Going to the afternoon Convo I didn’t know what to expect from Nadia. I knew she was a writer and very popular in the Lutheran community, but I didn’t who she was. While listening to her for the next hour and a half I was astounded with everything she had to say. Her views on christianity and her personally are what I find most appealing. I have absolute respect for her because she will not change herself for anyone. What you see is what you get. My mother is a pastor and I see a lot of Nadia in her because she said the same thing to her church and she has become a successful pastor because she will not be someone else. Whether other Christians support the same views as her I think everyone can learn from her about being true to yourself and your faith. I haven’t read any of her books, but I going to change that within the next few months.
Hedgehog
Reading Hedgehog I see the relationship with social relationships between the hedgehog and the snail. The snail represents every social person or the public in general. The snail has nothing to hide. I think this implies the fact that a snail leaves a slime trail wherever it goes, so you know where the snail has always been. It talks to the hedgehog because it wants it to be social just like him.
I think the Hedgehog represents the non social people. To avoid talking to snail the hedgehog can just seclude itself in its ball form. In the last section of the poem I think it is saying that the hedgehog is the God in its own realm. He feels comfortable in his loneliness and doesn’t want to share its secrets with the snail.
An Evening With Katherine Howe
Going to see this visiting I was very interested because of what her books are about. Growing up I have always heard about the Salem Witch Trials or witchcraft in general, so I was eager to hear what Katherine Howe has to say. I haven’t read any of her stories before, but I did read a prelude to one of her stories and I was excited to here she will be reading from one of her new books coming out.
I enjoyed listening to her stories of how she started writing. The story of her house in Massachusetts and how she told her friend, who was an author, that she wanted to write stories of witchcraft. When listening to her read the paragraphs in her next book I could very well envision what was gong on in my head. I saw the little girl getting mad at strangers in her home and I was amazed to where the story was taking me next. What I got out of Howe was that even if an idea seems weird you should give a try. She thought it was weird to write stories of the Salem Witch Trials, but her friend convinced her otherwise, and now she has a New York Times Best Seller.
Jesmyn Ward Blog Response
I thought that Jesmyn Ward is an inspirational author to many young adults. After hearing her read passages of her books I enjoy that she writes fiction about her experiences in life. That connects to me in what I enjoy writing about whether it is football stories or life lessons. I feel that though her stories really reach out to colored families, anyone can relate to her characters. Kids that are exposed to drugs at a young age or watching a family member selling illegal substances on the streets. Many families of race and culture are exposed to this and I feel they can relate to Ward’s stories.
My favorite passage was in Salvage the Bones where the little girl was looking for her babysitter and she found her upstairs snorting cocaine. The little girl didn’t know what her babysitter was doing, but she knew it wasn’t right. I liked that passage because it reminds of how I would react to that situation if I was at a young age. I was able to put myself into the little girls shoes and play out that scene in my head.
matthewjacksonsite 