AP Response to Week 2 readings

Joyas Volardores

I enjoyed this essay.

The images of hummingbirds are lovely. I actually liked the transition into the chambers of the heart as that this something I have been percolating on, so it was good to see a treatment of it. Both images work well for me to demonstrate how fleeting even the most amazing things are.

The shift in pace between the two sections of the piece is noticeable, but it worked for me. The moving from the frantic beat of a butterfly wing to the steady tap of the heard made sense.

My favorite line:  We open windows to each but we live alone in the house of the heart. 

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First You Get a Stockpot

Oh now, this was interesting. The idea of creating an essay from recipes and making the language so gorgeous and intense is appealing. The mingling of the practical matters associated with cooking and the more poetic treatment of the recipies themselves worked very well. I was surprised that it was able to be pulled off.

My favorite line: “Soup is the primal, the original recipe. The blending back to the originally the same. Soups are all we know of amniotic bliss.”

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Why Some Hybrids Work and Other’s Don’t

Ohhhhhh, the pace and tone of this was perfect for me. The rapid clip at which the author moves through items that are at first consideration quite different is fantastic. I didn’t want this piece to finish. The range of the topics is impressive as is the authors ablity to remain in control of the piece.

My favorite line: Rituals are jealous entities.

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I Couldn’t Stop Watching

I wanted to like this piece but it overwhelmed me. I needed it to be less hefty, or for me to be less impinged upon. It is incredibly ambitious and works. It just felt like it was trying to hard for something and failed.

My favorite line: Bodily analogies tempt me, and while I have heard individuals say they feel they’ve been given the wrong body, I’ve never heard anyone say they’ve outgrown their body.

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The Memory Collective

This I love. So much. It’s like a word buffet.