Pure Manaʻo

Grann, D. (2018, February 12 & 13). The white darkness: A solitary journey across Antarctica. New Yorker Magazine . Retrieved from here . What the New Yorker  does for me is to bring into my periphery vision these people and their stories that I would not know about if I had not picked up the article. What the New Yorker  does for me is gather the most beautifully talented writers to bring these people's lives to life in a way that has me crying and cheering and rushing through while slowing down to savor the adventure, the joy and the bittersweet loss of living a real life. I will remember Henry Worsley and his wife Joanne, his son Max and his daughter that he calls "Shrimp" although his children are both adults. These Brits, via an American magazine found their way to a small Pacific Island surrounded by our own blue Antarctica. These are the kinds of pieces that I want to use as mentor texts for my students. Even when I do not know how I would use it exce...

Day 46 is just a number. I am so far behind on my daily reading and then posting that I don't even know if I am in the right year. Still, when I make it, I will make it and no one will be the wiser. I am determined like that. Source:  Kreider, T. (2014, August 01). A man and his act. The New York Times , p. 1 Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/a-man-and-his-cat/ What is Sacred: Krieder's essay is just fun to read. I wanted to rush through because it was funny and self-deprecating and a love poem to his cat and their 19-year relationship. I wanted to stop reading because this was a man who talked about loss in a way that was not depressing or morbid. That is a sign of a good essay from one who is a slow reader. I have highlighted what is really good examples of humor in voice, but pulled out, it is out of context. Then, when I re read the whole piece, looking for that hilarious sound bite of a passage, I find other parts that when added...

Source: Harvey, G. (2015, June 10). Jenny Diskiʻs end notes. The New York Times Magazine . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/magazine/jenny-diskis-end-notes.html?_r=1 What is sacred: This article by Giles Harvey is an obit essay of the author Jenny Diski through the time he spent with her at the end. I was pointed toward this article through my Austin Kleon weekly newletter and I find that he has very good taste in finding "end of life essays" that are able to connect me to some thought or emotion that drifts around unexamined. This does not go into sentimentality, but takes its time to honor the gallows humor of her wit and the power of her prose.  Although she is already dead and I have not heard of her before, I am left hungry to look up her essays and books. One sample Mr. Harvey includes of her writing is from "Stranger on a Train" (2002) where Disky rides the rails around America, dialogues with other passengers ...