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Instructor: Mat Wenzel, MFA, M.Ed.
E-Mail: mwenzel@fsu.edu
Office: WMS 331
Office Hours: TUES 12:30 to 4:30 OR by appointment Effective Feedback
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See AllUpload a brief summary/response of your discussion text here. Freaks and the American Ideal of Manhood by James Baldwin...
Post your brief summary/thoughts below! Notes from a Trip to Russia by Audre Lorde https://www.mpba.mp.br/sites/default/files/biblioteca/...
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In the article Weight by Rachel Ghansah, she emphasizes her live And passion for James Baldwin. James Baldwin is a black essayist and one of Rachels idol. James was Rachels idol because he was highly expressive about his culture and he often expressed his love for his African American brothers and sisters through his writing. I personally was able to relate to this article because I have experienced “the weight” of being African American. The title in itself is an amplify of everyday issues that black people often face. Rachel expresses this “weight” in her article when she decribes what it was like being the first and only black editor intern. “During the course of our conversations I was informe…
In this piece, the author tells the story of going to James Baldwin house in Paris. It seems that Baldwin is a significant influence in her life as an author, as he is for so many people. With this story, she is trying to express her feelings of not wanting her race to have any real significance with what she writes, but that the "weight" of it is always there. It feels a lot like "What It Feels To Be Colored Me" by Zora Hurston, because of this dilemma that both share. They are both people who constantly had to think if their accomplishments were because of their work of because of who they were and where they came from.…
The Weight by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah details the life of a black writer in America. The narrator details how she is just beginning to make a bit of spending money off her writing, however, is fearful to spend it because she worries about the status of her mother's home. "If I knew anything about being black in America, it was that nothing was guaranteed, you couldn't count on a thing" (20). I thought this line from the excerpt was highly significant because it not only reflects the personal life of the narrator but also the lives of many African-Americans. Her reluctance to spend money on non-essential is a feeling many Americans can relate to. I appreciate whenever writers choose to…
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah's "The Weight" highlights the struggles of being a black female writer in America. This piece is driven by her visit to James Baldwin's home. She takes a train to visit his Paris home, at the recommendation of a friend. Along the way, she analyzes the complexity of her identity, as it relates to her career. She struggles with the power of labeling, and the affects it has had in her past experiences. For instance, she reflects on an internship, where she was the company's first black intern. She wonders if her being hired was merely a product of affirmative action, even though she never filled out her race when applying to the job. Yet, still, being the…
I’ve been absolutely drowning in James Baldwin’s writing lately. Almost every day, I’m finding myself reading one of his novels, essays, or short stories for class. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing by any means. I really love Baldwin’s writing, which is something that I honestly haven’t felt for any literature since I was a little kid. Still, it’s been a lotof Baldwin, and sometimes it gets overwhelming, especially since my professor (your roommate) seems to revere him as some sort of literary god.
I really, really liked hearing about Rachel Ghansah’s thoughts on Baldwin. First of all, it was the first time I had ever heard what a black person—let alone a black writer—thought of him. Secondly, i…