Module 7: Postmodern Literature

OUTCOMES:

Students will be familiar with the major events and movements of the historical period corresponding to the published works of writers studied.
Students will understand the major plot and/or ideas of the assigned works of Updike, Morrison, Lahiri, Edrich, and post modern poets.
Students will explore and analyze the motivations of the characters in the assigned works.
Students will examine and apply the major themes discussed in this unit and be able to explain how these themes are demonstrated in the works assigned.
Students will be familiar with the characteristics of post modern literature and magical realism.
Students will be familiar with the information in the linked documents on magical realism.

Assignments include

reading the headnotes about the writers in the text book,
reading all the documents linked in the module
viewing the video on The Big Fish, which discusses magical realism
reading selections from the works of Updike, Morrison, Edrich, and Lahiri,along with several post modern poets.

Assessments include two written assignments.

Assignment 7: Due Apr. 13

1. Read the head note on Toni Morrison and “Recitatif” (2587). Use whatever clues you can in the story to decide which of the girls is black and which is white. Write a paragraph explaining your theory. Then go to the Discussion to express your opinion in our last forum (8 points).

2. Read John Updike’s head note and "Separating" (2610). Write a paragraph explaining to what degree this is story reflects reality in today’s America.

Also, check this web site:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes Links to an external site.

Here you find out what Nobel Prizes are, when and how awarded and some winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature. See if you can find all the American winners. Toni Morrison won in 1993, important enough to be a test question.

3. Read the head note for Louis Erdrich and her story “Fleur” (2779). Also, read about magical realism in Magical Realism But for your assignment, write a paragraph describing why you think the townspeople are so fascinated with Fleur. Also, you probably did not see the movie "Big Fish." But, even if you did not, the You Tube video below still might help you GET magical realism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tXoJpR3aW0 Links to an external site.

4. And, for your last short story reading for the semester (we’ll read a few post modern poems next week), Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Sexy” (2834) is good story. There’s quite a bit of interest in Indian writers these days and in Indian culture and film (Slum Dog Millionaire, for example). Lahiri, like most of the rest of Americans, grew up in America, but her parents’ homeland impacted her life and her art. Just summarize this story briefly. Turn in the four paragraphs as one document.

Assignment 8: Due Apr 20

Read the following ten poems. For each poem, write a sentence explaining what is happening or what the point is in each one, followed by another sentence that explains ONE of the images in the poem that stands out to you and why. (PLEASE listen to the mini-lectures for these poems below.) Submit it as Assignment 8.

Read Elizabeth Bishop’s head note and summarize “The Fish” (2289) and “In the Waiting Room” (2294). fish and waiting room.wma Download fish and waiting room.wma Play media comment.
Play media comment.
“A Supermarket in California” (2540) by Allen Ginberg (a leader of the beat poets in the 1950s-60s)
“Parsley” (2767) by Rita Dove parsley and supermarket.wma Download parsley and supermarket.wma Play media comment.
Play media comment.
“the mississippi river empties into the gulf” and [oh antic god] (2665) by Lucille Clifton clifton and collins.wma Download clifton and collins.wma Play media comment.
“Forgetfulness” (2701) and “The Night House” (2703) by Billy Collins
"Letter Home" http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16258 Links to an external site. and "Pilgrimage" http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19652 Links to an external site. by Natasha Trethewey. I had to link these because to copy them in the course would be plagiarism, and I would be in big trouble. (The poetry.org website is practically hers since she is the Poet Laureate of the whole United States for one more term, so she gave her permission for these poems to be used there. We are very proud of her since she is ours, born and raised in Gulfport, and a proud Mississippian.) trethewey.wma Download trethewey.wma Play media comment.

However, remember that poetry, even more than fiction, can be interpreted in a highly personal way, so always spend time reading a poem several times to see what YOU see in it. There is no RIGHT interpretation.

Listen carefully to this mini lecture on these poets. It will help explain what they are about and help you with the questions on the final exam about them.

One thing you will notice in most of the “postmodern” poetry is that free verse is the preferred form, meaning that there is no rhyme or rhythm. (One of my students a few years ago said it had “no rhyme or reason,” which made me wonder whether she just didn’t understand the form or that she was speaking with great disdain about the form.) Walt Whitman in the 1850s, sort of, popularized free verse, and it’s been popular in the mid 20th century.