Reading Response #2

In the story Walking the baby to the Liquor store is a story which when you first look at the title you assume it's about an alcoholic with a child. But when you take another look you quickly realize that this is in fact not a story about an alcoholic at all, but a story about a man and his daughter. In one of the lines the father who says that "even if it meant giving up the National Book Award." He would rather spend time with his daughter.
 "This morning she is Cleopatra and the liquor store is Rome." The narrator describes his daughter as Cleopatra. I believe that by making that comparison he is pointing out that to his daughters point of view the liquor store is as far as Egypt (Cleopatra's home), to Rome, when in reality it's not that far at all. It's also another way of saying that his daughter is allowed to be anyone, but this morning she is Cleopatra. This reminds me very much of how little girls are when they're little. Often they choose a character like Snow White, or Cinderella and decide they are going to be that person. In that way this girl decides to be Cleopatra.
The writing style of this story give the reader a feeling that the story itself is very personal and allows them to endear the writer. One of the lines that stuck out in particular is, "A brilliant career is one thing- but being a good father, that's what really counts." In that the narrator is saying that rather than doing work, or getting awards his most important job is to be there for his daughter. 

Reading Response #1

In reading a poem by Reginald Shepard, The Geology of Water I realized that he was never talking about water, but about life and how many bad things may happen during our time on earth. It was strange to realize that this poem which was originally about water could now become anything which fit into ones life. For example the second stanza when he talks about being over his head, he is talking about being overwhelmed. It reminded me of J.R. Tolken's famous quote, "Not all those who wander are lost."

In the poem he also talks about something surviving, but that sometimes it is not worth surviving things in life. Though this is a very pessimistic outlook on life, he makes the point in some ways that many things are not worth remembering, even though it's still a part of you.

"The sea grew old here, and here it let its will to live," I'm quoting the last stanza where he describes the sea as if it were a person simply giving up on remembering and surviving after it had gone through so much. This matched the poems wording perfectly, though it was sort of tragic to see how that was the conclusion he came up with. 

To Begin

Hi, my name is Carissa. This blog is part of my creative writing course. Three things you should know about me, I'm usually bluntly honest, I write constantly, and exaggerate inevitably. I hope you enjoy this blog.