tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30452686425577682452024-03-08T11:20:59.534-08:00California PoetRobert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-35444833929993651352019-01-25T22:29:00.004-08:002019-01-27T16:04:38.316-08:00Trumpian Avoidance Tactics Have Infected AcademiaNot long ago, while grading end-of-semester work, I realized that two students had committed plagiarism: both handed in literally word-for-word exact copies of certain assignments--they even used the same printer. When I first realized what had happened, my first impulse was to give both students the grade "F," but I was in a forgiveable mood: I decided to ignore the acts of plagiarism (not all of their assignments exhibited overt plagiarism) and decided to grade the individual assignments on their merits as if some weren't plagiarized. As a result, both students passed the course (with different passing grades).<br />
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However, one of the students soon contacted me and wanted to know why he/she received a certain overall semester grade (the student's attitude was rather strident as if he/she deserved a higher grade and wanted exact details as to how I determined the student's semester grade). Since I keep a detailed record of the various factors that go into how I determine each student's grade which are clearly mirrored in my syllabi for all courses, I quickly got back to the student in question and gave him/her the detailed record that noted the student's exact overall GPA for the course (I use traditional grades such as A- (3.7), B+ (3.3), etc., not points since all of my college professors used traditional grades to determine my assignment and overall semester grades--the point system strikes me as a bit cruel if a student gets a 68 or 69 and needed a 70 to earn a passing grade of C; in contrast, if one of my students has an overall GPA of 1.9 or 1.95, I will likely go up to 2.0 and allow the student to pass the course: I assume, maybe falsely, that the student will ultimately earn the passing grade in the future as a student or in his or her future occupation). Furthermore, I did note to the student that I believed he/she committed plagiarism in conjunction with another student. However, I noted that I decided to ignore the plagiarism issue and simply graded the assignments on their individual merits (I noted on the student's assignments that I was being incredibly lenient--which I often write on student work that has serious problems--when determining his/her individual assignment grades). Additionally, I noted in my comments that the student obviously ignored certain assignment and/or syllabus requirements (yes, I do expect students to read and adhere to various assignment requirements and to read and adhere to an 11- or 13-page syllabus; if that seems unreasonable to some college students, I only shudder to think if some consider it unreasonable to read entire books). And because during that semester I had health problems which required me to miss some class meetings, I added .3 to every student's overall semester grade in every course simply as a means to not penalize their overall semester grades since my health problems temporarily reduced my effectiveness as an educator.<br />
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I expected to hear back from the student soon after, hoping the student would apologize for committing plagiarism and would thank me for not assigning a failing grade because of the plagiarism (I note in my syllabus my option to assign an overall semester grade of F if a student commits plagiarism regardless of all other grading factors). But I didn't hear back from the offending student for nearly a month.<br />
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Then, when another semester began, the offending student accused me of creating a hostile learning environment via my syllabus requirements and teaching methods: In short, the student's response was that I was the real problem, not the student him/her self who committed plagiarism. Eventually, the student actually complained to an administrator about how I was the problem: When I asked the administrator if the student apologized for the plagiarism or thanked me for ignoring the plagiarism when I assigned an overall semester grade, the administrator reported that the student did not admit guilt for the plagiarism nor did the student apologize for the plagiarism--and the student didn't thanked me for being lenient (sound familiar?). Even the common human decency to be appreciative for acts of leniency is somehow beyond the ability of some who commit wrongful acts.<br />
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In essence, the offending student learned from Trump and others to deny responsibility for inappropriate behavior; furthermore, I suspect the student's slow response was probably due to his or her needing time to devise a strategy to not only deny plagiarism but also to launch a counterattack to deflect attention away from the student's actions: Redefine the person who discovered the plagiarism as the "problem," not the offending student.<br />
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I suspect even more students will revert to such Trumpian avoidance and deflection tactics to evade taking responsibility for their actions and promote baseless counterattacks as a way to see themselves in a positive light: That kind of behavior is arguably the clinical reactions many sociopaths display: They rarely take responsibility for their dysfunctional behavior--serial killers often utilize such avoidance tactics. For example, view almost any Charles Manson interview online: he never accepted responsibility for his actions; he never apologized; he never asked for redemption for his ugly behavior. Manson simply did what Trump routinely does and this student did: Avoid all responsibility and attack others so that the offenders view themselves as victims, not as perpetrators<br />
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What can we do in academia to help blunt such dysfunctional behavior? We can require all incoming college students to take a short course or informative session such as those used in some On Course instructional modules that encourage students to take responsibility for their educational endeavors and to cease blaming others for their academic failures or shortcomings. And we can educate administrators and faculty members to critically examine all relevant evidence so that such Trumpian tactics can be readily identifiable and dealt with in a manner that requires offending students to examine what initiated such plagiarism and what they can do to avoid resorting to avoidance tactics. When students embrace responsibility for their educations (which I learned in the first grade--I didn't attend kindergarten), they empower themselves to become true scholastic achievers and future occupational assets: No one can learn for them. If we fail to confront and expose such irresponsible student behavior, we might enable it. I wouldn't be surprised if the offending student commits plagiarism again in other college classes here or elsewhere--and rationalizes his or her unfortunate conduct.<br />
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In hindsight, I erred in my leniency by not assigning failing grades to the offending students; moreover, I suspect I will not be so lenient in the future since, ultimately, my forgiving nature might actually spur some students to reinforce and repeat unhealthy, unethical behavior patterns.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-607770595391696302018-09-27T22:43:00.000-07:002018-10-09T06:09:23.556-07:00America Needs a Reset: Set Terms for Supreme Court Justices, Senators, Congress Representatives, and PresidentsAmerica has politically become a dysfunctional entity. For example, Supreme Court justices are now just as overtly politicized and as tribalized as the politicians who support them. Such a phenomenon is the effect of a larger problem: national politicians should be limited to specific terms in office and then banned from running for other national offices other than for President of the U.S. And even the President should be limited to one term in office as well: Get the job done in a certain number of years.<br />
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For example, Supreme Court justices should be limited to one eight-year terms, not lifetime appointments. And such terms should be staggered so that diversity becomes the norm in the highest court of the land. And like judges in many jurisdictions, they should face public reaffirmation via the voting booth after their first four years to determine if they can finish their eight-year terms or be removed from the bench within 30 days after the election results are certified. This would keep them on their toes: the public should be the final arbiters of judges' abilities to serve. Thus, such individuals literally can't negatively affects millions of lives because they serve until they die or retire. And whatever controversial rulings they issue, the public can be assured that a new set of judges can decide to overturn such rulings.<br />
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Furthermore, the President of the U.S. should be limited to one five-year term in office: This would prevent any president from wasting years running for reelection. And they should be banned from hiring any immediate family members as cabinet members or as staff in the Oval office since those relatives will undoubtedly have plenty of access to influence their familial heads of state.<br />
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As for Senators and Congress men and women, all should be limited to one four-year terms in office. And once they serve, they should be banned from running for any other elected offices at the national level for at least a ten-year period--unless they decide to run for the presidency. And once they've served in the Senate or the House of Representatives, they can never again run for the same office from the same state. Let them move to another state if they wish to run again for a U.S. Senate or House of Representatives seat--but they will have to wait for ten years to do so.<br />
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And new rules need to control both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. Let's take a cue from California: If the state's legislature fails to pass the state budget by a certain deadline, these state politicians don't get paid. Let's withhold pay from Senators and Congress men and women if they too fail to get budgets passed by certain deadlines. And we should require a two-thirds majority vote for all legislation and for all appointments to the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court. If two-thirds can't agree, then the public will vote via secured means (such as simple paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines that can be hacked) to determine if legislation should be passed or if judicial appointees should be confirmed.<br />
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Might this slow our government's daily business? Possibly, but at least we can limit the time a piece of legislation will be debated before politicians vote, and then if these national leaders fail to pass legislation, those in the public who want to vote will vote and the issues will be settled.<br />
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And we need to limit the amount of money that can be spent by political candidates for their campaigns: No national hopeful should spend more than one million dollars for rallys, signage, bumper stickers, and buttons; as for political ads on radio or television, candidates for national offices should be given--given--five-minute to ten-minute spots on Saturday and Sunday mornings aired just twice each weekend day by local and national networks as part of their commitment to public service--and such ads should only run for three months prior to the election days. This would take billionaires and PACs out of the equation entirely: the media should no longer be flooded by paid political advertisements that can literally skew the public's perceptions. But candidates should be allowed to go door-to-door or hold political rallys in venues that would be limited to no more than 5,000 rally goers--and they should be limited to no more than one rally a week. Let their campaigns become truly grass roots-oriented operations.<br />
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Moveover, to get more people to vote, all voters in America who vote both in primaries and in November elections should be able to get both federal and state tax deductions that would literally double those deduction amounts: financial incentives have a way of spurring even the most lazy or apathetic among us.<br />
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And, finally, for the United States of America to become a true democracy, our simple majority votes should determine who wins the presidency, not an Electoral College that has its roots in slavery.<br />
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<br />Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-44286740168733024582017-09-26T23:12:00.001-07:002019-01-26T00:03:26.252-08:00Trump's NFL Comments Promote Institutional RacismIn his book <i>Uprooting Racism</i>, author Paul Kivel explains what he terms "the myth of the happy family" tactic that some use to promote institutional racism: Many whites like to think that society is a "happy family" that generally works for them; however, when people of color protest about the injustice they daily suffer, in particular when it comes to violence perpetrated by police officers, they're accused of upsetting America's "happy family": Some whites call <i>those people</i> (to use Trump's phrase when referring to mainly black athletes) troublemakers or "sons of bitches." In short, the myth of the happy family strategy castigates people of color as somehow being unruly or insensitive: <i> Those people are upsetting our happy family.</i><br />
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Dysfunctional behavior patterns in actual families follow the same pattern: If Father is the main dysfunctional person in power (for example, he has a substance abuse problem), Mother often is the primary enabler when called upon to shield Father from insightful criticism by the Children: "Mommy, what's wrong with Daddy?" Mother, often fearful of angering Father, will enable the Father by promoting the notion that the Children are at fault for any familial tension: "Nothing is wrong with your Father. Don't you cause problems and upset our happy family."<br />
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The NFL players are seen as the Children who are upsetting the dysfunctional myth that America is a happy family, and what better time to do so than during the singing of the national anthem in order to get attention when routinely many whites turn away just as they have from the Black Lives Matter movement, just as they did decades ago when Martin Luther King, Jr., and others marched in Selma and Birmingham: Those actively involved in the early days of the civil rights movement were also seen as troublemakers who protested at "inappropriate" times (see Dr. King's wonderful "Letter from the Birmingham Jail"), who somehow violated whites' sensibilities because protesters didn't use other means that would not upset those in power.<br />
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And just as many whites now say they were supporters of Dr. King and the marches, in twenty or thirty years many whites will say that they supported the NFL players when clearly that is not the case.<br />
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Racism in America is a difficult dysfunctional behavior pattern for many whites to deal with, partly because those afflicted, just as drug addicts are afflicted, don't want to see themselves in a negative light. Yet, they often fall prey to unhealthy, dysfunctional appeals that Trump and his minions promote precisely because such appeals find currency with anyone who has racist tendencies: Politicians have learned the power of "wedge issues" as a means of bringing out the worst in people. For example, in California, Proposition 209 was aimed at whites who were and are predisposed to think that people of color get jobs based on their ethnicity or race rather than based on their qualifications (a damning stereotype that should earn Prop. 209 supporters admission to the infernal regions), yet these same whites can't fathom the idea that many of them get jobs precisely because they're white, for they're often not the sharpest knives in the drawer. All one has to do is a quick reality check: Have you been turning down a number of job offers? Or are you only able to secure employment in a workplace where you "know" someone, a close friend or loved one, especially one who is already employed at your new place of employment? Far too many whites have secured employment for unmerited reasons--and they know who they are.<br />
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The complaints about the NFL players constitute another wedge issue created to reinforce racist stereotypes: Trump's ugly appeals attracts those who often have very few close friends of color. In stark contrast, one should notice that many white NFL players, coaches, and even team owners who have close ties with their black players have wonderfully rebuked Trump's accusations.<br />
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For the flag is merely a symbol. What ultimately matters are the rights we utilize, including the right to protest injustice, and protests that historically have had the most impact are those that challenge people to reconsider something they want to ignore. Protests at so-called "inappropriate" moments, such as during the singing of the national anthem, will have the greatest impact: We are not a happy family.<br />
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<br />Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-18212924720497108932016-11-11T01:16:00.000-08:002016-11-11T13:34:21.105-08:00Slavery and the Electoral CollegeFew Americans understand why the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College phenomenon: it can literally be traced back to James Madison and his fellow Southerners' concern that their influence in selecting the nation's chief executive would be diminished because of the North's greater population. Hence, they came up with what was called The Three Fifths Compromise: the 1787 Constitutional delegates allowed states to count each slave as three-fifths of a person. Essentially, this guaranteed that the more rural states, namely the Southern states, would not be at a disadvantage: they could use their sizable ownership of slaves to influence a Presidential election (we must remember that even Thomas Jefferson, the primary architect of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, owned slaves).<br />
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Moreover, the Founders also had concerns about what they termed "qualified" voters: they feared that uninformed citizens--certainly not themselves--would not make intelligent decisions when casting votes for President and Vice President. Consequently, what eventually became the Electoral College was viewed as a means to control who gets to vote and how much weight should be given to such votes. Thus, less populated states were given more input in the national election process despite their smaller number of "qualified" white voters (they benefited from slave labor and slave ownership). Of course, the Electoral College has been modified since its inception, but the initial impulse that drove its creation has prevented America from becoming a true democracy: We can never become a "one person, one vote" reality until we do away with the Electoral College.<br />
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Some defenders of the Electoral College suggest that the institution's existence acts as a safety valve to prevent or save the country from electing a potential tyrant or dictator (though a number of states have passed laws that literally require their Electoral College electors to vote for the winners of their states' popular votes; only two states, Nebraska and Maine, require proportional electoral votes based on the popular vote tallies). But, considering what we've witnessed so far from President-Elect Donald Trump, his insulting, divisive campaign rhetoric could easily self-define him as probably the most tyrannical, dictatorial-driven President-Elect to ever surface in America. Even the most recent Republican Presidents, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr., and the last Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, couldn't endorse Mr. Trump. When a person like Mr. Trump embodies racism, sexism, and xenophobia, those "qualified" electors can do their fellow citizens a public service by denying their imprimatur and finally illustrate why the Electoral College can be useful.<br />
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But the chances of those electors saving us from Mr. Trump are nil--and hence why Americans should demand an end to the Electoral College. We should finally grow up and trust the public to directly elect our Presidents--we already do so with respect to governors, senators, and literally all other political leaders. After all, even Russia elects their President via a popular vote. If we can't do likewise, then how can we promote democracy around the world without sounding like hypocrites?Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-66755945891421435772016-07-19T06:48:00.000-07:002017-09-28T16:34:04.309-07:00 How to Ease Tensions Between Police and People of ColorWe're witnessing an odd phenomenon: Police officers are promoting the slogan "Blue Lives Matter" in the face of the Black Lives Matter movement.<br />
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What some fail to understand is that police officers historically since America's inception should have been promoting the notion that all lives, including black lives, matter. Sadly, that has not been the case--and in many cities and counties across America, people of color fear for their lives whenever a police officer stops and questions them. Rather, all police officers should focus on saving lives and serving the public, not on taking lives and harassing people of color. All one has to research is how often people of color are stopped by police versus whites who are stopped by police officers--the numbers that President Obama mentioned in a speech should alert anyone who thinks that racial profiling doesn't seriously impact the lives of people of color to the point of losing their lives.<br />
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To minimize such stops, all states should issue bar codes to be placed on the front and rear bumpers of all vehicles; officers would then be issued bar code readers that can read such bar codes from a reasonable distance from their vehicles, note the offending vehicle for a minor problem like a broken taillight, and submit it to a central computer that would issue a "fix it" notification to the registered owner, all without the need to pull over such motorists. Such reduced interaction between police and the public would certainly result in the saving of lives, especially lives of color. How often do we see whites killed by white officers as a result of trivial traffic stops? Hence, one way to save lives immediately is to reduce the number of police stops.<br />
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Moreover, police departments need to hire more diverse officers who might actually empathize with the plight of people of color. One way to do this is to require all police officer applicants to prove that they have diverse personal lives: If applicants can't list at least three people who come from racial groups different than their own as friends, then what's the problem? Why can't these individuals foster personal relationships with people who come from different racial backgrounds? Will such people bring their segregationist tendencies to the job? Will they see others who are different as "dangerous"? If anything, such a requirement would spur those with non-diverse relationships to reach out to those they normally shun or ignore.</div>
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When the Miami Heat basketball players took a group photo to note their support for the slain Trayvon Martin, they made clear their unified concern that far too many people of color are needlessly killed because of racial profiling. </div>
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In a similar vein, police departments need to ask themselves why they have not posed for similar photos of support to help end the senseless killing of people of color at the hands of other police officers. If police officers want the public to embrace the "Blue Lives Matter" cause, these officers need to join hands with movements like Black Lives Matter--to do anything less is to condone the ruthless, criminal acts by officers who have taken--and will continue to take--the lives of people of color. <br />
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The way to end a nightmare is to confront it, dissect it, and take positive actions to end the causes for the nightmare.</div>
Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-29627129129622936942015-02-17T16:45:00.001-08:002015-02-19T09:53:27.169-08:00Philip Levine, Poet and Teacher, Dies at 87 on Feb. 14, 2015My one great teacher, Philip Levine, died on Valentine's Day last Saturday.<br />
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Of all the teachers I've studied with as a student, none were as great as Phil Levine. I had the pleasure of taking of his advanced poetry writing workshops at Fresno State for five semesters, from the late 1970s and to the mid 1980s just before I went to graduate school.<br />
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Some of my fellow students complained about Phil's rather harsh criticism: I found his stinging, sometimes comic-tinged advice incredibly helpful. If Phil didn't like something in one of my poems, I knew after his comments that I would never repeat such flaws. For I also found the opposite, his praise, just as helpful: If he had no harsh words for one of my poems, then I knew I had written something that might--might--have some merit. His criticism and praise were the sharp points that spurred me on to always try to go beyond what I knew I could write.<br />
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That was Phil's gift as a teacher: He wanted his students to challenge themselves, to never be satisfied with one's work.<br />
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Of course, his poetry will be with us for as long as written words matter. But as a former student of Phil's, I know that I share a unique kinship with others who winced, floated, and laughed--sometimes in the same class meeting--because of Phil's gifts as a teacher.<br />
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Thank you, Phil, for the gift of your attention to those of us who became poets and, more importantly, became caring human beings, for you knew that the world is a vale of soul making.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-47955318584950048942014-11-27T05:14:00.000-08:002019-05-19T14:05:47.889-07:00My father, Jose M. Vasquez, died on Nov. 25, 2014My father, Jose M. Vasquez, died on Nov. 25, 2014. He was 89 years old, and he would have turned 90 had he lived another 33 days.<br />
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After my mother died in March of 2013, I became my father's main caregiver: I moved in with him in Fresno even though I still maintain my permanent residence 45 miles away in Visalia. Hence, I have a great appreciation for anyone who cares for or has cared for an elderly parent. Sadly, some people place their elderly loved ones in nursing homes--and my father briefly stayed in such a facility for rehabilitation purposes. But like many in nursing homes, my father did not get better; rather, his health deteriorated and he could no longer walk after a three-month stay. After one of my nephews remodeled the hallway bathroom in my father's house into a wheelchair-capable shower, I was finally able to bring him back home where three caregivers and I took care of him until his death. My advice to anyone is to avoid if at all possible placing anyone in a nursing home no matter how "nice" or expensive. All nursing homes have flaws, some of which can be harmful to your loved ones. For example, urinary tract infections are common in most facilities; many patients suffer falls, often because nursing home personnel are overworked or simply ill-trained and don't know how to keep their charges from falling out of beds or wheelchairs.<br />
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Since my father suffered from numerous ailments (heart disease, gallbladder problems, failing kidneys, an aortic aneurysm in his abdomen, etc.), we knew he had little time left, and we wanted him to die at his home instead of in a facility. Medicare offers assistance to help care for a loved one at home; when he went from home care to hospice care at home, Medicare provided even more help, including paying for all of his medications and incontinence supplies--they even provided an all-electric bed instead of the usual semi-electric bed we used during his home care status. And the hospice personnel who came to the house to attend to my father's medical needs were incredibly kind people.<br />
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And, of course, I'm glad I was able to find three caregivers who made my father's last months as comfortable as possible.<br />
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My father is now out of any pain or discomfort, for I know he's with my mother in heaven. I have written a number of poems about my father, but I'd like to end with a few lines I just wrote for him.<br />
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Jalisco in Heaven</div>
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for Jose M. Vasquez</div>
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1924-2014 </div>
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The dirt road that leads to Rancho de Los Zapotes </div>
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exhales into Jalisco's November light,</div>
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and children you once knew soon come into view;</div>
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even the mango trees wave hello instead of goodbye.</div>
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A horse neighs and extends her long face</div>
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over the neck-worn wooden pasture rails,</div>
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and the small house in the background, the adobe</div>
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the color of skin, offers an open door.</div>
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And one kiss on the cheek follows another,</div>
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and trays of bread and fruit soon shine </div>
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as you smile, aware of your strong legs</div>
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that can now walk the endless horizons.</div>
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--Robert Vasquez</div>
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Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-86914419948242879222013-07-16T14:04:00.002-07:002014-12-02T00:34:06.290-08:00Juror B37: How Institutional Racism Affects JurorsI have been routinely teaching a theme-oriented composition course that focuses on institutional racism for well over a decade. During that time I've probably spent hundreds of hours doing research on the topic, and I've found that Paul Kivel's <i>Uprooting Racism</i> text is probably one of the best documents that can help anyone learn how institutional racism manifests itself in their daily lives regardless of race or ethnicity. Before anyone starts to complain--especially whites who suddenly become overly defensive despite their relative lack of knowledge about institutional racism which many often confuse with personal prejudice--one should read Kivel's text or any other well-researched work that focuses on this thoroughly ingrained phenomenon.<br />
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And Juror B37's recent interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper unintentionally illustrates how institutional racism affects the judicial system and even jurors themselves.<br />
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For example, if one queries roomfuls of people of color if they think nearly all-white juries or hiring committees or police departments or court systems routinely negatively impact them, one will be overwhelmed by responses in the affirmative. Of course, that's something white America rarely witnesses since such roomfuls don't get much attention, let alone assembled, on any cable or network news show.<br />
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One cause for institutional racism stems from one important fact: Most whites live fairly segregated personal lives. They might have some regular, forced contact with Latino/as, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and other non-whites via employment situations which are usually limited in scope: it's forced, often superficial interaction. For example, I teach at a community college where 57.5% of the students are Latino/as (most are people of Mexican descent; 70% of our student body identifies themselves as members of non-white groups); nevertheless, many--if not the overwhelming majority--of my white colleagues can't point to one truly close Latino/a friend (not someone they say hello to in the hallways or briefly talk to in a department meeting--that's an acquaintance at best) even if such colleagues have lived most of their adult lives in the surrounding area where the latest 2010 U.S. Census Bureau report noted that 60% of the populace in Tulare County is "Hispanic." Despite this forced interaction, few colleagues develop close relationships with Latino/as. In contrast, my best friend for over 30 years is white; moreover, he comes from a different socioeconomic background (his father was a physician; my father was a cement mason) and is approximately 17 years my senior. What drew to us to each other was our love for poetry (we met in a poetry writing workshop in college) despite our obvious ethnic/racial/age/socioeconomic differences. In short, I've been able to establish a close friendship with someone who's white, but I have severe doubts that many whites in this area will ever be able to establish similar close friendships with any Latino/a even though Latino/as are the largest so-called "minority" group here (that cosmic irony always makes me flinch when I hear white colleagues talk about "minorities" when whites are the numerical minority but the majority when it comes to their over-representation within the local teaching ranks: triple affirmative action).<br />
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Let me make the jump to Juror B37. After listening to her interview, I can ascertain with great assurance that she probably has no close friends of color. Why? Any astute listener should notice how quickly she identifies with "George" (she routinely addresses him by his Christian name even though most of the attorneys in the case on both sides refer to him as "Mr. Zimmerman") and the fact that she initially voted "Not Guilty" in the face of impressive--at least according to many people of color--circumstantial evidence that Zimmerman racially profiled Trayvon Martin and used unnecessary lethal force in what was essentially a fist fight. Conveniently for Juror B37, she ignored the medical testimony that Zimmerman was not in any way severely injured but she quickly agreed with his claim that he "feared for his life." She's quick to defend Zimmerman in her responses, but she has to think when she answers questions about Martin. That quickness is an indicator of her predisposed nature to defend a fellow white person who took an innocent young teen's life.<br />
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If she had close friendships with African Americans, she might have been more open to the state's evidence--and to logic. For example, once Zimmerman shoots his pistol, the screaming stops. Why? Ask any forensic expert who's familiar with gunshot victims and he or she will note that once a person is shot in the torso, the immediate shock to one's cardiovascular system will generally end a person's screaming. If Zimmerman had been the one who was screaming, he would have continued to scream to gain anyone's assistance even after shooting Martin.<br />
<br />
If she had not been so isolated from people of color, she would have questioned Zimmerman's initial reason for calling the police. Martin did not commit any crime, for it's not a crime to walk in any neighborhood at a leisurely pace; it's not a crime to drink an iced tea or munch on candy; it's not a crime to talk on a cell phone as one walks. According to Zimmerman and Juror B37, Martin was "looking in houses...with no purpose." When I walk in a neighborhood, I too look at the houses I pass, and I'm sure no one can somehow determine my "purpose" since mind reading is not a talent most possess. Hence, Juror B37 should have asked herself this question: "Why did Zimmerman call the police in the first place?" We know from 911 police records that Zimmerman made numerous calls to report suspicious people in his neighborhood over the years: All of his calls involved black people, not white people. In essence, Zimmerman established a long pattern of racial profiling, yet Juror B37 and her fellow jurors for some reason ignored this fact.<br />
<br />
She noted that Zimmerman had a right to "stand his ground," yet didn't Martin have a similar right to stand his ground as the person followed by a stranger? When Martin asked Zimmerman what he wanted with him, why didn't Zimmerman identify himself as a neighborhood watch captain? Why didn't Zimmerman immediately make an effort, considering he was armed, to assure the teen that the neighborhood has experienced a number of burglaries and he was curious as to Martin's "purpose"?<br />
<br />
Of course, many of us know that the U. S. Constitution and Bill of Rights protect us from illegal search and seizure, that we have a right to our privacy, that we don't have to answer any questions from the Zimmermans in the world regardless of their mission, that they don't have the right to detain us as we walk down sidewalks. After all, O. J. Simpson is in a Nevada prison for preventing others from leaving their hotel room--he committed technical kidnapping--and Zimmerman likewise had no legal right to detain Martin or anyone else on a public street who doesn't commit a crime. Yet that fact also escaped Juror B37.<br />
<br />
When I first heard about the composition of the Zimmerman jury, I shook my head, for I know from the research of others that mainly white jurors often side with white defendants when the victims are people of color. One wonderful, eye-opening resource is the film <i>Race to Execution</i>: the filmmakers bring to light various studies that prove that people of color, including victims, routinely suffer injustice at the hands of mainly white juries.<br />
<br />
Institutional racism will continue to afflict people of color until juries, hiring committees, city councils, state legislatures, and police departments become truly diverse--and personal lives become truly diverse as well. That will take personal effort and commitment, something many who sided with Zimmerman will never undertake or even consider.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-79315719022515377332013-03-11T01:38:00.000-07:002013-03-11T01:44:14.430-07:00For My Mother, Frances R. Vasquez (1931-2013)My mother died on Saturday, March 9, 2013. The following poem is for her who gave six children their lives--no greater gift yet devised on the planet since the universe exploded.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
On the Day the Universe Ends</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>for Frances R. Vasquez</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>1931-2013 </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On the day the universe ends</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the sky shuts down, inundated</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by pneumonia's lung-borne flood,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
for no ark drifts to shore.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What songs the sparrows improvise</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
from branches to bowed power lines</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
go unsung, unplugged,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
for no one monitors their jagged notes.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
All the boys in grass-stained jeans</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
ladder down from tree houses,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
chilled from the night's starless elms,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
for the cold rungs give out like breath.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And the girls? The girls know</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
what their ancestors knew, baptized</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
over the cistern's veined, mortal waters</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
on the day the universe ends.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
--Robert Vasquez</div>
Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-81731211689408707502012-04-23T17:52:00.000-07:002012-08-13T21:08:47.169-07:00Trayvon Martin's Death: The Fear of DifferenceClearly, not all of the facts have come to light in the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. However, what is clear from the 911 tapes is George Zimmerman's anger at what he perceived to be a "punk" whose suspicious behavior--at least according to Zimmerman--mandated not only a call to local police but also Zimmerman's decision to leave his vehicle to pursue and ultimately kill a teen who was simply walking back to his father's fiance's nearby residence after buying some snacks at a neighborhood convenience store.<br />
<br />
Although a number of people throughout this country say that Martin's race was not a factor in Zimmerman's decision-making process, anyone who labels a total stranger as a "punk" certainly illustrates his preconceived hostility. And in doing so, he rationalizes his fear of difference.<br />
<br />
Some speculate that the "hoodie" Martin was wearing was one initiating factor. For example, Geraldo Rivera argued on national television that parents should not let their children wear such apparel (and, thus, he unknowingly implied that Zimmerman's suspicion was somehow justified because of Martin's attire). Such <i>profiling</i> based on one's clothing is most commonly applied to children and adults of color. If one asks a roomful of Latinos, African Americans, Asians, and others of color if they've been profiled and/or actually stopped and questioned by police or private security personnel because of their clothing or supposed <i>gang attire </i>(the coded language that police and others use to justify such harassment), one will hear a variety of anecdotes that paint a xenophobic tableau of contemporary America.<br />
<br />
Others argue that Zimmerman's actions were justified because of the history of burglaries in his neighborhood. Regardless of the number of crimes in any neighborhood, one is not allowed to pursue or confront strangers as if one is a police officer. Zimmerman and others like him have the right to watch others in public and even report suspicious individuals and activities to their local police, but no one should associate past crimes in a specific neighborhood to strangers who, like Trayvon Martin, aren't acting in a suspicious manner.<br />
<br />
And then there's the matter of Zimmerman's ability to legally carry a concealed weapon.<br />
<br />
Florida was among one of the first states to become a "shall issue" state with respect to concealed carry permits: If one pays the fees, takes and passes the required CCW classes, passes the background checks, isn't a convicted felon, and doesn't have a history of mental illness, one will be able to obtain a permit like the one Zimmerman possesses to legally carry a concealed weapon in public. In contrast, California is still a "discretionary" state where one must give a justifiable reason for wanting a concealed carry permit (in addition to the required training classes and background checks) that must be approved by the applicant's county sheriff's office (the most common CCW permit-issuing authority in most discretionary states) or local police department. <br />
<br />
Specifically, those who've taken any CCW course should know that they should never put themselves in the position of a pursuer: CCW holders throughout the United States know that they can only use their weapons in situations where flight is impossible and where an attacker has the means to cause a life-threatening injury. By physically pursuing Martin, Zimmerman violated that primary tenet since he's not a police officer, just a CCW holder; consequently, Zimmerman created a situation by becoming a pursuer and not just an observer. Moreover, a fist fight between two men in most jurisdictions would not constitute a life-threatening situation; otherwise, countless police officers would be shooting people who physically challenge them to the point of fisticuffs on a daily basis. Consequently, Zimmerman's use of a firearm against an unarmed Trayvon Martin certainly would be viewed by the vast majority of CCW instructors--and most police officers--as inappropriate use of a concealed weapon.<br />
<br />
If George Zimmerman somehow avoids conviction of second degree murder or a lesser charge of manslaughter, his actions will set a dangerous precedent that CCW holders can not only pursue people they deem to be suspicious but also utilize deadly force against people who don't wield lethal weapons.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-47424406295833207992012-02-14T17:42:00.007-08:002012-02-16T11:04:11.715-08:00William Carlos Williams' Legacy: Poetry as PoetryI. <br />
<br />
William Carlos Williams' poetry has never generated a critical canon (unlike texts about Eliot's or Pound's poetry) that's truly appreciative of Williams' primary goal: Poetry should first and foremost be poetry. In contrast, Eliot and Pound seemed forever intent on using poetry as a vehicle to promote culture, history, religion--in short, anything other than simply poetry. And, true to their nature, the critics took to Eliot and Pound in the same manner that sharks feed in a frenzy: They couldn't get enough. Sadly, those same critics largely ignored Williams as if his works exuded a kind of critic repellent.<br />
<br />
No wonder most critics often don't know what to say about Williams' work (just as they often don't have anything interesting to say about Whitman's work as well); and, unlike Eliot and Pound, Williams didn't spur critics with metaphors or terms that required exegesis or Greek or Latin or Chinese translations. Williams utilized the vernacular he spoke and heard in his daily life. No reader will ever be impressed by literary allusions or extended conceits and metaphors in Williams' poetry, for he rarely relied on or was drawn to such <i>conventions</i> which are often the main reasons critics have written about poetry. True, the <i>Paterson</i> volumes are Williams' answer to Eliot's <i>The Waste Land</i> and Pound's <i>The Pisan Cantos</i>, but one can assume that Williams was human: He had to prove to the critics that he too could write an epic poem (though, and this is of course highly arguable, epic poems tend to be rather boring no matter the author).<br />
<br />
Critics, on the whole, have been blind to the fact that Williams' chief influences were what appear to be two dichotomies: His interest in the plastic arts, especially Cubism and other Modernist movements, and his outright love for his daily work as a physician.<br />
<br />
Cubism nurtured Williams' appreciation for what many avant-garde artists strove for, that paintings (and, analogously, poems) didn't have to be informed by the historical and critical baggage of previous artistic movements. Specifically, Picasso no longer felt a need to promote verisimilitude and one-point perspective once he gave the finger to the past with what some consider the first Cubist painting, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. One could even argue that he left the painting supposedly unfinished (the areas around the canvas' borders are empty and unpainted) because, if he had finished it, such overall completion would have signaled to Picasso himself that he was finished in changing as an artist; on the contrary, Picasso had just begun to enter a new artistic world that's still evolving. <br />
<br />
Not surprisingly, literature students often find Williams' refusal to let literary conventions like metaphors control or even appear in many of his poems discombobulating: "Mr. Vasquez, what does he mean by 'red wheelbarrow' and 'white chickens'?" If one responds with the following, "He means exactly what he's referring to--the poem's speaker focuses on the ordinary things of the world, for these things matter in and of themselves and should matter to us all as well," one will find that some students will think less of Williams' work because he often eschewed literary conventions. However, if one were to note that Williams wrote that poem after visiting a family who had just suffered the loss of a child, the students would be quick to reevaluate and possibly even like the wheelbarrow and the chickens: "Oh, I see. These were the things that must have mattered to the child who died." But Williams chose not to include those tidbits of information in his poem and for good reason: The poem would have been <i>about</i> death ("Class, what is this poem about?" "It's about death, Mrs. Marley."), and Williams was not interested in writing poems that could be easily summarized or categorized. For the world of poetry to change, Williams realized that his appreciation of the world around him had to change if he was to free himself from the literary conventions that all too often dictate a poem's creation even before one stroke of a pen or a typewriter key hits paper.<br />
<br />
II.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-29168680563116922922011-10-11T07:15:00.000-07:002011-10-11T07:18:43.599-07:00Tomas Transtromer Awarded Nobel Prize in LiteratureThis year is certainly a good one: Tomas Transtromer has won the Nobel Prize. <br />
<br />
I first became aware of his work during the late 1970s/early 1980s when I studied with Phil Levine and Peter Everwine at FSU; both are admirers of Transtromer's poetry and promoted his work to their students.<br />
<br />
Now all that's left is for Bharati Mukherjee to win a Pulitzer or the Nobel as well (J.M. Coetzee won the Nobel in 2006--I think it was 2006, another writer I have admired for decades).Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-42580914663806213392011-08-09T21:00:00.000-07:002011-08-09T21:02:59.945-07:00Congratulations to Philip Levine, Our New United States Poet Laureate!This year is turning out to be a fine one for poets I value. For example, I was happy to hear that Eduardo Corral had won the Yale Younger Poets Series Award, and now Philip Levine has been named Poet Laureate of the United States by the Library of Congress. Congratulations to Phil!<br />
<br />
Please visit Letras Latinas Blog at the following URL for more information about Philip Levine's latest honor:<br />
<br />
http://latinopoetryreview.blogspot.com/Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-7242528656298637482011-08-01T00:01:00.000-07:002012-02-16T11:07:20.533-08:00Politics, Poetry, and The Dulled Public SoulI watch with dismay as mostly Republican/Tea Party politicians refuse to tax the wealthy who, of course, are the main people they care about: they stand up for them when they don't want to close tax loopholes for jet setters and corporate bigwigs, those moneyed organisms (to call them humans would be too kind at the moment) who have no concept of what it means to worry about having enough money to buy a month's worth of groceries for their families or having difficulty paying an electric bill. I watch and shake my head at those who believe the working people who paid into Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid should sacrifice because politicians controlled by the wealthy promote the notion that "entitlements" are the main culprits for America's financial woes. Too bad the "lock box" Al Gore spoke of never came to fruition to prevent politicians from siphoning off those "entitled" funds to pay for wars and corporate welfare. <br />
<br />
And I wonder out loud, "What the hell happened in the cosmos that created such dulled souls?" If I'm a good critical reader of Christian doctrines and teachings, I must assume such politicians and those wealthy organisms they represent would have a difficult time entering anything remotely considered a heaven when they die since they don't use their unique power on earth to help the poor--a damning sin if ever there were such sins.<br />
<br />
And what does this have to do with poetry? It has everything to do with poetry, for poetry above all else that it aspires to be connects our souls to each other; we become kindred spirits who yearn for what all art universally yearns for: the eternal and the human.<br />
<br />
If my training as a poet has taught me one thing, it has taught be me to be fully human, to care about those all around me who struggle each day to be blessed rather than cursed, who walk into the light of day and the dark of night knowing they will leave this world alone, naked, and wishing--no, praying--that they lived their lives on earth dedicated to nurturing souls, their own and others, instead of destroying them.<br />
<br />
That is what poetry does for all of us; we commune with a universal soul--each of us readily wades into a pond: We sense the coolness of the nearby waterlilies, anchored yet seeming adrift; we experience the soft mud oozing between our toes, the sweet sinking with each step; we take in the sun's water-borne glinting, and we shimmer in response.<br />
<br />
But no such shimmering takes place when politicians and their corporate sponsors decide that compromise means no taxes for the wealthy, no end to wars across the globe, and no end to the hatred for the ordinary man, woman, and child who don't have lobbyists or political action committees or "conservative" talk show hosts who care about them.<br />
<br />
When I hear politicians claim to have religious beliefs and convictions, I understand why mental illness is a commonplace phenomenon, for the ability of people to be self-delusional is always astounding--and always harmful to those in their wake.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-15876522996278305322011-05-19T23:28:00.000-07:002011-05-24T15:23:18.751-07:00My Brando DiedMy dog Brando, born in April 1996, died today, May 19, in the early morning hours as I slept next to him.<br />
<br />
He was Mary's dog ("Our little boy," she would say), but I inherited him when she passed away in 2001. When I woke up, his snout was turned toward me, touching one of my thighs, as was usual for him: I think he felt reassured that he could feel my body next to his as we slept. Mary got him used to sleeping with us, though I think he preferred to sleep next to me: Mary's chronic respiratory condition would cause her to toss while she slept--Brando knew if I moved it was rare and, for some reason, I was always aware of his position in bed as I slept (though I didn't realize he had died until I woke up this morning).<br />
<br />
The late poet William Matthews wrote about the death of a dog in the poem "Loyal": At one point, the speaker notes that he wants to weep "steadily, like an adult, according to the fiction that there is work to be done, and almost inconsolably."<br />
<br />
I too want to weep, and not so much for Brando but for myself, for he--and his kin--gave the kind of love few humans can come close to equaling: total love despite the flaws of the loved one.<br />
<br />
In my chapbook <i>Braille for the Heart</i>, one of the poems is about Brando. I post it here for the twelve-pound wonder who championed love above all else, who now plays with Mary for eternity--and I feel happy for him and for her.<br />
<br />
<i>The Myth of the Happy Family</i>: Canine<br />
<br />
If my sick self mumbles a prayer,<br />
a faint adagio of<br />
faith might twitch Brando's<br />
<br />
donkey-like ears: If dogs tune in earth-<br />
quakes and Spielberg's alien<br />
Edsels, they can sniff<br />
<br />
out God's pizza-bearing messengers<br />
who trod the piss-claimed pathways<br />
of the Village Green<br />
<br />
Apartments. No tenant knows what sin<br />
might doom him, but Brando's safe;<br />
he'll respond to that<br />
<br />
overdue horn blast with a scrolled turd,<br />
mount the blond neighbor's bitch, and<br />
nose into a bowl<br />
<br />
of sleep. For no other beast offers<br />
his broad, out of kilter ribs<br />
to me like Brando;<br />
<br />
he'll sidle up like a movie star<br />
and shimmy and pant for that<br />
stark bone of love some<br />
<br />
people pocket or misplace or lose<br />
altogether. If grace knocks<br />
like rain, if the first<br />
<br />
twister of judgment careens like a<br />
Kearney Bowl modified hard-<br />
top in mud, Brando<br />
<br />
will likely yawn, yelp, or pass his own<br />
impolite wind <i>as roofs bloom</i><br />
<i>and human ledgers</i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>vermilion the flesh-spent vale</i>--it's all<br />
explained with a biblical<br />
blink. And in the Book<br />
<br />
of Canine, the sequel stars an in-<br />
ept burglar, his jimmied doors<br />
(as foretold) paw-marked.<br />
<br />
--Robert VasquezRobert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-29530056789816373522011-04-11T19:01:00.000-07:002011-04-21T09:55:06.727-07:00Notes on Writers and the Teaching of Writing, II.II.<br />
<br />
In <i>Women Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews</i>, Joan Didion notes that she learned how to write sentences by reading and analyzing Ernest Hemingway's sentences: "When I was fifteen or sixteen I would type out his stories to learn how the sentences worked" (323). Not surprisingly, Didion, like many others writers, finds Hemingway's direct manner of utterance attractive: "I mean they're perfect sentences. Very direct sentences, smooth rivers, clear water over granite, no sinkholes" (323).<br />
<br />
Didion contrasts Hemingway's "clear water over granite" with Henry James' "perfect sentences too, but very indirect, very complicated. Sentences <i>with</i> sinkholes. You could drown in them" (323). For anyone remotely familiar with both authors' works, Didion's use of "smooth rivers" and "sinkholes" seems appropriate: Hemingway's audience awareness is in many ways quite different than James' intended audience--and the authors' mannerisms declare what they value.<br />
<br />
Their stylistic mannerisms could be analogous to the two main camps in contemporary poetry and writing in general: The Hemingway camp favors austere language and direct syntax, whereas the James' camp loves lush language and syntactic complexity.<br />
<br />
For example, when I consider the poets Philip Levine and Rita Dove, I would have to place them in the Hemingway camp; both create poetry that utilizes the language of everyday discourse and syntax. As for Charles Wright and C. K. Williams, their poetry would definitely fit within the James' camp with its "sinkholes."<br />
<br />
Does either camp have an advantage over the other? I would posit that the tribe of Hemingway certainly has a greater degree of what's known as <i>relative readability</i>: Their manner of phrasing, their syntactical constructions, would be less stressful to the average reader when it comes to comprehension. This isn't to say that their poetry is simplistic, though the danger does exist; nevertheless, poetry in the Hemingway camp, at its best, can be compared to the best of Shakespeare and Donne.<br />
<br />
But the tribe of James also has an advantage: those "sinkholes" permit stylistic leeway and, quite possibly, greater non-linear introspection; the reader can dive into those sinkholes for brief periods, but the danger involves losing track of the writer's initial linguistic leap or arc, so to speak.<br />
<br />
When I consider two poets--among many of my influences--whose works I consciously chose to emulate in terms of stylistic mannerisms, I think I was attracted to both partly because they were good examples of those two camps: Robert Bly and James Dickey.<br />
<br />
Bly's poetry has tremendous appeal for me precisely because of his austerity; of course, this could have something to do with his and James Wright's adherence to the "deep image" ethos that somewhat echoes Haiku's emphasis on precision to the point of laser-like rendering at a localized level.<br />
<br />
Dickey's work also utilizes imagery, but the welter of imagery and the complex syntactical constructions (the clauses can be overwhelming at times) Dickey infuses and wrings out of each poem has great appeal too: The challenge in Dickey's work is to allow the imagination to roam the cosmos but always come back to the journey's center or "purpose" (a word and concept I'm uncomfortable with when it comes to creative writing) which is often simply to enjoy the linguistic excursion itself: the poet as cartographer mapping out a route to some unknown destination.<br />
<br />
For me, both camps have their advantages and their potential pitfalls. For poets and writers, the challenge is to work within those camps--or attempt to intertwine them--and avoid the pitfalls.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-57644864830824759562011-02-15T18:08:00.000-08:002011-02-28T18:59:15.412-08:00Good News: Eduardo C. Corral has won the Yale Younger Series of Poets PrizeSome of you are aware of Eduardo C. Corral's poetry and his always interesting blog, Lorcaloca. However, what some of you might not be aware of is that Eduardo has just won the Yale Younger Series of Poets Prize. In fact, he is the first Latino ever to win this prestigious first-book award.<br />
<br />
Considering the quality of Eduardo's work, I'm not surprised that the final judge selected his manuscript: Kudos to Eduardo and to the Yale Younger Series of Poets Prize organization!Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-69359453485295873962011-02-14T18:42:00.000-08:002014-12-22T13:46:04.121-08:00MFAs are Terminal Degrees (Even at Two-Year Colleges)Years ago I passed up two opportunities to accept tenure-track professor positions in English/Creative Writing at two universities, in part because I thought I could have an equally positive impact at the community college level (and especially in Tulare County, for the most recent census has noted that nearly 60% of the county's population is "Hispanic"--I much prefer the term <i>Latino</i>); after all, unlike many four-year institutions, two-year colleges literally accept any adult, and that all-inclusive atmosphere has certainly made my classrooms both lively and memorable. Still, both university job offers came partly because I had at least satisfied one common requirement for tenure-track positions at most publicly funded universities: I had earned the appropriate terminal degree, an MFA, in my area of specialization.<br />
<br />
But, when I accepted my current position in 1991 (I had never taught at a community college before 1991: my previous teaching posts were at two University of California campuses--and, yes, I did have to "adjust" my expectations and standards), I was the only MFA degree holder regardless of discipline (i.e., creative writing, 2-D or 3-D art, drama/theater arts, etc.) at College of the Sequoias (COS). In contrast, the majority of faculty who teach at two-year colleges have either an MA or an MS degree. In 1991, I was the lone MFA fish in my pond, so to speak, but graduate programs that confer MFAs have since increased dramatically in number; hence, I'm no longer in that position at COS.<br />
<br />
However, the same lack of knowledge I first encountered in 1991 about MFA degrees still seems to be the norm at most community colleges--and that sad fact can have serious implications (that involve life-long earnings and even retirement annuities) for those who've earned these terminal degrees that are the equivalent of PhD degrees.<br />
<br />
I first became acquainted with the MFA degree when I took my first creative writing workshop at a community college back in the mid 1970s: My creative writing professor had an MFA from the University of California at Irvine. And he made it a point to explain to us why his degree was quite different than those held by the majority of his colleagues: A PhD holder in English literature or composition is primarily a historian or critic or student of a body of work or an area of study, whereas an MFA holder in English is primarily a creator of literature (often poetry or fiction, though drama and creative non-fiction are also gaining currency in graduate writing programs): the PhD recipient explains works of literature or literary theories by others, but the MFA recipient creates works of literature. Essentially, if one takes literature or theory courses, one examines literature by well-known authors; if one takes creative writing workshops, one produces literature that's critiqued by workshop participants and professors.<br />
<br />
Consequently, the goals of those earning such terminal degrees are totally different: a PhD candidate studies literature, an MFA candidate produces literature. And every literature course uniformly adheres to one vital aspect: the students' writings never take center stage in their seminars. In contrast, every creative writing workshop emphasizes the students' writings.<br />
<br />
The formal coursework for either an MFA or a PhD candidate usually comprises two years of full-time study (most MFA/PhD degree programs require approximately 54-60 semester units beyond the BA level; in contrast, most MA/MS degree programs require approximately 24-30 semester units beyond the BA level); however, some MFA/PhD candidates may opt to lessen their coursework loads in the face of required teaching duties and writing schedules and, thus, take three or even four years to complete their coursework--this depends on a program's protocols and residency requirements. Still, someone who's quite gifted as a student and as a writer could complete an MFA or PhD in as little as two years (but three to five years is a more commonplace time period for some to earn either an MFA or a PhD).<br />
<br />
The dissertations/theses for PhD and MFA candidates have one important commonality: they must be book-length works of publishable quality. As for MA/MS theses, they're often 25-40 page articles--and articles are not book-length works. No wonder many MFA and PhD programs give candidates from five to seven years to complete their degrees. In fact, if one examines the unit requirements for many MFA/PhD programs, one will realize that the majority of PhDs take more than three years to complete their degrees because of the time needed to complete their dissertations: again, formal coursework can usually be completed in two years. Given the fact that PhD candidates rarely take courses that focus on evaluating and improving their writing skills, the plethora of ABDs (all but dissertations) should not be surprising: Most PhD candidates are not formally trained as writers of academic non-fiction prose.<br />
<br />
And therein lies the advantage of the MFA candidates: Since most completed multiple semesters of creative writing workshop attendance during their undergraduate years, they can easily transition to and indeed flourish under the writing demands placed upon them at the graduate level. As a result, most MFA candidates have no problem completing their book-length works within two to three years. Rare are the MFA candidates who must take five to seven years--unlike some PhD candidates--to complete their books.<br />
<br />
The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) has long promoted the MFA as the appropriate terminal degree to teach creative writing at the college and university level; more importantly, the AWP has steadfastly supported the position that the MFA is the equivalent of the PhD in literature or composition. Not surprisingly, many of us have benefited from studying with tenured professors who earned MFAs; additionally, many MFA holders currently direct or have directed graduate creative writing programs, including Christopher Buckley, Garrett Hongo, Alberto Rios, David St. John, the late Herb Scott--the list of notable poets and writers goes on and on--and a number of MFA recipients have won a myriad of prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize: Rita Dove, Richard Ford, Yusef Komunyakaa, Philip Levine, and Charles Wright are among such recipients. In short, the overwhelming majority of four-year colleges and universities have long accepted the MFA as the appropriate terminal degree that's equivalent to a PhD for tenure-track positions within the fine arts disciplines, but community colleges for whatever reason have been slow to accept or even understand this over half century-long academic standard (the MFA degree in English has existed since the 1940s)--and that lack of knowledge causes some to rhetorically say, "Well, what do you expect at the <i>junior</i> college level?"<br />
<br />
That term, <i>junior</i>, carries pejorative connotations, and when I joined the community college arena, I already knew that many who teach at four-year institutions viewed "juco" schools through rather unflattering lenses. I remember one professor in graduate school who was adamant that I should never teach, even part-time, at a community college: "I guarantee you, you'll regret it," he said, his head angled downward as if he were contemplating one of the circles of hell reserved just for those who teach at community colleges. His main concern--for me and others with MFAs--was the complete lack of institutional reward for faculty at the two-year college level when it comes to publishing; moreover, he made what has come to be a somewhat prophetic comment about terminal degrees at community colleges: "At junior colleges, they don't understand that MFAs are similar to PhDs," and that alone should "scare you away from them." He noted that most who teach at "junior" colleges have MA or MS degrees, and he posited that they're "not eager to admit that MFAs are terminal degrees. You'll only threaten them with your MFA, and that won't be good for you or for the students, especially the students." He later explained that students at "junior" colleges aren't assured of having qualified faculty in their creative writing classes since seniority alone oftentimes determines teaching assignments at the two-year college level, not area of specialization which is the academic norm at the four-year college/university level.<br />
<br />
He was certainly right about the lack of knowledge about MFA degrees (I recently asked someone who has an MFA if he had heard that MFAs were the equivalent of PhDs, and he answered emphatically, "No!" Ironically, he earned his MFA at a college that notes in their MFA handbook that the MFA is "the equivalent of a PhD"--and the notation is in bold letters. I don't blame this person or anyone else who thinks that MFAs are not equal to PhDs; rather, this just illustrates that even some with MFAs aren't necessarily aware of the terminal degrees they possess).<br />
<br />
However, hope bounds eternal, for a nearby community college district, the State Center Community College District (SCCCD), which comprises Fresno City College and Reedley College as well as other centers, has for years recognized the fact that the MFA is the equivalent of a PhD: the SCCCD gives both MFA and PhD holders the same yearly stipend.<br />
<br />
If we can figure out that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa, we can surely figure out why some degrees are considered "terminal degrees" and accepted as equivalents to PhD degrees at the vast majority of publicly funded universities; once enlightened, we can use that knowledge accordingly at the community college level and equally recognize and reward those who've earned terminal degrees.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-84247061510932260122011-01-13T01:29:00.000-08:002011-04-15T00:31:43.443-07:00Satan's BillboardsAlong a stretch of Highway 198 just west of Hanford, CA, a billboard proclaims a message supposedly from Satan (he asks people to avoid a certain religious group). Obviously, Lucifer didn't pay for the outdoor space, but the idea of the most famous of all fallen angels utilizing advertising to sway the populace seems appropriate when one considers the angry, blame-oriented tenor of the times.<br />
<br />
Lucifer would certainly like a billboard that says, "Don't worry about your neighbor's welfare: Worry about yourself." Preoccupation with one's situation is something every human who once breathed on the planet could understand; even primordial man, hunkered down next to his weakening fire as the rain soaked the world outside his cave, would have been acutely aware of his plight: "Where will I find dry stuff to burn to keep away the cold and the beasts?"<br />
<br />
Many in this country have no such immediate concerns, but the homeless can empathize with such vulnerability; not far from the neighborhood of my childhood in Fresno, dozens of ramshackle tents and cardboard and wood scrap constructions line the asphalt of what was once a bridge from California Street to Van Ness Avenue. The kids called that area "The Hill" and we would ride our bikes down those bridges that rose over the railroad tracks and the nearby Fresno Rescue Mission where "the men of the road" could find a meal and a bed if there was room. Now entire families inhabit that area and must fight poverty, drug addiction, violence--and our nation's collective apathy for their lives.<br />
<br />
One of Satan's billboards would surely pronounce, "Apathy is good: To hell with the other guy. If you give him some money, he'll waste it on drink or drugs." Rationalization has a way of dulling the soul to the point of maladjusted pride: "Whenever one of those people asks me for money, I say, 'Get a job!' Jesus!" The irony of such an exclamation is profound, for Jesus would have never rationalized turning away from even the least of his fellow man or woman or child. Yet, millions daily turn away and think they're championing some kind of moral ethic, though if one logically analyzes such a response (to deny someone aid), one would ultimately have to admit that Satan would embrace such an ethos.<br />
<br />
Satan's billboards could be direct:<br />
"Don't extend tax cuts unless the wealthy are included too."<br />
"Overturn legislation that gives the poor and the working classes health care."<br />
"Don't spend your taxes on the general masses: That's socialism and communism."<br />
"Privatize all social services: Don't waste money on others."<br />
<br />
Now don't get yourself riled up if you agree with the previous statements; however, seriously ask yourself one question: "Would Satan or Jesus support such positions?" If you think Jesus' teachings support such anti-human thinking, please let me know the title, chapter, and verse of the text you've been reading if you consider yourself a Christian.<br />
<br />
But Satan's billboards could also be subtle:<br />
"All white or mostly all white juries and hiring committees and neighborhoods don't harm anyone."<br />
"Support the police: They know who to stop."<br />
"Let's take back America!"<br />
<br />
Implicit in those statements are those who will be considered guilty until proven innocent, those people of color who won't secure employment even though they're highly qualified, those who will grow up in segregated areas--and even cultivate segregated adult lives--and be conditioned to fear diversity or be intolerant to difference, those who will be wrongfully stopped, and those who will be scapegoated for most of the ills in America.<br />
<br />
And in a country where few are trained in or possess critical thinking skills, Satan would appreciate the ultimate effect of such billboards: They work.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-43664885708246882052010-10-31T08:41:00.000-07:002011-02-22T01:45:39.146-08:00America's Dysfunctional SoulWith each election cycle, the American populace is literally pummeled by political advertisements that often promote greed, hatred, selfishness, and xenophobia--and done so with ever-increasing degrees of mean spiritedness. We've strayed so far from John Kennedy's inaugural plea for altruism ("Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country") that many people don't even know what the term <i>altruism</i> means.<br />
<br />
When I consider another term that is bandied about by political candidates and pundits like a beach ball, <i>Christianity</i>, I fear for America's soul, for our public policies at times are antithetical to any of Christ's teachings. Of course, the founders of this country wanted a separation between church and state, but that doesn't prevent politicians from espousing so-called "Christian values" even though one would be hard-pressed to find any reference in Christ's teachings that greed is good, that one should promote hatred for those who don't share your opinions or who are different or "illegal," that selfishness is better than selflessness--I'm puzzled as to which New Testament some politicians supposedly adhere to when they claim to be Christians. I do know that the Bible has over 3,000 references directing us to help the poor, but I can't find any stipulation that corporations and the wealthy should receive corporate welfare or "subsidies."<br />
<br />
If the poet John Keats correctly noted that the world is a "vale of soul making," America is in a vale of soul destroying.<br />
<br />
For example, some want to overturn what they call "Obama Care" as if Congress' constitutional duty to care for "the general welfare" of the populace doesn't include health care. Most industrialized nations of the world provide public health care just as they provide for police and fire services: They are public goods that benefit all and aren't driven by a <i>for profit</i> ethos. In contrast, wealthy people throughout the world can always afford quality health care regardless of the countries in which they live; they can always fly to the best clinics with no concern for costs. Imagine, for a moment, if health care was paid for by our taxes in the same way we collectively pay for police and fire services. Imagine how much <i>less</i> our health care costs would be since the profit motive to provide such services would no longer exist. Let me use an analogy: Which are more expensive, public schools or private schools? Most private K-12 schools require at least $500 a month in tuition ($5,000 a year in tuition--some charge far more) per pupil, yet no one pays $5,000 a year in federal and state taxes just to send one child to a public K-12 school. <br />
<br />
When costs for public services--with no <i>for profit </i>emphasis--are widely distributed and shouldered by everyone, costs go down, not up. For example, the city of Los Angeles has a city-owned utility, The Department of Water and Power (DWP); municipal bonds are the primary resource to pay for its operation. Los Angeles residents uniformly pay <i>less</i> in water and power costs when compared to those who pay Southern California Edison (SCE) or Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) companies, which are <i>for profit</i> entities, for their water, natural gas, and electricity needs. If Los Angeles' DWP raises its rates, it does so because of rising costs necessary to provide services; as for SCE and PG&E, they must raise rates in part because their stockholders want to make more profits.<br />
<br />
Even if we eventually have publicly funded health care, insurance companies will never go away, so one need not worry about them; they'll always do business insuring lives, homes, automobiles, and personal property. And what about medical professionals who want to earn as much money as possible to provide for their families? Hopefully, those who become medical care-givers do so because they have a personal desire to care for others, just as many police officers, firefighters, and educators look to their professions as a means of aiding others. If one is truly motivated by greed, Wall Street brokerage firms and banking institutions are notorious magnets for those so inclined. (Imagine if the recent bailouts went to pay off late mortgage payments and high interest credit card balances instead of providing financial conglomerates the ability to hand out huge bonuses that are often larger than the incomes many people earn in a lifetime: That kind of individual citizen-centered bailout would have truly stimulated our economy by reducing individual debt while still helping financial institutions that issued those mortgages and credit cards.)<br />
<br />
Many spiritual texts emphasize love and compassion for fellow human beings, and one way societies have implemented such a directive is via communal programs paid for by taxes. Taxes pay for a myriad of things we take for granted: roads and highways, public schools, college and vocational student grants, housing loan programs, traffic control and street lights, flood control systems and sewage treatment facilities--even the electricity we get from private companies could not have become a commonplace phenomenon had it not been for electrification projects paid for by tax dollars (any good American history text will make clear how various government-initiated, tax-payer funded programs have resulted in the nationwide infrastructure we use on a daily basis).<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, politicians have promoted the notion that taxes are evil and hinder your ability to live a fruitful life. Consequently, the common mantras are "no new taxes" and "tax breaks for all." But what if you had to build or repave the roads you personally use because substantial tax reductions wipe out funds for such improvements? What if you had to pay for every time you needed police service or fire department help? What if you had to pay 50% down to buy a home and had only 5-10 years to pay off the remaining mortgage? (Historian and author Stephanie Coontz notes in her essay "A Nation of Welfare Families" that this was the standard home purchasing protocol prior to the creation of the Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae, and Ginnie Mae when the federal government went into the business of insuring and backing housing loans.) What if you had to pay for tuition to send your child to a private K-12 school because public schools could no longer accommodate all school-age children due to reduced tax revenues?<br />
<br />
Taxes might make us wince when we see the net results of our take-home earnings, but taxes also insure that we can expect certain public services that we wouldn't want to be denied. More importantly, those who make millions each year should pay a minimum amount of taxes every year despite all of the loopholes they currently utilize: Who would feel sorry for someone who makes millions of dollars a year--or even one million dollars a year--and would have to pay at least half of his or her earnings in taxes? I wouldn't feel sorry for someone who would have to live on $500,000 a year--who would? If I were in a position to make millions each year, I wouldn't feel somehow less of a human being if half of my income went to help the general populace; if anything, I would feel good that I'm helping to reduce the taxes of those whose incomes are far less than mine (remember "Ask not what your country can do for you..."?) while improving and sustaining the country's infrastructure.<br />
<br />
Keats was right: The world <i>is</i> a "vale of soul making." Instead of scapegoating the poor, the undocumented, and the unionized workers in this country (unions came about largely because of greedy business owners who didn't care about the working conditions, health, and welfare of their poorly paid employees), we need to realize that our country's soul depends upon our collective ability to integrate our spiritual awareness into our public policy awareness. If we're truly committed to "acknowledge Him in all thy ways" (and I'm fairly sure <i>all</i> means <i>all</i>), we must incorporate altruism in every aspect of our lives, including our political lives and our public policies.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-90535008846217489732010-08-18T21:08:00.000-07:002011-04-11T19:36:47.278-07:00Notes on Writers and the Teaching of Writing, I.I.<br />
<br />
Those of us who've been formally trained as writers, who've been the beneficiaries of writing workshops taught by respected practitioners who discuss issues of craft line by line, syllable by syllable, often have to witness or tolerate naive notions about writing and the teaching of writing; such naivete is a constant emanation from colleagues in the teaching ranks or from administrators or even from students who "profess" to know what works best to help students become better writers.<br />
<br />
But that last word, <span style="font-style: italic;">writers</span>, is a major irritation because of its broad umbrella, for those of us who've spent a large part of our student and adult years actually working at becoming writers--to the point of publishing, winning awards, and/or accepting visiting or tenured positions as writers in academe--are quite different than the majority of students and composition instructors whose formal coursework didn't help them become writers who publish or win acclaim as poets, fiction writers, or non-fiction writers.<br />
<br />
The vast majority of composition instructors aren't trained as writers<span style="font-style: italic;"> per se</span>; rather, they are trained either as literary theorists/historians/critics or as teachers of composition<span style="font-style: italic;"></span> (they take courses mainly in composition pedagogy and theory: they learn certain protocols or methods to utilize in a classroom, such as peer-editing, holistic grading, computer-assisted instruction, journal writing or "free" writing exercises, and other <span style="font-style: italic;">non-craft</span>-oriented teaching methods and theories). True, they do write papers, but so do students in sociology, history, and math classes. To use an analogy, music appreciation or art history instructors are trained in specific histories or theories that correspond to various musical pieces or artworks or composers/artists, but they aren't trained to become <span style="font-style: italic;">creators</span> of music or art. But when educational institutions look for faculty to teach piano or 2-D/3-D art classes, they don't look for music appreciation or art history degree holders; rather, they look for well-educated practitioners who've dedicated years to learning their respective crafts. In short, they look for people who <span style="font-style: italic;">can do</span> and teach.<br />
<br />
In fact, English departments rarely require composition applicants to even demonstrate their writing skills, let alone require in-depth training as writers. For most faculty members on hiring committees, the only document they look at to determine if one has some facility with written discourse is the dreaded letter of application--not the best piece of evidence when one considers how such letters must address various job announcement criteria, and I wouldn't be surprised if some composition applicants seek out the help of professional resume writers and services to help them fine tune such documents.<br />
<br />
As a result, teachers of composition often aren't publishing, award-winning practitioners in any genre, yet they supposedly can teach writing despite their relative lack of training as craftspeople. No wonder some institutions rely on group portfolio programs, holistic grading, and "norming" sessions for their composition faculty--which is quite unheard of among those who teach creative writing workshops: I've yet to come across a well-trained, publishing poet or fiction writer who says he or she needs <span style="font-style: italic;">norming</span> because he or she has doubts about "standards" or "learning outcomes" or "craft concerns." How absurd! I can't imagine Phil Levine or Pete Everwine or Mike Ryan or Terry Hummer or Jim McMichael or Ken Fields or Cynthia Huntington or Simone DiPiero or the late Denise Levertov saying to themselves, "Gee, I don't know what to say about this piece of writing--I should ask my colleagues for help!" Of course,<br />
I wouldn't expect them to hold the same opinions about different pieces of literature, for art by necessity constantly evolves; to paraphrase Terry Hummer, purity in art simply doesn't exist: all art is impure. Writing, like painting and music, is not a hard science, yet the communal need for "norming" sessions among some composition teachers illustrates a definite communal lack of expertise. And that lack does not bode well for composition students.<br />
<br />
When we use the term <span style="font-style: italic;">writer</span>, we should delineate between academic, non-publishing, temporary "writers" found in most classrooms (most students and, sadly, many teachers fall into this group) as opposed to writers like William Carlos Williams or Octavio Paz or Cynthia Ozick; the former as a group generally writes for a grade or a position and often does so in a rather hurried, mechanical manner, whereas the latter and their peers, past and present, write for eternity--and eternity is the harshest of critics and isn't pressed for time.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-12295755143662685252010-08-11T02:08:00.000-07:002011-04-21T09:52:25.991-07:00Elizabeth Bishop's "Filling Station": Word Choices, Sounds, and SilencesFilling Station<br />
<br />
Oh, but it is dirty!<br />
--this little filling station,<br />
oil-soaked, oil-permeated<br />
to a disturbing, over-all<br />
black translucency.<br />
Be careful with that match!<br />
<br />
Father wears a dirty,<br />
oil-soaked monkey suit<br />
that cuts him under the arms,<br />
and several quick and saucy<br />
and greasy sons assist him<br />
(it's a family filling station),<br />
all quite thoroughly dirty.<br />
<br />
Do they live in the station?<br />
It has a cement porch<br />
behind the pumps, and on it<br />
a set of crushed and grease-<br />
impregnated wickerwork;<br />
on the wicker sofa<br />
a dirty dog, quite comfy.<br />
<br />
Some comic books provide<br />
the only note of color--<br />
of certain color. They lie<br />
upon a big dim doily<br />
draping a taboret<br />
(part of the set), beside<br />
a big hirsute begonia.<br />
<br />
Why the extraneous plant?<br />
Why the taboret?<br />
Why, oh why, the doily?<br />
(Embroidered in daisy stitch<br />
with marguerites, I think,<br />
and heavy with gray crochet.)<br />
<br />
Somebody embroidered the doily.<br />
Somebody waters the plant,<br />
or oils it, maybe. Somebody<br />
arranges the rows of cans<br />
so that they softly say:<br />
ESSO--SO--SO--SO<br />
to high-strung automobiles.<br />
Somebody loves us all.<br />
<br />
--Elizabeth Bishop, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Complete Poems: 1927-1979</span><br />
<br />
I've always been struck by Bishop's craft expertise in her work, and "Filling Station" typifies her attention to not only <span style="font-style: italic;">what</span> a poem means but <span style="font-style: italic;">how</span> a poem means something.<br />
<br />
For instance, most of us would probably not begin a poem with the exclamation "Oh": Bad poems often start with such <span style="font-style: italic;">ohs</span> that signal to the reader the speaker's emotional and possibly spiritual state: "I'm in a state of rare sensitivity; I've reached the sublime and I want you to be ready for my oracular exhortations." But Bishop's use of "Oh" is quite the contrary: the speaker is a snob whose initial reaction to the scene at hand is one of disgust. Consequently, Bishop's word choice from the very first phoneme is an apt one. And, luckily for the poem and for us, the term "filling station" was a commonplace during Bishop's and even during my childhood; "gas station" wouldn't have the same effect that "filling station" can and will have in the poem. (And I'm old enough to remember that Exxon was once Esso: the penultimate trope in the last stanza wouldn't have the same soothing effect with the term Exxon.)<br />
<br />
And I love how Bishop repeats various sounds for evocative reinforcement of the speaker's experience: <span style="font-style: italic;">Oh</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">oil-soaked</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">oil-permeated</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">over-all</span> echo the first utterance so that when a reader actually reads aloud the poem, the vowels harp upon each other just as popular songs dig into a listener's cognitive awareness that can't literally be defined but can be mouthed over and over. Music has that effect: certain vibrations in the air hit the eardrums and work their magic. (Was it William Carlos Williams who said that prose is written to be read whereas poetry is written to be heard?)<br />
<br />
Such repetitions of words and sounds seamlessly work throughout the poem, and Bishop also utilizes modifiers in a masterly manner. For example, in addition to the hyphenated adjectives, she expertly inserts adjectives that some MFA graduates would never do (a certain "school" in the Midwest comes to my mind): the sons are "quick," "saucy," and "greasy"; the station is "quite thoroughly" dirty; the wickerwork is "crushed" and "grease-impregnated"; the doily is "big" and "dim"; the begonia (one of my favorite plant names) is "big" and "hirsute"; the automobiles are "high-strung." One might associate such adjective usage with Southern poets like Robert Penn Warren and James Dickey, but, in fact, Bishop's contemporaries were not shy of modifiers: Robert Lowell's <span style="font-style: italic;">For the Union Dead</span> and John Berryman's <span style="font-style: italic;">Dream Songs</span> have a multitude of modifiers that, if deleted, would be similar to taking out certain notes in Muddy Waters' music or limiting Georgia O'Keefe's palette to just blues and greens. Does this mean one should go adjective and adverb crazy? Of course not, but Bishop's craft awareness illustrates what's possible when one uses great care when writing and revising one's work.<br />
<br />
And another craft element that's noticeable in Bishop's poetry is her awareness of the length of her utterances and where the pauses, the silences, occur. Look at the third stanza: She starts with a heavily end-stopped line; the second line has a natural caesura at the end; the third line has a medial caesura but ends with a run-on which lends a greater emphasis to the beginning of the fourth line; within the fourth line, a ever so soft caesura occurs after "crushed" and then the line utilizes enjambment like the previous one; the fifth line is heavily end-stopped; the sixth line is enjambed; the seventh line, like the third line, has a medial caesura. Bishop's utterances combine repetition and variation, the corrective push and pull of well-crafted lines; as Donald Hall notes, such tension is similar to what corrects one's teeth: "Damn braces."<br />
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Craft in the hands of someone like Bishop can make us all the more appreciative of what's possible when one hammers away until the result shimmers and eternally breathes.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-31565547716763604082010-08-04T23:41:00.000-07:002010-08-05T23:23:37.171-07:00Proposition 8 and Constitutional and Historical AwarenessMonths of the year have unique historical or emotional associations for some of us. For example, ever since I was an elementary school student, August is the month that forever mushrooms over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a young boy in Fresno, I would connect such incredible, world-ending heat to the wilting August temperatures outside our swamp-cooled house on Poppy Street. Of course, no amount of my imaginative powers could ever come close to the reality that hundreds of thousands of Japanese experienced on and--for those who survived the blasts--after those two infamous days in August 1945. History often has that effect: Our human brains strive to make connections to what can seem almost as abstract and as memorable as a Pablo Picasso painting.<br /><br />Today is one of those days in history that will be added to my August consciousness: A federal court judge struck down California's Proposition 8 as unconstitutional.<br /><br />Some might ask, "Why is this ruling so important to you, especially if you're not gay?"<br /><br />I'm a believer in the Constitution of the United States and in The Bill of Rights, and I've always considered the Fourteenth Amendment and its "Equal Protection Clause" as crucial for people who are not members of "the majority." We have a history of the majority wanting to place restrictions on various minority groups; for instance, at one time we permitted slavery and we denied women the right to vote. And just because we have a U.S. Supreme Court doesn't mean inequalities can be quickly ended; past Supreme Court decisions led to various "Jim Crow" laws that manifested the so-called "separate but equal" mentality that I'm certain some people still crave (the Tea Party's mantra, "Give us back our country," strikes me as dangerously nostalgic for what were ugly times for people not in the majority). The 1954 <span style="font-style: italic;">Brown v. The Board of Education</span> Supreme Court ruling still bothers some who don't want their children to attend integrated schools, and the 1967 <span style="font-style: italic;">Loving v. Virginia</span> Supreme Court ruling, which put an end to anti-miscegenation laws, must still bother those who think that whites should not marry blacks for whatever sad, ill-conceived reasons.<br /><br />And such people who don't like interracial marriages, integrated schools, or homosexual marriages have every right to hold such views, but today's ruling reinforces what we all must remember: Constitutional rights can never to be denied simply because a majority of voters deem them as deniable.<br /><br />The United States of America was and still is<span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span></span>an <span style="font-style: italic;">ideal</span> on paper that with the passage of time struggles to become a reality, and today's decision is just one more step toward that reality.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-39888070453163591392010-07-13T02:38:00.000-07:002011-02-16T00:34:53.331-08:00Illness and LoveI've been ill lately; my body at times seems to belong to someone much older (at least in my head I'm still an awkward teen who longs for love but will settle for groping in a darkened theater--the prose of B movies swirling about private parts slightly tinged with the odor of moldy linen).<br />
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And, becalmed even at this hour of the morning as my dog sleeps on without me, I somehow know my health will come back, like the old French cinema classic where the boy approaches the sea, looks out, and turns back toward land, toward the humans despite the additional blows that await him.<br />
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I am in love, actually; no, not with another human, though she is nearing me just as deliberately as I swerve her way, but with this hour when the blood can't seem to fall asleep but nudges me: "Go ahead, it won't hurt, really."<br />
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Clearly, I'm strung out just as the heavens do their sleepwalk over my small rooftop; the hunter Orion has no choice but to clarify this dark patch of sky, for we all hunt for what we need, cleansed by God knows what, spurred by ill health and the promise of jam and cookies and a cool hand on our foreheads.<br />
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If I say, "This might be poetry," I would not win my case in court; if I say, "This is love," I would not win your heart. But why say anything at all if meaning is just subjective spark plugs firing in our brains; why say "I'm in love" if it matters, at best, only to me?<br />
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My doctor wants me to take tests that require induced sleep, a temporary "death," so to speak; a machine would breathe for me, but would a machine also dream for me? And in the tunnel that would surely guide me back, would I linger if only to scrawl on the walls just how much I love what can't be seen?Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3045268642557768245.post-377536510141177032010-05-03T21:37:00.000-07:002010-05-07T03:57:55.187-07:00Arizona: The New NurembergIn 1935, Nazi Germany instituted the Nuremberg Race Laws that basically deprived German Jews their rights as citizens and demoted them to "subjects." Jews were banned from marrying anyone of the "Aryan" race; even young non-Jewish women age 45 and under weren't allowed to be employed by Jews as housekeepers. German citizenship would only be granted to those who were of Aryan, non-Jewish ancestry and such citizenship could only be proven by actual documents that German citizens had to carry. The Nuremberg Race Laws set into motion a legal ethos that would ultimately spur Hitler and his minions to embrace the "Final Solution": the extermination of all Jewish people within the Third Reich.<br /><br />Hitler understood that the majority of non-Jewish German people would accept such laws and the resulting crimes against humanity if they could rationalize to themselves, "It's the law: We have to follow it." More importantly, the rest of the world idly sat by and did nothing to combat the Nuremberg Race Laws; in America, a number of states had anti-miscegenation laws, and the U.S. Supreme Court did not uniformly ban anti-miscegenation laws until 1967 in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Loving v. Virginia</span> decision.<br /><br />Arizona's new immigration law (that gives non-federal Arizona law enforcement agencies the power to stop, question, and arrest potentially undocumented, "illegal" immigrants) takes it cue from Hitler's Nuremberg Race Laws. Numerous Arizonans and others across the country see the law as something they must accept; after all, it's a legal proclamation that was ushered in with an unusual amount of fanfare (most laws enacted by state legislatures don't receive such media attention); those who support the law say it's necessary to stem the influx of undocumented workers from other countries--namely, Mexican laborers.<br /><br />Of course, supporters of the Arizona law would be terribly angered to be placed in the same catergory as supporters of the Nuremberg Race Laws and the National Socialists of the Third Reich. But the Arizona law has the same effect: Certain people will be targeted by law enforcement and the justice system and others will not simply because of their appearance, their physical surroundings, and their names. (Remember, often before police stop a vehicle, they call in a vehicle's license plate to get a tentative identification of the registered owner's name.)<br /><br />In Germany, if one was blond, light-skinned, and blue-eyed--and didn't have a Jewish surname, one was above suspicion. In Arizona, if one is blond, light-skinned, and blue-eyed--and doesn't have a Spanish surname, that person can walk, work, and drive in Arizona without any fear of being stopped and questioned by local or state police about his or her legal right to be in Arizona.<br /><br />And like the Jews in Nazi Germany, mostly Mexican undocumented workers are blamed for a host of ills: they're killing citizens; they're lowering the standards of living for citizens; they're taxing our educational and health systems. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Reich Minister of Propaganda, made similar complaints about Jews. And this weekend, I heard radio talk show "personality" Bill Cunningham make similar complaints about mostly Mexican undocumented workers (and he's not alone; just listen to almost any radio talk show host on so-called "conservative" radio or on Fox News and you'll hear the same message).<br /><br />Goebbels knew that the airwaves and print media had to be controlled and deluged with negative propaganda about Jews if Hitler's dream of an all Aryan society was to become a reality. Likewise, in America today one rarely hears a radio or television talk show host note how we benefit daily from undocumented workers: they harvest, pack, and ship our inexpensive food, they bus our tables in restaurants, they mow our lawns, they build our houses and replace our roofs and remodel our kitchens, they fix our cars and recycle our old tires, they take care of our children in daycare centers, they attend to our elderly in rest homes--and I never hear people complain about the money they routinely save when they benefit from undocumented workers' labor. Just as the Jews were scapegoated for most of the societal problems in Nazi Germany, so are undocumented Mexican immigrants scapegoated in the United States.<br /><br />What can we do to combat this terrible return to a Nuremberg-like mentality that has been codified by an Arizona law? We can boycott Arizona; we can refuse to buy anything that comes from Arizona, especially things bought online, and we can refuse to visit the state to add to the state's coffers as tourists. Will this boycott hurt Arizonans? Yes, but Martin Luther King, Jr., realized when he organized the Montgomery bus boycotts that those in power will be more eager to rectify a wrong when they hurt financially.<br /><br />On May 1, 2010, Cardinal Roger Mahoney of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said to a crowd protesting the Arizona law that no one is "illegal" in God's eyes. Amen.Robert Vasquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02815492384866215659noreply@blogger.com2