Elsberry,+Khrystyne

Blog #1 -- The book i chose for my American Writer is Wait Whitman. The book he wrote is __Leaves of Grass__. I think this book, full of poems, will have to do with a lot of nature because of the title. I also predict that this book may be about love life that Whitman has encountered and how he may connect it back to nature. For example maybe Whitman found a girl and he relates it to a bird finding another bird to mate with. I'm not sure of anything but I know from past experiences predicting about poets, I was way off! I chose this book because I enjoy poet A LOT! And I think it is important skill to learn how to read poet because it is a different style of writing and full of mysteries (:

Blog #2 -- Today's date is Friday, September 2nd and I am currently reading __Leaves of Grass__ by Walt Whitman. This book is all poetry and I am absolutely loving it! To me, this book has so much passion in each line! In the big book I got from the school library, I am on page 55. I haven't had the chance to scan through the smaller copy of the same book to find the page. The poem I am going to blog about is the "Song to Myself". It seems as in the poem, Whitman is the main character at times.. but then at other times, he switches. Whitman wrote the poem as it seems as there is other person in his imagination that is there or someone who he wants to be like or admire. Whitman explains the house as if it was filled with great fragrances as if I can almost smell my favorite things. (: In other places, Whitman refers back to the title; "Leaves of Grass." The meadows, as Whitman says are just filled with grass that is flowing in the wind. I have enjoyed this poem very much! If the rest of the poems in this book are this way.. this is going to be a great read!

Blog #3 -- Today's date is Friday, September 9th and I am still reading __Leaves of Grass__ by Walt Whitman. I have to be honest, this week DEFINITELY snuck up on me! With Labor Day weekend busy, and how it can already be Friday, just shocks me! I haven't read much, but I did end up reading the next couple pages in my book to read a couple poems. With in the 15 pages I did read, I ran across a line that really got me thinking. Whitman writes, "What is a man anyhow? What am I? and what are you?" I think that Whitman is explaining his deep thinking from this quote. I often have these questions running through my head when I can't sleep at night. This is my favorite quote in my week's reading because it literally had me stop for at least 10 minutes and think WHAT IS A MAN ANYHOW?! I think a man depends on what person is answering it. For example if the president would answer that he would probably include something about having power. Or what if a little boy answered it? He would probably say his father or older brother because the boy looks up to them. And simply, a girl would probably mention her husband's or boyfriend's qualities that she loves or wants them to have. This quote makes people think a lot and that is why I admire this author so early in the book.

Blog #4 -- Today's date is Saturday, September 17th and I am still reading __Leaves of Grass__ by Walt Whitman. I am on page 104 and about reading to start the poem actually titled "Leaves of Grass". Comparing to my earlier predictions, I think I predicted somewhat right. Some poems, in my opinion, are completely different! While others are exactly what I predicted. I think that is what makes Walt Whitman such a good writer; he goes all over the place in variety of his poems. For characters, I have noticed that Walt Whitman puts a lot of feeling into his characters. He explains the situation and how the character is feeling in the next few lines. I do believe I am happy with my choice of book. I love reading poetry and I have read some poems by Walt Whitman. But none of them were this detailed and kept going in length! I enjoy reading this book very much! (:

Blog #5 -- Today's date is Wednesday,September 28th and I have finally finished! __Characters:__ I wish I could list some major and minor characters for Whitman's poems but that is definitely a challenge! Every poem though has its own characters. It seems to be though Whitman talks about this own character a lot; maybe it is himself or someone he wishes he could be or even wants. Other characters include the reader at times when he asks questions and then other times nature plays a big part in his poem. For example the title leaves of grass.. there is another character Whitman uses. __Summary:__ I think the summary of his poems are more of showing feeling and what Whitman can't say out loud but can write down. __Rating:__ I give this book a 4 rating! I give it that rating because I enjoy the love poems more, but Whitman's style was still SUPER good! __Wiki Reflections:__ I do enjoy using this wiki because it gave me the chance to branch out and write down my feelings instead of doing a report every few pages I read. I do think it is a good idea because it gives everyone the chance to express their thoughts when they are to shy to say them in person.