With a title stolen directly from Henry Miller, you can expect a transcendent quality. I read Coney Island of the Mine for the first time after my AP Calc final, sitting in the back of glass trying not to think about how the test had gone. It's odd, how Ferlinghetti writes; very direct, almost unpoetic at times, themes full of ephemeral beauty but almost nothing in retrospect.

I loved the book as I read it, but I can't remember it now. I salvaged it from my trunk and I'm turning through it and it really is beautiful but only in the present moment. The words sink and are gone; they imprint upon your mind only in thematics but not in base worth. I do not know if this is genius or not; surely Ferlinghetti is an artist capable of amazing things, but his valuing of transcendentalism but also urgency does not mix. He is spectacular in the now but a ghost in the future; he's the type you cite as an influence but never directly quote. Nothing he says is all too mind-blowing; really, Ginsberg and Burroughs took up the sexual extremes, Kerouac embodied the displacement, and Corso handled the language. Ferlinghetti met and published all those men at one time or another, and all would cite him as a genius or at the very least a critical part of their work, but he doesn't stand out. He's forgotten, even among critics; he's part of the movement, but you don't see him published.

The question here is whether or not Ferlinghetti's attempts at almost hidden poetry and meaning are effective; yes the themes stay in mind but they are not always present in the text. Take for example the first poem of the book, simply labelled "1". Ferlinghetti dissects a Goya painting for meaning, finding a general purpose on its beauty and labelling it as such, then hits a fulcrum and relates it to people. The relationship to people seems almost expected, yet obviously not intended as such; Ferlinghetti's segway is for emphasis yet it is hinted at by the right spacing of the lines before it and the use of pronouns creates a sense of the casual. His dramatic turn has already been predicted in the mind of the reader thanks to the natural flow of the poem, yet it wasn't intended this way. There's nothing much to say; he creates a owerful image and a powerful contrast yet it was Goya who created the image and the reader who created the constrast and Ferlinghetti is then just the medium. It seems almost cruel that a publisher can only write as a publisher, conveying the beauty of others but not himself.

I love Ferlinghetti because hs is ephemeral, but critically, he's hardly a genius. The other beats stick in mind because they broke the norm, their style memorable because the flow worked, the breaks worked; here it just seems modifications of the classics and modifications of his peers. And certainly that means something, but I love Ferlinghetti too much to simply debase him.

The eponymous story from Etgar Keret's The Busdriver Who Wanted To Be God is a treatise on the morality of mankind and our willingness to consistently adhere to the personal morals we derive. The story analyzes the lives of two men, one a busdriver with abandoned hopes of becoming God, the other a lazy man who believes he has found his one chance at true love.

The Busdriver is a sort of enigmna; we are informed of his past desire to become God and of his settling to become a busdriver. In driving his bus, he has developed a sort of moral code wherein he will not stop for any stragglers who do not make it to the bus in time for the sake of preserving the time of the people on the bus. He figures, the person who missed the bus will be losing fie minutes while the people on the bus will be losing 20 seconds each, meaning a much higher net less. he has come to terms with society's scorn for his practice, believing it is the best choice available and as a result he is okay with other people's discomfort.

The man is perpetually lazy. he has become so ingrained in his routine that he is persistently late to all occasions, despite their omportance. he meets a woman, and believing her as his soul mate, arranges a date and prepares to actually keep it. because of his routine, however, he winds up late and rushes toward the bus stop.

Here we see a clashing; the moral standards of the busdriver versus the recognized fault of the man. The man, desperate to get to the bus, runs and almost clings onto its door as it is about to pull away. Contrary to his policy, the busdriver opens the door with the reasoning that he sees himself in the man, all of his hopes and aspirations relived.

So here comes the odd moral posturing of the whole thing: the busdriver is only willing to break his code in the situation where he sees himself. Able to live vicariously through this man, he inconveniences the many for this one man and cracks his whole moral structure. It's an interesting idea that, while kind, certainly imposes an odd view onto morality.

See, in a way, it's selfish what the busdriver does. There could have been more important people turned away over the years, but that doesn't seem to matter, only the man who could be a younger version of the busdriver does. The driver is even proud of himself for his actions, he has deemed this correct in his code and in his heart. The abandonment of a previously established code solely for self-pleasure seems incredibly heartless, the net amount that was so important in the past has been abandoned for self-fulfillment. While yes, self-actualization is an important part of any human life, here it seems an extra and one day occurence that will not be repeated in the future. The busdriver has not become kind-hearted, rather, he seeks to better himself vicariously.

Being a three page story and without the book on hand, i can't expand much more on the idea ta the moment. I will by tomorrow and expect another blog post as well.

Dear Mr. Piper:

As AP Calculus draws to a close, I find myself in a discouraging position. My grade in the course is slowly declining despite increased efforts to study, and as our study of calculus progresses I find myself less and less interested in the course. This is hardly a failing on the part of the program; instead, I have realized a real interest in English, and I find myself drawn from more scientific fields to the abstract thinking and analysis of language.

Originally, I was signed to continue taking mathematics, advancing out of AP Calculus into AAP Calculus. A sophomore level college class, it is designed and offered for students who have a true desire to learn higher level math and not for students who, in my case, may only take one or two math classes in college outside the required foundational courses. I feel that continuing in the incredibly rigorous AAP curriculum will only cause me to burn out in math, turning what is only a mild interest into an active dislike. I feel the AAP course is a wonderful way for mathematically oriented students to grow, but personally, I can no longer find real interest or happiness in it.

The ultimate result of this thinking has been the conclusion that an independent study in poetry will be a much more suitable course to my own goals in life and to my continuing educational growth. Poetry is an art form which seems to be under appreciated in modern culture; many people still read novels, as evidenced by the success of works such as The Life of Pi and The DaVinci Code, but rarely does poetry enter the public eye. Too often it is seen stereotypically; a few rhyming words thrown together to present an extended metaphor. I believe research and analysis of poetic works will help to better understand the art behind poetry, the subtle nuances and diction that can in a page say what a full novel can’t.

In order to do this, I will be working through various poetic movements, studying key figures and styles, understanding what makes the movement distinct, and creating my own works in the style of the movement. Ideally, this will encompass eight poetic movements and a culminating portfolio which will showcase both my analyses of the movements and my works in them. The preferred movements and a brief overview of each can be found on the attached sheet labeled “Movements to be Studied”.

In terms of my own educational growth, experience in poetic form is incredibly important. While I have an active interest in poetry and literature outside of school, only so much can be actively gained from it. I would love the opportunity to research and write under the guidance of Mrs. Bosnic, who has been a wonderful supporter of my education and a mentor figure for the previous two years. She has, as you know, incredible experience with literature and poetry, and is a constant advocate for continued literary growth. Having time set aside to learn about the intricacies of major poetic movements with the supervision of an experienced teacher will prove to be a valuable opportunity for me, wherein I can learn more about an art which is woefully absent from mainstream society. As a future English student, this independent study will prepare me for college and give me a background in the various styles and methods used by influential poets. It will work as a base for growth, a jumping point before being immersed in college English in conjunction with AP Literature and Honors IS in Literature and Analysis.

I realize that asking for this requires dropping an AP class, one that is possibly the hardest in the school. Reasonably, I cannot argue for academic misplacement on the basis of it being too easy, nor on the basis that I will fail out. I do argue, however, that I am misplaced on the grounds that it is not for me, and it would be violating the ideals that drive the class for me to stay in. AAP Calculus is for those dedicated to mathematics, those who thrive upon it, those who wish to begin a career in the field. As I study literature more and more, I find myself so at home, so comfortable, so matched that I can only see it as my future. While I see the value of mathematics, I have realized it is not where I want to go. My grades are slowly slipping in calculus, as is my drive, and I believe that I will sink below mediocrity should I stay for AAP Calculus. I do still plan to take the Calc AB AP Test, meaning the school’s scores will not drop with me, and I plan to continue an interest in mathematics throughout my life, but right now, with college fast approaching, I believe the proper course of action is to enter into a self-designed class wherein I can prepare for my future instead of burning out on what I have already experienced.

I implore you to consider this independent study. It is a place of new growth and experience which will be incredibly valuable to me in my education. It is an educational opportunity not offered in a normal curriculum. It is corrective academic placement for a dedicated English student.

Thank you for your consideration,

James Zachary Taylor III

Possible areas of study:

The Beats: The prominent movement of the middle 1900’s; the paradoxical nature of the movement along with the ideas of the times forms a wonderful juxtaposition to be studied. Major poets would include Burroughs, Kerouac and Ginsberg.

Confessionalism: The unsavory truths of the world; realism with a more personal base. May overlap with beat poetry and form a good transition between the two. Major poets would include Ginsberg, Bowers, and Juster.

Harlem Renaissance: The essence of early American black culture; the rejection of the sins of the oppressor and the recognition of power in cultural heritage. Major poets would include Hughes, Fauset, and Cullen.

Symbolist: The power of words and phrasing over traditional style; a focus on internalization and disjointed but powerful expression. Major poets would Kahn, Rimbaud, and Moreas.

Postmodern: Poetry past World War II with a focus on fragmentation and questionability; an aura of confusion and imprecision to be sorted through analytically and with a careful eye. Major poets would include Beckett, Burroughs, and O’Brien.

Modernism: Poetry with an emphasis on the ideals of Modernist literature; ornamented, detailed and structured differently based on country of origin, tied together by basic principles. Major poets would include Pound, Eliot, and Wilde.

Language Poets: The old avant-garde; irony and skewed modernism evoked in ways as to change ideas as to what is poetry. Major poets would include Grenier, Bruce Andrews, and Hejinian

San Francisco Renaissance: The realization that made San Francisco the hub of avant-garde in the 40’s to 60’s; one city that influenced the feelings of a nation. Major poets would include Bukowski, Watts, and Gleason.