Summer Reading 2009

To:               All Students

From:          Dr. Thomas, Chair of English/Humanities

Subject:      Summer reading

Date:           June 2009

I hope you're enjoying the start of a great summer. As you returning students know, summer reading is part of our humanities course, which seeks to make connections among your areas of study, to create shared intellectual/artistic experiences, and to integrate our experiences here at the Governor's School. Each of the titles on our summer reading list touches on a topic we know is important to you: a life in the arts. The school's faculty and staff is also deeply interested in this topic; we have enjoyed choosing the texts and we'll be reading right along with you this summer in anticipation of our discussions during the first week of school.

Over the summer, everyone will select one reading from the six options below (but feel free to keep going!). As you see, the readings range from essays, to interviews, to novels, to creative nonfiction. All readings are open to (and will be challenging for) all students. The books are widely available at public libraries. If you'd rather purchase your selection, you can also find it in bookstores and on-line. You should read your selection carefully and actively, by taking some notes or marking significant passages if you buy your copy. To give you an opportunity to synthesize your reading, and to promote dialogue in our group discussions, we will begin group discussion sessions with several writing prompts. You will complete this written response during the discussion session in August, and your written response will be graded as part of your humanities course credit.

Reading options:

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, Ina Rilke (Translator). Originally published in French in 2000 (in Paris), then translated and published in US in 2001. Two teenage boys are sent to a remote village to be "re-educated" during Mao's Cultural Revolution. Their one reprieve comes when the villagers discover they are good storytellers, and they are sent to a nearby village to watch movies and then re-tell them (re-enact them!). This is how they meet the "little seamstress" and uncover a suitcase full of forbidden western novels.  

 

 

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood. This is a 1989 novel in which the main character returns home to Toronto for a retrospective show of her paintings. Her life as an artist connects to this return to the places of her childhood and adolescence, especially her friendship with a girl named Cordelia...

 

 

The Essential Chaplin: Perspectives on the Life and Art of the Great Comedian edited by Richard Schickel. A collection of thirty-three essays on Chaplin, written from a range of perspectives: his contemporaries in film, political figures (Winston Churchill!), artists like James Agee and Graham Greene.

 

 

Spider Speculations: A Physics and Biophysics of Storytelling by Jo Carson. Published in 2006 by this playwright/performer/community theater advocate, this nonfiction work is described on Amazon as "an investigation into her own creative process after a spider bite on her back begins a series of life-altering events. Spider Speculations applies cutting edge mind-body science, quantum physics and ancient shamanistic techniques to describe how stories work in our bodies and our lives, and what happens when real stories are used in a public way. Carson, whose ability to capture the spoken word hallmarks her community-based work, sets down this story in her own distinctive voice, interspersing the journey with examples of her performance work. This truly original American book will speak to anyone thinking about art and community or engaging with people's stories."

The Unknown Masterpiece by Honoré de Balzac, Richard Howard (Translator). From The New York Times review of this republication in 2000:  One of Balzac's most celebrated tales, "The Unknown Masterpiece" is the story of a painter who, depending on one's perspective, is either an abject failure or a transcendental genius - or both. The story, which has served as an inspiration to artists as various as Cezanne, Henry James, Picasso, and New Wave director Jacques Rivette, is, in critic Dore Ashton's words, a "fable of modern art." The work is published here in a new translation by poet Richard Howard, so it's important that you find this specific translation of the work.

On a different note, all students will need a copy of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers to use in several classes (and beyond the Governor's School). This year, there is a new edition of the handbook, so new students should purchase this most recent version: the seventh edition. There are discounted copies available for purchase at most bookstores and on-line. A used copy will be fine as long as you're sure to get the current (7th) edition. Returning students, you may want to find a new copy, but we will have a few copies of both editions on hand during this transition year, so you can just bring back the copy you used this year.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Over the summer, I can best be reached by e-mail: jthomas@scgsah.state.sc.us.  I will not have access to this account daily, but you can be sure you'll hear back from me. Have a good summer and happy reading!