SPAN312C Blog

Borges's collection of short stories were disconnected, fluid and playful. But for me, this collection took a lot of work to grasp the complete understanding. I still do not fully understand his work, but I think that is the point. Borges titled his collection,  Labyrinths , meaning 'a confusing structure' 'elaborate' 'a maze.' His title sets the tone for his collection, and I found his stories to be confusing, hard to understand and digest, just like a maze—the thrill of not knowing what will happen next because there is no clear path. Like a maze, Borge's  Labyrinths  challenges us to appreciate not knowing what is happening all the time—enjoying the tricky words and playful contradictions and finding joy in them. Personally, I am used to reading novels where the story flows and has timelines and plots, familiar characters and an end. This was a challenge to read, but I tried my best to embrace it. Borges takes us, his readers, on a literal bumpy ride ...

 Neruda's poems were filled with words and connections to nature and stillness. Neruda's love is rooted in nature and earth, "his feet almost literally rooted in the ground" (Lecture, Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair ). This concept of love is not romantic but reachable and inspires Neruda and gives him the drive to write. His love is not perfect, but do you think love is always perfect?  After reading several poems, I noticed how Neruda described his woman.  His woman is a "dark butterfly, sweet and definitive, like the wheat-field and the sun, the poppy and the water" (45), "Body of skin, of moss" (3), "I want to do with you / what spring does with the cherry trees." (33).    Neruda feels his woman in Twenty Love Poems through nature; he sees her through his senses and feels her strong connection and his own in "native soil" (viii). This new perspective was very eye-opening because I have never read any love poems like...

 Campobello tells stories of the revolution from a child's perspective. In this way, Campobello can capture the memories for what they are, not judged or changed by maturity or politics. I enjoyed reading this book because I could find overarching themes between the stories of death, play, and war. Although this book was out of order sometimes, it forced me to think back to previous pages I had read and compare how the two stories were told.  I wanted to touch on a few things from the lecture and quotes that made me think about these above themes.  First off, the contradiction and play between cause and effect. In history, things happen in a time, place and in order. A cause always has an effect that follows. Campobello writes her story in Memory, not history. In Memory, we are emersed in it, there is no clear beginning, and sometimes things are fuzzy. Campobello's child's point of view focuses on what sticks in her mind and what is essential and has an effect on her. Whi...

De La Parra's story is simple yet filled with poetry, art, memory and emotion. I am very grateful that Mama Blanca's Memoirs were published; it is a gift that we can read them. Originally the book filled with her story was meant not to be shown to anyone. Still, De La Parra kept with the trends of the times and realized that as simple as Mama Blanca's story is, it is one to remember.  I wanted to discuss a few things about this book that resonated with me the most. First and foremost, the relationship between Mama Blanca and the girl she took in. At first, I was confused about how such an old lady could spark so much light in a child's life. After reading this collection of memories, I now understand that Mama Blanca holds her childhood dear to her heart. Her childhood was the foundation for her morals and life. Growing up on the plantation, she had many encounters with people from afar, filled with burning passions and beautiful words. Mama Blanca is still a child at h...

Hello! My name is Alyssa Almerling, and I am a third year studying sociology and family studies at UBC. I am taking this course for my arts literature requirement, but I did take RMST 202 with Professor Beasley-Murray last year. I really enjoyed his style of class and contract grading. I feel like contract grading takes a lot of pressure off of students because there is no clear right or wrong answer, and students can decide how much they want to read depending on what works for their schedule. I look forward to learning and reading more literature, discussing the themes in class and seeing the differences in what people took from the book.  A little more about me! I am from North Vancouver but have moved lots around the metro Vancouver area. I enjoy hiking, walking on trails with my dog, and reading outside-of-class material, mostly non-fiction. I have also recently picked up journaling over the break, and I am excited to get back into yoga classes at UBC! I work part-time at the ...