This a blog for Mr. James Cook's eleventh grade honors English class at Gloucester (MA) High School. Remember what Northrup Frye writes in _Fearful Symmetry_, "No one can begin to think straight unless [she or] he has a passionate desire to think and an intense joy in thinking."

Monday, April 28, 2008

Annotated Works Cited

Honors 11 Cape Ann Project
annotated bibliography, or

Annotated works cited

Annotated Bibliography Partial Draft (three annotated citations) due Friday, May 2

Annotated Bibliography Final Draft (all ten annotated citations) due Friday, May 9

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WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (OR ANNOTATED WORKS CITED)?

  • A bibliography (or works cited page) is a list of citations of books, articles, and documents.
  • An annotation is a brief (usually about 100 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Annotations are descriptive and critical. They summarize the information provided by the source, and they analyze the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.

  • An annotated bibliography is, essentially, a works cited page in which each citation is followed by an annotation.

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WHAT WILL YOU DO?

  • You will write an annotated bibliography that includes ten reliable and informative sources that represent a diverse range of perspectives on your topic. A draft of three will be due Friday, May 2. A final draft will be due Friday, May 9.

· You will cite your sources—books, articles, documents, web pages, etc.—using MLA format.

o The Landmark Project Citation Machine (http://www.citationmachine.net) will help with this step.

o The Compass and the handout available in the library may also help.

o Finally, consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (a copy of which can be found in the high school library).

· You will write a concise annotation (of about 100 words) beneath each citation. Each annotation will:

o (1) summarize the content of the source. (In other works, what is the book, article, web page, etc. about, what particular information related to your topic did you find there, and what conclusions does the source come to with regard to your topic?),

o (2) analyze and evaluate the content of the source:

§ (a) evaluate the reliability of the source, which have to do with authority or background of the author and/or organization or with a bias or lack of professionalism you perceive in the source (Does the source seem reliable? Why? Why not?),

§ (b) comment on the intended audience (Is the source intended for a general reader? An expert only?),

§ (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited,

§ (d) discuss any limitations or difficulties the source may have (Is it written clearly?, Is it written with jargon?, Is it up-to-date?, etc.),

§ (e) explain how this work relates to your topic (How does it provide useful information or insights about your topic?).

[Notice that there are essentially two steps to the annotation: summarizing the source (1) and analyzing the source (2: b-e). Also, [a] and [e] are most important.; [a-d] can often be covered in a sentence or two.]

· You will arrange the annotated citations into alphabetical order based on the first word in the citation.

· Your citations should use a “hanging” indentation. (See Hamlet example.)

· Your annotations should be indented. (See Hamlet example.)

· For this project, citations and annotations should be double spaced.

[Note: MLA format for citations is the same throughout the U.S. However, format for annotations varies from college to college.]

· You will create a title for your annotated bibliography that reflects your topic.

(Flawed) Example

Views of Hamlet: Annotated Bibliography

Bloom, Harold. “Introduction.” Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. By Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 1-10.

Bloom deals with Hamlet as the hero; Horatio, the source of the play, and introduces the other works in his anthology. He discusses the changed Hamlet at the end of the play, claims he uses “wise passivity” in waiting for Claudius to act. He also talks about Hamlet’s disinterestedness, which he calls a positive characteristic. Bloom also claims Shakespeare himself is great because he is so original; we can trace influences but not his genius back to precursors. Horatio is our surrogate in the play. Bloom has a command of the play but does not always support his claims with convincing supporting detail.

Bowers, Fredson. Hamlet as Minister and Scourge and Other Studies in Shakespeare and Milton. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1989.

This book more than any other helped me to understand Hamlet. Bowers explains the difference between a minister—an agent of God—and a scourge—someone so evil he is already condemned to Hell, and suggests that Hamlet wants to be a public minister, bringing evidence against Claudius to an open court, but fears he has been chosen by the ghost to “revenge [his] foul and most unnatural murder” because he is already so sinful that he is past redemption. He argues for the Closet scene as the climax of the play (rather than the Mousetrap scene) and especially the killing of Polonius, since that act alone brings Laertes back from France, and it is only Laertes’ plot of the poison on the tip of the foil that actually kills Hamlet at the end of the play. He discusses how Hamlet has changed by the end of the play.

Goddard, Harold C. The Meaning of Shakespeare. Vol. 1. Chicago: Phoenix Books. 1970.

The chapter on Hamlet discusses the play-within-a-play, the Christian view, revenge, Hamlet as ultimate Shakespearean hero, anti-Freudian views, the ghost, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Ophelia, the players, the Mousetrap scene, Prayer scene, Ophelia’s death, the duel scene. Goddard’s displays a comprehensive, masterful understanding of the text itself. His ideas are also accessible to non-scholars (in other words, the general reader).

Holland, Norman. The Shakespearean Imagination. Bloomington, IN: Indiana, 1964.

This article is one of the best works on Hamlet so far. Holland discusses Hamlet’s delay, the ghost, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, parallels, Horatio and Fortinbras, the Players, Ophelia, Polonius, Gertrude, disease, food, nunnery speech, Pyrrhus speech, nationalities, revenge.

Wilson, J. Dover. What Happens in Hamlet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1935.

Wilson gives a good explanation about the ghost and about Hamlet’s madness. He also analyzes Gertrude, the Mousetrap scene, the turning point of the climax of Hamlet, the funeral of Ophelia, and the source for the players.

This annotated bibliography is adapted from the following source:

Barkley, Chris. "Hamlet Annotated Bibliography." English 250. 25 January 2006. Palomar College`. 1 Jun 2006 .

Friday, April 18, 2008

Cape Ann Arts & Culture Multi-genre Writing Project: First Steps

Step One:

Understand what is meant by "Cape Ann Art and Culture"

Cape Ann: Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex
Art: (examples) poetry, fiction, music, painting, photography, sculpture, dance, theatre, film, etc.
Culture: behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought (examples: religious practices and traditions (like St. Peter’s Fiesta and the Portuguese Crowning Ceremony), civic traditions (like Lanesville’s infamous parade, the Horribles Parade), public art and architecture (City Hall, the carved rocks in Dogtown, the Man at the Wheel statue, the Fisherman’s Wife statue, various memorials throughout the city, the murals in City Hall), civic institutions (the schools, the Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra, Fisherman’s Wives Association, St. Peter’s Club, etc.), cultural figures (Hannah Jumper, Roger Babson, Ebenezeer Babson, Howard Blackburn)

Step Two:
Research a topic within the boundaries of "Cape Ann Art and Culture."
For the preliminary research you may use the internet and Sawyer Free.

Here are some ideas:

VISUAL ARTISTS

For visual artists I consulted my friend, Greg Cook (no relation), who lived in Gloucester for ten years and now writes art reviews for the Boston Globe and Boston Phoenix. Greg is also one of the major figures on the independent comics scene.

Here’s what Greg had to say in response to a query about Gloucester artists:

The easiest reference for Cape Ann artists is a 2001 book by Kristian Davies Artists of Cape Ann. He lists the key locals.

Here's a starter list:

Painters
Milton Avery, Cecilia Beaux, Nell Blaine, Bernard Chaet [living!], Stuart Davis, Adolph Gottlieb, Marsden Hartley, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, William Morris Hunt, Fitz Henry Lane, Maruice Prendergast, Aaron Siskind, John Sloan, John Henry Twatchman, Stow Wengroth

Mark Rothko was in Gloucester at least part of one summer.
John Singer Sargent has ties to the Sargent House (which owns some of his paintings), but I don't believe he was active at all in Glou.

Allan Freelon, African American painter who summered some in Gloucester, show at CAHA a few years back

Sculptors

George Demetrios, George Aarons, Paul Manship, Walker Hancock

Other
Virginia Lee Burton, the great children's book illustrator and Folly Cove Designer ringleader
Folly Cove Designers
Henry Sleeper's Beauport
Charles Lowe, GDT photog

Living Artists
Charles Movalli of Gloucester, painter who wrote several how to books, I believe
Nubar Alexanian, photog with books on musicians, southern americas, gloucester
Lynn Swigart's photo book "Olson's Gloucester"
Ernest Morin, photos in Peter Anastas book "Broken Trip"?
Robert Stephenson, small catalogue published of his dreamy paintings
Anne Rearick, book of her pix in Basque France and Spain
Josh Reynolds,
gloucester pix book
Dana Salvo, book on his
Mexico altar pix
Peter Prybot's books?
Paul Cary Goldberg, I think his gallery published some small catalogue (s)
Les Bartlett, Rockport photographer
Ken Hruby, sculptor, there must be some catalogue somewhere on his work
Jon Sarkin, painter/drawer, included in catalogue for 2006 DeCordova Annual exhibition, etc.
Anna Vojtech has illustrated kids books
Clara Wainwright, quilter, founder (I think) of First Night Boston and Boston Kite Fest.
Susan Erony included in come catalogues -- I don't know if there was a catalogue for "Witness and Legacy: Contemporary ARt about the Holocaust" at the
DeCordova Museum in 2000, but she's included (and so is her husband Jay Jaroslav) in the catalogue "Searching the Criminal Body: Art/Science/Prejudice" for 2000 show at SUNY Albany.
Jay Jaroslav -- there's supposed to be a cool catalogue from the 70s/ 80s? of his work. Supposedly very rare.
Gap Lafata et al's Photo History of Gloucester books
St. Peter's Fiesta pix book
Nancy Marculewicz of Essex pub how to book "Making Monotypes Using a Gelatin Plate"
Dorothy Kerper Monnelly of Ipswich pub book of her photos "Great Marsh: Between Land and Sea" in 2006.
I think there's some book on politico-conceptual art that mentions Lara Lepionka of
Gloucester, though it may not be out yet.
and, uh, maybe
Greg Cook, "Catch As Catch Can"

Tony Million

Also you could consult SeArts.org for a more comprehensive list of living artists on
Cape Ann.


LANGUAGE ARTS

Poets

Hiram Rich, Clarence Manning Falt, Percy McKaye, Lora Clark, Kitty Parson, T.S. Eliot, Marsden Hartley, Jeremy Ingalls (Mildred Dodge), Vincent Ferrini, Charles Olson, Gerrit Lansing, Linda (Crane) Parker, Schuyler Hoffman, Patrick Doud, Michael County, Kevin Gallagher, Anne Babson Carter, Charlotte Gordon, John Ronan, Peter Tuttle, Ray Bentley (Folly Cove Press)

Poems (about Gloucester written by non-residents)

“The Wreck of the Hesperus” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Gloucester Moors” William Vaughn Moody

“From Gloucester Out” Ed Dorn

Cape Ann and Ourselves” Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Reading in Bed” John Wieners

Prose

At the Cut (memoir) and Broken Trip (fiction) by Peter Anastas; Prologos, Gloucesterbook, Gloucestertide (fiction) by Jonathan Bayliss; Captains Courageous (fiction) by Rudyard Kipling; Finest Kind (nonfiction) by Kim Bartlett; The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger; Gone Boy (nonfiction) by Gregor Gibson; The Siege of Salt Cove (fiction) by Anthony Weller; biographies of Hemingway, Hawthorne, etc. by James R. Mellow; Good Harbor and The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

Playwrights

Israel Horowitz, J.J. Coyle, John Ronan, Schuyler Hoffman

See also: Gloucester Stage Company, West End Theatre