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The Olde & Noble Fenn Publick Speaking Contest...

WW Fenn Publick Speaking Contest

“There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1.The nervous and 2. Liars.” 

~Mark Twain

 

The WW Fenn Publick Speaking Contest [my spelling] originally started out as a poetry recitation contest. Over the years, however, the original rules have been bent and distorted to the point where it is sometimes hard to tell that it is supposed to be a celebration of "greatness" in literature, not a mimicking of a speech seen on TV or in a movie; not a silly comic piece or sing-songing children's story, and not a shallow barrage of clever words set into a story. 

I want you to have an experience that will live on in you and for you through as many years as you walk this earth; I want you to remember your words for the power that gives those words timelessness.  I want to get back to the purity of the original source and lifeblood of the WW Fenn contest. 

I want you to choose your WW Fenn performance piece carefully and thoughtfully. We will begin the classwork memorization and performance process right away--which is a multi-step process!

Guidelines:

You may choose a poem, ballad, or a passage from a piece of classic or singularly great literature, which includes: novels, short stories, or essays; moreover, you may choose to recite a traditional myth or cultural story. Speeches that are a part of a larger piece of literature are allowed, but not speeches. If you wish, I will choose a piece for you.

The piece must be at least 60 seconds long, but not more than three minutes in length. I have included links to sources in the extended entry to help find a piece.

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The Week in Review: 09/30-10-6

Entering The Odyssey

How an ancient story shapes our lives...

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Sing to me muse...

~The Odyssey

Update: Thursday

  • When you finish your Power of Place and Power of Hard Times, do the following:
    1. Create a Pages doc with proper formatting using the Essay Template. Save it as "last name Power of Place" and "last name Power of Hard Times."  This will allow you to create a portfolio of your writing pieces, which we will later use to make an iBook portfolio of your best work. 
    2. Copy and paste to to your assignment sheet. This allows me to add feedback and comments.
    3. Put it up on your blog using the essay template. If it is over 300 words, format as an essay. If it is under 300 words, format as a single paragraph. 
    4. Copy and paste subtitle and text into the comment box in the dropbox for the assignment.

Saving digital docs in three places (which I call the "Triple Parachute") assures that your hard work will not be lost. If you have any questions or problems doing this, please let me know via email, and I can help you!

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Who Loves an A?

Design Writing

Literary Analysis Paragraph

 

A-Maker

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Sometimes the shortest path is the longest trail 

~Fitz

 

     Really, who doesn’t like an A on an essay that has been painstakingly crafted and wrought in thoughtful, meticulous ways over the course of many precious hours stolen from from the larger tablet of time? The irony is that in trying to save time by choosing a shorter and suggested path to the peak, we often lose time by rambling around the base of the mountain, and, in spite of our efforts, we never reach the top; we never see the amazing view, and we never go home with any sense of accomplishment. But all is not lost. Today is a new day and a new opportunity to get back on the trail and do things right.

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