From a Friend and Former Colleague's Class Page

https://aplit202223.edublogs.org/2022/10/20/ap-lit-kids-shine-light-on-america-and-in-my-world/?fbclid=IwAR2IZk3A6v6KZEIJrmyP5zCOngumXeaxYrtYmUrcdRD9jALXqOEQh5TtKgY 

     Jennifer Rivers Bentley gave me permission to post her comments about the incredible insights her AP Lit class at River Bluff HS in Lexington, SC, had recently. They have an excellent teacher, which helps, but it is impressive that young people have good insights into poetry. I have found that to be true in other classes that are not AP (which is college level).

     So read, enjoy, and be happy that young people are engaging with good literature!

     

Need for Humanities Students....

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-10-24/college-humanities-decline

   In this column, Nicholas Golberg makes a strong case for the Humanities. No matter what students major in, they need structured exposure to literature, language, and social sciences, to name a few disciplines. And enough need to major in these in order to teach others.

 

   Had it not been for my interest and abilities in world languages, I might have been an English major, perhaps a Journalism major. I wanted to learn another language well enough to read, speak, think, and dream in it. At Penn State, I majored in German and did graduate studies at UC Berkeley and UC-Irvine (where I earned a Master's) and studied for an additional year before starting seminary.

   A dozen years after my B.A, I was taking courses in English and Social Studies (also Education), to be certified in New Mexico as a teacher. By then I was also married. What took me so long? That's for another post.

   Back to the Goldberg column: my academic strengths are in the Humanities. I smiled at the "dilettante student of German literature." I knew one, and maybe some thought I was. But I do not have the scientific or mathematical smarts. Maybe I could have been a business major; advertising interested me somewhat. I briefly considered going into Labor Relations. My interest in law school waned when I was at Penn State.

     Goldberg talks about Logistics as a major. Companies want people who can get a product from point A to point B. However, does that need to be an academic major? Not really. 

     The thrust of the column is that without critical thinking skills learned in the Humanities, people will not read or think for themselves. They will be more susceptible to misinformation from both ends of the political spectrum. When blindly swallow anything that we are told, democracy and civilization are in danger.

   

On The Petigru Review and the South Carolina Writers Conference Last Weekend

       The SCWA gathered at the Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort on Pawleys Island, SC. In a month I went from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

       The conference was wonderful, affirming, and memorable. I want to share now about The Petigru Review, our publication. I had a poem in the 2019 edition and now help to read poetry for it, Any writer can submit things. SCWA members as well as non-members are welcome to share their creativity. 

      A link to the current edition:   https://thepetigrureview.com/   Look in the archives for my 2019 poem there, which I read at Saturday's Open Mic.

      The name comes from James L. Petigru, South Carolina lawyer and politician who opposed secession in 1860 and siad

    "South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum." 

      

A Novella Sequel is in the Works for "The Botleys of Beaumont County"

      What is a novella? Something too long for a short story, and too short for a novel. Think of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men or Thomas Mann;'s Death in Venice.

       A few readers of the novel asked me if I would do a sequel. While a good idea, I doubt that I have the time it deserves. John Updike concluded the Rabbit tetralogy with a novella. Maybe I am inspired by my fellow Pennsylvanian. 

        Anyway, I pick up the story in May 2022. Right now I plan to take it through November  2022. That's all I want to say for now.

        Need to read the novel? Or any of my poetry books? Please see the following links. Thanks!

    https://www.blurb.com/b/10799783-the-botleys-of-beaumont-county

    https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Turfa/e/B00YJ9LNOA%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Ralph Vaughan Williams 150th Anniversary of Birth is this Mlonth!

     I cannot remember exactly when I first hear Ralph Vaughan Williams' music. It might have been in a junior high music class. Or might have been during my time as Fine Arts Director at the old WDFM, Penn State university radio station (now WPSU).

     Whenever it was, I quickly fell in love with it. There is something about symphonic string music that grabs me. Not that I am musical; I was Fine Arts Director because I could run a staff, and pronounce the names of the composter/musicians.

     During my high school teaching career, I would play "brain music" while students read and completed some assignments. When I played "The Lark Ascending" I explained the significance of the lark in literature and pointed out of the violin was used to illustrate the rising of the lark.

     Recently on a flight to Hawaii, I spoke to my seatmate about 'brain music". He was doing the same for his son as he did his homework.

     When I write I often use music like Williams' as a background. Lyrics get in the ay these days, unlike earlier. I find such music soothes me and helps me write.

     The link below has all sorts of things about the composer. Enjoy!

https://rvwsociety.com/rvw150/