Symposium assignment.

In a blog post, address the following question regarding Wednesday's Symposium:

How did Regina Marie Williams performance as Zora Neale Hurston in Jump at the Sun change your understanding of, appreciate for, or overall perspective on Their Eyes Were Watching God?

Remember to include your name in the body of the blog comment.

Due: Monday, May 18.

Gatsby and the American Dream.

• A recent New York Times article: "Gatsby's Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers."
• An interactive Minnesota Public Radio feature: "Preserving the American Dream."
• A Symbol of the American Dream: Buy the One Million Dollar Bill for only $9.50!

Gatsby on Google Maps.

Click photos to enlarge.


Long Island.


Great Neck (West Egg) & Port Washington (East Egg).


The "eggs" up close.


Gatsby Lane. (No joke.)


The green light at the end of the dock?

Roaring Twenties Reinvented.

Watch this:


Then this:

Bike-to-School Challenge 2009.

Wednesday. Block 1 vs. Block 2. The class with the most students who bike to school wins something yet to be determined. Could be some bonus points, could be bagels and juice, could be an endless supply of gum for the rest of the year. And here's an addition catch, anyone who bikes 10+ miles will be counted double.

Cisneros coming to Mpls.

Sandra Cisneros will be the next guest in MPR's literary series, Talking Volumes, in which well-known authors talk about their work with host Keri Miller. Cisnero's will talk about the 25th anniversary of The House on Mango Street, her acclaimed novella of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. She will also discuss her new projects, including a collection of fiction titled Infinito and Writing in My Pajamas, a book on how she teaches writing.

Event Info.
7pm, Tuesday, April 21 at Washburn High School.
* More info and tickets here: Cisneros on Talking Volumes.

The American (Literary?) Landscape.

This morning I came across an interesting New York Times interactive feature, "Remade in America: The Newest Immigrants and their Impact," which traces immigration trends over the course of the 20th century. Given our interest in the "American identity" and its "defining characteristics," the feature might help us to ask--if not answer--some questions regarding the ever so elusive "landscape of American Literature." (The quoted phrases reference the first paragraph in the class syllabus.)

Bonus Point Opp:

• Check out the interactive feature and then post a comment below in which you pose an open-ended discussion question that somehow connects the immigration trend of the map to our study of American lit.
• Or, in a few sentences, answer a question that someone else has already posed.

For many of you (if not for me) this may be a cognitive stretch, but I'm willing to risk it.

Bringing grammar back; now that's good news.

There's hope for the semi-colon after all. Read why here: Celebrating the Semi-Colon in a Most Unlikely Location.