LANGUAGE ARTS-NEW MEXICO

A Glimpse of Harper Lee

Harper Lee, the famously reclusive author of To Kill a Mockingbird, seems to be appearing in public a bit more often lately.  The following is from today's New York Times:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala., Jan. 27 — Of all the functions at the president's mansion of the University of Alabama here, none has acquired the mystique surrounding a modest annual luncheon attended by high school students from around the state.

They come with cameras dangling on their wrists and dressed, respectfully, as if they were about to issue an insurance policy or anchor the news. An awards ceremony for an essay contest on the subject of "To Kill a Mockingbird," the occasion attracts no actor, politician or music figure. Instead, it draws someone to whom Alabamians collectively attach far more obsession: the author of the book itself, Harper Lee, who lives in the small town of Monroeville, Ala., one of the most reclusive writers in the history of American letters.

With more than 10,000,000 copies sold since it first appeared in 1960, "To Kill a Mockingbird" exists as one of the best-selling novels of all time. For decades, Ms. Lee has remained fiercely mindful of her privacy, politely but resolutely refusing to talk to the press and making only rare public appearances, in which she always declines to speak. She has maintained her resolve despite renewed attention in the wake of the film "Capote," in which Ms. Lee is portrayed as the moral conscience of her childhood friend Truman Capote; the coming "Infamous," another Capote movie in which Sandra Bullock plays Ms. Lee; and a biography of Ms. Lee scheduled for May.

But since the essay contest, sponsored by the Honors College at the University of Alabama, got going five years ago, Ms. Lee, who is 79, has attended the ceremony faithfully, meeting with the 50 or so winners from most of the state's school districts and graciously posing for pictures with the parents and teachers who accompany them.

Read the rest here (registration required). 

Fun with Bleak House

If you've been watching Charles Dickens' Bleak House on PBS, you'll want to check out the BBC web site created to accompany the series.  There's abundant information about Dickens and this particular dramatization of his work, as well as a number of unexpectedly off-beat features such as an animated version of Dickens' life and an online game which gives players an opportunity to try to "Survive Dickens London." 

American Life in Poetry, January 27, 2006

American Life in Poetry is a weekly column featuring a poem by a contemporary American poet, introduced by U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser.  Consider sharing Kooser's selections with your students.

American Life in Poetry
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

Unlike the calculated expressions of feeling common to its human masters, there is nothing disingenuous about the way a dog praises, celebrates, frets or mourns. In this poem David Baker gives us just such an endearing mutt.

Mongrel Heart

Up the dog bounds to the window, baying       
       like a basset his doleful, tearing sounds             
              from the belly, as if mourning a dead king,

and now he's howling like a beagle -- yips, brays,       
       gagging growls -- and scratching the sill paintless,
              that's how much he's missed you, the two of you,

both of you, mother and daughter, my wife       
       and child. All week he's curled at my feet,             
              warming himself and me watching more TV,

or wandered the lonely rooms, my dog shadow,       
       who like a poodle now hops, amped-up windup             
              maniac yo-yo with matted curls and snot nose

smearing the panes, having heard another car       
            like yours taking its grinding turn down             
              our block, or a school bus, or bird-squawk,

that's how much he's missed you, good dog,       
     companion dog, dog-of-all-types, most excellent dog
                 I told you once and for all we should never get.

Reprinted from "The Southeast Review," Vol. 23, No. 2, 2005, by permission of the author, whose newest book of poetry is "Midwest Eclogue," W. W. Norton (2005). Copyright (c) 2005 by David Baker. This weekly column is supported by The Poetry Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.

English Expo Deadline Approaching

The deadline to register for English Expo is February 3.  Sponsored by the New Mexico Council of Teachers of English, English Expo provides an opportunity for middle school and high school students to compete in 23 different events.  Contests range from poetry writing to storytelling to poster design to proofreading.  This year's Expo will be held on Saturday, February 26, 2006, at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque.  For more information, click here.

Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz Awards Announced

American Library Association Announces Literary Award Winners
Monday January 23, 10:30 am ET

SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books and video for children and young adults -- including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards -- at its Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio.

A list of all the 2006 literary award winners follows:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature

"Criss Cross," written by Lynne Rae Perkins, is the 2006 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children

"The Hello, Goodbye Window," illustrated by Chris Raschka, is the 2006 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Norton Juster and published by Michael di Capua Books, an imprint of Hyperion Books for Children.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults

"Looking for Alaska," written by John Green, is the 2006 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Dutton Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.

More here.

American Life in Poetry, January 20, 2006

American Life in Poetry is a weekly column featuring a poem by a contemporary American poet, introduced by U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser.  Consider sharing Kooser's selections with your students.

American Life in Poetry
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

Lola Haskins, who lives in Florida, has written a number of poems about musical terms, entitled "Adagio," "Allegrissimo," "Staccato," and so on. Here is just one of those, presenting the gentleness of pianissimo playing through a series of comparisons.

To Play Pianissimo

Does not mean silence.
The absence of moon in the day sky
for example.

Does not mean barely to speak,
the way a child's whisper
makes only warm air
on his mother's right ear.

To play pianissimo
is to carry sweet words
to the old woman in the last dark row
who cannot hear anything else,
and to lay them across her lap like a shawl.

From "Desire Lines: New and Selected Poems," BOA Editions, Rochester, NY. Copyright (c) 2004 by Lola Haskins and reprinted by permission of the author and the publisher. This weekly column is supported by The Poetry Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.

Rock and Roll High School

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame web site has a "for teachers" area that's full of interesting lesson ideas.  "Langston Hughes and the Blues,"  "Pink Floyd and the Carpe Diem Theme," "Using Hip Hop to Introduce Allusion," and "Getting Inside The Outsiders Through Music," are just four of the over 75 lesson plans available.  All were created by teachers at the Hall of Fame's Summer Institute.  They're available here.

Oprah's Essay Contest Now Underway

Today, Oprah announced her new book club selection as well as the essay contest for high school students that will accompany it.  The book is Elie Wiesel's Night.  The topic for the essay is

"WHY IS ELIE WIESEL'S BOOK NIGHT RELEVANT TODAY?"

Many New Mexico middle school and high school classes read Night, so there's a chance students in your class already know the book.  And given our state's relatively small population, a New Mexico student who enters stands a better chance of winning (each state gets one winner) than someone from, say, California or Florida.  The essays must be postmarked by Monday, February 6.  The details can be found here.

American Life in Poetry, January 13, 2006

American Life in Poetry is a weekly column featuring a poem by a contemporary American poet, introduced by U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser.  Consider sharing Kooser's selections with your students.

American Life in Poetry
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

Here is a poem by David Bengtson, a Minnesotan, about the simple pleasure of walking through deep snow to the mailbox to see what's arrived. But, of course, the pleasure is not only in picking up the mail with its surprises, but in the complete experience--being fully alive to the clean cold air and the sound of the wind around the mailbox door.

What Calls Us

In winter, it is what calls us
from seclusion, through endless snow
to the end of a long driveway
where, we hope, it waits--
this letter, this package, this
singing of wind around an opened door.

Reprinted from "What Calls Us," a Dacotah Territory Chapbook, 2003, by permission of the author, whose most recent book is "Broken Lines: Prose Poems," from Juniper Press, St. Paul, MN, 2003. Poem copyright (c) 2003 by David Bengtson. This weekly column is supported by The Poetry Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.

High Desert Writing Project

The University of New Mexico's new National Writing Project site, the High Desert Writing Project, is open for business.  Their first summer institute will be offered this coming June.  The project director is Professor Rick Meyer of the UNM College of Education and the Co-Director is Rio Rancho High School teacher Michelle Jewett.  One of the premiere professional development organizations in the country, the Writing Project offers experienced teachers (K-12) the opportunity to come together as teachers and writers for an intensive, month-long summer experience, after which they serve as Writing Project Fellows to share best practices with teachers at their school site and beyond.  Participants in the summer institute earn six graduate credit hours.  To learn more about this outstanding professional development program, or to download an application, click here.  The deadline for applications is February 15.