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Seedfolks, Bull Run
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From: JoAnn Portalupi <jport>
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 18:16:47 -0500
I've posted before but did so without a brief introduction of who I am. I teach children's literature at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I've been listening with interest over the past few weeks for a couple of reasons. First, I'm a Fleischman fan. Second, long before I knew of our topic for this month I assigned Bull Run as one of a few common texts for my graduate lit. class. While we've been discussing it online, my students have begun reading it, first for themselves, and then in preparation for a class reading. Each term I try to choose a single text that can be used as a way to introduce readers' theater as a technique for interpretation. Bull Run is a natural for this purpose, but I'm particularly excited to be doing this here in Alabama. Most of my students are southerners while I am a recent immigrant from the north. That may seem like an odd way to categorize ourselves, but I tell you it looms predominant in interesting ways. (I've already been told by one person that the title alone suggests a true Northern perspective on the subject.) I asked students to identify parts they felt some connection to. And with the rest ( this left all but one of the Northern parts) we divided them up. They worked in pairs to coach each other on their readings -- attending to tone, etc. and next Wednesday we will do our first (and only) reading aloud. I worry a little about it being too long a sitting, but I trust the power of hearing words and this reading will serve as important common ground for a discussion.
I think what I love about this book is the potential it has for involving the reader in unfastening themselves from their own perspectives. I talk a lot with students about how we read from certain locations, and encourage them to identify their own perspectives so that they may learn to shift lenses in order to see more broadly and deeply into the issue at the heart of a story. Books like Bull RUn and Seedfolks make this often invisible process, visible.
LIke Ginny, I want to reread Seedfolks with Paul's words in mind. As a reader I was content to hear from each character just once.I didn't need them to return. In fact, it's almost as if I could write the rest of each person's story as the garden grew around them. I have to admit there was a slightly cynical voice in my head that suggested this is too good to be true. And yet I found myself engaged in the story, something about it got inside of me, a seed of hope perhaps that there are really are ways people can learn to live together.
JoAnn Portalupi
JoAnn Portalupi UAB School of Education Department of Curriculum & Instruction 901 South 13th St. Birmngham, AL 35294 - 1250
phone (205) 934T19
fax (205) 934G92
Received on Thu 22 May 1997 06:16:47 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 18:16:47 -0500
I've posted before but did so without a brief introduction of who I am. I teach children's literature at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I've been listening with interest over the past few weeks for a couple of reasons. First, I'm a Fleischman fan. Second, long before I knew of our topic for this month I assigned Bull Run as one of a few common texts for my graduate lit. class. While we've been discussing it online, my students have begun reading it, first for themselves, and then in preparation for a class reading. Each term I try to choose a single text that can be used as a way to introduce readers' theater as a technique for interpretation. Bull Run is a natural for this purpose, but I'm particularly excited to be doing this here in Alabama. Most of my students are southerners while I am a recent immigrant from the north. That may seem like an odd way to categorize ourselves, but I tell you it looms predominant in interesting ways. (I've already been told by one person that the title alone suggests a true Northern perspective on the subject.) I asked students to identify parts they felt some connection to. And with the rest ( this left all but one of the Northern parts) we divided them up. They worked in pairs to coach each other on their readings -- attending to tone, etc. and next Wednesday we will do our first (and only) reading aloud. I worry a little about it being too long a sitting, but I trust the power of hearing words and this reading will serve as important common ground for a discussion.
I think what I love about this book is the potential it has for involving the reader in unfastening themselves from their own perspectives. I talk a lot with students about how we read from certain locations, and encourage them to identify their own perspectives so that they may learn to shift lenses in order to see more broadly and deeply into the issue at the heart of a story. Books like Bull RUn and Seedfolks make this often invisible process, visible.
LIke Ginny, I want to reread Seedfolks with Paul's words in mind. As a reader I was content to hear from each character just once.I didn't need them to return. In fact, it's almost as if I could write the rest of each person's story as the garden grew around them. I have to admit there was a slightly cynical voice in my head that suggested this is too good to be true. And yet I found myself engaged in the story, something about it got inside of me, a seed of hope perhaps that there are really are ways people can learn to live together.
JoAnn Portalupi
JoAnn Portalupi UAB School of Education Department of Curriculum & Instruction 901 South 13th St. Birmngham, AL 35294 - 1250
phone (205) 934T19
fax (205) 934G92
Received on Thu 22 May 1997 06:16:47 PM CDT
