Life in Dubai
Slums in The Phillipines
What is Globalization? Is it good or bad?
25 February 2014
Oranges ( poem) by Gary Soto
Take a look at the beautiful poem written by Mexican American author, Gary Soto
OrangesBy: Gary Soto
The first time I walked
With a girl, I was twelve,
Cold, and weighted down
With two oranges in my jacket.
December. Frost cracking
Beneath my steps, my breath
Before me, then gone,
As I walked toward
Her house, the one whose
Porch light burned yellow
Night and day, in any weather.
A dog barked at me, until
She came out pulling
At her gloves, face bright
With rouge. I smiled,
Touched her shoulder, and led
Her down the street, across
A used car lot and a line
Of newly planted trees,
Until we were breathing
Before a drugstore. We
Entered, the tiny bell
Bringing a saleslady
Down a narrow aisle of goods.
I turned to the candies
Tiered like bleachers,
And asked what she wanted -
Light in her eyes, a smile
Starting at the corners
Of her mouth. I fingered
A nickle in my pocket,
And when she lifted a chocolate
That cost a dime,
I didn't say anything.
I took the nickle from
My pocket, then an orange,
And set them quietly on
The counter. When I looked up,
The lady's eyes met mine,
And held them, knowing
Very well what it was all
About.
Outside,
A few cars hissing past,
Fog hanging like old
Coats between the trees.
I took my girl's hand
In mine for two blocks,
Then released it to let
Her unwrap the chocolate.
I peeled my orange
That was so bright against
The gray of December
That, from some distance,
Someone might have thought
I was making a fire in my hands.
Gary Soto Biography
Born: Fresno, CA, US
Current Home : Berkeley, CA, US
I was born and raised in Fresno, California, and grew up in the barrio, which is a Spanish word for neighborhood. When I was younger I wanted to be a priest or a paleontologist, a scientist who studies fossils and dinosaur bones. We didn't have many books around when I was growing up, and no one really encouraged us to read. In fact, I never thought about being a writer when I was a kid.
After high school I went to the California State University at Fresno to study geology. One day I came across a book of poetry on a shelf in the college library. I read it, liked it, and began to write poems of my own. I enrolled in my first poetry-writing class in 1972. I was twenty years old at the time. That's when I decided to become a writer. I graduated from the university with a degree in English. I then went on to get a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. I have been writing poetry, short stories, and novels for children and adults ever since.
A lot of my work seems autobiographical, because I write a lot about growing up as a Mexican American. It's important to me to create and share new stories about my heritage. It's a huge part of my life. If you read my poems and stories, you might wonder which things really happened to me. As a writer, I like to make things up, as long as the actions of the characters are believable. There are many different types of writers. Some people like to write things that are factual and historical. For me, the joy of being a writer is to take things I see and hear and then rearrange them. I like to tamper with reality and create new possibilities. In short, not all my work is autobiographical, but it could be.
To me the finest praise is when a reader says, I can see your stories. This is what I'm always working for, a story that becomes alive and meaningful in the reader's mind. That's why I write so much about growing up in the barrio. It allows me to use specific memories that are vivid for me. For example, in Neighborhood Odes, a collection of some of my poems, I describe and celebrate life in a Hispanic neighborhood. I use details, such as the names of people I knew and the foods they ate, to illustrate daily life in the community. I even include a list of Spanish words and phrases, with their English translations, at the back of the book.
Sometimes, I go to schools to meet my readers. I have played baseball and basketball with young people, sang songs, led a parade and even acted in skits. I do these things because I want to make sure kids get excited about reading. I figure if they meet me, they will be curious to read what I write. If that inspires them to read what other people write, all the better! I believe in literature and the depth it adds to all our lives.
Even though I write a lot about life in the barrio, I am really writing about the feelings and experiences of most American kids: having a pet, going to the park for a family cookout, running through a sprinkler on a hot day, and getting a bee sting! You may discover that you have had many of the same experiences and feelings as the characters in my stories and poems.
Gary Soto now lives with his wife and daughter in Berkeley, California. He is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California at Riverside.
Listen to the selection La Bamba here
22 February 2014
La Bamba by Ritchie Valens
1958
La Bamba explained: the music of Veracruz
Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesita
Una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia
Y otra cosita
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesita
Una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia
Y otra cosita
Can you hear Ritchie Valens belting that one out? One of Rock and Roll’s most copied songs (from garage bands, movies, and college marching bands, to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir). La Bamba is an ode to an era, the anthem of the American Boom generation. Many of us over the years continue to sing that catchy song without thinking much about it. But in truth, there is a whole lot more here than meets most peoples ears.
La Bamba did not jump out of some songwriter’s head in the 1950’s - in fact, it probably dates back to the beginning of the last century. Its birthplace is southern Veracruz, eastern Oaxaca, and northern Tabasco. This song is in fact not a “song” at all but a son.
Taken from
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1598-la-bamba-explained-the-music-of-veracruz
17 February 2014
Edgar Allan Poe
For my Eight graders,
An introduction to celebrated dark- gothic author Edgar Allan Poe
- NAME: Edgar Allan Poe
- OCCUPATION: Writer
- BIRTH DATE: January 19, 1809
- DEATH DATE: October 07, 1849
- EDUCATION: University of Virginia, U.S. Military Academy at West Point
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Boston, Massachusetts
- PLACE OF DEATH: Baltimore, Maryland
BEST KNOWN FOR:
American writer, critic and editor Edgar Allan Poe is famous for his tales and poems of horror and mystery, including The Raven.
The Raven movie
Bath , England
Dear Seventh Graders,
Have a look at the beautiful yet mysterious city of Bath, in England, the setting of the first short story we are reading this trimester The Landlady by Roald Dhal.
Have a look at the beautiful yet mysterious city of Bath, in England, the setting of the first short story we are reading this trimester The Landlady by Roald Dhal.
Visit the city of Bath UK
