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. 

CSoriano: On Gary Snyder

A. Simple Thoughts on Snyder's Journal.
   
    These journals were written during his time as a lookout and bring the audience into the everyday life experiences of a lookout. From these notes taken by Snyder, we learn that being a look out takes patience and good observation. The journals written about August 12 & 14 are good examples to show what can happen during a normal day as a lookout. It is very evident that the time Snyder was writing these journals was the same time he was studying Zen Buddhism because buddhist terms and practices are referred to such as words like "zazen." He also took interest in Japanese culture as well, mentioning Japanese words like "shoji" and "zoris."

B. reaction to 1 or more poems.

    "Hay For the Horses" is a poem that stands from all the other poems in my opinion. It speaks of a night in which a hay bucker, one who delivers hay, comes to rest after a long day of driving through dangerous terrain. The mood is quite regretful, in the idea that the hay bucker comes to a realization that he never wanted to be the person he is now, a hay bucker. The reason why this poem stands out from all the others is because it seems to have a meaning out of all the other poems in the chapter. Also, "Hay For the Horses" doesn't seem to fit the chapter title, "Riprap," which can metaphorically mean "to strengthen a structure." But maybe it was the hay bucker's realization that he never wanted to be a hay bucker that strengthened him as a person, and this understanding was his "riprap." A simple reflection can reveal a lot about one's self.

C. includes 1 or more of your poems

Trees fluctuating,
But the wind flows constantly
In one direction.


Blinded by sunlight,
I cannot see anything
Oh, how ironic.

D. Include a journal of your own (Aka Snyder) for two days of your life.

12 August

sip recommended dosage of coke,
unfortunately warm
do not recommend, personally
enter high school courtyard around 7:41
last night studied until
one.
warm coke takes effect during
science portion, attention divided.
complete in utter dismay

Mission San Jose High School Gym 13 August

"Caveat Evan, Carlo, Tony, Trevor..." points coach dan.
mind responds undaunted after
attempt to be daunted
unfortunate size leads to unfortune
in the sport of barēbōru (volleyball).
pass pass pass

http://endlinevolleyball.com/

CSoriano: On Gary Snyder

One thought I have on Gary Snyder is that he is not as well-acclaimed as he should be. The sole idea that there is a whole high school class that is focused on a poet that I have never even heard of leads me to questioning why Snyder is so underrated, yet so essential to the history of poetry. Snyder's background as a Buddhist-monk-in-training could possibly be an explanation as to why he has been so humble and modest about his poetry. Beat poetry was a popular aspect of the 1950s, and Snyder disregards himself as a beat poet, when he really was a part of the movement, which shows how he could have been so underrated due to his modesty.
Another thought I have on Gary Snyder is that he is an interesting and extraordinary man, who has lived through a lot, and is surprisingly still alive at eighty years old. He is an intellectual with the hundreds of poems and stories that he has composed over time. Snyder is a courageous handyman as a lumberjack when he was twenty years old. He is also a fearless explorer, hiking mountains since he was fifteen and still climbing at the age of eighty. Gary Snyder is, without a question, a person that one can look up to and become inspired by, whether it is through his writing or through his accomplishments in his life.