Four Letter Word Project: HOPE revisited

Four Letter Word Project on Hope

Final Product

Blog 12/12

"You who asked for advice, listen: When the tower falls, be like that child. Laugh so loud everybody in the world frowns and says, "Shhhh." Then start again."

These words from the end of a poem by Ron Koertge, explain perfectly my advice for anyone beginning WSC 1 with Dr. Lay. She forces you to not only think outside the box, but to write and compose in ways that are far beyond that box's boundaries. She teaches like this poem - writing is certainly not a clean, linear process, but instead one that spirals and moves in all directions.

My advice to anyone starting out would be to release any fears or preconceived notions about writing. I have found that my best writing comes when I stop worrying about what I am going to say, and just say it. It also helps if the subject matter means something to you. So, make EVERYTHING mean SOMETHING. Also, do not be afraid or even hesitant of the writing processes suggested to you. Yes, some may seem strange, but take advantage of them - they really do help you to see things in a new way. At one point in the semester, Dr. Lay gave everyone a piece of paper and crayons. We had to respond to a question using this medium, instead of the usual blog space or a pen. The resulting products further explained and explored a previous subject of conversation regarding visual arguments. In answering a question about flexibility of speech, we also discovered more about visual creations.

Never be afraid of writing anything too strange or too silly. Write with all your heart and spirit and never look back. Create. Explore. Innovate. Write.

Blog 11/12

Are the four-letter word projects writing? (What is writing?) Or, are they compositions, inscriptions, or something else?

In the most unconventional way, the four-letter word montages are writing. Even though there are no words or traditional text on a page, the montages create, illustrate, and defend arguments. It is a strange concept to consider: writing without the inscription of letters and characters. The videos present information in a similar way to the first writing on cave walls and in the dirt. They are pictures, and they mean something. These projects transcend the boundaries and limitations of the standard written word. They force the audience to think in a broader way and break out of the normal mold of writing. So yes! These projects are most certainly writing - just of a different language.

Blog 10/12

In his poem, Hubris at Zunzal, Rodney Jones explores the idea of human compulsion. He writes about losing things, but not missing them or realizing their value until they are gone. He writes about regret in throwing possessions away, especially those that can never come back - those that are washed away by the waves. Jones also briefly mentions the idea of language as an extremely powerful image. He even begins his poem by saying, "No image like the image of language." He argues that the words and thoughts he is about write create an image more powerful than any picture or other visual production.

Blog 9/12

When you put on text (on your person - as clothing/textile, tattoo, or jewelry), do you honestly anticipate readers?

I am not so sure what I anticipate when I wear text (either as clothing or as jewelry). Many times, I guess I wear certain text for reasons, but I do not necessarily expect an audience. If I am going to a public place where I can wear a sweatshirt, I will probably choose one that reads either "Hofstra" or "Merion" or some other place to which I belong. This also poses the question, do we dress for other people and for the opinions of others? I'm not so sure. As a society, we are fairly narcissistic, and we want to be noticed. Still, how many people actual read the text we wear? Perhaps, we wear the text for ourselves - to make ourselves feel like we are part of something.

Blog 8/12

Transcribed sample reviewed in post 7/12

I don't believe that flexibility of voice leads to flexibility in all things. The word "all" can return to haunt the lazy fact-checker, so I will replace it with "most." Flexibility in voice allows or a person to put on or inherit a variety of masks. I once saw an interview on The O'Reilly Factor (yes, fox. My defense is that it pays to know what the enemy is up to) involving Marilyn Manson. I have though, akin to most people, that Marilyn Manson is out. of. his. mind crazy. However, during the interview Manson was quiet, well-spoken, and obviously intelligent. I think that even Mr. O'Reilly was taken aback and had to regroup himself and his questions. The show made me think of Dave Chappelle's quote of "people label you crazy when they can't understand you." This interview showed about as well as anything that a person with an articulate voice can be flexible in many different roles of life.

Blog 7/12

Consider the material nature of the crayon response you are reviewing -- this is not your own writing! Is the writer influenced by the writing implement s/he uses? Is the writer more expressive or less expressive as a result of the physical constraints of the crayoned page? Is this writing any good? How do you know that it is good (or not)?

The writer of the piece I am reviewing was absolutely not influenced by the crayon. He simply wrote as he would have with a pen or with a keyboard. The crayon did not seem to hold him back - or to push him forward creatively. He simply wrote. Don't get me wrong, the writing was good. The author just did not take advantage of the crayon he was given. From the looks of it, he LOVES words, not pictures, images, and colors, and obviously disagrees with the claim that visual arguments can be as powerful as verbal ones. He also seems to disagree with idea that flexibility of voice offers a flexibility of life. He supports his claim though through examples, and fights a good fight... I'm just not so sure I agree.

Blog 6/12

Twouble with Twitter


Although I rarely tweet, (I only ever tweet textual clothing as people #putontext) I do get extremely stressed out before I ever post anything on twitter. Honestly, very few people are actually going to see what I have to say, less will care. Still, though, I agonize over every character until it is exactly perfect. Really, only 12 people follow me and I'm sure very few of them judge, nonetheless read, my tweets. Blogging though seems to be different. I feel much more able to write and not care what others think. I even doubt that many people outside of this class read it. Yet, it is strange to think that people from across the world could be reading and analyzing my every sentence.


This paradoxical cartoon, mocking twitter, makes an excellent point, and to an extent, I agree. It seems to me that most tweeters become so obsessed that they need to share every piece of their lives with the rest of the twitter connected world. This short video, also slightly extreme, plays off of this idea that even on the floor bleeding, a die-hard tweeter will still send those pointless blurbs of too much information into cyberland.

Blog 5/12

At the end of her essay, Zadie Smith says, "In this lecture I have been seeking to tentatively suggest that the voice that speaks with such freedom, thus unburdened by dogma and personal bias, thus flooded with empathy, might make a good president" (192). Yet, immediately following she rejects this by preaching for the many-voices of her own people - the poets. In today's society, the rhetoric of a president and of a poet is more similar than one might think. The president must be able to speak to all of the country's people, if he accomplishes that best by having many voices, so be it. Smith says of Obama that he, "doesn't just speak for his people. He can speak them." (182). He puts on many voices speaking of, "Main Street in Iowa and of sweet potato pie in northwest Philly." (185). This putting on of voices though can be a bad thing. People start to question when, if ever, they are told the truth. If a president can play the role of both a urban philadelphian and small town farmer, who is he actually? What does he actually believe? What is actually trying to accomplish? The poet, on the other hand, is celebrated for having many voices. The best poets and writers are fluent in many tongues and can tell better stories and paint better pictures with these voices. The most accomplished poets have countless vernaculars up their sleeves, ready to pull any out at any given time.

Smith side steps around whether she thinks there should be a difference between the poet's and the president's voices. She seems to suggest that the idea is far off, yet she wishes it would happen. She wants the president to "speak with freedom" yet she knows the controversy it would cause. Smith sees the potential for presidents to use the language native to her - the language of a poet - yet she acknowledges the difficulty of this task.

Blog 4/12

At the start of her essay, Speaking in Tongues, Zadie Smith examines her experiences of going to college and changing the way she spoke. She says, "at home, during the holidays, I spoke with my old voice, and in the old voice seemed to feel and speak things that I couldn't express in college, and vise vera. I felt a sort of wonder at the flexibility of the thing. Like being alive twice." (180). Why does society place such a pressure on blending in and forming to the supposed mold? Why do we feel such shame in being different?

In that opening, she takes full advantage of the word, voice. In the first three paragraphs the words is used nearly 10 times. What is the significance of this word? Why does she repeat it so many times?

Smith talks about Eliza Doolittle and her father both becoming stuck between two types of people. "By the time the curtain goes down, both Doolittles find themselves stuck in the middle, which is, to Shaw, a comi-tragic place to be, with the emphasis on the tragic. What are they fit for? What will become of them?" (181). Why do Shaw and Smith find such horror in being stuck in the middle? Is it perhaps a result of Smith's experiences in the middle?

Throughout the second portion of her essay, Smith talks a lot about Obama and his multi-voiced campaign. She even questions whether this is good and trustworthy for a president to have the ability to hide behind so many voices. Does she make a point here? Is she right?

She also goes on to briefly examine ways in which racism still is prevalent for blacks (188-189). She seems to say that there are many types of black people. Why does she even include this section? It does not support her argument of many voices and biracial identity. It seems rather to create separation between people of one race.


On the last pages of her text, Smith tells the story of being afraid of traveling to Harlem the night of Obama's election because she was too different. Is this anecdote effective in making her entire argument more tangible and relatable? Does it serve its purpose - making us take another look at what she was trying to prove?

Blog 3/12

What I really think about the writing space that twitter affords is...

Twitter is the world's next useless stalking website. It allows everyone the opportunity to inform the world of each and every twitch of the finger and flex of a muscle. It places its users in glass houses where each move made is on display for the world. I mean, honestly, who cares that Sally just had a sandwich or that Stanley is in dire need of a nap? I certainly do not. I just cannot grasp why certain people feel the need to publicize their lives.

If twitter was used in a different way though, the way that very few talented tweeters practice, it would be more interesting and effective. They share quotes and interesting bits of knowledge. The one-hundred forty character limit forces users to write concisely, cleverly, and in a catchy manner. Users that take advantage of this sort of tweeting, I applaud. But as for the rest of the world, stop making your private life a show for the world.

Blog 2/12

I'm not sure why so many people wear texts on their clothing and on their skin. Perhaps they feel that such portable writing serves to make a statement. Maybe it is their way of stating what they believe in and who they are as people. Perhaps it forms a unification of common interests and ideals, making the text's wearers feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. It creates a bond between wearers of the same text. Textual clothing also allows for conversation. Written tattoos, t-shirts, and sweatpants beg to asked about - the stranger the text, the better the conversation that follows. Wearing text can raise awareness. It can join people together and spark dialogue. It introduces a person in an instant.