Dear Dr. Young,
This multigenre project has been quite the experience. I first thought of the topic—avocados—during a brainstorming session in one of my Penzu online journal entries. Avocado was the first subject to pop into my head, and, after a day or so of letting ideas sizzle, I decided on it. At first, I thought that this project would turn into more of a cultural journey, exploring relationships and tradition. It has, and it has been even more. The paper actually turned into a juxtaposition of old and new--ancient and contemporary--and I’m quite happy with its outcome.
The writing part of the project was by far the most challenging; I really pressed myself to conform to never-before-done poetry structures as well as learned new technology (Photoshop, ToonDo, and Blogger). So, the difficulty came from the crafting, but the easy came from the fun. Every single moment that I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), I felt exhilarated like I was on some kind of writer’s creative high. (I’m still on that high as a matter-of-fact.) Initially, I was going to let the final product be in printed form but, after much thought, I began leaning towards transferring it to the digital world. After all, everything's digital these days. But, I wanted to be satisfied with the final presentation, so I went on a search and tried several sites, such as Weebly, Blogster, and Blogger. I chose Blogger because of its link to my Gmail account and also because it gives the reader a chronological look at the overall blog. Since my project began as a discovery project, I wanted my readers to feel and acknowledge that sense of journey within the blog. The repitend actually turned out quite nicely; you’ll notice the unchanging picture of the avocado and its caption to the left side of your screen that echos my extended metaphor poem, “The avocado is an alligator.” I am very satisfied with the finished product.
I would give my final product a 2.5 grade, mostly because I still feel that this—no matter how cliché it sounds—is still a work “in-progress.” My peers were a tremendous help in my effort; they gave exquisite feedback and it is because of them that I was really able to rethink and revise many poem lines and align the many genres in a deliberate order. My favorite piece is the extended metaphor poem, “The Avocado is an Alligator.” The two ideas just work beautifully. I am proud of the repeated lines: “Rigid skin, delicate innards.” I also love the conclusion, “Seeking survival, then facing extinction.” These are just a few noticings that I found. There are many more that I could name and would stand by and defend i.e. "Avocado Kills?", "Innocence Lost," and the Sherwin Williams advertisement. Back to the idea of “in-progress,” I would still like to work on language and conciseness within each piece. I would also like to someday write a semi-successful prose piece; I tried here but failed miserably. Overall, I think there’s more to explore with this simple, ordinary fruit. The avocado has a rich history—as well as taste.
My final irritation: I never got the interview with the Blue Sky Farms guy in Wendell, NC. What a bummer! Even though this opportunity was a major letdown, I would still like to visit his farm and learn more about the farming side of avocados.
This project, as I’ve already said, was incredibly refreshing and became more a phase of renewal for me, personally. My New Year’s resolution was, after all, to indulge in more creative work. Look at me now! In addition, I have learned even more about the revision process through Katie Wood Ray's Wondrous Words. She has helped me discover that I am a big pre-thinker, meaning I already have the final product almost perfected, visually, before even putting the words down on paper. I instinctively know what I want to say and how I want it to appear to my reader. Therefore, I don't revise very much. I owe this form of revision to my Type A personality.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to remember why I love words.
Sincerely,
Katrina Donham
