"Oral history . . . refers to what the source and the historian do together at the moment of their encounter in the interview." - Alessandro Portelli

    Oral history has played a very important role in the translation of important events and specific moments throughout society and life. When we read articles that talk about the past, I find I most relate to and enjoy the piece of writing when it comes from first hand accounts of an individual. When you are construting and interview on a subject, you recieve the real facts and find out what really happened in that percice moment through that individuals eyes. You are able to see, smell, and feel what exactly that individual saw, instead of writing from written accounts of what happened from different documents. 
    Referring to the quote at the top of the blog, an interview determines how the subject being discussed is going to be viewed by the audience. It is up to the "historian" to pick out questions to ask the "source" to find out the specific details of the event. They must decided what questions and use and not to use because they will ulitmately determine how the subject is going to be read by everyone who reads about it.  Interviews are the most personal and I believe accurate way finding out details out about specific events or occurances in our lives or history.

    When reading through both Narrative Inquiry’s many questions, opinions, and thoughts ran through my mind. Clandinin and Connelly’s piece I was able to get more out of and understand easier than Situating Narrative Inquiry by Clandinin alone. This long piece was extremely drawn out for what was talked about. I pulled out some quotes that really stood out to me while reading both of these pieces and explained what I felt they meant.

1.      "Telling stories of ourselves in the past leads to the possibility of retellings"

I really loved this quote; I believe they are trying to say that the stories of our lives can live on in the hopes that others will retell the stories to others and so forth. This allows for stories to keep alive for many years and for many people to hear.

2.      "The answer to the question, Why narrative? is, Because experience."

This quote basically is saying that without experiences throughout our lives we would have nothing to write about. I know many of my writings are based around events in my life that have made an impact on me and if it weren’t for those experiences I would not know and understand certain things I do today. When writing a narrative it allows for us as the author to let the readers know the lessons, feelings, and events that make up our personal “experiences” so they can understand fully about what took place.

3.      “ Narrative inquirers embrace the power of the particular for understanding experience and using findings from research to inform themselves in specific places at specific times”

Narrative inquires allow for us to be able to focus on specific instances that make up our experiences. This is where we are able to narrow down the importance of what bounded certain experiences into our brain and why they stick our as essential to us.

1. Was it easy to read and understand?
2. Should I add more geners?
3. Did it flow from one piece to the next?
4. Should I add or take anything away?
5. What things should I consider revising?
6. Any open suggestions?

1. Who are the characters in your story? Chris Baillie, Emily Penn, Holly Ernst, Me
2. What connection do you feel to your place? It is a place that has changed over the past months and has played a huge part in my life.
3. When does the story take place? Present thoughts / Past Memories
4. Where does the story take place? In my mind
5. Why does the story take place? This story takes place becuase these thoughts and memories have been consuming my mind for the past few months. My friendship with Chris was something that I cherished and felt like expressing my emotions and memories of the events that have taken place.
6. How are you delivering/presenting the story? Narratives, Poems, Pictures, Music
 
    After our converstations with the group about our story  I realized I needed to change the way I was going about my writings. Instead of having memories, I can write about feelings and emotions about how I feel about my place. It was helpful hearing the imput of others becuase I was getting kind of lost with how to go about construsting and putting together the pieces I was writing.

1.      You must be sitting down at a table, across from your opponent.

2.      You will begin when I stay “Ready…Go”

3.      At all times you have to keep intense eye contact with your opponent.

4.      All trash talking must be said with a New York accent.

5.      No fake nails are allowed to be on competitors at time of the match.

6.      After a two minute period if neither competitor has won, they will rotate sides.

7.      You must remain seated the entire time throughout the match, or else you will be disqualified.

8.      Elbows must be touching the table at all times, if not match will restart.

9.      The hand not being used in match has to either be on your lap or holding the side of the table, or else resulting in a foul.

10.  In order to win the contenders entire arm must touch the table.

Click here for the official Arm Wrestiling Rules

    Since this class has started, I have been working with different styles of writing that I have not used much throughout my life. Last semester was my first experience with Twitter; it opened my eyes to a different way of writing in such a small amount of space. Because of this constraint it showed me how to focus on key words and main ideas to write, allowing for me to get my ideas across to the audience.  

    While working on our micro fictions we had to incorporate a tweet from our feed and create a story around the tweet. By using the tweet it allowed for me to create a completely different background story than what my tweet was originally about. With my second micro fiction, I later on turned it into a haiku poem. Since the poem only allows for a few words, I wanted to make sure that the same meaning that was felt throughout my story was still following through in my poem. I tried to use words that really reflected the tone of the story. It was hard trying to find certain words because of the specific format it had to fit, but I think the words I used related very closely to what my micro fiction was about as well.  

    Making the poem out of a number of our tweets was a really fun and interesting assignment. My feed on my Twitter page was all over the place with not many of the tweets connecting to one another, so it left me a challenge on trying to find a commonality among them.  Piecing then together I was able to link them together in a fun and interesting matter.

Haiku : Remembered Love
Toes dig in the sand
A memory of a love
Replaced for good


Tweet Poem : Daydream
I’m having a no good very bad day.
This weather is dreadful, it’s pouring rain
The cafeteria’s salad gave me stomach pains.
I just need a cocktail, my girlfriends, and a plane to get away.

Maybe venture to Paris and lounge beside the Seine River,
Eat some lunch and listen to the tunes of Arcade Fire,
Find a French man to make my overseas lover,
While indulging in the cities countless desires.

Oh dreaming of the smells of New York streets in the winter time,
Makes me want to leave this place today and go a far.
Take a mini vacation and stop at the 5th and Market Street Bar.
Just disappearing from life into this carefree daydream is so sublime.

Tweets Used in Poem
1. Im having a no good very bad day ! #twitterive #wrt1
2. This weather is just disgusting i'm ready for summer #Twitterive #Wrt1
3. Never eat the salad from Rowans downstair salad bar ! #twitterive #wrt1
4. sushi,cocktails & girlfriends whats better
5. I'd much rather be sitting on the Seine River in Paris eatting lunch with friends like I was 4 months ago,than reading for school
6. @arcadefire is blasting through my car speakers, while on the way to some food shopping #twitterive
7. there needs to be more guys on campus that look like @jamesfranco #twitterive
8. i wish i could live in the city all year long :( #tfwf10
9. the smell of nyc strees this time of year is so @amazing!
10. mini vacay with the girls to nyc for a few days #muchneeded

Memory
                I decided to go for a refreshing walk down the beach to clear my head of any last minute jitters I may have. I knew he was the right guy, but everyone has the right to be a bit nervous before they say the words “I do”. As my feet dug into the sand I reminisced about my childhood and how I used to force my sister to play wedding dress up and I always had to be the bride and she was the groom. I chucked as the after wash of a wave ran through my toes picturing my sister and I walking down our hallway pretending it was the isle, realizing how much my life has changed. Making my way down the beach many memories ran through my mind, I sat down in the sand and gazed out at the endless ocean. I couldn’t help but recall the feeling of the first time I feel in love. Twelve years I’ve sat on the memory of the perfect love we shared and how I thought it would me him and I walking down the aisle those many years ago. How perfect and carefree our love was with one another and how blind we were to what the world would do to us. I would never regret anything in my life because everything does happen for a reason, but as I sit in the sand I can’t help but wonder what if I hadn’t stayed? What if I went away with him? Would it still be him and I? I’ll never forget how he changed me and it for him I thank for opening my eyes up to the possibilities of love. I get up and dust the sand off my shorts I grin excited to see what this new chapter in life is going to bring me.

 
Snow Day
                Waking up in the morning after a night of watching the beautiful snow fall out their window Jess and Blake woke up surrounded by a winter wonderland. As they turned on the radio they heard the alert that New Jersey was in a state of emergency. Blake needing to get to work somehow the next day threw on his snow gear and set outside to clear the long driveway of what seemed to be over a million inches of snow. Jess feeling guilty went outside to help her boyfriend shovel out the cars. After hours of clearing their driveway, the old man who lived across the street from them had yet to go outside and start his driveway. Being the good people they were Jess and Blake headed over to help out the old man, by the time they were shoveling the last bit of snow from his driveway the sun was completely down.  Each of them could barely feel their arms from how many times they had to life the heavy snow from the ground, and their faces were so read and chapped from being outside for so long. They ventured back to their house where they stripped off the many layers of clothes and tossed them into the washer. Blake went over and started up their fire place, while Jess boiled some water for the hot coco. Smelling the aroma of the delicious hot milk chocolate Black sat in front of the fire anxiously awaiting Jess. They both plopped down feeling the warmth of the fire and hot coco run through their bodies. Jess placed her head on Blake’s lap slowly closing her eyes while she whispered to him, “I cannot wait for summer”. Blake agreeingly chuckled as they both fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Dubliners : Joyce

    The story Encounter describes the imagination of some young boys who find interests in reading Western Stories involving robbers, Indians, and etc. Letting their dreams and imagination get the best of them the boys skip school and take off on a little adventure in their home of Ireland hoping to find and encounter some western fun along the way. I think Joyce used such contrasting locations within the story in order to show the readers that we always in a sense want the opposite of what we have. Ireland being a land of rolling green hills and properness in contrast the Wild West being dessert and dry where there are no rules. We see in the middle their adventure they come encounter with this odd man, who starts questioning them on some what I found inappropriate topics for their age. He made the boys feel scared and uncomfortable as well. I quite frankly was a little confused about this character, and what his purpose was in the story other than to be a creepy man. Overall I didn’t really enjoy this story that much, but it was an easy read. It just didn’t draw much interest towards me.

Micro Fiction : Stern

    Each one of the short stories has drastically different settings. Because of the setting it changes how you look at each situation that is talked about within the stories. By switching the setting of any of these stories would make all aspects of what is taking places within the plot make no sense at all. I chose to write about two of the short stories which I found most interesting and have drastically different settings. 

    I found all of these stories extremely fun and interesting especially the first one Wrong Channel. The title couldn’t be more appropriate, the miscommunication because of the language barrier makes for comic relief in the short story.  Because of the setting of the story taking place in a doctor’s office I found it funny how Mima would think that a doctor would ask if she had a television. I think this shows how different cultures sometimes have a hard time understanding and adjusting to the American way of life. The ending line cracks me up as well as supports what I just metioned,”How many times did I tell you you needed to buy one? Don’t you know, Barbarita? This is America” (31).

    Mockingbird, was most definitely my favorite out of the short stories. I am such a sucker for cute love stories and this reminds me of how new love is so forgiving. This story just shows that even a little flaw in a person such as when the man says “I’d rather inherit it” that Rachel brushes what he says under the rug and forget what he said. The setting of Mexico I feel like made for such a more Romantic feel to the end of the story with the description of the mariachi music and mimosa trees

Paris to the Moon: Gopnik

Even though I felt Gopnik’s style of writing tended to be a bit confusing throughout his story I was able to really relate too many of his experiences. A main theme he talks about is change, his transition from one life to another. In his case moving his life from the thriving city of New York to its equivalent in Europe Paris.  Gopink discusses the many differences he has encountered in France that vary from the ways of America. I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks this past summer traveling all over the country of France, with one of the stops being Paris. While reading the story I was able to relate the descriptions of certain locations and understand the problems he encountered while living in France. I laughed because it made me think of the numerous fights I had with converters while traveling over there. My most memorable one would have to be the first night we arrived in Belgium, France. We were staying in the small family ran hotel in the middle of the beautiful town of Bastogne. We were all exhausted from our day of traveling and were rotating taking turns showering, which in this case the showers were bathtubs with no shower curtains. So I finish up my shower and I plug my converter in and proceed to dry my hair. About 5 minutes into drying my hair I start to smell smoke I turn to where I had my converter plugged in and within second the whole thing blew up! I knocked out all of the lights in the entire hotel. It was mortifying; to say the least I was a lot more careful about finding out the wattage of the converters for the rest of the trip.

                Overall, I found this piece insightful and interesting. I enjoyed hearing his comparisons between New York and Paris and being able to relate all of his issues. He allowed for the audience to see his comical but meaningful struggles he had while traveling that in change opened his mind to a new budding way of life.   "There are two kinds of travelers. There is the kind who goes to see what there is to see, and the kind who has an image in his head and goes out to accomplish it. The first visitor has an easier time, but I think the second visitor sees more." This quote alludes that a person who is traveling just to take pictures and have a good time will indeed enjoy themselves, but a traveler who sets out to understand and encompass the culture of where they are traveling will gain more then they will ever expect.

Billy the Kid: Ondaatje

Well I have to say this story was different and quite bizarre to be honest.  I took it that there were a variety of different narrators throughout the story, which in some aspects got me extremely confused. One thing I really did enjoy though was the usage of metaphors and colors throughout the entire passage. Being a part of the Writing Arts program has really showed me how rich imagery adds so much to a story. It brings the story alive inside of your mind, just by adding words that relate to your sense allows for your readers to feel and see what the author writing. The strong use of colors was really interesting to me; I have never really seen colors used as often as they were in the story. Here is a great example of the great use of descriptive color, “the night, the early morning yellow, the gradual move to dark blue at 11 O clock, the new white 4 O clock sun let in, later the gradual growing dark again” (32).