World Literature

“During our World Literature class, we study the works of some of the most important authors of the 20th century. I think that to get the most out of it, it is essential that my students not only read the works of these writers, but also try to experiment themselves, getting inspiration from their unique and innovative styles. During this course, students are required to keep a journal, where they can write, experiment, and reflect. This blog post is dedicated to the most beautiful and powerful pieces of writing they have created this Summer.”

– Giorgia Del Santo, World Literature Professor

 

Inspired to Pablo Neruda’s Odes:

Ode to Coffee

Oh coffee

Sweet, sweet coffee

What would I be without you?

Your rich aroma revives me every morning

And powers me through the day

If I were a car

You would be my gasoline

And if love were an eight letter word

It would simply be caffeine

– Abby Forsyth

 

Ode to my hair 

hair oh hair

how you make people stare

bouncing around like you just don’t care

your volume and curls so rare

my most defining personality trait

my most prevalent conversation starter

you cause me so many problems

and i constantly worry about you

but you’re the first thing people notice about me

without you i would be much less interesting

without me you wouldn’t exist

together we are one

i need you and you need me.

– Alexandra Oakley

 

Inspired to English Modernist Authors:

Stream of Consciousness exercise

It’s really not as hot outside as I was expecting, the breeze is really nice. These pigeons are acting like fools and making a really weird noise I have never heard. I think significantly faster than I can write and I feel like I am currently thinking about thinking/thoughts which is really weird. I really need to book flights and plan some trips. I think doing this for my internship would be beneficial. I am really tired and definitely need a nap after this. I hate the word definitely because I always struggle to spell it. I am kinda hungry and it’s getting hotter, I hope the sun shows up so I can tan. It is crazy that I currently live in Italy. I wish I naturally had nice handwriting. I wanna learn another language because that “dumb american” view that lots of foreigners have is lowkey true. I miss my Irish friends from Florence. This group of people is way louder than the first group, I am interested to see the change in dynamic. I also wish I had a pretty signature, I will work on it. IDK what show I am gonna watch when I finish Jane the Virgin lowkey maybe Gossip Girl again lmao. Voiced over shows are so cringey. I feel like I could get lost doing this activity. I wonder if Giorgia would care if I brought food to class because I am hungry. Writing on these lines is harder cause my hand is falling off the page. Europeans go to the beach at weird times and I am literally staring at an active volcano right now which is insane. Reading these about other people would teach you a lot about them and it makes me wanna write my thoughts regularly now.

– Alexandra Oakley

 

 

Inspired by Apollinaire’s Calligramme

Somewhere between

feeling fine and completely falling apart

crying and laughing

loving and hating everything about you

 

somewhere between

being brave and being scared of my own shadow

 

somewhere between

embracing beginnings, agonizing endings

moving forward, taking two steps back

forgetting you exist and wrapping myself up in the memories all over again

 

somewhere between

letting go and holding on too tightly

being on top of the world and falling flat on my face

feeling free and unable to escape the void

 

somewhere between

picking up the pieces and shattering like glass

healing and hurting

falling in love and falling apart

opening doors, slamming them shut—

hating and loving myself completely

 

somewhere between

up and down

in then out..

endlessly riding the ever-constant rollercoaster of emotions

that my empathic soul takes me on

 

welcome to my world, 

welcome to the in-between.

 

– Maria Fabiano