October 5

"If the national park is, as Lord Bryce suggested, the best idea America has ever had, wilderness preservation is the highest refinement of that idea."-Wallace Stegner

Image: Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir, two early champions of the parks, in Yosemite, 1903.

Image: In 1892, Buffalo Bill Cody (second from right) and company survey the land at Grand Canyon National Park, 1892

Image: Photographer Ansel Adams at work at Denali National Park.

-Teddy Roosevelt video (from PBS America's Best Idea)

In Groups:

-What devices do you notice Roosevelt or Abbey using? (Pick at least 3 with a partner)

-Take fifteen minutes and try and make your own social or environmental argument using some of Roosevelt/or Abbey's strategies. Post your imitation to the blog using the "comment" function.

Happy Earth Day!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/earthdays/player/

Presentations

Reading presentations for Tuesday:

-Buffalo for the Broken Heart by Dan O’Brien, pp. 69-124 (Erik Gerver)
-Buffalo for the Broken Heart, by Dan O’Brien, pp. 125-193 (Alexander Frisvold)
-“Fecundity,” by Annie Dillard, p. 531 (Carrie Fick) (Journal)
-from A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold, pp. 281-294 (Jordan Euson)
-The Song of the White Pelican,” by Jack Turner p. 835 (Danielle De Bruin,
Sarah Craig)

Journals

Journals are due on Tuesday (tomorrow)--be sure to include:

-1 page entry on: Buffalo for the Broken Hearted

-Journal on: “Fecundity,” by Annie Dillard, p. 531

-Journal on: from A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold, pp. 265-281

-2 paragraph response on: “Dwellings,” by Linda Hogan, p. 809,

-Journal on: “The Song of the White Pelican,” by Jack Turner p. 835 (Danielle De Bruin,

Sarah Craig)

Thursday

"In my writing, I try to explain and show how important the prairie is, not just to a few ranchers who make a living here, but to the country."-Linda Hasselstrom

Thursday, writer Linda Hasselstrom is visiting our class--she's a great writer, activist, and advocate of the western and Midwestern landscape.

To learn more about Linda, check out:

http://www.grassfedparty.org/component/content/article/218
http://www.windbreakhouse.com/work9.htm
http://wiki.wyomingauthors.org/Linda+M+Hasselstrom
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/author.php?auth_id=1766

Final Portfolio

Due: the day of the final

A portfolio is your chance to look back on your writing from the semester and reflect upon it. Our class portfolio will be in the form of a chapbook or zine.

Chapbook/Zine:

Your chapbook/zine will be a collection of your favorite short journal/blog entries, and a short reflection. Please feel free to get creative with the presentation of your work.

Contents:

• 3 "Reading Like a Writer" entries
• 3 50 "snapshot" photos
• Imitation poem/essay (for either Blood Dazzler or your rhetorical analysis)
  
• 3 in class writings
  

Revise the contents of one category and write a brief reflection discussing any changes you've made.

For reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapbook

Some Casey Property Photos

Photographs courtesy of Gen.