(no subject)

Since yesterday was so very difficult (not without redemption, but difficult) I pushed my writing students one step closer to the short story by making them write narratives about my day. They mourned (with smiles) that Evil Teacher was back and wrote me developing tree roots and my tree self being attacked by manic axe-wielding chimpanzees. I also fell down stairs and was attacked by pterodactyls. We remembered that it was Pickled Children's Day tomorrow and so we talked about Nicholas, about Smyrna and Bari and the development of the Santa story. I totally demonstrated my evil credentials when I pointed out that while we had just proved that Santa existed, we had also proven he was dead. They consoled themselves by learning about the role of Devil's Advocate.

We did much more than that. Our poetry today was writing in octosyllabic rhymed couplets, for instance, which most of the poets in the class really hated (which I found interesting). It's not a form that's terribly comfortable for English, I suspect. Metre is easier, for one can get into a rhythm and use the underlying beat of the language.

Word of the day was 'polyglot', which gave me an excuse to explore where whole groups of English words come from and how some groups are more prestigious than others.

And now I'm eating rice steamed with artichoke hearts, tabasco and some of the turkey broth I'm making.

Courses first semeseter next year

You already know I'm teaching in Queensland one rather wonderful weekend in March. I'm teaching a workshop at the Writers' Centre in Canberra a couple of weeks earlier. I'm teaching my wonderful Wednesday students.

This is what else is on:

I have a course all about novels (lots of tools that will help write novels - not walking someone through writing one of their own): http://www.anu.edu.au/cce/cecourses/outlines/literature/Writing%20anovelapproach.pdf

I have a brand new you-beaut course on the Middle Ages, which will be copiously illustrated and full of charming anecdotes. I may well have some rather interesting show-and-tell material to illuminate this course -:insert evil laugh here:. The typos on the course outline are not part of the course - I'm realising that sometimes they just happen, but they do annoy me when the get through - if people want, though, I can take a brief detour via typo-equivalents for the Middle Ages: http://www.anu.edu.au/cce/cecourses/outlines/history/Medievalplaces.pdf

And because people have been casting longing looks in my direction and dropping heavy hints, a food history course is in the program. There will be recipes. This one of all of them would make a rather good present, for then you get your sister/brother/evil relative to cook dinner for you and tell you about the origins of margarine (there will be no recipes for margarine): http://www.anu.edu.au/cce/cecourses/outlines/history/Thetasteofhistory.pdf




PS I'm getting five bits of bad news and then one of good right now. Could someone please switch those ratios round?