For Tuesday (Day 3): Turn in the STP Action Plan. Email it to mrmontasmph@gmail.com before the start of class. Also, write two prompts for a writing piece about Coates's
Between the World and Me. These prompts should fit at least one of the following categories:
analytical (wherein you analyze some aspect of Coates's writing style or argument),
creative (which involves writing personally or creatively in response to the book; this should be nonfictional, but it does not have to address race—you could, for example, write about another issue that is important to you, but employ some of Coates's writing strategies), or
authentic (which means you come up with another way to write about Coates's book that is authentic and genuine for you, especially with regard to your audience and purpose—among many possibilities, a letter could fit this response, but you would still need to specify a topic for the letter, and maybe even an audience). You can expect this piece to be at least three pages long.
While we're in New York City for the senior class trip, the academic calendar continues at MPH, so it will be a Day 1 when we return to school on Monday, October 2.
So, for Monday (Day 1) and Tuesday (Day 2): From the documents listed below, read three of the reviews of
Between the World and Me;
then read the last text, which is an excerpt from Vivian Gornick's book The Situation and the Story (it's a book about writing memoirs), which will be helpful for understanding some aspects of Coates's writing, and for your own personal writing.
"
Loaded Dice" (London Review of Books)
"
Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me" (New York Times Book Review)
"
Ta-Nehisis Coates and a Generation Waking Up" (The New Yorker)
"
Letter of Despair" (The Economist)
"
Why Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me is Not the Masterpiece We Hoped For (The New York Observer)"
"
A Caricature of Black Reality (The American Prospect)"
The following articles are not required, but essential in their own ways.
First, if you're ambitious, you'll want to
read this review essay of several memoirs by black writers, including
Between the World and Me.
And finally, here's
a profile of Coates that gives more information about his background and also explores the book's argument.
