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Written By: Shula-Aixian Yuan Once a year, people around the world in many countries celebrate Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is rooted in different traditions and cultures. On this day, to honor the motherhood and appreciate the love and labor of mothers, families would celebrate to thank and commemorate mothers––includes grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and stepmothers. Festivals of honoring mothers have been held long in human history, just like mother's existence. People worship goddesses bearing the symbol of mother. For example, in the sixteenth century in England, there was the festival called "Mothering Sunday." On this day, children working would get one day off and go back to their families. The oldest child would prepare a "mothering cake" to celebrate their mother. Mother would be free from any household duties and enjoy gifts and dinner prepared by families on this day. Up to nowadays, most countries set the second Sunday of May as Mother's Day. On Mother’s Day, children could give a bundle of beautiful flowers, a hug, a gift a card or a meal. In fact, when you were a kid, you probably remember making Mother's Day gifts in preschool or kindergarten or first grade, and in middle school years you might remember writing poems for your mother. This is a time honored tradition. The poets.org site offers some history and an overview of several time-honored poems that celebrate moms. Silvia Plath's "Morning Song" is a beautiful poem celebrating moms, and there are many more.
While in this social distancing and shelter-in-place time, we may not be able to visit our moms face to face, but still, we can celebrate with a Mother's Day card and mailable Mother's Day gift of a poem to offer sincere appreciation of them with our hearts. Give it a try! The Write Shop has several writing prompts you can try -- maybe share them here in celebration of your mom through the month of May!
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Written By: Shula-Aixian Yuan
Written By Frances Guzman American Literature is defined as literature that is written in the United States of America. However, American Literature also has other defining characteristics with common themes and plot points found within most pieces. Alongside these characteristics, the piece must also be thought-provoking as well as teach something. American literature should also include bits and pieces of the author’s own experiences within their pieces as well. The themes used may vary but they ultimately boil down to include themes of discrimination, mainly gender discrimination, and its association to mental illnesses, lies and deceit, and the American Dream. Gender discrimination and the connection it has with mental illnesses is a prominent theme in A Streetcar Named Desire, while lies and deceit is an important theme in Good Country People and “The Swimmer". Lastly, the well-known theme of the American Dream is present in “The Swimmer” and Death of a Salesman.
Several students in PCC's Creative Writing classes have been using master poets to experiment with their own work. Last week we read Baylie Raddon's Ginsberg experiment. This week's experiment is a collaborative effort from Frances Guzman, Salena Lo, and Ismael Castro. Enjoy!
Written By: Baylie Raddon In a post-September 11th world, situations are often met with skepticism, criticism, and even paranoia. Being that the last twenty years in the United States have been made up of the citizens grappling with and healing from the effects of 9/11, the creatives of the country have morphed the language of literature into something beyond what it was previously. The definition of literature has expanded with the rise of technology, and social media has given everyday people an opportunity to participate like never before. Building off of the artists before them, modern-day American creatives tend to stick to the classic the American literature theme of honoring one’s individuality, except almost to an extreme. Modern American literature sees its biggest shift, however, in the increase of irony, sarcasm, and comedy as a tool to address larger issues in a comedic manner, especially on the internet. Internet culture is growing rapidly, with the different platforms feeding off of each other and interacting as if they had a mind of their own. YouTube is one of the platforms that supplies many of the prominent internet ideas, ideas that are spread by “influencers” like Natalie Wynn who uses colorful lighting, outrageous costumes, and quick-witted humor to argue against the Alt-Right and educate the rest of the people on the internet. Her YouTube channel, ContraPoints, encapsulates the new definition of modern day American literature through expressing her unique, radical political views and debating moral and ethical dilemmas that have no clear conclusion, all the while sharing her personal struggles as a transgender woman.
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PCC Inscape Magazine, housed at Pasadena City College, is following Coronavirus protocols. At this time our staff continues to read submissions and publish web content. Note:
Blog Posts reflect the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of Pasadena City College or Inscape Magazine Editorial Staff Members. Archives
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