When Words Speak Pt 2: Pausing

My Fellow Contributors,

Here is the second part of my series "When Words Speak". In this video I discuss how pausing can be used to stress certain parts of your performance as well as enhance the understanding of the poem by your audience.

As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda the Man

When Words Speak Part I: America by Allen Ginsberg

My Fellow Contributors,

Below is the first episode of my new video series called "When Words Speak". This series will go over verbal techniques you can use and master in order to effectively convey the meaning of a poem through your performance. 

In this episode I perform "America" by Allen Ginsberg. 

Cheers

Letter To the Leaves: God Does Exist. And It's Spelled W-E

My Fellow Contributors,


One of the books I am reading at this time is Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power of Now. This book was actually recommend to me by Slick a few months ago and I have been devouring it every since. The tagline for the book is, "A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment". I recommend it to everyone who is searching for their own inner voice and presence.

I bring this book up not to discuss philosophies, but because their is a section of the book that I feel resonates with what I have discussed in several of my previous blogs.

Here is the section I want to point at today,

"Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to and end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike a signpost, it points beyond itself. The word honey isn't honey. You can study and talk about honey for as long as you like, but you won't really know it until you taste it. After you have tasted it, the word becomes less important to you. You won't be attached to it anymore. Similarly, you can talk or think about God continuously for the rest of you life, but does that mean you know or have even glimpsed the reality to which the word points? It really is no more than an obsessive attachment to a signpost, a mental idol....

...If you had a strong aversion to the word God, which is a negative form of attachment, you may be denying not just the word but also the reality to which it points. You would be cutting yourself off from the possibility of experiencing that reality."

 Jack and I were having a conversation after the last open mic. You see he's been writing a bunch of physics poetry lately and asked me if I believed in God. I told him, that I was raised Roman Catholic and my views aren't as simple as whether or not there is a God. I told him that I view organized religion as a medium through which I can find my spiritual enlightenment or presence.

In rebuttal he told me that I had to acknowledge that science is the only universal truth. That God is only used as a weapon against groups and that it is worth not believing in because it is only used for evil. He told me that he was raised christian but has now come to the realization that there is not a God.

I read the passage from The Power of Now after this conversation, and felt that these were a few lines I should have quoted in defense of my position.

The way I see it, God is only a signpost used to get everyone connected to a universal truth. Jack, and other people like him, are asking the wrong question. Its not whether there is a God, but why would a God be created.

I was doing some research for an article on the relationship between business and religion. In my research I came across an article about Karl Marx. He held the view that God was created by men, and was used to keep the laborer in the chains of the capitalist. I agree with Marx in one respect, that God was created (the word and the way its delivered) but rather than a means of oppression it is a means of liberation.

It is a way for all of us to "be on the same page"; to focus our attention on one idea. Rather than getting caught up in the how of religion, we need to get focused on the Now of religion. The feeling that it makes us experience and the sense of freedom, warmth, love, and tenderness it opens us up to feeling.

So don't get caught up in words. Don't get caught up in other peoples opinions or in their religion. Everyone is searching for the universal truth. They are searching for their own god-essence and they are teaching us that we are all connected.

Physics, God, Science or Religion. These are only tools teaching us to transcend.


As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda the Man

Letter To the Leaves: You Don't Need a Masters to Understand This

My Fellow Contributors,

I am graduating in less than a week. I think it is finally sinking in that I will no longer be an English-centered undergrad. This is a bit disheartening but I have a theory. My theory is that I don't need to be an English grad student to further my understanding of Literature. I have this crazy idea that I over these past five years I have been trained to read, analyze and think critically about any piece of literature that is put in front of me.

And it's this idea I want to explore in this blog.

But before I begin I have a question for you.

What added value does reading a book in a classroom give you?

If you take away the other students, many of whom have misinterpreted the text to begin with, and the professor, who if he or she is any good will undoubtedly remain silent and let you struggle through the material on your own, what are you left with?

Yourself and the book.

And this is exactly my point. One thing about English, which sets it apart from other majors is that you don't need someone over your shoulder explaining the importance of this symbol or that. Now it should be noted that of course, someone who is practicing English and reading texts on a daily basis will be better at it than someone who is not putting in as much time. And it does help to have a tour guide. Who helps you to pick out the books you should read, tells you which aspects you should look out for and who provides accountability. Also you need to be trained. You need to have the right tools in order to complete the job.

But after four years of English classes, I don't need a tour guide. I can venture out on my own and find my own enlightenment through books just like countless others. And so can you (and when in doubt claim Reader Response).

So even though I am going to be studying law next year, I am still going to be studying literature and learning and growing as an artist. I may not have a master's at the end of it, or a Ph.d (although a Ph.d in American Literature is on the to-do list), but I will have that knowledge. I will earn those merit badges you get after reading a work from the literary cannon.

This pursuit is further made possible because of the internet. Rather than having to go to a professor to put a particular image in context, a quick Google search and a peruse of the hits will give me the answers I need.

I guess this blog seemingly is just a long-winded denial of the claim that learning stops once you have a degree.

Because, at least for me, the most important thing college taught me wasn't anything in a book. But how to get knowledge out of a book and convey that clearly and confidently.

The books will always be there. Just be driven enough to read them. Stay on top of yourself. There is no reason why you can't have the knowledge people go to grad school for. No reason why you can't understand civil war poetry. No reason why you can continue your love for literature and pursue other interests.

English is not physics (although many of us would have you believe that). It's just a few lines on a page which put pictures in your head.

So I challenge you to go out there read valuable books and teach yourself the wisdom in words.


As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda the Man

Letter to the Leaves: The Nirvana of Flowetry

My Fellow Contributors,

First, thank you to everyone who came out Friday night for the open mic. We had a lot of good readers and even a great harmonica player. But one of the highlights of the night for sure was the piece of Flowetry played by artist Julius Vergara. And it is with his performance that I want to continue my conversation on the art of Flowetry.

Julius, fellow reading editor Danielle Cofer and I were sitting outside the Coffee Klatch waiting for the night to begin when we began to talk about the pieces of poetry we all were going to be playing that night. I brought a few poems I had been practicing and showed them to Danielle and Julius. Julius, after reading a few of my poems grabbed a piece of paper and started to write down a few lines of his own. After finishing a short poem he tells me that his nearly two year relationship to his (now ex) girlfriend just ended. I could see the hurt everyone experiences after something so familiar is suddenly gone, in his eyes and in the wobble of his voice. But then something personal and (more importantly) raw happened. Julius started flowing word after word and phrase after phrase together until he had woven together a beautiful, moving, power-filled, and dynamic flow about his ex and the importance of moving on.

What was powerful about that moment was not the fact that he had just came up with all the words and rhymes off the top of his dome, it was the manner in which he presented them. It was his swagger and charisma; his strength of personality through the pain of heartbreak.

And so the night began and readers read and poems were heard and soon Julius was up at the mic. He took his turn and read his poem and then walked back down to the table. Next various other readers read and then re-read and finally Julius looked at me with a grin. He stood up from his chair and walked silently and briskly to the mic. Once there he gave a short preamble about his ex and his recent break-up.

What happen over the next few minutes is hard to put into words because it is nothing short of the heart and soul of Flowerty. The whole room, myself included, could feel the raw emotion coming from Julius. He was delivering lines off the top of his head and living in the moment; letting the river of inspiration carry him to what I like to call the flow-er's Nirvana (more on that later).

It wasn't even the words he was saying but the manner in which he was saying them. He had taken his body and his soul from a mere means of communication and transformed them into a single medium through which he delivered a striking metaphysical message about love.

His performance transcended the room and touched my heart.

And as he stepped down from that mic, it didn't matter anymore that his girlfriend had broken up with him. It didn't matter that both of us were teary eyed. It didn't matter that he had just made the whole thing up. What mattered was the fact that he had found something pure and magical inside himself and decided to share it with us.

But it wasn't for the sake of just getting up and sharing, but for the sake of growing. That is the purpose of Flowetry; to grow as an artist, poet, person (what have you). Flowetry knows no concept of fame, no concept of value. It is and always will be something which is beyond the here and now. When I talk to many of my fellow flow-ers they tell me that when they are rolling on a flow they feel a sense of ecstasy; emptiness of thought and calmness of nerves. This is what I call the flow-er's Nirvana. A place where you feel as though you are reciting words long since written. As though you are connected to the multitude of other flow-ers speaking this very instant.

One Mind One Love One Peace One Voice

As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda the Man

Letter To The Leaves: The Art of the Flow

My Fellow Contributors,


I first want to point out that our fourth issue, and the last of volume one, hit the intangible shelves of the internet today. I want to give a big thanks to everyone on the masthead, our readers and our contributors. Without your dedication, diligence and love, this issue (which I must say is our best yet) would not have ended this chapter of our magazines story on such a high note.

Now with that said, back to the topic at hand.

My goal with this blog is not to give you my "definition" of what Flowetry is. Rather I hope to start a dialogue between us in hopes of exploring this medium together.

At first glance it is easy to see the etymology of the word. There are two parts of the word. The first part of the word is Flow and the second is -etry coming from the word poetry. From this dissection I get two ideas right off the bat.

My first idea points out the fact that the art of Flowing is a dynamic, powerful, and exciting medium through which to enjoy the spoken word. When my friends and I  circle up at a party or even around a camp fire and drop a track to spit on, we are doing the same thing the bards were doing in ancient Greece when they circled up and recited a few lines from the Odyssey. We are creating a story; stringing together words on a beat in such a way that they are pleasing to the ear. It must be noted before I continue that Flowing goes far beyond hip hop or any other musical connotation.

When I flow, it is a largely spontaneous mental exercise. I have no idea what I am going to say or what I am going to flow about next until I begin to speak. One word feeds the next, which feeds the next and so on.

The second idea encompasses the last part of the word, -etry and by extension poetry. In this part of the medium notions such as meter, rhythm, content, rhyme scheme and form come into account. Where flowing is largely spontaneous, poetry is more about revising. It is about working through the inconsistencies of symbolism and theme. It is where the skill of the writer is put to the test and shown off.

But you see, just ranting off a few drunk lines at a party, that just happen to rhyme, doesn't make you a strong poet. Just like writing, preparing, and reading a poem to a crowd doesn't make you an M/C. What you need is bravado, presence, confidence, and dedication. What you need is a medium which can combine these two and create a new way of enjoying the spoken word.

And when we put these two together we get such a medium. A medium which is both dynamic and structured. Chaotic and fluid. This medium resonates with a particular population of poets who are looking for a way of expressing their words in such a way that captures and holds the attention of their audience.


It is a way of weaving words in such a way that whirl in the wind of your audience.

Play music with words and paint pictures with sounds. Share your voice.


And now its time for you to share your thoughts are on the subject.

Please and Thank You.



As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda the Man

p.s.

Be. Do. Share.

Letter To the Leaves: Bald is Beautiful

My Fellow Contributors,

You will be happy to know that I have completed 50 frames of my novel. However now that I am at this point it is clear that I am not ready to wrap up the first draft quite yet. I don't want to limit the narratives running through my novel so I am going to keep writing frames until I have fully resolved the conflicts I have created.

This week I want to shed some light on the type of person I am in the hopes that you might better appreciate the message I am trying to convey to you, my Fellow Contributors, with this magazine and my blogs. And being that this blog is my soapbox, I wanted to give you a personal story so that the next time you are feeling down, you have something to read that leaves you saying someone is here with me and understands what I am going through.

When I was two  years old I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder called Alopecia Areata Universalis. This disorder changes the body's immune system and causes the victim's hair to fall out all over their body. I don't have hair on my arms, legs, head or face. I don't even have hair in my ears or nose. There is nothing medically wrong with me other than that my hair doesn't grow.

Growing up was interesting to say the least. You can imagine what a challenge facing my classmates in elementary and middle school was with patches of hair missing (It wasn't until 8th grade that I decided to shave my head and go bald. My hair has not grown back since). I can still remember all the questions everyone would ask me:

Are you sick?

Did you know you look like Powder?

Do you have cancer?


It wasn't until I went to college that I discovered the one thing that had made me feel like an outcast, was what made me beautiful, unique...Bermuda.

Being bald is what gives me character.


My loving Mom deserves a lot of credit (and thanks and love) because she took the time to educated my teachers and classmates about my disorder. She supported me and told me that just because someone is different doesn't make them bad or ugly or any less deserving of respect.

And when Nick, Slick,  Jack and I started this magazine it was this ideal that became the re-bar of our foundation. That different is not bad or any less deserving of respect.

Being different is building the HOOVER DAM.

Bering different is landing on the MOON.

Being different is ending SEGREGATION.

Being different is accepting GAY MARRIAGE

Being different is electing a CATHOLIC or BLACK for president.

Being different makes AMERICA great.


Not being able to grow hair on my arms, legs, head and face has made me more aware of the inner uniqueness each of us possess with our voice.

There is a story behind each of us. A story waiting for words to express it.

I dare you to share yours.




As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda the Man






P.S.

If you know anyone with Alopecia Areata or you yourself have it, please email me at

Bermuda.Editor@gmail.com

I would love to answer  your questions and provide support in anyway I can.

For more information on Alopecia Areata please click the following link, NAAF

Letter To the Leaves: The Music of Memories

My Fellow Contributors,

I want to first start by saying that the novel is progressing, but I find it hard to complete frames, as the more involved I become in this evolving narrative, the more it shows me it doesn't want to be confined to just a mere two pages.


What I want to explore in this blog and why I have chosen to suspend my "Novel Idea" series for a week, is I want to know what music does for your writing, reading.

I would argue that music is the string we use to weave memories together. A color-coded string that makes it easier for the brain to systematical archive memories for easy retrieval.

I remember listening to Coldplay's X&Y while writing a few lines of teenage angst poetry in the fall of my sophomore year in high school. If only I could have fixed you.

I remember listening to Keane's Hopes and Fears while reading "The Glass Menagerie" for my 11th grade AP English class. And oh how the words of the song seemed to echo the silent dance shared between Jim and Laura.

I remember listening to the soundtrack of The Pianist while reading numerous selections from my Survey of American Literature. The soothing classical piano of Fryderyk Chopin made the words float of my tongue and into my ears with ease.

I remember reading the first submission received by our humble magazine while listening to "Sittin on the Dock of the Bay" and thinking, can anything be more sublime.

But enough with my remembrances, my fellow contributors, what songs, albums or bands have helped shaped the way you remember the writing and readings you do?

I look forward to walking down memory lane with you. Hand in hand, heart to heart.

As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda

Letter to the Leaves: There is No Try, Only Do

My Fellow Contributors,

While researching the life of Charles Bukowski for our Facebook profile's "People of Character," I came across a quote that he had etched into his grave stone.

"Don't Try"

I was troubled at first glance, but as I researched more into his life, I found it strangely gratifying.

I mean, think about it. To try is to accept the fact that you might fail. But to do is to resist failure and leave her in the rear view mirror.

This reminded me of a few lines spoken by the famous fictional philosopher, Yoda, in The Empire Strikes Back.

"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try"

I remember hearing these same lines, from my sixth grade Drama and Performing Arts teacher. The point she was trying to convey is that "to try" implies to the receiver of such a phrase that the sender is not fully confident and wants to give a sense of possible failure whether conscious of this intention or not.

The power of language to guide and shape our subconscious is without doubt. When Bukowski says, "Don't Try," he means do not set out to write great poetry or the next classic novel. Let it flow out of you. When we try we put up dams which block the flow of words. But when we let the Muses take over and let them guide our pens we find that we have uncovered something in ourselves that is mystic and cosmic. Something that doesn't even feel like us.

It's as if Milton and Ginsberg and Burroughs and Kerouac and Shakespeare and James and Howells and Twain and Emerson and Whitman and Poe and Hemingway and Sartre and Sedgwick and Dickinson and Austin have met in your mind to form an unctuous orgy in your unconscious, leaving their love children to berth themselves onto your page.

I find it strangely gratify to relieve myself on the page without trying. To relax and release and let go.

Remember as writers we're are a mixture of mediums.

1st is the writer who uses words to create clay.

2nd is the reviser who molds and shapes the clay into a form.

3rd is the editor who bakes and hardens the form into a sculpture.

4th is the publisher who displays the sculpture and shares it with love.

5th is the viewer who looks, reads, and touches. Appreciating art in all its minute nuances which strike with each sight.

Greatness comes not from the writer but from the reviser and editor.

Remember, just do it, think later.

But if you feel like you've hit a wall laced with writer's block, then please:

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

You have to live vicariously in order to write interestingly.

And On the Road was written by Kerouac when he was 29, after he had lived through the lines he let flow onto that long continuous script.


As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda

Letter To The Leaves: Every Novel Begins With A Few Lines

My Fellow Contributors,

I must admit something that I have been reluctant to tell many. I am a victim of our modern technological era. It seems in our time of status updates and tweets I have become trapped in writing in 150 character thought blocks. My ability to write long cohesive stories has deteriorated. Or perhaps it would be more accurate stated this way: my motivation to write long cohesive stories has eroded.

William Winfield Wright stated last week during the Q&A section of his reading that he loved titles and endings and that short poems let him get to both quickly. Short poems are like Polaroid snap shots. They capture one scene in all its glory. Every minute detail is allowed to rise to the surface. There is truly something to be valued in how much can be said in just a few lines.

But as a good friend of mine reminded me the other day, there is also something to be valued (if not more) in a long sustained novel. This friend said that it was amazing that someone could concentrate and manipulate ideas over the course of three hundred pages.

I suppose I agree with her. It is quite the feat that a writer could spend the amount of time and thought necessary to produce such a work. I might even go as far as my friend did and say that it is more impressive than say a collection of poems. However, I'm not one for sitting down for long sustained periods of writing. I find it hard to sit down and write papers for school let alone sitting down to write a novel. And the thought of developing a story that could last over two hundred pages is intimidating. But even with these reasons, I still haven’t been stopped from trying all together.

You see I have been keeping a journal since 2009. It’s not a diary but more like a common place book. Most of it is reflective prose, but there is some poetry interwoven that breaks up the narrative. My hope for this book (and subsequent journals) is two-fold. First I want to keep my thoughts and experiences written down so that they do not get erased with time. And second, I hope one day to pass these books down to my future children and grandchildren. I often write pages and phrases as if I was addressing them. Giving them the advice I learn as I make my way through life.

So I guess in a sense I am writing a long sustained book. And in the course of writing this blog I have discovered for myself the way to write a novel. Just as my common place book, a novel grows day by day, line by line.

There is something to be valued in both short quick poetry, and long methodical novels. Each gives its artist a medium to paint the world as they see it, each with their splendor, each with their beauty.

As Always

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda

P.S.

If you haven’t already please go start following and reviewing Alli’s blogs on Building Your Writer’s Toolkit. These are great for any level of writer and will help you lay the foundation for later success in the world of writing.

Here’s the link to Part Four: “Building Material for your Material”,

http://afewlinesmagazine-theblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/building-your-writing-toolkit-part-four.html

Letter to the Leaves: The Literary Cannon Cigar Lounge -Members Only-

My Fellow Contributors,

If you have been following me on Twitter (@BermudaAFL) then you may have read that I am currently reading the Italio Calvino novel, If on a Winters Night a Traveler. This novel is unlike anything I have read during my time as an under grad. His manipulation of personal pronouns, the novel's self awareness and awareness of other has left me reading, re-reading, and discovering new nuances with each sitting.

But why has it taken me this long, almost four years, to come across a book that has sparked more classroom discussion than any other in my time at Cal Poly. A book that I have been motivated to read, not because of grades, but because of the desire to discuss it with my fellow colleagues outside of the classroom.

Looking back on the courses I have taken, they were filled with good books from various time periods. However I feel as though I have been trapped in the 18th, 19th and very early 20th century for four years.

What has been missing from my literary education are authors who have yet to be given the members-only key to the literary cannon cigar lounge.

Where Walt gently selects a cigar from the box at the bar and delicately places it in his mouth, before Henry James grabs his book of matches and begins to light him up. Where Milton and Edwards are debating nature's place in divinity, and Shakespeare is on stage, skull in hand, spouting forth a dramatic monologue (To be or not to be...). Where Equiano trades tales with Cabeza De Vaca and over in the corner Bradstreet and Dickinson are quietly abstaining.

I am there, only as visitor. Shuttling from one author to the next, ease dropping on conversations, catching the punch line of a joke here or choking on the smoke from a Whitmanian aphorism there. In all this haze and muted chatter, I struggle to find meaning. But with the guidance of my professor, who at this time is heaving haughty laughs with Franklin, I sift my way through the leaves of ash, and find a purpose.

But where is Ernest Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson, Tennessee Williams, Anthony Burgess, and Gabriel García Márquez? (to name a few)

They're outside. Waiting for the critic/bouncer, who stands at the door, to give them their key. You can see them through the sounds and smoke, peering over his shoulder, staring at you.

Beckoning you to say a word on their behalf.

As Always,

Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda

Letter To The Leaves: Poetry, The Final Frontier

My Fellow Contributors,

I have always been jealous of scientists. Mostly in part because they are in the business of exploration. They ask questions, form hypotheses, and create experiments. They push past boundaries and open our eyes to new possibilities. They can do this because there are clear limits to the physical world.

But are there such, in the universe of Poetry?

Where does the sidewalk end?

Where is the next frontier of Poetry and who will take us there?

(I feel as though when I write, I am only RE-discovering)

I guess what I am really asking is where is Poetry in our current times?

But as I write this I begin to understand that Poetry is not a place. It is only a vehicle. Poetry is the ship I sail to explore the seas of my soul. I begin to find comfort in this. Somehow this reassures me, that it is not Poetry that is undiscovered, but the voices.

There are voices of Poetry yet to be heard. It is the new voices of Poetry that we must search for. Because it is the voice of Poetry that animates the corpus.

Poetry is dead.

You. You alone have its saving breath.

On January 27th, 2012, at the Coffee Klatch, let us hear that voice.

Let us resurrect the dearly departed, and embrace the spoken word together as one.

As Always,

Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda

Letter to the Leaves: What can you do in just A Few Lines

I will be holding a creativity contest from 12/9-12/30 and giving out a $25 Target gift card to the 1st place winner of each week.

Here’s how it’s going to go:

First I will present you with a person, place and thing. Next it’s your job to create a piece of Individual Expression that is no more than 350 words and incorporates each of the given terms at least once. The structure, form, and medium (written or photo) of each entry is up to the creator.

The winner will be chosen by me, Bermuda, and the winning passage will be posted on my blog. Entries will be judged on their creativity, imagery, and their ability to incorporate all of the terms into a seamless, provocative passage.

All entries are due by the start of the next week's challenge.

Passages can be submitted by posting them in the comment section at the conclusion of that particular week’s blog or by emailing them to me. For entries that are emailed, please put your name and title of entry in the subject line. For entries posted as a comment, please leave an email address where you can be contacted at.

Please include a word count at the beginning of passages.

Limit two entries per creator per week.

Photo entries will be accepted as long as all given terms are represented and readily discernable by a reasonable person.

The winner will be awarded a $25 dollar gift card to Target.
.
This contest is open to all people, except for those of you on the masthead

If you have any questions please email me at Bermuda.editor at gmail.com

Here are your given terms for this week:

Person: Jesus

Place: Occupy Encampment

Thing: Flashlight (broken)

Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda

Letter to the Leaves: We as English Majors

I want to make it known that as an English major, I at times feel as an outsider. All too often in my classes do I hear how he's been reading books since he’s been in middle school, or how they've got this published or that published. I see how some of my fellow classmates use knowledge as social currency and think that they are wealthier then someone who is less able to present their self in the written word.

As English majors, we have to acknowledge that we view education differently than others.

Because so much of our worth is intangible, we are quick to defend it at all costs. We have put so much time and effort into reading and acquiring this motivation for self-education that we forget that not everyone has this.

In the sciences, people expect the instructor to tell them the right answer. This is expected because most if not all of the time there is only ONE right answer. It is as simple as "put this in, get this out". Tests are multiple-choice and leave no room for the self.

English isn't like that. All we have to do is justify our ideas with a few lines from the text and we arrive at a correct answer (thus we are all critics with our own critical theory; We create this critical theory, from our sense of self). We have all had that kid in class who is way off base, but the teacher still gives him a pat on the back.

He gets that pat on the back because in English there is partial credit. We reward effort.

Sciences do not. It’s all or nothing. And with all this emphasis on the correct answer, the end, why is it so surprising to you instructors that this is your students’ main concern.

We as a society have shifted from transcending Emerson to deifying Einstein.

We live in a world of instant gratification.

To call your students "idiotic", "stupid" or "unmotivated" is superficial. You are criticizing the effect and not the cause.

But Bermuda, it’s not a lack of ability. These students are not mindless robots programmed by society. They can still choose to make an attempt. You see Bermuda, all it is a lack of effort.

Yeah, I agree. It’s totally a lack of effort and not a lack of ability for most students. But you see that’s where you instructors come in. You have the toughest job of all because you have to reverse this social norm. You have to inspire your students to want to better their self for more than a piece of paper.

But you must understand that genuine inspiration cannot be given, but must be fostered.

No one should be in a position to instruct if they cannot put aside their self-wealth to see the promise each student has. It is your job to show these students the relevance writing and reading have for their lives.

Now, there are always going to be people who just go to college to get a piece of paper. But those are going to be the same people who go through life as a means to an end.

They will never know the beauty of a sunrise, the soothing echo of the ocean waves, or the invigorating power of mountain air.

And even this is not the greatest tragedy. A tragedy more egregious, is their loss of self-reliance.

People are no longer reliant on themselves as they once were for knowledge. We are slowly losing that aspect as more and more of our society becomes Google-able.

But as English majors, this is our duty to the world:

To show the rest, the relevance of writing, the importance of reading, and most of all,

The beauty inherent in the self.

Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda

Letter To The Leaves: A Brief Reminder

My Fellow Contributors,

We compose in the same fashion that we pick our clothes.

Rhetoric is our wardrobe.

We pick a shirt here, a pair of jeans there; maybe even black wing tips. But whatever we select from our wardrobe, we put together an outfit that best portrays the image of ourselves that we wish to present to the outside world.

So for next time: lets all take a look into the mirror before we walk outside and play. Thank you.

Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda

Letter To The Leaves: Where's I?

Hello My Fellow Contributors,

I was talking to a friend a few days ago about Law school admission and more specifically about the personal statement required for all applications. I am myself, currently in the process of applying and have already drafted a personal statement. My friend, Mischief, was having a hard time coming up with ideas for what he was going to put into his. I then asked him one question.

Do you ever write anything with the word 'I'?

And I can still remember the look on his face when he paused for a second and then replied.

No

It was in that moment I realized that in so many of our classrooms today, especially in higher education, we are detached from what we are writing. We have removed the I and replaced it with a scholarly voice. And it is this voice that has caused many people to give up writing. They simply feel that they are frauds; pretending to be someone they are not.

I realize that the word I doesn't have a place in most academic writing, but this is precisely why we need to have more classes that require students to write poetry. To explore themselves through words. I feel at times that writers are so hesitant to put themselves into their works, but it should be the opposite. Writers should relish the opportunity to put themselves into words. I think this is something that great authors do.

For what is writing but an extension of the mind.

When we are writing poetry, fiction, or non-fiction with I, we are creating a window to the soul.

Now, I am not trying to pitch you writing as therapy, but I am saying that in order for a person to truly know how they feel about morality, ethics, virtues, pop culture and most other things in this world, he or she must work through these problems either by talking to themselves or writing them down.

I is so powerful because I makes what we are writing relevant to we the writers. Although I do caution that not all of life's experiences are captivating, a good writer knows which moments to put on paper and how to do so in such a way that captures their sweet essence. A great writer can turn the mundane details of a dull afternoon, into a powerfully compelling couplet.

So if you haven't written anything with the word I in it, I urge you to do so.

Or, on the other hand, if you disagree with me let me hear your thoughts.

"For although the man may teach, He is only as wise as his brightest pupil."

Undoubtedly yours,
Bermuda

Letter To The Leaves: Our Collective Soul

My Fellow Contributors,

This morning I want to depart from where my colleagues have taken their own blogs and take you down the untrodden path to my inner-spirit. And in doing so hope to expose you, my fellow contributors, to the beliefs on which this magazine was founded.

As Director of Public Relations it is my job to up hold the character and promote the brand of A Few Lines magazine. But in order for you understand the character of this magazine, I must first give you some personal narration on one of its creators.

I was diagnosed at the age of two with an auto-immune disorder called Alopecia Areata. The direct effect of this disorder is complete hair loss. So as many you have noticed, from the coffee shop readings or the booth we just recently had at Cal Poly Pomona, I do not have any hair anywhere on my body.

(I bring this piece of information up only so you can better understand the soul of this magazine)

I went through periods of my life where I felt ashamed, cast out, banished to the undergrounds of society. I soon turned away from the external world and moved inward. It was in this place of self-exploration where I developed my voice. The internal dialogue rambling in my head, describing things in its own neo-transcendental style. I went on like this till college; till I became an English major.

The written word became a way for me to transfer my thoughts into the here and now. I was able in just a few lines to capture images of fancy and thoughts of wildness, going on in my soul, down on paper. The illumination of this underground individual expression occuring in my soul was powerful. I wanted everyone to experience this feeling of true-self ejaculation. I wanted to bring people together under the common ground of self-expression and give you a place to share your thoughts on our ever converging world.

We are not elitists, but we do hold ourselves and the submissions we receive to a higher standard. Not because we want to be better than others, but because we believe truly great art comes from a desire to express which is most true to your self.

We look for the boldly unique, the pieces that speak more of the author's heart and mind than of the books he has read.

By Underground, We mean those who wish not for fame, but for the meager gain of personal satisfaction. Not for gold trophies, but to say, 'I was here'.

And with that, I leave you with this last thought,

If everything is nothing, then why not make this everything.

Undoubtedly Yours,
Bermuda

LETTER TO THE LEAVES: A TIP FOR PREPARING YOUR NEXT RESEARCH PAPER

From the desk of Bermuda Blues:

My Fellow Contributors,

I am in the process of researching a paper on Jonathan Edwards's Personal Narrative. I have already gathered the necessary resources. Most of the books I have checked out are secondary criticisms about Edwards and the literature he wrote. However, in order to get a better understanding of who Edwards was as a man and by extension who he was as an author, I have found it is important to learn more than just what another scholar has thought about him. What is important is to understand the environment in which Edwards wrote and the personal factors which motivated him to write.

In order to accomplish this, I have been reading the biography, Johnathan Edwards: A Life, written by George Marsden. This book has been instrumental in helping me get a feel for who Edwards was as a young man as well as the environment he was raised in, which developed his creative genius.

This technique, of uncovering the foundation of an author's motivations and inspirations, is extremely useful when you are critically analyzing personal narratives or literature in the fields of Realism, and Romanticism because in each of these, there are aspects of the author in both the structure and the content. William Wordsworth's Prelude is an example of a poet using language and structure to express the poet's mind. William Dean Howells, the author of Hazard of New Fortunes, put pieces of himself into the characters he created. Basil March and Angus Beaton, the main protagonists, embody many of the same characteristics that Howells saw in himself. By commanding a firm grasp on the stimuli that developed each of these creative minds you would be better able to anticipate and better understand the imagery in each particular author's work.

This understanding will lend its hand in better interpreting what critics are discussing and will help you to see the limits of their criticisms. Finding these limits will help you find a place to plant and grow your paper to ensure you are going out to new frontiers of literary discovery.

I end with this: start early and read often. Don't sell yourself out from the possibility of taking literature in a new direction and leaving your mark on the world, if only for your own fulfillment.

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda

Letter to the Leaves

Originally posted on Saturday, October 22, by Bermuda at www.afewlinesmagazine.com

My Fellow Contributors,

On my drive home the other day, I was listening to John and Ken on AM 640. They were in downtown Fullerton that day helping the Friends for Fullerton gather signatures to recall three members of Fullerton's city council. These government officials are to said to have tried to sweep the police killing of Kelly Thomas under the carpet. On July 5th of this year, Thomas was beaten to death by Fullerton police after there was a report that someone was breaking into cars near a bus depot. Thomas was homeless, and was staying in the area when he was approached by two officers and questioned. What eventually took place can be seen here in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ljYNgLnpxM

One officer has been charged with second-degree murder and another officer has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for their parts in the death of Thomas (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/da-announces-kelly-thomas-murder-charges.html).

I was intrigued by this story because in the fours months since this incident had taken place I hadn't really heard a lot about it. So I took some time to look through Youtube and found several videos related to the Thomas story. I found one of the actual beating with subtitles, which I have listed above and I found another that was a television news report.

One video that I found stood out from the rest because it delivered much more than a news report. It commented upon the importance of personal video cameras and social media in getting news stories out to the public and keeping our government officials and police in check. The video, which was posted by ReasonTv, is entitled Cops vs. Cameras: The Killing of Kelly Thomas and The Power of New Media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7YFKm9gnKo

The video begins by paralleling the beating of Rodney King to the beating of Thomas and how important video has been in both. The video also chronicles the development of the Kelly Thomas news story and how it eventually made its way to the national news circuit. It also shows the grassroots movement that has started as a result of this and interviews several people who are seen protesting outside of the Fullerton police station.

The video ends with an emotionally charged statement from Thomas's father, Ron Thomas, to the members of the city council. In just a few lines he delivers a powerful statement in which he calls upon those members who tried to cover up this tragedy, to remember his son's dying words for the rest of their lives, "Dad! Dad!".

Because I was so captivated by this documentary I went to ReasonTv's Youtube page where I found several other videos that piqued my interest. One that I found especially insightful was the video Gov. Gary Johnson Among the Occupy Wall Street Protesters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7YFKm9gnKo

And with that I leave you with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that"

Undoubtedly Yours,

Bermuda

Suicidal Scriptors?

Originally posted Thursday, October 20, by Eric W. Strege at www.afewlinesmagazine.com

To our devout followers,

Recently I, while re-categorizing my library, became reacquainted with a book which I’m sure – at one time or another in my possession – was used as a doorstop. The book is Roland Barthes’ The Pleasure of the Text, a work of portentous literary criticism which serves as a Structuralist “manifesto” of sorts. In it, Barthes questions the notion of textual significance as driven by the vehicle of authorial notoriety or intent, which got me to thinking about the little bio “quips” usually attached to the submissions we at AFLM receive. I decided that this theory is something worthy of the readership’s attention and took it upon myself to compose a modest essay in regards to a section of Barthes’ text, aptly titled, “The Death of the Author.”

Roland Barthes, a luminary of the Structuralist movement, vehemently called for the literary public to distance themselves from the classical concept of authorial lordship through his evocatively titled essay, The Death of the Author, wherein he urges readers to separate literary works from their authors in order to liberate the writing from antiquated interpretive strictures. Barthes continues on to say that, “To give a text an Author is to impose a limit on the text, to furnish it with a final signified, to close the writing”, and in so doing, devalues the text by implying that the work is singular in its objective and unmeritorious of multifaceted interpretation. Furthermore, in contrast to classical and romantic beliefs, Barthes regards authorial antecedence to a work as a fallacy, further postulating that, “the modern Scriptor is born simultaneously with the text”, the Scriptor existing only to produce, but not to explain the work. Barthes reinforces the theory of the “Intentional Fallacy”, in its rejection of the Author’s intended meaning as constituting the work’s primary import, through the development of his theory in which he established the Scriptor and text as co-creators of themselves, consequently making Authorial intent indefinite and variable.
Through the rejection of the Author or Scriptor, as regards textual interpretation, Barthes advocates individual literary explication, insisting that literary meaning is established by the impressions of the reader, and not by authorial authority. In so doing, Barthes’s devaluing of the author aims to properly acclaim the text, and celebrate its audience acceptance, rather than further aggrandizing the Author and his unequivocal analysis.

If you have made it this far, and haven’t been lured down the charlatanistic primrose path by more immediately gratifying distractions, you are to be both commended and congratulated, for a point is on the eminent horizon. As much as we respect all of our contributors for their efforts in sustaining the magazine with a constant stream of submissions, we are not able to accept all of them for one reason or the next. One reason, which has become more prevalent, is a seeming preponderance of effort put into the bio “quips”, as noted above. Most contributors use the given bio space to give a name and a way to contact them with the ruling on their piece. Some submitters, on the other hand, find this space appropriate to use in lauding themselves with what seems to be an endless enumeration of accolades and accomplishments. Others, still, commit an even more egregious transgression, that is, they use the space to tell the editors how the piece should be interpreted! Please be aware that I am by no means out to offend any readers, only to comment on some apparent bones of contention. It is our pleasure and purpose here at AFLM to consider so many great pieces of work from all across the genres and mediums for publication, and consider ourselves privileged to have such a loyal following of individuals who appreciate the contemporary literary heritage as much as we do. With that in mind, remember to let the quality your work speak for itself. Don’t try to dazzle us with claims of celebrity, and please do not stifle your piece by providing us a pre-packaged analysis. If the piece is a truly great work – like some of the pieces we receive are – its significance and urgency will be communicated through the given text, photograph, etc. In short, let’s all aspire to take a page out of Barthes’ book and further commit ourselves to the crafts of artistry, never forgetting that it is the work we leave behind that becomes our legacy.

With all due respect,
Eric W. Strege