Week of September 4: (NIGHT Class) Juan Flores and Pedro Pietri

Pedro Pietri reading at the Poetry Project

This is the update for the NIGHTTIME 7:45-9 PM Section. See the other post if you’re in the DAY class

Hi everyone,

First a few housekeeping things before we get to the assignment itself.

• Remember to sign up for the class text message service from Remind. Send a text to 81010 with the message “@urbwrt2” (no quotes) to sign up. If that doesn’t work, send a text with the message “@urbwrt2” to (608)-467-4328.
• If you do not have a cell phone capable of text messages, sign up for email notifications at: https://www.remind.com/join/urbanwrt2

• You’ll also find it helpful to subscribe to new posts for this site: use the e-mail sign-up form on the main page.

We now move on to a significant poet and key person in defining the Nuyorican movement: Pedro Pietri

For Tuesday 9/4:

• Review the key points of the Juan Flores essay that we covered Thursday: the points he makes here are key to the course.
  • What’s the relationship Flores poses between Caribbean communities in New York City and how does he see this as an alternative model to the Melting Pot Theory?
• Read the interview with Pedro Pietri (PDF on the Readings page).
• Apply Flores’s points to Pietri’s interview: that is, see if you can see similarities between Pietri’s life story and Flores’s points.

Think about the following [above] questions as you read and take notes on them:

• To be added–watch for an update See above
  

For Thursday 9/6, we’ll turn to readings from the Pedro Pietri’s Puerto Rican Obituary PDF (also posted on the Readings page)

. Read the following poems:

• “Puerto Rican Obituary” (Note: “Puerto Rican Obituary” is both the title of his most well-known poem and the title of the book it’s from) and “The Broken English Dream.” Be sure to read “Puerto Rican Obituary” slowly and carefully.

Watch Pietri read “Puerto Rican Obituary” here

… and here:

Think of the following questions as you read:

• How does Pietri’s writing define the urban experience for the people he’s writing about?
• What type of urban environment does he describe?
• What language does he use and how does that reflect the urban situation?
• Do you see any of the points Pietri makes in the interview reflected in the writing? Make note of a few examples.
• Do points from the interview and poems reflect Flores’s “4 moments”? Make notes of points that do. Highlight/underline and mark specific passages in the readings.
• What connections do you see between the poem, Juan Flores’s essay, and the interview?

Week of September 4: (DAY Class) Juan Flores and Pedro Pietri

Pedro Pietri reading at the Poetry Project

First a few housekeeping things before we get to the assignment itself.

• Remember to sign up for the class text message service from Remind if you haven’t done so already. Send a text to 81010 with the message “@urbanwrite” to sign up. If that doesn’t work, send a text with the message “@urbanwrite” to (608)-467-4328.
• If you do not have a cell phone capable of text messages, sign up for email notifications at: rmd.at/urbanwrite
• You’ll also find it helpful to subscribe to new posts for this site: use the e-mail sign-up form on the main page.

We now move on to a significant poet and key person in defining the Nuyorican movement: Pedro Pietri

For Tuesday 9/4:

• Review the key points of the Juan Flores essay that we covered Thursday: the points he makes here are key to the course.
  • What’s the relationship Flores poses between Caribbean communities in New York City and how does he see this as an alternative model to the Melting Pot Theory?
• Read the interview with Pedro Pietri (PDF on the Readings page).
• Apply Flores’s points to Pietri’s interview: that is, see if you can see similarities between Pietri’s life story and Flores’s points.

Think about the following [above] questions as you read and take notes on them:

• To be added–watch for an update See above

For Thursday 9/6, we’ll turn to readings from the Pedro Pietri’s Puerto Rican Obituary PDF (also posted on the Readings page)

. Read the following poems:

• “Puerto Rican Obituary” (Note: “Puerto Rican Obituary” is both the title of his most well-known poem and the title of the book it’s from) and “The Broken English Dream”. Be sure to read “Puerto Rican Obituary” slowly and carefully.

Watch Pietri read “Puerto Rican Obituary” here

… and here:

Think of the following questions as you read:

• How does Pietri’s writing define the urban experience for the people he’s writing about?
• What type of urban environment does he describe?
• What language does he use and how does that reflect the urban situation?
• Do you see any of the points Pietri makes in the interview reflected in the writing? Make note of a few examples.
• Do points from the interview and poems reflect Flores’s “4 moments”? Make notes of points that do. Highlight/underline and mark specific passages in the readings.
• What connections do you see between the poem, Juan Flores’s essay, and the interview?

Welcome to Fall 2018! (NIGHT class): Week of August 28

This is the update for the NIGHTTIME 7:45-9 PM Section. See the other post if you’re in the DAY class

Hi everyone,

First a few housekeeping things before we get to the assignment itself.

• Remember to sign up for the class text message service from Remind. Send a text to 81010 with the message “@urbwrt2” (no quotes) to sign up. If that doesn’t work, send a text with the message “@urbwrt2” to (608)-467-4328.
• If you do not have a cell phone capable of text messages, sign up for email notifications at: https://www.remind.com/join/urbanwrt2

• You’ll also find it helpful to subscribe to new posts for this site: use the e-mail sign-up form on the main page.
• Make a plan for getting the assigned books for the course. If you’re planning on ordering them online, then get them now so you’ll have them when needed. Also note that the campus bookstore returns unsold copies about halfway through the semester.
• If you missed the first class (or lost your copy–it happens!) grab a copy of the syllabus

For Thursday 8/30, read Juan Flores’s “The Structuring of Puerto Rican Identity in the US”, from his book Divided Borders. The PDF is on the Readings page. (Password hint: what year is it?).

Also watch this Youtube video of poet Tato Laviera reading his classic poem AmeRican, which Flores references on the last page. (The audio quality isn’t great, so you’ll have to listen carefully.)

Also listen to Felipe Luciano read his poem “Jibaro, My Pretty Nigger”.

Things to think about while reading/ watching:

• How does Flores’s essay begin to define Nuyorican identity and carve out a specific space in the city landscape?
• What’s the language used in the poems and who might it appeal to?
• What are the four points of contact or “four moments” that Flores identifies in his essay?
• How do these “moments” explain how we interact with the urban space?
• Do you notice any similarities or connections with your own family’s experience or those of friends?

 

Welcome to Fall 2018! (DAY class): Week of August 28

This is the update for the DAYTIME 3:30-4:45 Section. See the other post if you’re in the NIGHT class

Hi everyone,

First a few housekeeping things before we get to the assignment itself.

• Remember to sign up for the class text message service from Remind. Send a text to 81010 with the message “@urbanwrite” (no quotes) to sign up. If that doesn’t work, send a text with the message “@urbanwrite” to (608)-467-4328.
• If you do not have a cell phone capable of text messages, sign up for email notifications at: rmd.at/urbanwrite

• You’ll also find it helpful to subscribe to new posts for this site: use the e-mail sign-up form on the main page.
• Make a plan for getting the assigned books for the course. If you’re planning on ordering them online, then get them now so you’ll have them when needed. Also note that the campus bookstore returns unsold copies about halfway through the semester.
• If you missed the first class (or lost your copy–it happens!) grab a copy of the syllabus

For Thursday 8/30, read Juan Flores’s “The Structuring of Puerto Rican Identity in the US”, from his book Divided Borders. The PDF is on the Readings page. (Password hint: what year is it?).

Also watch this Youtube video of poet Tato Laviera reading his classic poem AmeRican, which Flores references on the last page. (The audio quality isn’t great, so you’ll have to listen carefully.)

Also listen to Felipe Luciano read his poem “Jibaro, My Pretty Nigger”.

Things to think about while reading/ watching:

• How does Flores’s essay begin to define Nuyorican identity and carve out a specific space in the city landscape?
• What’s the language used in the poems and who might it appeal to?
• What are the four points of contact or “four moments” that Flores identifies in his essay?
• How do these “moments” explain how we interact with the urban space?
• Do you notice any similarities or connections with your own family’s experience or those of friends?