An update from our thirty-second book club meeting! On January 29th, we discussed Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis. Students attended from all over the United States and we had an engaging discussion. This was the first session that I (Maya) led, and it was a delight to get to know the readers. Elijah of Buxton follows eleven-year-old Elijah, who lives in a settlement of people who have escaped slavery in Buxton, Canada (a real historical place.) We started out our discussion by talking about new things about history we had learned from reading the book. We discussed the Underground Railroad, and the dialect, or slang, that the characters in the book spoke in. Next we broke into small groups to discuss our favorite moments in the book. Many people mentioned that their favorite moments were scenes of humor, such as the pranks that Elijah and his friend play on Elijah’s ma, and the pranks Ma plays in revenge. This led to a lively full-group discussion of a humorous scene in the book, when Mr. Travis, the teacher, loses his temper at Elijah’s best friend. We also talked about the way that the residents of Buxton upheld their creed of “one helping one to uplift all.” We agreed that Mr. Leroy followed the creed, and that the Preacher, who did not, was a suspicious character. Finally, we looked at a scene in which the residents of Buxton welcome a family of refugees who have just escaped slavery in the United States. Together, we read the speech that Elijah’s Pa uses to welcome the new residents. Then the students got time to try some creative writing of their own. They could either choose to write their own version of a speech to welcome new refugees to Buxton, or they could write a scene with a funny prank. Students shared out their responses to the group. It was fun to hear the speeches and pranks that people came up with! After a great session of book club, I am looking forward to next month’s meeting, when we will be discussing the wonderful novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. See you next time! Our Next Book (to be discussed on February 26): Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Workshops
How Stories Work—Writing Workshop #25: How to Make a Character
An update from the twenty-fifth Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop held on Saturday January 29, plus some of the output published below This week, Conner enumerated what makes a great character, the most important attributes being that a character should be flawed and be put under stress so that, according to Charles Baxter, “the story goes forward, [and] something in the situation or the characters is forced to reveal itself.” Some famous characters we discussed were Don Quixote, Hamlet, Odysseus, Jo March, Anna Karenina, and Maleficent. During the workshop, we learned that oftentimes the best jumping off point for a character is ourselves. Before completing the prompt, Conner had us get in the mind of our character by finishing these sentences as if we were them: I spend my time worrying about…, What I want most in life is…, My biggest regret is…, My biggest secret is…,I believe in…, and The thing I do when no one else is watching is… And then we wrote! The Challenge: Write a short story, a chapter, or a poem in the voice of your character in a situation under pressure. The Participants: Nova, Amelia, Quinn, Emma, Alice, Zar, Penelope, Ellie, Josh, Lina, Gwynne To watch more readings from this workshop, like Amelia’s below, click here. Amelia, 11
How Stories Work—Writing Workshop #24: “And” (Revisited)
An update from the twenty-fourth Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop held on Saturday January 22, plus some of the output published below In his first class of the new year, Conner Bassett revitalized a scintillating lecture on the use of “and” in literature as well as visual art. Over the course of the workshop, we learned about the uniquely conjoining, relational, and aggregational nature of the swiss army knife contraction, noting specifically its different uses within the titles Crime and Punishment and Being and Nothingness. We also looked at Marcel Duchamp’s conversion of a urinal into a “fountain” in his famous museum exhibition, noticing how this subversion of meaning connoted the effect of the word “and.” Moving through the expression of “and” in works by Magritte, Warhol, the general nature of Islamic art, and in the effect of the comic panel, we read an excerpt from Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses in order to see the “speed” of “and.” Finally, we considered “and’s” ability to transcend time and conjoin the present with the past in Dylan Thomas’ poem “And Death Shall Have No Dominion.” And, of course, at the end of the workshop we wrote! The Challenge: In 30 minutes, write one of three types of pieces: one, write a story or poem where you replace every period with the word “and”: two, write a story or poem that begins “in the middle,” beginning with the word “and”: or, three, start a new story or poem at the end of an old one, beginning with the word “and.” The Participants: Lina, Gwynne, Amelia, Emma, Ethan, Samantha, Penelope, Nova, Josh, Ellie, Zar, Alice, Quinn To watch more of the readings from this workshop, like Zar’s below, click here. Zar, 11
