One group is not the culmination of an entire religion.

Terrible acts are not the representation of an entire religion.

Voice in Contemporary Literature: Karen Russell

After reading Vampires in Lemon Grove and reading articles in which Karen Russell is interviewed about her writing style and choices, I have grown to love her writing style and thought pattern. Learning about her background and simple love of looking at typical things in new ways is extremely appealing to me! Her imagination shows through in the world she builds in Swamplandia!, which is a very descriptive Pulitzer finalist story about a family running a threadbare alligator theme park in the Everglades. 

Karen’s voice surrounds taking the ordinary, or know, and making normal situations remarkable or surreal. She writes with a clear voice, describing each environment and situation with great detail and an excellent use of smilies that are unexpected and fantastic. She has a great way of pulling the audience into her world and immersing the reader entirely. She doesn’t beat around the bush with her stories, but instead is completely straightforward in her storytelling, with a poignant quality that reflects the issues facing the human race. 

Though they are not necessarily her own personal reflections, Karen is able to project a variety of tones through her characters in her stories. After reading multiple interviews, she made it clear that her stories don’t necessarily reflect her own memories or experiences, but rather that something sounded interesting to write about, so she did! Simple as that. In these stories, her tone is very relatable as she does not just stick to one overarching theme or tone in her writing. She has an incredible ability to make a completely new situation feel completely relatable because of the characters clearly written feelings. When reading her character’s thoughts, it almost feels like you’re reading their diary or having an intimate conversation, which completely immerses the reader. In turn, it also feels like we’re having a conversation with the author herself.

I found Karen Russell’s writing completely enjoyable and entertaining to read and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future!

Ready Player Once: A Virtual Reality Experience

The user materializes in a bright, bustling hallway in front of a long row of hight school lockers. The user log on screen fades, reading “Identity verification successful. Welcome to the OASIS, Parzival! Login Completed: 07:53:21 OST-2.10.2045" Turning in a full circle, the user examines their surroundings, beautifully rendered in high definition three dimensions. Other users are opening their lockers with a touch and making their way into their respective classrooms before the bell tone. The user can explore the hall space, looking into classroom windows and walking the breezeway, but there is not much to explore. Turning back to their locker, a glowing green icon appears where the locker’s handle would be. Touching the icon, the locker door opens with a soft metallic click. The inside is sparsely decorated, save a picture of the cast of Monty Python dress in their Holy Grail costumes and a picture of Princess Leia posing with a blaster pistol. In the back of the locker is a solitary picture of James Halliday’s Time magazine cover. After taking in the metallic locker, two more glowing icons appear over the next class period’s textbooks. Tapping the icons, the books appear in the users inventory. Before closing the door, the user notices a small mirror, catching a glimpse of their virtual self, and the floating username ‘Wade3'. Interrupted by a warning bell and a flashing in the corner of their display, the user is informed that they have 30 minute until the start of first period. 

Using voice commands to navigate, the user walks in the direction of the World History classroom. Appearing in the classroom, other students avatars are already seated motionless with their eyes closed, engaged in phone calls or browsing the web, or logged into chat rooms. Ignoring them, the user walks to the glowing icon by their seat and sits down, with 25 minutes to spare before class begins. Tapping the engage icon, the users own eyelids shut, classroom faded as they begin scanning messages and threads when an instant message pops up:

        Aech: Top o' the morning, amigo. 

The user is prompted with a few responses, they select and continue the conversation.

        Parzival: Hola, compadre. 

        Aech: What are you up to? 

        Parzival:Just surfing the turf. You? 

        Aech: Got the Basement online. Come and hang out before school, fool. 

        Parzival: Sweet!I'll betherein a sec.

Closing the IM window, the user taps a small highlighted door icon at the edge of their display, selecting Aech’s chat room from the list of favorites and their view fades to black as they transport to Aech’s chatroom.

My Voice as an Artist

What are some common elements that represent your work and makes your voice...well, yours?

        There are multiple elements that come into play when I begin planning out the stories I tell. These stories come in the form of CG animation, animatics (storyboards) and storytelling images. When planning a story, memory is my first inspiration, whether it be an experience or the emotion derived from an experience. My personal outlook is on the positive side, (with no lack of puns) but I have not lived through life unscathed of dark moments and sadness. The realism of life is something I value and grounds many of my stories to some extent, one foot in reality while the other could be anywhere else. Overall, the most common themes to be found in my work are light hearted, comical and relatable. 

An Assessment of 'Professor Incognito Apologizes: An Itemized List"

What are the prominent symbols in the story and how are they used?

One of the most poignant symbols I see in this short story is the character of Doctor Kagan, the couple’s counselor. Kogan is used to emphasize the rift in the relationship between Incognito and Suzanne, who is later revealed to be the superhero Nebula. Incognito recalls both good and bad times in the letter to Suzanne, swinging on a pendulum of emotions that lead back to Doctor Kagan’s symbolism of strife and Incognito’s attempts to fix it.

What connections did you make with the story? Which elements did you connect with?

Clearly not the the extreme of destroying the world, but I have been in those shoes of mixed feelings after a relationship, swinging between good memories and frustration. Looking back with regret does no one any good, it is so much healthier to learn and move on…not exactly what Incognito proposes in his letter to Suzanne, to join him and take over the world..

What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium of your choosing?

Given the chance to adapt Professor Incognito Apologizes, I would use the medium of a film noir type graphic novel - all black and white, but with touches of color for symbolism. The story would unfold from the viewer’s perspective as Suzanne as she (you) discovers the secret lair and unravels Professor Incognito’s story. The most vivid, emotionally charged moments or memories would be displayed in a variety of panels and page layouts, breaking frame, with at least one full page color illustration for effective value. 

Edwidge Danticat's Dewbreaker: The Book of the Dead

“What are the precise strategies that are used by its creator to convey the world to us and us to the world?"

In this story, the reader is introduced to Ka Bienaime, a first generation Haitian American sculptor on a trip with her father to deliver a sculpture she modeled after her father during his time in prison. The piece stirs emotions and memories in her father and he disappears with the statue mysteriously because of it. During the time her father is gone and we are rendered clueless, Ka describes her father to the hotel manager and the law enforcement and we begin to understand more of his character. Through Ka’s account, it becomes clear what type of relationship they share and how he has influenced her life and why she created the sculpture. There is significant emotional meaning behind Ka’s sculpture and it is through her phone calls with her mother and inner dialogue how we come to find this out. 

When Ka’s father returns, we see a first hand account of their relationship and level of respect for one another. In his recounting of the day and his time apart, we learn with Ka his history and that he not only destroyed the sculpture, but why he destroyed it. Ka’s anger is more than understandable, but it becomes extremely relatable as to why she does not outwardly show it or lash out, but rather keeps listening out of respect. This type of writing and inner dialogue becomes real very quickly and is a great technique, to show a character’s inner thoughts while a conversation is going on simultaneously. This style of writing is incredibly effective.

In the end, I feel as though the story runs flat, but was written in a well described method. On a personal note, I feel as though there was something hollow about the story. I can’t quite pin point it, if it was her character and a possible lack of depth or if it was the stark feel of the conversations in the piece… something was off, but overall, the world is described well and very relatable too, as I’ve been to Lakeland and Tampa multiple times. The atmosphere and cultural descriptions are spot on.

World Building

Tangled up in the sheets, I kick my feet free from their crinkly 400 thread count prison and pivot my body until they swing and touch down on the cold hardwood floor, shooting goose bumps across my limbs. Taking a quick breath to ease the chilly shock, I ball up my fists and push my way up off the bed into the dark room, knuckles popping. Rubbing some friction into my arms, I begin rooting around for a soft oversized hoodie, as my dog sleepily follows my movement from his warm perch by my pillows. Though endlessly loyal, our night run hours before has him bushed, so he tucks his face back under his bushy flume of a tail. Hoodie thrown on, I fumble for keys and tiptoe out the door, passing photos of family in the dimly lit hall and pass through kitchen. The ceiling fan listlessly hums it’s goodbye as I quietly slide the patio door closed behind me and as I quietly step through the dewy grass toward my sleeping car.

Backing out of the driveway, I push back the sunroof and let the wind do what it will to my hair as I make my way to the interstate. As my headlights drill holes in the misty blackness, the air hangs heavy with the scent of damp earth. It’s 1:39 AM, so I see few other cars, other than the occasional cop car nestled in a shadow stand of trees looking for speeders.

Driving into the hazy, purple twilight, I pass by all too familiar land marks of funny trinket shops, the old train station and the honeysuckle covered gazebo by The Village Scoop. Beyond main street, I turn down the frontage road, twisting and turning, rising and falling, winding through the hills until I pass the suburban border, a threshold where the sea of residential homesteads turns into pure untainted forest.

Lit only by the occasional far off twinkling light of a front porch, the gravel road takes me through the trees that stretch so tall it looks like they could almost touch the stars. The scent of pine needles is strong here, rushing in through the sun roof and filling my car with memories of running through the forest chasing shadows and playing flashlight tag. Lost in thought, I almost miss the turn for my little lakeside hideaway.

The park is pitch black, lit only by an iron lamp post laden in a fog of insects. Feeling my way down the cool concrete sidewalk toward the sings, my smile widens at the sudden sensation of sand between my toes. Freshwater waves fizz as they roll up onto the beach and soak the sand. Settling into a swing, I begin pumping my legs and watch the starry canopy pulse overhead.

Here is where I stay, lost in dreams and beauty and reverie, swept up in the lush scent of the forest, lake and the recent rainfall, just swinging, swinging, swinging.