COLD MOUNTAIN

Cold Mountain is a house – begins a poem of freedom and liberation. This Cold Mountain series subscribe to this idea that the natural world is home to everyone. Though Cold Mountain is said to be a “house,” this poem describes a home. A house “without beams or walls” is the world. There are no limitations to this house. There are no ceilings, but only the sky. The line “at the center of nothing” develops a scenery of vast and open nature, a field maybe. This Cold Mountain is the world, a home. But not only is this home to Gary Snyder, but to me and everyone else as well. Cold Mountain is the natural world to be specific, unaffected by the pollution of urban life.

Men ask the way to Cold Mountain – is a poem that intensifies the previous, “Cold Mountain is a house.” Adding to the idea that Cold Mountain is mother earth, this poem shows that Cold Mountain is everywhere. One can only get to Cold Mountain when they realize that they are already there. When Gary Snyder says, “my heart’s not the same as yours,” he is saying that his understanding and love of nature are distinct and different from others, and that his appreciation separates himself from others. “You’d get it and be right here” confirms my theory on Cold Mountain that once one realizes it, he has been in Cold Mountain this whole time. In conclusion, Gary Snyder highly regards nature as his

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "Autobiography": An Analysis

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "Autobiography" is a poem of depressing and nostalgic proportions. Beginning with the first line, we are introduced to Ferlinghetti's "quiet life" which carries onto a sad tone. He brings us into his life and then into his past, slowly revealing why he is "leading a quiet life." The way in which he speaks of his past seems like he has lived his life submissively and effortlessly. The line "I had an unhappy childhood" confirms his saddening tone. Then interestingly, he begins each line with one statement and then contradicts his attitude towards life like "I chopped trees for the CCC and sat on them." He also sees garbage men parading which shows strength and pride through difficult times. But as the past progresses, we see that Ferlinghetti is becoming more adventurous through traveling and riding "boxcars boxcars boxcars." My thoughts on the repetition for this word is that he rode a lot of boxcars in his childhood which shows that he was daring as a young adult. His experiences begin to escalate into exciting and interesting incidences and aspects of his life. Then he says "I am the man," a strong tone of confidence strikes the poem. But what becomes confusing is when he starts to refer himself as the most random things like, "I am a bank of a song." Now the reoccurring line "I am leading a quiet life" changes in meaning, revealing a humble attitude and leaving the depressing tone. He concludes his poem almost arrogantly but godly at the same time, generally saying that he can do anything he can. His saying of a "quiet life" is merely his sarcasm speaking.

found poem.

A determined coffee stains the air
but the overriding heat envelops contents
within the confines of the building.
A bell vibrates my eardrums,
and cuts through the necks of the talkative students
like a samurai sword decapitating a person
thus producing silence.
Outside, the grass in which I am laying on stings the skin.
But a Kodak scenery, nonetheless.
Then a multitude of dark grey cars fill up the parking lot.
Heat builds up into them, ready to take on their first victim,
who ever steps into the car first.
I can almost smell the weather. It is warm. I can taste it.

Literal&Interpretive.

From: Buddhism and the Possibilities of Planetary Culture & Passage to More Than India (41-51).

Literal Questions:

What does the teaching of Buddhism hold for the universe and all creatures?
- "Buddhism holds that the universe and all creatures in it are intrinsically in a state of complete wisdom, love, and compassion, acting in natural response and mutual interdependence."

What does "one" have to give up in order to begin to come into personal realization according to Buddhism?
- One has to give him or herself "up and away" in order to begin to come into personal realization.

What are the traditional three aspects of the Dharma path?
- The traditional three aspects of the Dharma path are wisdom (prajna), meditiation (dhyama), and morality (shiya).

What are the requirements for the practice of meditation?
- "The ground beneath one's feet."


What is a "Bhagavad-Gita?"
- Hindu mythology. 

Interpretive Questions:

Why and how has Gary Snyder changed his writing styles and techniques in these two journals?
- Snyder changed the styles of his poems from profound and informal to formal and structured. The reason why he made a change of style was probably because he is speaking in a more informative and educational tone. He is trying to get his words across more clearly and so he approaches his new journals with simpler language and lucid writing.

What does the chapter "Buddhism and the Possibilities of Planetary Culture" show about Gary Snyder?
- This chapter shows that Gary Snyder is very fond of the Buddhist religion by taking great consideration of the teachings and history of Buddhism. The Buddhist religion is a religion that takes years of dedication and motivation in order to learn and understand the teachings. This reveals how dedicated and motivated Gary Snyder can be.

What does the title "Passage to More Than India" signify?
- "Passage to More Than India" does not refer to the country India, but instead the country that Colombus had misinterpreted India as, America. "More Than" mentions how America came to be more than what Colombus had expected.

Why does Snyder refer to a lot of drugs?
- Snyder refers to drugs throughout the second journal because drugs were a very important aspect to the beat generation. Drugs influenced everything, from hippies to even politics at that time. Marijuana and LSD were one of the most essential drugs during that time. Drugs were also an important part to religions.

Why does Gary Snyder write about the beat generation so much?
He writes about the beat generation because that is the time in which he leaved and was active in his art. It is best for him to write about the beat generation because it was the generation in which he knew best of.

BLOG #2 cont.

B.

Simple thoughts/reactions to his journal

Snyder's journals from pages 24 through 33 show the episodes he has during his first time around Japan. It becomes obvious that he is in Japanese territory because he speaks a lot about Japanese culture, including Buddhist temples and Japanese plays. I noticed that Snyder's journals are becoming more like paragraphs because he doesn't use stanzas and lines as much as he did in his previous journals. But his improvement in structure doesn't make up for Snyder's perplexing and confusing language. I am still puzzled by his journals, which make it very hard to interpret his episodes.
With an overall idea of Gary Snyder, I have concluded that this man lives and breathes poetry with respect to his journals. Seeing that his journals are written for every day and also seeing the contents of the journals, I can tell that Snyder is constantly thinking about his poetry and honing his poetic skills.

Clear, supported thoughts/reactions to 1 or more poems

"Wave"

At a physical viewpoint, we can already see that the structure of the poem is coexistent with the poem's title; the poem takes on the shape of a wave. As we read, we can understand that the poem compares a wave with a woman, supposedly his wife, as seen on line seven, "wave           wife." Snyder says that the waves are like his woman, being that they are both "'veiled; vibrating; [and] vague.'" The scene that he describes is a cold scene, so his wife is "vibrating," or shivering. The line, "Each inch rippld, every grain a wave," shows that Snyder believes the waves are the foundation of the sea. Therefore, he is saying that a woman is also the center and foundation of his "mind." From this poem, we can grasp Snyder's true love and need for his wife, since she is the center of his happiness and the one who "[catches him] and fling[s him] wide."

C.

The answer is now.
The past is now
The future is typing.
thinking.
glancing.
buttons.
screen.

Black keys. white letters.
Air conditioner shivers.
Thinking.

The answer is always
typing.

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"

-unknown.

BLOG #2

fresno state. overpopulated by caucasians. the fresno state. not the usual majority.
three hours,
six minutes,
and       one          hundred        seventy        -four         miles
                             makes a difference. 
sweat resists against the beating heat. not yet adapted to. the fresno state.
"I plan to stay here til I am a senior. I love this school." fresno states.
welcome to fresno state.
an infant bird plunges only when it is not primed.