Another Interesting Place on Campus

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to tell you about one of the most beautiful buildings on campus, Ventress Hall. It's on the corner of the Grove, near the front of the Circle, and it's a fascinating building to look at, take pictures of, paint, or sketch. The shape of it is very unusual. It was originally designed to be a library for the University, but, of course, it quickly became too small for that purpose. Today, it is used as the office for the Dean of Liberal Arts.

One of the most beautiful things about this building is just inside the front door. It's an amazing Tiffany stained glass window of Confederate soldiers going off to fight in the Civil War. When the war started, ALL of the students of the university joined the Confederate army to fight in the war (there were no women in the university at that time, by the way). All of them died in the war. It was really a terrible thing. That is why you see so many memorials of these soldiers on campus, like the Confederate Graveyard behind Tad Smith Coliseum, or the statue of the confederate soldier at the front of the Circle.

When you get a chance, take a closer look at this building, and step inside to gaze at the stained glass window. It is truly a magnificent work of art!

Another Famous Writer from Oxford

Hello Everyone.  I'd like to tell you about another famous writer from Oxford...actually, the MOST famous person from Oxford.  His name is William Faulkner, and he lived here in Oxford until the 60s.  He was actually born in New Albany, MS (about 25 miles from here), but his family moved here when he was 4, and Oxford is the town he called home.  This picture on the left is a photo of his house here in Oxford.  It is called Rowan Oak.  It is now a museum.  Many people like to visit Rowan Oak to see where William Faulkner lived and worked (you can even see where he wrote the notes for his last novel on the walls of his office).  People also like to visit Rowan Oak on a nice day to just sit somewhere in the garden and read.  

He is considered one of the most important writers of 

American Literature, especially because he portrayed life as it really was at his time.  His works are considered fiction, but he usually wrote about the people of a small community called Jefferson in Yoknapatawpha County, which is really just a fictitious name for Oxford and Lafayette County.  He won the Nobel Prize for Literature and many of his books have been turned into movies.  In fact, some of his movies premiered at the Lyric Theatre in Oxford, a place you may be familiar with.  

Other popular "Faulkner" locations in Oxford are his statue in front of City Hall and his grave in the St. Peter Cemetary.

Gabi's Radio Interview

http://www.mpbonline.org/content/john-grishams-twenty-years-achievement

Hello everyone!

If you check out the link above, you will hear a story which includes interviews of John Grisham (the famous author), Richard Howorth (the mayor of Oxford), our own Gabi, and me.

Now, I don't want you to think that Gabi and I spent some time with these interesting people for this interview, because that is not the truth. Maybe we will be lucky enough to meet them one day. However, the day that interview was made, the only person we actually saw from this news story is the reporter.

The way it happened....We were wandering around the Square shortly after some students (including Gabi) had arrived. I was trying to show them some of the interesting things about this town. We walked into Square Books, one of my favorite stores on this whole planet, and that is where we met the reporter. He was very intrested to see our group in the store, since we were from so many different countries. He asked if he could talk to us for a moment, and this radio story is the result.

If you haven't been to Square Books, yet, or if you haven't noticed they have a small coffee shop and a wonderful balcony patio to sit on and drink your coffee, then you MUST go visit this place. Authors are always visiting this bookstore to read to their fans and sign books. They always leave extra signed copies of their books at the store, too, and you can buy them for the normal price of the book (no extra cost for the author's signature). If you have been to Square Books, how did you like it? Maybe we can all stop by their patio for a coffee some time!

An Interesting old Poem, What do you think?

Written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

I really like the ideas in this writing. I especially like the line "it is still a beautiful world." It makes me wonder what must have been happening tothe author around the time he wrote this.

Welcome!

Welcome to our Journal Blogs! I hope to learn all sorts of new and interesting things about all of you. Following the Journalling suggestions in the back of your textbook (pgs. 181-183), I'd like all of you to create and maintain your own blog with at least one hour of writing each week. The topic can be of your own choosing, but I will sometimes make suggestions. In addition, I would like you to follow the blogs of your classmates and make comments on their blogs (min. 3 comments/week). Of course, when they comment on your blog, be polite and respond. This is not about grammar or structure, this is just a fun way to practice writing and get to know eachother. You will be graded for participation, not accuracy. Enjoy yourselves! My first question for all of you....what did you think about the snow on Tuesday?