Midterm Portfolio

Sorry my cover letter is not finished. I will not have computer access for the rest of the week, but I will finish the letter when I return from spring break.

If someone had asked me three months ago to define the word "literature" I probably would have muttered something about an important written work. Unimpressive. Today, if someone asked me the same thing, I am happy to say that after taking this class I would have a much more eloquent and extensive answer, though I'm not sure I could give a concrete definition of the word. In fact, I think giving "literature" a concrete definition is impossible because the meaning is really up to the individual. Sure, many people will agree that a work of literature must evoke emotions, have common motifs, reflect cultures, etc. but only an individual can decide if he/she truly believes something to have these qualities.

Having said this, I worked on each individual element of this portfolio keeping in mind the criteria of literature previously mentioned, in the hope that in some way each piece might have the power to evoke emotions, reflect a culture, or effectively use common motifs.

Playlist Draft 1: http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/51

Composing the playlist was harder than I initially anticipated. I knew from the very beginning the characteristics of Elizabeth Bennet that I wanted to be portrayed in the playlist, but I found choosing the appropriate songs difficult. Besides having to choose from millions of different songs, Elizabeth Bennet is such a well-known and complex character, and I almost felt like there were no songs that could completely do her justice. At first, I found myself eliminating decent songs because certain lyrics didn't seem to correlate well with her, but as I continued working, I realized that it was probably unrealistic for me to expect to find songs that were absolutely perfect. I then, rather than focusing on entire songs, put more emphaisis on finding appropriate excerpts of songs.

Although the assignment was somewhat time consuming for me, I actually enjoyed the process. I often found myself becoming totally engrossed in listening to various songs, and could, without realizing it, spend hours searching for just one song.

I did not make any dramatic changes in my first playlist revision, but I did try to strengthen my descriptions and make them more cohesive by adding direct quotes from the novel.

Playlist Draft 2: http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/229

For my final draft, my main focus was on making sure the descriptions clearly connected the lyrics of the songs to both Elizabeth Bennet and the book as a whole. I expanded my points about how each song fits the character of Elizabeth Bennet, and I added a few more quotes from the book.

Final Playlist: http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/347

Podcast: http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/135

Making the podcast was fun! I really liked experimenting with Audacity and deciding how to organize the audio clips, commentary, and interview. It definitely was challenging, however, and I have a whole new level of respect for people who create professional radio podcasts. Although podcasts require many of the same elements as written works (like background information, transitions, etc.) it is important that the podcast does not sound like sound like someone reading aloud an essay. I wanted to have a script in front of me so that the podcast would maintain a decent flow and I wouldn't make mistakes while recording, but I am concerned that parts of my podcast (particularly the interview) sound like they are being read off a sheet of paper, rather than being spontaneous. I have not yet revised by Podcast because I have been unable to schedule a time to rerecord with my interviewee; however, my main plan for the revision is to eliminate all the moments that sound scripted and hopefully add more depth to the interview. Right now my podcast us a little short, so I hope that my revisions will add some length to it.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_%28musical%29

Character Collage Draft: http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/154

Song Collage Draft: http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/228

Making the collages has definitely been my favorite project so far. Visual Art is an area that I have had very little experience with in the past, so at times I have been a little concerned with the quality of my work in comparison to some of the other more artistically talented students in the class, but for the most part, I have had a blast testing my abilities in this new arena. I really enjoyed working with GIMP and using it to be creative with the aesthetics of my collages. This assignment totally justifies the old saying that "a picture is worth a thousand words," which I think makes it essential that each piece of the collage is chosen very decisively. Without any kind of explanation, a picture can evoke a wide variety of meanings depending solely on who is looking at it, so I tried not to be too half hazard with my image selection because an inappropriate image could totally alter the entire meaning of the collage for another viewer.

In my first revision of my character collage, I used a lot of my classmates suggestions: I made the text more legible and tried to make certain images more clear.

In the final draft of my character collage, I wanted to focus on giving the piece a focal point. To do this, I eliminated some of the less important items in the collage (i.e. the candles on the wall, the swans in the bottom right-hand corner, and the sheet-music on the piano). I decided that the text should be the focal point, so I made it darker and eliminated all its opacity.

I also used some of my classmates' feedback for my song collage by using a completely different image of a woman's face. In addition, I adjusted the opacity levels in the collage. I wanted the woman's face to be the most clear image and everything else to be varing levels of opacity so that all the other images would look like fading memories. Also, I wanted the woman's face to be the focal point for the piece, so I tried to make it stick out by using contrasting opacity levels throughout the collage.

Character Collage Revision: http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/230

All photos from: http://images.google.com/

Blog Postings:

I must admit that discipling myself to post at least 3 blogs/comments each week has been quite a challenge. My problem seems to be that I will post many times one week and then not at all the next, rather than maintaining a more evenly spaced balance. I have no excuse, and I will improve upon this in the next half of the semester.

Besides posting my own large assignments, I have used the blog to give other students feedback on their assignments, and I have posted reflections on some of the literature/topics we have discussed in class. I like being able to view other students' work because it has on many occasions helped me answer individual questions I've had about assignments.

1.
What is Literature?
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/8
Comment on Literature and the Other Arts
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/11#comment-5

2.
Reflection on "Marginalia" http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/29

3.
Draft of Playlist
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/51
Comment on Video Poem
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/60#comment-31

4.
Huck Finn Voicemail
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/100
Response to a comment on my Playlist
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/51#comment-76
Comment on James Bond Voicemail
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/94#comment-75

5.
None

6.
Comment on Joyce Carol Oates short story
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/119#comment-120

7.
Comment on Shel Silverstein Podcast
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/129#comment-137
Draft of Podcast
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/135

8.
Comment on Juno Collage
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/152#comment-187
Comment on The Outsiders Collage
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/156#comment-179
Character Collage Draft
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/154

9.
Revised Collage
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/230
Revised Playlist
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/229
Song Collage Draft
http://www.teachmix.com/litartgreen/node/228

As I have been compiling this Portfolio, I have tried to grasp the underlying message that is connecting each individual project. Unfortunately, I cannot put my finger on the exact theme that I know is present. As I continue to revise and study these assignments, I am hopeful that the message will become more clear.