter and Dinty’s advice from the chapter we went over last class. How research can help your memoir by reminding you of a specific event, which then leads to another and makes your memoir detailed and specific. Specifically, how an image, videotape, or encounter can really jog the pinball of our machine-like brains. We should all make it a point to go back and recall memories with help from outside resources since “even the best minds warp and blur what they see.” (Karr, 5)
Chapter two of Karr’s Art of Memoir had to do with lies that slip out in non-fiction/memoir pieces. She explains how memoirists who tell false tales aren’t reaping the benefits that the genre has to offer; the liberation that comes from the examination of life.
M. Sarah Sanchez
In Ferguson’s first two chapters we get a clear picture in our heads of what exactly is memoir is. The more I read this the more complicated memoir is becoming to me. Not in the sense that I can’t do it, but I had a fairly small idea of what memoir was and exactly it is about. The writing is full of life. Every single sentence written has so much context behind it and not only is easy to read and understand but is at the same time very complex. Complex in the sense that her writing is smart. From her style of writing to the metaphors and similes she uses, you can tell this is someone who has mastered the craft or simply put their very best efforts into such an intriguing read. What really caught my interest in these chapters was the way she used what we discussed in class on Monday. Her reflection in the story was great. She talks about the struggles of the many people who cross the border and does not make herself victim to anything. She stays optimistic in her story telling and always leaves room for self reflection. On the other hand, Karr speaks about another topic and that is memories. Memories are a great tool in memoir due to the many ways it can be perceived. Two people could share a memory but would be told in a completely different context. One small memory can provide an endless array of writing it just depends on you the writer on how you may utilize it to benefit not just you but the reader as a whole.
ReplyDeleteAmaury Cabrear
word count -274
The way Karr talks about memoir makes me feel better about not being able to remember details very clearly. That was one thing I was concerned with the piece and now it does not seem so bad. Nailing every single detail is not something many can do. You just have to inform the reader that details are hazy if you cannot remember in great detail or if it is not important and a very distant memory leave it out entirely. It is easier to remember how you felt during events than it is remembering every single piece of dialogue, so that is probably the angle I will use when writing the memoir piece. Karr’s way of revealing that most people cannot remember everything perfectly is her first day skit in which she argues with a colleague. While some students remembered everything down to the minor details most could not, only remembering events generally. Then farther whatever was put up on the board during a class discussion tended to be what the students stuck with, only the “wizards,” as she calls the memory aces, recount events with great accuracy. This was really interesting and a good intro I think to memoir. While we do want to be as accurate as possible nobody is going to be one hundred percent spot on and that is ok here as long as a writer does not blatantly lie about events with the purpose to deceive. In Ferguson's first chapters we get background on her life and already the first chapters are interesting. It was not about describing events down to the last letter spoken but describing life around the events. I enjoyed the way it was written hopefully I will write a piece at least half as interesting.
ReplyDelete-Jesus Prado
I really loved Ferguson’s piece because it felt really familiar. I feel as though I never really like the way Mexico is portrayed in stories, either it’s too scary or to cliché. I’ve lived there and been there many times since leaving and I feel like in this tiny piece she does it justice. My favorite part of this chapter was the way she described fear. There are levels of fear and she describes them through examples. The “out-of-the-ordinary-rustle” that might just be in your head. I love this because I can hear the things that go bump in the night that cause me to pull the sheets over my head. Instead of telling us it’s not the fear of an animal running toward you but the fear of driving around a cemetery looking for you parents graves only to find out they were gone. Her attention to detail really gives the place a personality without having to say what it’s like. In chapter one we see more of her childhood and what Tucson was like when she was younger. They way people would come from Mexico to work only to return home to that same day. In chapter two we are shown how she struggled in her career and ended up taking a huge pay cut just so she would be doing something she loved. Karr’s chapter talked about the power of memory and the way our memories are our tools. The same memory can mean different things to different people and the important thing is how we use it for our writing.
ReplyDeleteOlivia Hinojosa
while Reading Ferguson’s, i realized that she uses a lot of imagery. Reading this made me feel as if i was there and i too, was feeling the breeze on my cheek and then all of a sudden felt frightened for the storm. I was somewhat confused about her writing, i had to go back and reread it at least twice. The way she translates everything she says in english is a bit annoying to me, although, i do understand that not all her audience knows both english and Spanish. I did realize that that is not how i want my travel piece to read like so, thanks to reading this, i am going to go edit my translations on my travel essay.
ReplyDeleteIn Karr, i like the whole exercise she does with her students to test their memory. she uses the data she collected through out the years to prove that even the best minds sometimes blur events as they happened. i don't know if this happens to anyone else, but some times i dream of something and a few days later or maybe weeks i cant remember if it actually happened or it was just my dream. Sometimes i even link it to previous memories and in my head it all makes sense. Thats what that passage reminded me of. By her use of bad words, i feel like she is being more real but perhaps if an older person or professor would read this, they might not feel the same way and they might view her as vulgar, one could argue. I also enjoyed her telling us about the whole idea of not favoring the ivy league students.
Word count 281
Jennifer Millan
Karr writes in her first chapter, “even the best minds warp and blur what they see,” which is comforting and disturbing at the same time. Nonfiction calls us to be open and honest, so I guess we all need to “bullshit”-try at the best of our ability to recall the events. I could see the importance of getting a second look as to who shared a memory, but what if their mind is just as warped? With the situation I want to write about I know what happened and know some of the words shared (not conversations) but I wonder now if I should go about in in Ferguson’s way. She took on a style of writing in the events, dialogue and thoughts without making is obvious with quotation marks or different fonts and that make me feel like it’s open for interpretation for anyone else who might read and remember something different.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Ferguson gave us a foundation of where this journey is leading to by giving us insight to what she remembers the border and Mexico citizens being like and how she kind of grew up seeing the transition and seeking one in her own life?
Lisa M Serna
To Begin was enthralling. I was gripped by Ferguson and I enjoyed each word as I read on. I especially loved the way the author defined fear and all the examples she provided for us. They were so vivid and relatable that I gave the author my full trust and attention as a reader. I did feel that some of the ideas were a little abstract but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If anything I feel they made me more interested in the mind that thought up such abstractions. The following chapters were also fantastic; they're probably my favorite thing that we've read thus far. The diction was so elegant and well-formulated that the words seemed to just flow right off my tongue as I read them aloud. I enjoyed how Ferguson used music to illustrate the transitions in her life. I thought that was a very accurate and clever way of capturing the essence of those eras in her life. Music is a great representative of the changes in culture and more times than not we are able to identify with a song so much that it can adequately describe our zeitgeist of the time. And the way Ferguson uses the song titles to show us her history was really entertaining and it gave some sound to the imagery she provides. I didn't find the second chapter as entertaining but I was definitely still interested and Ferguson, I felt, did a good job of keeping a smooth stream flowing so that my thoughts were with what was written rather than allowing them to wander. Overall I'm excited to read more.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Karr reading I liked how raw it was. It had a very easygoing tone and so it felt as if she were a friend speaking to me. The memory exercise she details was intriguing but I wouldn't say I'm surprised at the revelation it brought. I constantly forget minute details or dates and mix up names or events. However when Karr mentions that our prejudices shape how we view things, I thought that was an interesting observation that resonates with my own view of people.
-Andres Trevino
In The Haunting of the Mexican Border, Ferguson is writing out of memory. What they remember and felt at a certain point in time. To be quite honest, I did not really like their writing style. I struggled a lot to fully understand what they were trying to convey and frequently kept getting lost, so I had to reread their sentences a few more times. Like my classmate mentioned, I was a bit annoyed that when the author continued to translate the Spanish parts into English, but it is understandable. Ferguson uses a lot of descriptive language and imagery to make their story even more appealing to the reader. I like how they compare most things to a snake or features a snake has. I am curious to see if there is a deeper meaning to that or just coincidence. As for Karr’s piece, the memory game they played with their class was very interesting. In the exercise, Karr tries to get the students to understand that every little detail counts when trying to retell a story, but it is also okay if they did not catch every single one of those details. I like how they emphasize that our memory is not really complete. Personally, whenever I try to remember something I always doubt myself and end up having to ask someone who shares the memory with me if I am remembering it correctly. There are hazy parts that we as writers have to clear up by digging deeper.
ReplyDelete-Jennifer Gutierrez
I didn’t agree completely with one particular statement of Mary Karr when she staid “[and] that’s why I always send my manuscripts out to folks I write about, because I don’t trust my wiggly mind (Karr 5)” because as she elaborated throughout her chapter, prejudice clouds facts. Now engaging in conversation helps sort what happen otherwise the event could turn out to be all fractured as it was with her graduate seminar class (Karr 5). However, different people remember different, and furthermore, different people feel differently. Truth is reality, but reality is perception. But I also understand why she shares her manuscripts, she prevents writing a truth that is not such as with the example she provided with Mussolini thrown off the bus in Massachusetts (Karr 6). This is what makes the memoir so dangerous, and I wish I could offer a solution, but I can’t.
ReplyDeleteKathryn Ferguson’s pieces I was not too keen on when reading. It was hard for me to want to keep turning the pages. A disclaimer, I am commenting on Ferguson’s personal style of writing, so at the end of my “analysis” I will also do her justice. As said by Dinty W. Moore, there is a difference between a memoir and a memoir essay based on reflection. Ferguson’s writing is inverted. She introduces the reader to her life based on allegorical reflections such as the notion of fear (Ferguson xiii). In the later essays she switches tactics by injecting reflection and writing about her life. Not going to lie, Chapter 1, she makes a quick survey of her childhood and being an adult in such a quick time, but she does so to establish her history quickly so she may move on to her other stories. In Chapter 2, the pace has changed dramatically, and us the readers can focus on her struggle for a job to pay her bills (Ferguson 8).
Alejandro Sánchez
In chapter one of “The Art of Memoir” by Mary Karr, we are introduced to some methods which can be used to help rekindle the memoires in an accurate way. She emphasizes the need to check with the people who were in the memory for their take on what happened in order to examine and tell the story from all truthful sides. I love how she would “set-up” her students and videotape the entire ordeal in order to show them the errors that can be found in one’s memory. In the second story by Ferguson, we are taken into the life of this character who was once a child with very few problems to a grown woman in need of a new career. I actually really enjoyed how the author introduced herself to the reader, instead of using a typical method such as my name is ----, I was born ----, I live ----, she gradually shows her identity through small moments or memory that she had as a child. She then goes into the issue of needing a job and being overqualified for the one she really wanted but still finds a better career in the end. I think the way Ferguson used her words to piece together the info was great and it kept me interested and wanting to know more about her. I also like how in the end of chapter one she is talking of how “slow” life was for her in Tucson as a young girl because in chapter two we are given the sense of urgency for her life and career. She is in desperate need of finding a way to pay the bills.
ReplyDeleteSheryl Cavazos
In art of a memoir, Karr Jesus good techniques in her classroom and teaching to show how memory changes in an instant and also changes with time. The way she has her friend come in and disturb the class really shows that everybody's perception of the same events can be different. This can change from person to person tender and what not and this can lead us to believe that everything we see is pretty much just a figment of our imagination. We will never really know what is going on until we can recount it accurately. The Memoir really shows how we perceive things and how these perceptions can bring back traumatising event or joyous events with family. I like to use photographs and music to take me back to where I was when I experienced something so that I couldn't recall on how I felt the emotions the scenery around me. Some people use video tapes which is cool too but now these days it's harder to carry around a recorder and my memory on my phone is not that great so I don't have enough memory to actually record a lot of things that I would like to. My phone is usually full of pictures and song covers screenshots from Pandora to help me recall how I was feeling at certain times. Ferguson's story I found it quite interesting on how she's not a migratory bird but yet she really is because she would constantly travel from the States to Mexico heading north to south or south to North like birds migrate from winter and summer and vice versa. He also talks about what he wanted to do and how he tried to end that story was actually quite interesting because not everyone can see that there is so much to do when it comes to writing there's so much to experience, and so much to remember. I believe that Ferguson's story really share some light into the experiences that she's had on these travels going back and forth to and from that only Mexico but other experiences and other troubles that she has had to show us and explain to us what it was like on the struggles.
ReplyDeleteCemantha
In Kathryn Ferguson's "To Begin" portion of her book: The Haunting of the Mexican Border, she solidifies the foundation on the content of her book. She begins with the notion around fear. She opens up by stating the difference between her and the people she encounters on the same roads but on different paths. She realizes and appreciates the fact that she is not a "migratory bird." She shows homage and respect the the situation she is in because unlike her, the people she passes by are of this nature. She has someone where to call home, these people don't. She talks about the fears of her native country, the one where a person freaks if they are not in contact with their partner/significant other, while these people have real life issues to worry about. They seek opportunities on our land, these people seek a chance. On Guns and Geishwin, she talks about her childhood background and what she saw growing up. She even recalls people from Mexico arriving at her hometown in Tucson, Arizona for work and then returning back home. She even described the events like there was a "wire lying on the ground and we crossed the border like birds". On Chs. 2, Job. Ferguson, talks about a possible low point in her career but a point of huge self-realization upon what really matters to her, and that's her happiness. She applies for a job that's apparently she is over qualified for but that doesn't matter to her. She just wants to do something she loves before she loses on her investment, her studio and her bills. She takes on a job working at a studio and eventually gets hired at $4.80 an hour, below minimum wage, but she just wanted to have fun and be happy. She couldn't put a price on it. On The Past Vigor's, Karr explains memory and how powerful of a tool just a slight memory can hold. Just by someone hearing a certain sound, or taking in a certain scent, unlocks a flood of potential memories and still shots of that moment. The author explains that she would even provoke a fake debate with a colleague, professor or student in which she asks the class what happened after the event. They begin to record their material only to see that although the situation happened in front of everyone the same, the way they interrupted it was different amongst them all because a fight such as this, is not viewed the same from the perspectives of the students.
ReplyDelete-Ruben Loa
Beginning to write anything is very difficult and, as I discovered, writing a memoir is especially so. Part of it is the personal element that is difficult to write about when you know that other people will be reading the memoir essay, even though they are my classmates whom I respect and do not believe would be mean to me. It is very frightening, in a way. It's good to have Karr's chapter to give some guidance.
ReplyDeleteI loved Ferguson's opening chapters! They made me very excited for the book and looking forward to it! The bird imagery was very beautiful and lovely for me to read!
Doris Tolar