How much editing is done with political speeches?

I don't have a vendetta against President Barack Obama. But I just have to say that I want to know if his speech writers have editors. I want to explore more in depth the process that is involved in writing a public speech. Who is the primary writer? Who then edits it?

This weekend was a first for me. I got to go to Arlington National Cemetery for Memorial Day and listen to the president of the United States and sit about 30 yards away from him. (And as a side note, I got to see Michelle Obama in person too, and she really is as elegant as she seems)

President Obama's speech was great. Perfect for Memorial Day. But, he made a big mistake which would earn a top spot on my blooper log for Professor Dant's editing class. He made reference to a fallen soldier who graduated from the "U.S.S. Naval Academy." Ummm, I didn't realize that the Naval Academy was a ship. It was odd. And as good as his speech was, I just can't get over it. Didn't he realize as he said it that it sounded so bizarre?

As an editing minor, this is definitely something that I hope to learn more about. I think it would be very interesting to find out more about the people behind the scenes who help political figures look good for the public. And even more, who gets the blame for errors in a speech? Should we blame Obama for not knowing the proper name of the nation's service academy or should we excuse it blame whoever put it into the teleprompter? I'll let you know what I find out.

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Using JSTOR to find black reader responses to Toni Morrison

I wanted to use JSTOR to find what has been written academically about the current popular readers’ response, particularly in the African American community.

JSTOR is a great web source in finding articles from all kinds of publications. The one I found was from the African American Review.

I used the search tool, but opened it up to search in all articles. I searched for “black readings on Toni Morrison” and I actually found quite a few intriguing articles.

Toni Morrison, Oprah Winfrey, and Postmodern Popular Audiences

John Young

African American Review

Vol. 35, No. 2 (Summer, 2001), pp. 181-204

Published by: Indiana State University

Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2903252

I learned a lot from this articles about the modern audiences of Toni Morrison, particularly those belonging to Oprah’s Book Club. It was an interesting insight into changing protocol of author involvement with readers through things like television and technology.

Toni Morrison was a Nobel and Pulitzer prize winner when she first appeared as a featured author on Oprah’s Book Club. The article discusses what the book club did in promoting Morrison and also discusses questions about the “Oprah effect” on Morrison’s books: did it increase or decrease their value? How has it changed the way that Morrison is viewed in academia? The article also gives a history of previous black writers and compares the limitations they faced that Morrison is striving to overcome in the postmodern world.

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Exploring Project Muse to find themes in Toni Morrison’s novels

I explored Project Muse to see what kind of articles I could find that discuss the themes in Morrison’s literature, particularly themes that would demonstrate her role as an author today.

Project Muse is an on-line resource that helps you find biographies, interviews, and scholarly articles about specific works or specific authors.

I was new to using Project Muse, so I went to their basic search and searched “Toni AND Morrison”—I only narrowed it by designating that she was a female author. I found a lot of great articles, and one in particularly that is a comparative piece discussing a common theme in three of her books, one being the book I am focusing on for this project.

A Blessing and a Burden: The Relation to the Past in Sula, Song of Solomon and Beloved

Deborah Guth

MFS Modern Fiction Studies, Volume 39, Number 3&4, Fall/Winter 1993, pp. 575-596 (Article)

This article was interesting to me because I liked seeing the discussion about the importance of the past in Song of Solomon, because I feel like it connects to Morrison’s mission as a female African American writer.

The article discusses some of the many issues that inhabit Toni Morrison's fiction: one of them being the multifaceted and often problematic relationship of the present to the past. Whether she explores a love-affair or a girlhood friendship, generational rupture or the meaning of freedom—whether she uses the model of communal story-telling to shape her work, reactivates a traditional myth or explores the dynamics of memory—the impact of the past remains a central issue, wending its way through theme and form. For Morrison, the questions: "Who am I?" and "Where are we going?" are inseparable from "Where do we come from?", and the two sides—the search for self-definition and an understanding of what the past is about—interact constantly throughout her work

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Connecting my novel of choice with someone else’s through the Literature Resource Center

I chose to search for helpful things relating to To Kill A Mockingbird, because it deals with similar racial issues like Song of Solomon does. One takes place in the south, and the other in the north, but they still explore key issues about racism in the mid twentieth century.

I decided to explore using the Literature Resource Center, an on-line source for biographical historical information about novels and authors.

Rather than searching for both Harper Lee and Toni Morrison in the same search, I chose to just search for entries about Harper Lee. I found one article in particular that brought up a historical moment that plays a big part in Song of Solomon as well: the murder of teenager Emmett Till.

Prolepsis and Anachronism: Emmett Till and the Historicity of To Kill a Mockingbird
Author(s):
Patrick Chura
Source:
The Southern Literary Journal. 32.2 (Spring 2000): p1. From Literature Resource Center.

I learned a lot from the article about the historical context for both novels. It gave me a better idea of the impact of racism nation-wide, not just in the south. The murder of Emmett Till is discussed in a significant part of Song of Solomon, and this article discusses how it is greatly reflected in To Kill a Mockingbird. It helped me connect the two texts.

Although To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the 1930s, there are elements of history that can be seen being reflected in the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird. One event is the 1953 murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi. The article shows the similarities in the case and the trial of Tom Robinson in the novel. It gives a historical background to race in the south, and how these events influenced Harper Lee in her writing of To Kill a Mockingbird.

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My Morrison Research

The cool thing about studying an author that is still living and writing is that you can find some really cool insights into their literature because they are still living to talk about it.

Toni Morrison is known for challenging all literary themes and motifs that readers may be expecting. She always is forcing us to rethink things and realize that things are not always as they seem. Something she has done that defies the traditional role of a "serious author" is being involved in communication media. In this case, I'm talking about her many appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

I found a really cool article that I posted on the Diigo group that talks about the criticism that Morrison got from academia that she would go on a daytime talk show and lead book discussions. How insulting for a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner to do that. But as I have thought about, I have realized that Morrison was essentially foreseeing the changing modes of communication for writing about and discussing literature. Morrison first appeared on Oprah in 1996, and look at how much our modes of communication have changed.

While I think that Morrison was kind of trying to cause a stir in the literature world, which she likes to do a lot, it's clear now to see how wise she was to do it. Now we have even more ways of discussing literature like blogs, on-line forums, social networking, etc. Toni Morrison was beginning to explore that through the world of television. Makes me like her more.

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My connection status

I figured out how to link GoodReads to my facebook, but oddly enough only when I add books to my "to-read" list. I wish more people would get on the GoodReads bandwagon (or just the reading bandwagon for that matter!) because it's such a cool social tool that connects people through books. I forgot how my GoodReads was linked to facebook, so imagine my surprise when I was all of a sudden getting comments on my facebook page from people who were offering their praise for a book that I just added to my list.

I finally set up an account on StumbleUpon and I would have done it earlier! What a cool way to find things on-line relating to your interests. Now most of my bookmarks on Diigo are ones that I found through StumbleUpon.

I'm really trying to keep up on reading everybody's blog, but I'm starting to feel an information overload. Thank goodness for GoogleReader, which was another tool that I never had used until recently. GoogleReader and GoogleDocs are basically amazing for individual and collaborative work. I use them both everyday now.

Basically I know that this post isn't really going in a productive direction, but I just wanted to talk about it! If you have any other cool suggestion to things I should do on the internet (good stuff, obviously), I'm all ears.

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All That Jazz

Jazz by Toni Morrison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jazz is the story of a couple living in Harlem during the Jazz Age, and by the "Jazz Age" I don't mean F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jazz Age--it is anything but that. Joe and Violet's relationship is virtually falling apart, due to some adultery and murder, which makes for a juicy start to the story. Morrison then takes us on a journey back a few generations, where we see that Joe and Violet's stormy relationship is the cause of generations worth of disfunction. It's a fascinating study of "the sins of the fathers" affecting their generations of posterity. What makes the novel so memorable is its style and narrative: the voice of jazz. The narrative is musical, sporadic, and improvisational, capturing the feel of the roots of Jazz that began in the heart of Harlem. Even though the narrative jumps back and forth through the years, it's still an easy book to follow, and overall a great book.

View all my reviews

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More than just a book in Oprah's Book Club

I'm not going to lie. The only reason I had heard of Toni Morrison in years past was because of Oprah Winfrey. Toni Morrison is an African American writer who usually confronts social issues in her novels about Black culture and its fight to find definition among white popular culture that seems to be everywhere. So naturally, Oprah LOVES Toni Morrison, and has featured her novels in her book club, and even starred in the film adaptation of Morrison's novel Beloved.

With that being said, with the Morrison novels that I had read prior to reading Song of Solomon, the book I chose as my personal book choice, I hadn't really been able to connect with Morrison's characters and her themes in her novels. I am a white girl from Utah. I could appreciate what Morrison was doing, but there was still something missing for me.

I found myself finally connecting all those pieces as to what Morrison is trying to do when I read Song of Solomon. The novel's focus is identity. Finding out who you really are, where you came from, who you came from, and understanding your past in order to help your present and future. Who doesn't relate to that? While Morrison is dealing more with the complexities of identifying yourself and your history as an African American, which in the early 20th century was more difficult to do, all readers can relate to that feeling of trying to discover yourself and realize what kind of person you really are.

It was a fascinating book, and it left me with a greater desire to understand better where I came from. This isn't anything new to me. I have grown up all my life learning about the great importance of genealogical efforts. I know it's important, and Toni Morrison helped me realize it again. That's what good books are meant to do for you.

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Playing around with GoodReads

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the classic Toni Morrison style, Song of Solomon manages to questions conventions of family and society, and you love the book and hate it at the same time. I love the character of Milkman--he is definitely a relatable protagonist. I loved the Afromystical elements of the novel: it really gives you a deeper view into African American culture and gave me a completely different view into African American literature. My favorite Morrison so far.

View all my reviews

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The Pros and Cons of Kindling

I got my Kindle as a Christmas gift from my mom who thought it would be helpful in buying schoolbooks (which luckily for her, I am an English major--my school books are all novels which is possible with a Kindle. If I needed textbooks, then I would be out of luck---that's a con of a Kindle). But other than that, I have noticed some good things and bad things about using a Kindle in a school setting.

I discovered immediately the fact that with a Kindle, public domain books are free. Before I even purchased a Kindle edition of a book, I already had at least twenty novels on my Kindle without costing me anything. Last semester for American Lit, I didn't need to buy an anthology because all the poems, short stories, essays, etc., I found on-line for free. Score! That's a pro.

Also, when you get bored in class (not that this ever happens), your Kindle can sit inconspicuously on your desk and all you have to do is subtly push the button to turn the page as you read a book, rather than the obvious paper book with its loud page turns. Pro.

When you want to buy a book for a Kindle, all you need to do is click the "buy" button and it is wirelessly downloaded to the Kindle. It's so easy: even easier than putting music on your ipod, which involves connecting it to a computer. If you need a book quickly (like I did last semester for a paper I had to write) it's so nice: no tracking it down at a bookstore, no lines, etc. Pro.

I soon realized though when I was using a book on the Kindle to write a paper, that skimming around and finding page numbers was a pain in the butt. I play around with it and try to figure it out, but I still haven't figured out how to find an actual page number, not the Kindle location number (if any fellow Kindle users know how to do this, please impart your wisdom). Con.

And, this may be just me, but I have a really hard time reading non-fiction on my Kindle. Like, I'm reading The Case for Books on my Kindle right now, and it is REALLY slow moving. I feel like I have read a ton, but on my Kindle it says I'm only 6% along. It's grueling. Con.

Overall, having a Kindle for school is really nice. It's small and not heavy, unlike all those books I normally lug around, and I never had to step foot in the bookstore to get my books. I'm still figuring it all out, but I'm glad I have it.

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The thing about having an on-line presence is...

We all know them: friends on facebook, blogger, etc. who feel the need to give us every detail of their lives, whether it's interesting or not. I remember a "friend" on facebook announcing to the internet that he was finally getting around to washing his sheets. Now THAT, is too much information. Because of these kinds of incidents, it has really made me hesitant to have an "active on-line presence" and put content on-line everyday. I don't want people to get sick of me and I don't want people to feel like all I do is sit on the internet all day (even if I actually do--that's what happens when you work in an office).

So when we were given the expectation of creating on-line content five days a week, it was a very daunting task for me. Up to this point, I rarely, if ever, update my facebook status. I had the same profile picture for 2 years. I started a personal blog 10 months ago, but I would rarely post more than twice a week. I got in this funk of feeling that if I put too much, no one will read it and they will grow weary of my "on-line presence."

I'm starting to realize through the help of my writing class that it's not about the frequency that makes for memorable content, it's the thought and quality that goes behind it. If you approach the content you are putting out there for all of the world to see with even a little thought about who will read it, what kind of things you like to see on-line, etc., you will see that your on-line presence is not a beast of burden for other people: it will be a pleasure. It goes back to Dr. Burton's crede that "a blog is NOT a monologue." If people gave this more thought, the internet world of social networking would be a far greater place.

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Just like Robert Gu

The novel Rainbows End connects to readers because we are all finding ourselves in the same situation as Robert Gu, a man who doesn't want to face the technologically changing times.

I really felt that feeling just a year ago when I cam back from serving a mission in a country that was also "technologically behind". When I came home, it seemed like everyone had "smart" phones--even my mom had a Blackberry and could text which she couldn't do at all when I had left-- and for me who was used to just using a basic cell phone, with no texting and no checking my email multiple times I day, I refused to buy a fancy phone because I felt it was completely unnecessary. Sadly, just like Robert Gu realizing that "wearing" would really help him interact with the world around him, I bought a new smart phone just a couple weeks ago after months of sometimes missing important emails about class, work, etc. because I was away from a computer. It's sad, but true.

The scene that I haven't stopped thinking about these last few days (probably because I am also reading The Case For Books) is the library scene and how it affects Robert. It upset me too, and even before Robert referenced the sci-fi novel (one that I have serious issues with and hold it against all science fiction--but that's another story) Farenheit 451. I read that book in the 8th grade, and I think I hated it because of the ideas it was suggesting. And yet, now, after seeing what has become of technology, novels like Rainbows End and Farenheit 451 make more sense. I see what these writers are putting out there. It's kind of weird and kind of scary to think about.

I feel bad for Robert Gu because he is seen as a fool for wishing to keep his few remaining novels which are precious to him. A lot of us are still like him and we're not to that ultimate point yet where tangible books will be a thing of the past. But it's happening. I have a Kindle, and right now I only use it for school because I still enjoy reading tangible books. But I hate to say it: I don't know how long this will last.

Overall, the Robert Gu storyline in the novel is what I really connected with in this book. I'm not a sci-fi lover, so all the other technical mumbo jumbo was interesting, but still, not really my cup of tea. But I appreciate the Gu family plot line that Vernor Vinge created because as I have been reading it and discussing it in class, it has helped me see what one of the purposes of science fiction is: to show us what our society could become like based on the current trends.

It's fascinating and scary all at the same time.

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Consuming Fudge

I've been thinking about class discussions on what it means to "consume" literature. After the topic came up about how many times it takes to re-read a novel in order to really consume it, I thought about which books on my reading resume that I have read multiple times.

I have read those meaty "classics" such as East of Eden, Anna Karenina, and Pride and Prejudice two times--maybe two and a half times. But really, I can only think of one book that I have read more than three times:

Judy Blume's Superfudge.

I read this book so many times in a five or six year period. To this day, I don't know why I loved this book so much, but I did...and I still do. Ironically, when I was talking about this with my friend Sarah last night, she told me that she also had a book that she read over and over again when she was young, and it was a Judy Blume book as well.

So why was I more than willing and satisfied to read Superfudge over and over again when I was younger, and now I rarely go back and read a book twice?

A blog post I read a few days ago talked about The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, a novel for adolescents, which for this writer of the blog, had been the first "chapter" book with a real plot development, characterization, etc. that he really connected with, in that he realized that reading is fun--that reading is interactive. And most importantly, that reading is satisfying.

Maybe Superfudge was the first book for me that had this effect. I found a book that was enjoyable and never got old for me. I developed the attitude as a kid that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Why should I try to find other books when Superfudge still made me happy every time I read it?

That attitude eventually changed over the years into a mind set that I seem to have now of "so many books, so little time!" I love reading, and with how many great books there are on the planet, I simply don't have time to read a book a second, or heaven forbid, a third time.

The challenge then in "consuming" literature is to find the happy medium between my childhood attitude and my adult one. I'm still trying to figure it out. And these discussions that we continue to have is helping me evaluate my reading strategies and consumption.

Maybe reading Superfudge again will help illuminate my mind. What a great book.

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Exposing My Inner Feminist

This post is not a post about politics.

But I feel the need to evaluate President Obama's speech he made last night, from an editor's point of view.

Obama's speech was well-written and powerfully delivered. I felt the power, and I felt proud to be an American. But there was something that just rubbed me the wrong way, and that was his use of sexist language in using only the word "men" in expressing gratitude to those who accomplished this mission. It bugged me, even though maybe he was referring to the the group of Navy SEALs who carried out the mission and whether they were indeed all men. I thought he would be referring to the mission as whole, which had been being planned since August and surely involved some women in the intelligence process.

In studying sexist language in my many editing classes, it has had the effect on me that makes me think that feminists are just too sensitive. Like, we can't even use the word "businessman" because of its masculine preference? Seriously?

But in this context, if I were active military right now as a woman, it really would have irked me that Obama failed to include "women" in his speech. And now I understand why editors must be sticklers about things like sexist language. I really wish I could talk to Obama's speech editors/writers and ask if this wording was intentional.

And like I said, this post is not political. But somebody else thought this through in his public statement--that person being President George W. Bush:

"President Obama called to inform me that American forces killed Osama bin Laden...I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission."

Good job, President Bush. And good job to you too, President Obama. Just think about that for next time.

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