Tuesday, September 29, 2009
New Activity!
Got a minute? Then help us write a poem! Here's how:
1. Read what we've got so far in the comments section.
2. Go here and pick a line you like from one of the random poems you find (preferably, one that kind of fits into our current poem!).
3. Continue the poem by posting the line you chose (along with the poem it's from and the author who wrote it) in the comments section.
4. Sit back and watch the poem grow!
Who knows? Maybe if the poem is awesome enough, we'll even publish it in R2!
Monday, September 28, 2009
R2 Reading Series and Free Coffee Night!
On Thursday, October 8 from 7 to 8 PM we will have our first of a series of readings at Coffee House. There will be FREE coffee, iced tea, and snacks, so come check it out!
If you're feeling brave and want to read your work, send us an email at r2mag@rice.edu before Tuesday, October 6.
See you there!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Another favorite quote post
From Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
________________
I suppose I'm a bit late to the party, but I had a hard time choosing. This has been a favorite of mine since high school, and it's probably the best I'll be able to come up with that isn't a huge spoiler.
-Russ Horres, Assoc. Fiction Editor
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Michelle Phillips - Editor-at-Large, Wiess College Rep)
-C.S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Friday, September 18, 2009
Simple Justice (Sunkyo Lee, Duncan College Rep)
The plight of the ageing black railroadmen moved Houston deeply as he threw his energies into litigation to prevent further and faster attirition in their ranks. .....Joseph Waddy, Houston's law partner recalls..."I remember once we were in the home of a lblack brakeman in Roanoke,... There must have been fifteen or twnety brakemen sitting around with us, all of them fifty years old or more, and there was this one old-timer who must have been seventy and was all white-haired, who was carrying on about how they had to save their jobs for their children and grandchildren, so there would be other generations of black men on the railroads. And then the old timer used this phrase that filled Charlie [Houston] up emotionally. He said they also had to save the jobs for themselves and protect 'these old heads blooming for the grave.' Charlie never forgot that. The railroadmen loved him. They'd do anything he asked."
Richard Kluger, Simple Justice
The Great Gatsby (Jasmine Elliott- Editor at Large)
The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Lolita (Jo Hsu, Fiction Editor)
"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender (Jo Hsu, Fiction Editor)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by Mark Doty (Lissa Glasgo, Managing Editor)
An Essay concerning Human Understanding (quote provided by Vanessa Johnson, Associate Poetry Editor)
--John Locke, Book II Chapter iv Section 11 of An Essay concerning Human Understanding
[Thought I'd share a bit of poetic philosophy.]
White Noise by Don DeLillo (Coert Voorhees, Parks Fellow)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Welcome (Again) / Deadline Update
Welcome to R2! We want to get to know you. If you've got some free time, pick a passage you like from a book you love and post it (and your name, if you want) as a comment to this post. If this activity doesn't tickle your fancy (you don't have anything in mind, you don't read, you hate books, you don't feel like searching through Wikiquote), check back later for some creative writing ideas and our next activity. We'll update the blog fairly frequently, and maybe you'll find something to spark your creativity!
Also, an important note:
The deadline for cover art submissions has been changed to November 6.
Catch-22 (Stephanie McLeod, Publicity Manager/Assoc. Fiction Editor)
'Why is Hitler?'
'When is right?'
'Where was that stooped and mealy-colored old man I used to call Poppa when the merry-go-round broke down?'
'How was trump at Munich?'
'Ho-ho beriberi.'
'Balls!'
all rang out in rapid succession, and then there was Yossarian with the question that had no answer:
'Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?'"
-- Joseph Heller
Friday, September 11, 2009
This is What We're Into...+ Cherry series
To showcase our literary interests as well as to get to know each other, we're starting a series of fun activities on this blog for R2 staff and the rest of the study body. This first one will be an informal introduction to everyone in R2. It's all about...what books we like. Just leave an excerpt/passage from a book (nonfiction/fiction) you've enjoyed with the title of the book, the author's name, your name and your staff position. It's that easy.
Also, John Pipkin, author of Woods Burner, is coming to Rice on Friday, September 25 to give a reading. It will be at the Duncan College Masters' House at 4PM. Here is a little info about him:
John Pipkin currently lives in Austin, Texas, where he has worked as the Executive Director of the Writers’ League of Texas, a non-profit, literary arts organization. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, he attended Washington & Lee University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and received his Ph.D. in British Literature from Rice University in 1997. He has taught writing and literature at Saint Louis University, Boston University, and Southwestern University. Woods Burner is his first novel. His appearance at Rice is sponsored by the English department’s Minter Endowment and the Fondren Library Cherry Series.
I haven't read his book which is based on the life of Henry David Thoreau during the period when he was writing Walden, but words are it's fabulous. Here's a link to Boston Globe's review of his book: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/04/12/woods_burner/