Poe!

Check out Richmond's Poe museum here!
http://www.poemuseum.org/index.php

 A week ago I paid a visit to the little cottage, once Poe's childhood home, to interview and look around. I received a call today with the good news- a job offer! As I'm sure you can see from the video below there's a lot of Poe most of us don't know. I will now be able to share the notoriety of the most notorious Richmond writer with the world in a position that's half academic half theatrics. The museum curators that interviewed me were regretful that I couldn't meet the other student that works there. "He's really funny" they assured me, "and right now he's halfway to a speech he's giving - dressed as Poe!". Apparently he routinely gets ovations at the finish of his tours, which sparked my naturally competitive nature. I'm eager to meet my new, possibly quirky, coworker and for the other events the museum throws. Apparently people have had weddings there in the past. I lit up when they told me this, I love weddings! But, on second thought a wedding at the Poe museum might be a little more morbid than romantic. There are other events at the museum too; concerts, dinners, even murder mystery parties serving as a venue of spooky fun.

The museum itself contains many of his personal items; a gorgeous silk vest, the bed he slept in as a child, even a lock of his hair. Hopefully my new workplace will be a great source of inspiration in my own writing, but not too creepy!

Weekly Forecast: Paranoia !

Another day... another no show. I won't let this dishearten me though, Monday afternoon isn't exactly the best time for walk-ins to show up to work with.

The Paranoid Daughters of the Late Colonel 

I am however, working on a paper of my own, “The Daughters of the Late Colonel”: Paranoia and Purpose. I will post a draft with corrections my writing consultant makes along with a final draft, as an experiment to demonstrate how helpful... or otherwise the Writing Center can be. 
1. Essay Editing Lecture: Dr. Outka           Tonight
2. Doing some Peer Editing: English 298     Tues.
3. Writing Consultant Meeting: Paranoia    Wed.

Love, Letters, and Lore: St. Valentine's Day

"Whenever you don't get a pun, you should just put it in single quotation
marks and point at a bird until you do. And if it's possible, stuff your
massive cankles into a pair of spats, then call it a day." -Karen Horton

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. Everybody’s favorite right?

However, the usually gag-worthy holiday got me thinking about letter writing, the post, and of course Valentine’s day cards. It seems to me this act of exchanging written notes is especially important to this holiday, in ways it isn’t so much on St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, or Easter. Part of this probably has to do with the story behind the holiday of St. Valentine’s Day. According to popular legend, Emperor Claudius II waged several bloody wars with his Roman army. However, he was having trouble finding eager recruits because many of the young men were not keen on leaving their wives and girlfriends. In order to free the men up from their romantic sweeties and get them fighting for him, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome!(Imagine our president standing up and cancelling all martial statuses so that we could all focus more on the national debt) Lucky for the soldiers though, the romantic and rebellious priest Valentine began marrying couples in secret. He was caught, brutally beaten and put to death February 14^th. Pretty morbid for day we now celebrate with candy and hearts. But why the letters? Why the notes? Well, one version of the legend recounts that when he was in prison, couples he had married came back and left him letters of appreciation. Another more far-fetched version claims that he fell in love with his jailor’s daughter signing a love letter to her with, “Your Valentine”. Whether or not either of these stories is true is far beside the point, because someone America at least believed them at some point and from these stories we have our own traditions of letter writing on Valentine's Day.

"Oh, is he the one who carries a purse to school? And wears daisy duke shorts,
even though it's in the 30s? Yeah, no thanks." -Howie Luvzus

I really enjoy cards, hokey as they often are (though maybe not these vintage ones so much). All these cards did get me thinking about the post, and modern communication. An English teacher of mine in high school made the audacious prediction that the post will cease to excist, or be of use in the near future. I certainly hope not. Though many of us may find it difficult to pick up a pen and paper and write their thoughts down fluently, clearly, and wittily (I certainly struggle) I hope people keep trying at this dying art of letter writing, because it’s the only way you can hold someone’s thoughts, well-wishes, and the actual letters which have been strung together in love in your hands.

"Waiting to Begin" AND "I'm No Sylvia Plath"

A favorite childhood author acting casual.
Guess Who?

Today was another no-show for our appointment. No one had scheduled for this time-slot, but the suspense is building, and I think the four of us (two writing consultants and two apprentices) are so itching for some actual work, which we’ve been preparing for, that if someone actually does come in they’ll be absolutely bombarded with our enthusiasm to help, or at least do something. It feels like a room of med-students antsy and waiting for a live subject to practice on.

Since there isn’t much action on the WC (Writing Center) front, I’ll discuss my other involvements in campus culture. I’ve signed up for the ESL (English as a Second Language), and I’m so excited even though it’s something I had no idea existed a few weeks ago. The goal of the program is to tutor staff members at the University in English, whose language skills may not be up to the levels and standards of most other employers. Since the University of Richmond is an excellent school, I suppose the most we have to offer anyone is schooling.

When I was drawing up a resume for summer internships that I mentioned in the last post, I realized just how interested I am in language/writing. ESL, my writing consultant apprenticeship, publications in Bufo: literary magazine, and a first prize in a history writing contest all found their way into my application. This scares me a little because I believe firmly that if I was ever a writer I’d go insane. Look at the movies: nothing good ever comes to them.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

No Thanks.The lives of real famous writers aren’t much more promising either. Sylvia Plath stuck her head in an oven; Virginia Woolf drowned herself in a river, hardly encouraging. Good thing I’m in the Wellness health class theme career exploration. (No, that wasn’t sarcastic). I have a lot of career exploring to do if I do not want to end up in some lonely writer’s cottage in Wales teetering on the edge of a cliff. 

The Apprentice ...?

 When I think of apprentices I think of adolescent boys in knickers pants and aprons slaving over a smithy fire, or carving furniture in a wood-shaving scattered room. I imagine Johnny Tremain, not myself. But the rumors are true; I am an apprentice, a writing consultant’s apprentice. So how did my first day go? It went. The room reserved for consultations in the Writing Center was neat and functional. In the corner: a couple computers, dictionaries, thesauruses, and the works. However, nobody came to use any of it.

            

“This is normal, for this time in the semester. We don’t get many walk-ins now” my writing consultant assured me.

            

While I was ready to tackle problem that might pop up, it’s good to know not every meeting is a series of serious problems involving tears, F’s, and angry teachers. 

I took the time to ask the writing consultant I’m shadowing if she had any horror, or great success stories.

“My first consultation was with a student who wanted to go over transfer application essays (a bit awkward, I know).  He came in knowing what things he wanted me to look at, and I was able to make some suggestions. At the end of the consultation he kept thanking me and telling me that I helped him out so much, which was the best thing I could have hoped for.  The next week, he even scheduled a follow-up appointment with me!  So that was my success.”

I was surprised to hear that application essays are brought into the writing center. I am currently writing application essays for summer internships, and was completely stumped writing a cover letter, even the format was laid clearly and simply right before my eyes on the Career Center website. I guess it was a simple matter of tone. I’ve learned I can write conversationally, as on this blog, I can write academically for teachers, but a business audience was entirely new to me. My writing consultant’s story gave me the brilliant idea to bring my application essay into the Writing Center, so that I could get some help writing in the new uncharted waters of business. Honestly, sometimes I think I get more out of the Writing Center than I’ll be able to give back.