On Writing Down the Bones:

I'm not much into writing but there's this crazy idea in Writing Down the Bones and it's of extreme liberation. I always approach writing with strict spelling, grammar, punctuation, and structure rules established in my fingertips. But I have always embraced the idea of freedom and rebellion in particular. I follow rules and the establishment just like I'm supposed to, but I have to say that I hate every minute of it. Goldberg promotes the notion of a "no rules," chaotic approach to writing. In First Thoughts, Goldberg explains "the rules" (keep your hand moving, don't cross out, forget grammar/spelling/formality, don 't think, etc.) which are in fact almost the complete absence of rules.
Most of all, I like the idea of not crossing-out, no censorship. I always cross-out; it's a habit and it will be very hard to break. Even if I'm writing in pencil, I cross-out. But this idea that first thoughts possess so much power and truth intrigues me. I'm always brutally honest with myself, but I like to sugar-coat things for everyone else. Like telling my sister it's alright to have a baby on welfare and without a job or even a highschool diploma for fear I might hurt her feelings. That's NOT alright. But I'm supportive nonetheless.
Another idea taht I enjoyed very much was how Goldberg emphasizes that our writing is not us. She explains that you are always changing and a poem is just a single moment of your life amidst that change. I never thought of writing that way before. "The problem is we think we exist," but our words are never permanent, our feelings are never permanent. And if we are continuously changing, then the idea of our pen-and-paper-selves never really exists, we only feel that it exists.

On "The Distant Stars as Paparazzi"

Upon first reading :The Distant Stars as Paparazzi," I pictured the formation of the earth and its subsequent cycles of life, death, and renewal. But rereading poem at a slower pace, I see that the poem is trying to say something about landfills and the process of decomposition. I suppose my reasoning behind first envisioning the origination of the universe and of the Earth is due to the title itself. Obviously, when I think stars, I don't think of landfills, which is oddly enough the intention of the poet. First starting out, the poet uses this imagery of the "news;" some significant event, and "pages flying/ winged magazines," which I took to represent the big bang. Chaos. And then the "humped Earth settles;" is formed, with bubbling "under cloud air" as I interpreted to be the formation of the atmosphere.Then there's talk of decomposition and how the Earth recycles itself: "its natural herd decompostions along a mound made into natural ground for later." The Earth again goes through these cycles of life, death, decomposition, and renewal, "the planet turns itself into itself a mirror." At the very end "[Earth] shows its timeless line for season in its fashion" and I thought of the changing of the seasons; the cycle of life repeating itself.
In my second interpretation, I see the garbage accumulating and being taken to landfills where it is recycled (eventually) by the Earth. I saw this interpretation more literally, and what I beleive to be the author's intention. The author speaks of The News, paper, magazines, rubbish and how "it's time for pick up." This "rubbish...will dump...into dance with garbage gulls." I attended UofM Flint where I passed a trash dump everyday to and from school, and there were always seagulls flying around it weather permitting. I assume these "garbage gulls" are just seagulls. Then, "the humped earth settles up to its horns in mud...going under cloud air with odor- stink also a local character." And trash dumps sure don't smell pretty. The trash decpositions "along a mound made into natural grond for later their coats sheared into compost for the spin into garden earth." The mound; the dump, is eventually covered up as in Brighton, MI where it is used as a ski hill. So the dump becomes "natural ground" and everything is eventually decomposed by the Earth which is the natural state of things. The planet recycles itself, it recycles garbage and eventually that garbage with be used again even if it be after millions of years. "The planet turns it self into itself."
And finally, to the name and why I couldn't see it before. The distant stars do serve as paparazzi. Paparazzi is a term for a freelance photographer of celebrities, and so the stars are seeing all these magnificent things that the Earth can do. The last stanza explains it all: "Naked, the planet turns itself into itself a mirror modeling beautiful it shows its timeless line for season in its fashion." Although it could have been worded differently, the Earth essentially is the subject of the paparzzi, a beautiful model that shows off its seasons and its innerworkings with elegantce and a sense of fashion like a celebrity.

An Introduction

Hello! My name is Mara and I'm a junior freshly transferred from UofM Flint. I attended WCC prior to UofM. I love school and learning. I am a Special Ed major with a history minor and I intend on adding to that lonesome minor before I graduate. I love history, politics, current events, and etc. One of my favorite recreational activities is creating pottery. I have two pet ducks and my beloved kitty Norma Jean. Norma gets a birthday celebration every year with all of our friends because I love her so much. I am a proud mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters. I love ska, reggae, and punk rock. I attend concerts often and I most recently saw the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I work all the time when I'm not in school, but school is always my first priority.