MULTI GENRE WRITING

ASSIGNMENT #2 MULTI-GENRE WRITING

The first draft of the assignment must be completed by Wednesday, 5/4.

The final draft is due on Friday, 5/6.

The assignment must be typed, unless one of the genres you include requires otherwise. We will generate a list of genres together, but remember, it is almost impossible to state them all, so if you find yourself dreaming of a new genre (are dreams in themselves a genre?) be sure to run it by me and then use it!
The difficult part of this assignment will not be finding the genres, it will be finding the theme. I will give you a few options, but remember, the best theme for you will be the one you come up with, so keep thinking!
If you get information about a certain topic, be sure to include the source of that information in your rough draft and final draft.

Here are some possibilities for themes: the moon, your major, gay marriage, marriage in general, religion, the color blue, skunks, death, love, hope, the beach, the Beach Boys, Boy Bands, fishing, goodbyes, good buys, Best Buy...and so on.

Here's a brief list of genres:
Acceptance speech, address to jury, adventure story, advice column, apology note, autobiography, biography, blog entry, business letter, book review, campaign speech, children's story, condolence letter, court decision, dedication, detective story, editorial, epitaph, free verse poem, ghost story, love letter, memoir, movie review, myth, news article, parody, narrative, play, poem, proverb, quotation, romance story, soap opera, sportscast, superstition, technical writing, novel, nursery rhyme, obituary...and on and on.

HERE ARE A COUPLE OF QUICK EXAMPLES:
Example #1
"Snakes"
Genre One: a Joke:
Two animals meet in the dead of night in the forst. They cannot see each other so they describe themselves. One says, "I am fluffy, with long floppy ears, and I hop on my hind legs."
The second animal says, "you are a bunny rabbit."
"Yes," exclaims the first animal. "Now describe yourself."
The second animal says, "I am slimy, a slither on the ground and have a forked tongue. People run in fear when they hear me. I embody evil."
The rabbit says, "I know. You're a lawyer."


Genre Two: A poem: "head of the department"

The snake rounded her hideous head, careful to hide her fangs until the final moment, licked kindly the ears of her prey, prayed gently for a bit of fight left in this pathetic squirrel, and enjoyed her dinner, although her dinner didn't fight at all.


Genre Three: A Scientific Report:
According to biologist William Dunson, in The Biology of Sea Snakes, "A single voyage of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography research vessel Alpha Helix, in December of 1972 to January of 1973, resulted in the collection of nearly 500 specimens of 16 species from the waters of northwestern Australia and West Iran." Such diversity amongst the sea snake population suggests that an internal eco-system most likely dictates the mating and feeding habits of the sea snake.

Example #2
Metamorphosis
Genre One: Poem: Title: "become the butterfly"
Oh how I long to stop this slithering mess, to eat your leaves and feel no more this earth's caress

Oh how I strive to dine and then slumber away, to drink the sorrow of a cacoon ablaze

Oh how this poem is more stupid than not, but I awaken and fly away, and am amazed, metamorphosis wrought


Genre Two: Rambling Journal Entry:
I wonder what Kafka was thinking when he wrote his book called Metamorphosis. In this simple book a man named Gregor Samsa must come to terms with being turned into a bug, a beetle of sorts. I think this would have been an even worse fate than the social invisibility suffered by Mersault. Kafka revels in the horrors of modern existence, and the awful torturous fate of a man taunted by his own existence. I think that Nabakov would later compare this to Jekyll and Hyde, but something is lost there, since there's only one essence left when the man is turned into bug...scary story. Could this have a bearing on our modern world? You better believe it, bug readers!

Genre Three: Obituary
It is with great regret that we announce the death of metamorphosis, a concept that gave its all until the very end but died after a long bout with complacency. Meta, as she was known to her friends, could be seen in the writing and thinking of numerous individuals over the years, from Bob Dylan to Abe Lincoln, but as of 2008, she met her match with the current society led by those formidable opponents Malaise and Apathy. Meta leaves behind no immediate family members. Services will be held at the Beale Library followed by a ceremonial book burning of all Kafka reading material. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the SPCA, the only organization left that seems to want to affect change amongst the higher creatures of our globe.