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Wednesday, June 14, 2006

If I were to hit the lottery...

... I would be a full-time student and professional reader (is there such a job?)

Today and tomorrow I have the pleasure of attending a workshop on slave narratives and black nationalism with Dr. Jim Trotman, a reknowned Frederick Douglass scholar from West Chester University. Honestly, I think I would take a course on bricklaying or animal husbandry if he were teaching it! It is such a wonderful thing to sit and read and talk about literature.

If I could create my own little course on "what you should read and know" I would have tons of poetry, creative non-fiction, Sherman Alexie stuff, and all kinds of Native-, African-, and other kinds of American literature. We have such a rich culture and we only tap the surface.

On another note, I bid a fond "Farewell and hope to see you soon" to my AP English Literature class. They made me crazy sometimes, but they made me think. I wish I could rewind the tape and have them again and do it better. Can't wait to hear the great things they do.

So I have my summer reading list - finish The March by E.L. Doctorow, read Beloved again to prepare for the fall (it's the AP summer reading book), read First They Killed My Father again to prepare for the author who's coming in the fall, and re-read the following: Wuthering Heights, Invisible Man, Demian, Candide, The Wasteland, Screwtape Letters, Frederick Douglass's Narrative, The Kite-Runner, Killer Angels, J.B., The Inferno, and The Sun Also Rises. Oh, and write some poetry.

Whew! I'll be carrying an AWFULLY big bag to the beach, won't I?