One email address bounced: Jolie Baldwin. Jolie, contact book group members and see if you can get it from one of them. Not sure what the problem is, but I used the email address on file with the college.

The schedule says that Essay Two (even though it's not so much an essay in the technical sense) is due Wednesday, June 9. However, since I won't have time to read them until the weekend, the due date is now Friday, June 11. I hope those two extra days serve you well.

Some of what Poe writes in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composition," I already knew--either from prior knowledge, assumption, or interpretation. Nonetheless, it was still interesting to read, and there were also new facts that I hadn't even imagined.

Remember, no class on Thursday. Use it to get ready for your book club presentations Monday. Your ticket to the seminar is your draft essay, in whatever condition it is as present. No essay, no entry to the seminar, no credit for the seminar. No exceptions (unlike the practice seminar day).

Seminar Topic

Based on our class readings and the reading you did for your essay assignment, what does early American Literature have to offer us today? Why should we read it? What do these readings and writers have to offer us today?

Wednesday Group

Bondwoman's Narrative and Coquette

Friday's Group

Ruth Hall and Hidden Hand

Now that we have book clubs put together, it's time to get working on them. The ultimate goals are many, but to name a few, your book club will be responsible for a final presentation. In this presentation, you will be pitching your text to the executive board of the Arts and Entertainment Company (that's your teacher and the rest of the class) in the hope that your novel will be selected for a new TV series, movie, mini-series or something similar.

Reviews courtesy iof Wikepedia and Amazon.com

If you are here looking for information for Bradley Bleck's section of English 248: American Literature I for Spring 2010 at Spokane Falls CC, you are in the right place. Please follow the below prompts as they will get you headed in the right direction.

1. Click on the "create new account" link to your left.
2. Create a user name for yourself, something that you won't be embarrassed by as nothing ever really disappears from the internet. Plug in an email address that you use, as you will occasionally receive an email from me regarding the class. This is not visible to others in the class unless you make it so. You may also be asked to create a password at this point. If that's the case, do it. It can be changed, by you or me, if need be at a later date.
3. Click "submit" and you will be able to post to the site.
4. Once you have created your account, look over the syllabus, assignments and schedule, links to which can be found in the upper right hand corner of the page. You don't need to log in to look at these materials. Read through the syllabus and schedule and bring any questions that come up to class on Wednesday. We'll have a quick discussion of the syllabus then, before launching into the first assignment.
5. To get some practice with the system, take the material you wrote up/gathered in class on Monday and post it to the site. Remember that the introduction of your classmate should make a point about that person.

See you Wednesday!

Here's the final. The only difference between this study guide and the actual final will be its length, though I don't know now how much shorter it will be.

Hour one of the final, scheduled for Wednesday at 10:30 will be the exam period. Hour two will be our final seminar.

Note to students who have not submitted the first essay: There is no need to prepare for or take the final as you will be receiving a 0.0 for the class for not having completed the writing necessary to earn the 'W' credit. If I do not have your required essay one revision by my arrival on campus Monday morning, the same applies.

If you missed class on Wednesday, you missed a great conversation that provided a lot of insight into both The Merchant of Venice and the sonnets, some in particular, others in general.

There is no class on Thursday. You are to use the time to drop by my office with questions, work on your essay, annotations or whatever is needed, or to get started reading the next play, The Comedy of Errors. Friday is a drama club day and I'll be out of town, chaperoning my son's field trip, which just happens to mean I'll be skiing. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. If you have questions on your paper, which is due Monday, stop by my office Thursday, or email me, or blog a question. Either way, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.