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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
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- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
In Moore’s chapter “Writing the Lyric Essay” he emphasizes of letting the language flow through in your writings and not worry so much of structure. We lose or can lose our audience in that way. Usually we are taught to rhyme in poetry or use the five paragraph rule in writing an essay, but in that the essay becomes too formulated. If we just write to write our experiences especially when travel writing and food writing we notice that the words flow thoroughly. As well as not to be afraid to use fancy language in writing sometimes it gives the reader a little more to think about. In my own experience I have enjoyed reading the type of books which use fancy words and learning what they mean. If that is how you talk and write then go for it. That goes without saying that research is also a big part of any Non-Fiction essay or writing. Kliman’s “Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A Diary” we explore from beginning to middle and end the adventures of Mexico City and not only about the foods and drinks but the culture and history of the city and the people. We are taken by the hand and given a chance to explore the city as well without ever leaving our seats, and that is what good non-fiction writing is. Exploring and let our minds run free with words and not worry about the particular structure we must use.
ReplyDelete-Christina Velasquez
Moore’s “Writing the Lyric Essay” focused mostly on “having fun” with language while we are writing our essays. Fun, in this sense, meaning that we are to express ourselves using words and descriptions that will grab the attentions of our readers. Basically, it is giving the mundane more personality/uniqueness as seen in the example of Lia Purpura’s “Glaciology” where the small passage equates a pile of snow to a stack of bones as it slowly starts to melt away and give the impression of contorted figures. In addition, Moore states that you shouldn’t get too carried away with this as you could lose your reader if you don’t give them context to what you’re describing. Todd Kliman’s “Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A Diary” sees the author go on a journey and take us along for the ride in his essay, rarely stopping for a breather he wastes no time detailing the things he encounters, the thoughts going through his mind as well as the local delicacies. You can see where Moore’s chapter comes into play here as Kliman manages to get the reader’s attention with the vivid imagery he conjures up and giving us a look into Mexico City whether it’s giving insight into the histories of the locations there or comparing it to other cities in the U.S. to give us a good idea of what it is like.
ReplyDeleteNarciso Garcia Jr.
In Moore’s chapter on “Writing the Lyric Essay,” he gives three quick tips where he quotes Annie Dillard where she states, “I felt as though I had switched from a single reed instrument to a full orchestra.” Here Dillard is referring to her switching from writing poetry to prose, and I can completely agree with her statement. I’ve always felt that poetry is beautiful but they take take forever to simply get their point across. And in prose you have more tools and different ways to get your point, feeling, or opinion across. And in “Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A Diary,” by Kliman he vividly describes his visit to Mexico City and his experience eating and visiting there. I enjoyed reading about Kliman’s experience especially because I’ve always wanted to visit Mexico City, and Kliman took us by the hand along his journey and experience in a foreign land, which did not seem to be much different from the places in Mexico I’ve visited.
ReplyDelete-Joy Perez
Moore’s “Writing the Lyric Essay” is an example of how we could potentially use language and specific words to help emphasize or own idea that is being presented in the story. Moore explains that while writing is needed to be simple in order to better transpose the idea, there is some benefit to use a more “fancy” type of writing as it could add things such as more detail and the author’s unique tone. As such, when writing about personal experiences such as a food or travel essay, we are more likely to use a specific set of words and “lyrics” as it correlates well with what we thought when doing the said action. This is shown in Kliman’s “Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A Diary”. Kliman uses a more fancier way of writing and talking because it was how he felt when he was in Mexico City. By using this type of word choice and language, we can better understand how enamored Kliman became with Mexico and how astounded he was when visiting the various locations the city had to offer him. As such, when reading Kliman’s essay and accounts of what occurs during his trip and his experiences with eating and drinking, it helps better understand how maybe the entire situation had him exhausted, which he mentions multiple times when talking to his acquaintances. Overall, Moore’s chapter as well as Kliman’s testimony work together to show us the complicity of language and how it can help provide insight to how a author works and deals with new experiences.
ReplyDeleteDavid Leal
Moore’s chapter on “Writing the Lyric Essay” informs us about the use of tools that aid us in our writing and allows us to impact the reader in an emotional sense. He mentions that because we write the “truth” we are restricted on the language we use for writing. I liked at the beginning when he talks about how we first fell in love with writing. For me it began because I wanted to escape my reality and when I wrote I lived in a world that I created in my mind were anything that I wanted happened. At the time it seems perfect and I found myself daydreaming more than I was living. Anyway this made me fall in love with writing. So I guess I’m thankful. Now the essay, “Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A Diary” by Todd Kliman was a very fascinating read. I loved how he was exploring my culture. A culture that’s rich in food, places, people, colors; it’s a place full of diversity. I love when people are interesting in learning and widening their understanding on someone else’s culture. I too have visited places in Mexico and the style of living is so different from here. It creeps up on you and you become one with it. I can say I love traveling more in Mexico than I like traveling the US.
ReplyDeleteAlejandra Rodriguez
In Moores essay "Writing the lyric essay" he focuses on giving us some tips on focusing on the language in our writing. Being able to focus more on engaging the reader in an all aspects in our writing. It is important to be creative when writing through language so that our writing as a whole may have more depth and understanding to our reader. Another thing is that you don't always have to be fancy with your writing to consider it a good writing, sometimes being simple is better so that the reader himself can understand what it is that you're trying to come across. In the essay "Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A diary" Kilman focuses on hi trip and the experiences that came along with it. I really enjoyed this essay because he literally took us by the hand through the entire journey through every detail in his writing. I thought that it was great because I have never been to Mexico City so being able to go through the journey with him through his reading was interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteLeslie Luna
In Moore’s chapter titled, “Writing the Lyric Essay”, he explains about not worrying so much on the structure of the essay, but on how well it can flow for your readers to get hooked on it. Sometimes writing simple and to the point grabs the reader’s attention more than being complex and trying too hard with examples and extra information. Poetry is interesting and confusing all together and sometimes I rather not read it, only because you have to see it in a different way. On another note, in “Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A Diary” by Kilman, he is very descriptive on his trip to Mexico and everything he experience while he was there. I’ve been to many places in Mexico, from right across the border to nine hours deep, but there are many places I would still like to explore, but it isn’t very safe over there at the moment. So far I have traveled more in Mexico than I have here in the U.S., even though I did all my traveling when I was younger. Both Moore and Kilman teach us that language can help us see the different ways authors put together their essays through their experiences.
ReplyDelete-Claudia Anzaldua
Moore on "Writing the Lyric Essay" goes into detail on how certain words can permeate into the essay as a whole and leave a lasting impression on the reader. This has been compared to writing poetry only that the forms used in poetry can also be used to write the prose of a lyric essay. Moore's concepts for writing is expressed in Kliman's "Eating and Drinking in Mexico City", a title that does not leave much to the imagination. Despite its crudeness Kliman does an exceptional job in describing his experiences. This includes his initial fears to going to Mexico City, the hustle and bustle of the city and the analogies used to describe it (surf not plan) and his interactions with his guide. It sets the tone of dispelling the negative associations of Mexico City by actually going through the experience. This is properly expressed in the analogy of the mezcal and how Kliman says there is a difference between reading about it and experiencing the taste itself. It can even be implied that the mezcal, repeatedly mentioned, could be the author's analogy of Mexico city itself, the euphoric high from drinking its contents and the crash the day after. This is reflected in the last line "The daily barrage of wonders and averted disasters transforms you.", a definite counterpoint to the "...serenity of the strip malls and highway interchanges of the United States."
ReplyDelete-Eutimio Longoria
In Moore’s Writing the Lyrical Essay, we look at the crafting of Language. Moore points out that, words are the beautiful and delicious ingredients to any piece of writing. The lyrical essay is not well set up in most nonfiction circles because of factual writing. The lyrical essay is something that I want to become a master of. I am terrible at describing things and making metaphors out nothing. The importance of lyrical essays is to paint that beautiful picture for the reader. Lyrical writing or prose are what lead the reader toward the end goal of any story. Moore quotes Lauren Slater, “leaving behind your own brand of bread crumbs in the forest so that those who want to can find their way to your door”. I love that quote. It means that, it is up to me to explain something as small as dirt and blow it up into a grander scale.
ReplyDeleteTodd Kliman essay Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A Diary, is an essay that I enjoyed very much. I enjoyed Kliman description of escaping from his buffer: “a school boy cutting class”. I liked that remark because its: unique and paints great image of what Kliman is up to. Kliman essay is a great read that I really enjoyed.
--mathew betancourt
In Moores “Writing the Lyric Essay”, I enjoyed how he compares writing a lyric essay to a poem. Moore talks about language and the way that it gets put together to make a sentence flow just like a poem. Which in fact, I hadn’t thought about it like that. Language can be used in different ways and can also be expanded to whatever you want. Moore gives tips on how to do these things and how it could benefit your essay. For example, “the lyric essay elucidates through the dance of its own delving.” This mention that the lyric essay is made your own through the use of language. You allow what gets used and what doesn’t so let it flow to the best way you can. In “Eating and Drinking in Mexico City: A Diary”, Kilman uses language through the experiences he partakes and the food he eats and even the drinks. He doesn’t let reading about this place and reading that it’s a bad place to go to cloud his judgement on the experiences that he endures. Kilman goes in with a clear mind and doesn’t just take a tour he actually gets in there and explores the city. It was great reading this essay because Mexico is such a pretty place. I have traveled Mexico more than the united states. I’m thankful for my parents on that because we got to see some very pretty places and the different cultures throughout these places was just very fascinating. The FOOD is way better there is just no other way to put it. I really enjoyed this reading because Kilman just didn’t allow his fears of the city take over him. he could’ve just taken the standard tour guide experience like the rest, but he didn’t because that is not what he wanted. That right there is something that makes you different than anyone else because your experience would be exceptional.
ReplyDelete- Abigail Vasquez
I really did enjoy both Moore’s chapter and Kliman’s essay and how they both were closely related. Moore spoke about how as writers we fell in love with writing way before we knew what it actually was. He quotes Tall and D’Agata, “ The lyric essay partakes of the poem in its density and shapeliness, its distillation of ideas and musicality of language. It partakes of the essay in its weight, in its overt desire to engage with facts, melding its allegiance to the actual with its passion for imaginative form… The lyric essay… elucidates through the dance of its own delving.” Moore lets us know that writing isn’t so much about following a specific format or structure and just letting everything flow when we write, creating a more personal literary experience not only for you but for your audience. Kliman’s essay did just that. Kliman’s way of writing (use of language) and talking to us as his audience really did help me understand how exactly he felt while visiting Mexico City. I felt his nervousness and how he was afraid of Mexico because of what he had heard and read on the internet, but I also felt how those feelings changed by the end of his essay and how captivated he was by Mexico City in the end.
ReplyDelete-Starleen Rendon
I adore Moore’s chapter because I’d really like to believe that this is something I’m good at. I fell in love with writing slowly. It started in the sixth grade and the rest happened in 10th grade when I watched a TED Talk. Moore is completely right, though, it was the words that enthralled me and continue to do so. In my capstone class, we were just discussing the difference between fiction and nonfiction. Really, the discussion was about the distinctions that are associated with the term ‘Creative Writing’. For the most part, people think nonfiction has nothing to do with creativity at first glance, but it has everything to do with it just as fiction does. They only take creativity in different doses, I believe. Nonfiction is rooted in truth, but truth isn’t always boring. I was surprised at the direction that Kliman’s essay took. I cringed pretty hard on page 193 when I read the words “Hold onto your sombrero.” Already knowing that this was about Mexico City (from the title), I just didn’t find the quip very funny. Later, on the same page, Kliman remarks on how Benito doesn’t look happy to be toting him around the city. It was here that I realized that this essay was clearly not about the tacos in question. On page 196, Kliman references Cortes and his invasion of the ancient city. This reinforced my ideas on what this essay was really about: the conquest and rebranding of Mexico City. I think Kliman uses this essay to examine his relation to the city and his own cultural identify. Here he is, a white man sent to eat tacos, a verified way and integral part of life for the city, in a city that has had to re-invent itself, but managed to keep its food.
ReplyDelete- Angie Acuna
What I gathered from reading, “Writing the Lyric Essay”, by Moore is that words should flow between words. He also brings in the idea that he has previously covered about writing about the unknown rather than the known. The Lyric Essay is not going to come out just right the first few times you make it, but by the end of your drafts there should clarity in what path the author wants the reader to follow. Moore also suggested to read other lyric essays that will hopefully give you new ideas or inspiration to the content that you want to write. What I liked though was how Moore mentions about taking your writing groups advise and giving it fair thought before disregarding it. It is not often that I hear someone advise another to disregard their advice when it comes to writing. My thoughts on this has to do with maybe if what you initially wrote in your draft does not completely describe your vision and your group’s advice takes you away from where you wanted to go. Though Moore does warn to give their advice some thought to disregard it. Eating and Drinking in “Mexico City: A Diary”, by Todd Kliman is about his experience in Mexico City. He gives plenty of imagery for the reader to take in as well as talks about the food he ate in detail and the alcohol he drank.
ReplyDelete-Benito Reyes
Moore's "Writing The Lyric Essay" talks about a strategy that I have yet to see in an essay or story. A lyric essay is not meant to focus on crafting a well-organized story, but rather to just build interesting words and sentences. These interesting words don't necessarily have to be told in a linear or organized way. As we see in "Eating And Drinking In Mexico City: A Diary," a lyric essay can just be the things that you see when exploring something. As long as you can create vivid and unique descriptions, the lyrics work. Kliman's essay doesn't seem to anything more than the things he sees in Mexico City. It's not necessarily organized into sections. What makes the essay work are the descriptions of the city and culture. It overall feels like Kliman jotting down notes as he goes along his trip and we're just looking at those notes.
ReplyDeleteMichael McCormick