on this page i would like to share some of the places i've found educational and that have to do with literature...

SHAKESPEARE

...i first read him in highschool, didn't have much of a clue, didn't know what i was reading and thought they were making me do it as some sort of primitive torture...then i read something of his on my own during summer, enjoyed it much more...in college i sought him out once more - found him exclusively in a set of classes which i loved!!! the prof. was a real expert. soon after, i picked up my 2nd major - english - my Shakespeare prof. became my advisor. the gratification reached a pinnacle when i actually got great grades - who ever gets the rare opportunity to do something they love, that they excel in AND that they receive CREDIT for (3.0 hours even!) thus i would like to pay homage to A: Shakespeare and in essence B: my alma mater

Shakespeare's Crib
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind"

"The Rude Sea grew civil at her song,
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the sea-maid's music."

SIGN LANGUAGE

i've been interested in sign language since the 4th grade when i learned the manual alphabet. not until college did i encounter it again through a group of students where i lived (the Living Learning Center at UVM ) these students were also interested in sign... they taught me about all the sign i know except for what i learned through books and sign III class at uvm...now i continue to
LEARN
on the internet and through friends i continually make :) if you are interested in learning anything about sign language or Deaf culture please look into the links i offer here:
ASL Dictionary Online
Jim Van Manen's Homepage (Jim is a grad student at Gallaudet and has GREAT links to sites that deal with signing, interpreting and Deaf culture)

LIBRARY

i am mucho interested in books of all sorts...reading is an avid hobby of mine. i love to go to libraries. the ones on the internet lack that funky smell and all the cool ambiance but you can still get a hell of a lot of information there! one of my favorite libraries to visit via internet is: WWW Virtual Library i also found this amazing place where there are complete TEXTS typed out - you can save them to disk and read them at your leisure! it's amazing! if you are interested in doing that, go here: books on line*warning* it does take a bit of time for this site to load up - go get a cuppa in the meantime :) my last link on books is a huge bookstore. you might have seen ads for it earth's biggest bookstore



WELCOME TO THE BOOK NOOK!

in an effort to share what i'm reading i will keep this little place up to date with the books i'm currently reading, any links they might have correlated with them and my thoughts on them...you are welcome to share your thoughts on these books if you have read them - in fact your comments would be greatly appreciated...! mail me

ON THE NIGHT STAND
Turning Japanese by David Mura
i just finished reading this book. it was about a japanese american man who is a poet and gets a grant to go to japan for a year with his wife to study the culture and work on his writing. the book is autobiographical and in it david talks about his experiences with japanese culture, how he is dealing with all the memories of his childhood and how they interconnect with his current relationships, with his parents and wife and how he perceives japan. included in the book are some of david's poems and journal entries. i thought this book was written in a very personal voice through which you could connect with the author and truly get something from what he was saying. if you are interested in japanese american culture then this might be a good book to start out with. Turning Japanese
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
i'm not finished with this book about a woman in england who goes through a lot of different relations...so far she has been married twice and has several children...the way she views marriage and her relations with men is interesting...though i'm not done reading, her character is intriguing because she is changing...though i cannot tell into what...we'll have to see. this book is supposed to be a classic...we'll see about that too. it's one thing when the school teachers preach it and another when you yourself believe it! Moll Flanders (the whole novel!)


Dr. Seuss. The epitomy of literature. Please read to your children, your sisters or brothers - any one who will listen! :) and if you are interested in Dr. Seuss please go here: Official Dr. Seuss Site or here: a seusslover's page

POETRY

i love poetry and have written it since i was very young. i took it up seriously when i was in highschool and have continued with it fervently since...i have had two poems published in two separate anthologies, "Broken" in Portraits of Life which is put out by The American Library of Poetry and "Humanity is Slipping" in The 1996 Poetry Annual which is published by the Amherst Society. soon another of my poems will be in another collection by the American Library of Poetry, it's title is "3 Banditos." i plan on submitting many more poems to many journals and magazines throughout the country in order to get them published elsewhere but in the meantime i might just put some here. i will also include poems by friends and famous poets as well - someday they will be one in the same 8^)

VOLATILE VERSE

since i just "opened" up my page for viewage i will share one of my own poems, "something apropos to nothin'" as sheryl crow might say...

A TALL GLASS OF TERMINAL LIFE

We're all gonna die
sometime.
No use crying
over spilt milk.
So take your gallon,
half gallon,
quart
or pint --
Chug it
Taste it
savor the flavor.
Or pour it on the floor
and waste it.
Laur©




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