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#ScribesAndMakers Mar 1: What are your goals for the month?
Ah geez, man. Write more words? Get closer to finishing in some appreciable way? Let's go with that.
#ScribesAndMakers Mar 2: Are you inspired by nature? Please explain.
Yes, absolutely. I live in a very green city, so the green is always present: the soil, the colours, the glorious rain.
#ScribesAndMakers Mar 3: Are you more productive during long stretches of free time, or when you have to squeeze creativity into your busy life?
Definitely long stretches. Right now, I need to *produce* words, and I'm having trouble making the time, and I'm having trouble getting into a groove. It's been hard.
#ScribesAndMakers Mar 4: My Creative Work is an essential part of who I am -- true or false?
Oh yeah! I'm a writing/literature prof. Creative work is shot through almost everything I do.
#ScribesAndMakers Mar 5: If you have family living with you, what do they think about your creative work?
My wife reads my stuff sometimes. She's really happy I have a creative outlet. I'm a more pleasant person to be around when I'm writing. My kids are not ready for what I write!
#ScribesAndMakers Mar 6: Tell us about a book you go back and read over and over.
I reread books that I teach, so:
- Neuromancer
- Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
- End of East
@orionkidder which is the most fun to teach? Is it the same as the one you most enjoy reading?
@saposcat You're right. It's really not the same! I think END OF EAST was the most rewarding to teach because it's about something students can relate to personally: dealing with immigrant families. Even if they're immigrants themselves, they got right into it. Student engagement is where the fun's at.
@orionkidder there's a certain line of thought where if the person teaching is into the material, that enthusiasm might carry over to the students, but I don't know that it's necessarily true. It seems like it's more important for the students to find the material relatable, or in line with their interests.
@saposcat Absolutely true, I think, and it's possible for a teacher to *love* a book so much (or a poem or whatever) that they can't teach it any more. I learned early that I can't teach Leonard Cohen because I just want my students to love it, and that's not teaching.
@orionkidder which Leonard Cohen have you tried to teach? I've listened to quite a bit of his music, but the only book I've read is Beautiful Losers.
@saposcat I tried to teach a couple of his songs a looooong time ago--"Closing Time" and one other, can't recall which--and it wasn't a good idea. I have no critical distance with him. :)
@orionkidder yeah, I can definitely see where that could happen.
@orionkidder I think we have an upcoming question about a song lyric, so maybe that will be an opportunity to get into it. Not the same as teaching it, obviously, but maybe more enjoyable than trying to teach it.
@saposcat Looking forward to it.