Once the earth had finished becoming a place with one continent and a lot of water, there was a ball of leftovers. All the deities had sectioned off the sky so they all had their own kingdoms. They had begun their people in a different way. They had all created the earth together, and fabricated what a human was exactly. They all agreed in certain particles which they left to roam free on the earth; such as love, happiness, passion, kindness, courage and bravery.

In that ball were tiny particle people. They were all different colors purple, blue, red, black, grey, yellow, orange, pink and white. The red was the most vocal, it yelled, it screamed, it demanded to be heard. It insisted on pinching the earth through the surface of the bubble, it demanded to be felt. It was the most flamboyant and exuted its energy outside of the ball of tiny people. It became a full bright red ball , its density was able to mask the reality of what the red ball contained. It looked like something which would grow off of a tree, it ressembled a big, juicy, red apple.

The particles fought together in the red ball, they pushed, they shoved. There was one particle who didn’t participate. The red particle felt overwhelmed and hid by leaning against a wall. Different particles fought differently, some yelled, some hit, some tripped. They infected each other of things that needed to be felt, things that needed to be heard. These particles tortured each other in this ball, they made each other hurt; they found weaknesses in each other. They infiltrated each other with pain and resentment.

All the while outside of the ball the contient was growing.   Humans began to arrive and thrive. Love, happiness, passion, kindness, courage and bravery infected the humans and reproduced. They spread the wealth and encouraged greatness. They were beautiful, pure and vibrant. Their innocence was shocking but also excited the humans to exist on what would later be called earth.

A shadow matted the bright red for just a second, it was a shadow of a woman. Then all of a sudden the particles silenced, they heard something coming towards the ball. The ball was then moving and cracked open by big white rocks. The red ball broke, a piece taken which opened a gate for all the particles to escape.  The particles saw skin and a massive person, who ressembled a particle person yet was clearly not.

The first to walk out, was one called Self doubt; he was yellow. He was mad and he wanted revenge. Then there was depression, he was blue, he was silent and wanted to share his thoughts with others. Racism followed, he was orange; one of the most unloved colors in the rainbow. The eating disorder was pink, and she was the most beautiful of all the particles. Addiction was purple, he stumbled out of the crack, hardly standing. It was easy to tell that he was on the hunt; he needed to be fed. Anxiety was white and shaky, she wasn’t sure whether to walk out of the apple or not, her trying to decide looked painful, even to the other particles. Nightmare and insomnia were black, they ran away very quickly.

Soon the only one left was the red man, he walked out slowly and calmly because he knew that he was invincible. The red ball was grief for a loved one. The red particle had his hand on all the other particles. The red ball was grief for anything and all things on this earth.

The reason the deities had kept these particles away from the world was because they were able to infiltrate people’s mind. These particles had more power and control than the other particles the deities allowed to walk on earth. These particles were dangerous to the well being of the continent.   Now they are loose and thriving.

I believe that all stories are accurate and that every culture’s reasoning for how the earth came about is realistic and beautiful.  I wanted to put my own twist on the concept of Eve specifically because the story has never quite made sense to me. My concept of Eve even got more intertwined when I studied Eve’s apology in defines of a woman written by Amelia Lanyer.   When I told my friends about my version of how evil came into the world, I got many “Oh” s.  A couple of them really liked it and actually thought “it made sense”.  One of my best friends very specifically said “nifty” and suggested making it a play.  I’m proud of the story I made up and I would like to re explore it later on and explore some of the feminist elements which Amelia Lanyer brought up in her poem.

Let me know what you think!

Tai Amy

Bibliography: King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. Print.

Daunt, Tina. ‘Book Review: ‘Unbearable Lightness’ By Portia De Rossi’. latimes. N.p., 2015. Web. 30 May 2015.

Headlinestheatre.com,. ‘2015 Maladjusted Tour :: Project Home’. N.p., 2015. Web. 30 May 2015.

Sussman, S., N. Lisha, and M. Griffiths. ‘Prevalence Of The Addictions: A Problem Of The Majority Or The Minority?’. Evaluation & the Health Professions 34.1 (2010): 3-56. Web. 30 May 2015.

Charlesyoungs.com,. ‘Eve’s Apology In Defense Of Women’. N.p., 2015. Web. 30 May 2015.

Words. Chamberlin talks a lot about language, in particular the strangeness and wonder of how language works. Stories, he says, “bring us close to the world we live in by taking us into the world of words” (italics mine,1).  He describes learning to read and write as learning “to be comfortable with a cat that is both there and not there”  (132). Based on Chamberlin’s understanding of how riddles and charms work, explain this “world of words.” Reflect on why “words make us feel closer to the world we live in” (1).

Well first of all, what a novel Chamberlin wrote. Wow.

In regards to that cat quote in this question, at the very beginning of the novel, Chamberlain introduces the word “faith” (3). Our concept of faith is believing in something that we cannot see but we know is there. This is demonstrated in cultural stories. Nobody is sure of the actual precise elements of myths, but we continue to be sure they are true and we exist with them if not sometimes by them (may I be so bold to use the bible as an example). I believe that words make us feel closer to the world we live in partially because of the “common ground” of  the stories.  They are usually are about things we are familiar to as humans within a given culture. I also find that these stories usually represent an ideal, something we hope to achieve.

Something that really stuck out to me in the interview in which Chamberlain discussed his book was his use of the phrase “once upon a time”(Chamberlin and Knopf). If I think of my own childhood, I was always consciously aware that neither Snow White nor Cinderella actually existed but to this day I still feel as thought they are personified people in my life. Growing up my friends and I have always compared princesses, and watched their movies, they have become a topic of discussion for years. It seems that even before Disney, the majority of little girls knew these tales, which began with “once upon a time in a far off kingdom”. Even though these fairytales were written by the Grimm’s brothers in Germany, I think they are a perfect example of “common ground” all us little girls had. Cinderella (even though the original version is somewhat gruesome) is always written as being beautiful and kind. She was an example of what all us little girls wished to become, she was a hero and an ideal we were searching for, someone we idolized. If I may be so bold, I think that the general princess story was an important aspect of play time for all of us little girls. Even though this gave us many warped unrealistic ideals for once we hit puberty and we actually grew a waist, we still love these princesses. I fell in love with those princesses through storybooks and words on a page read to me before I went to bed at night. My point being, those words stuck with me, the faith in their existence stuck with me and I am not sure if I ever want to view them differently.

Are either Native American or European cultures willing to fall out of love with the words they grew up with as children to reach common ground? Maybe they don’t have to, this is just the question currently pondering my mind.

Another great example of how powerful words are in our culture is, newspapers. Even though newspapers are less frequent and more and more people are veering towards online newspapers. Newspapers tell stories daily, and occasionally they are stories which the readers will never forget. There is one writer behind each article, so when we think about it, one writer can make us feel a certain way about the subject even before we finish the article. Even though journalism is meant to be neutral I find headlines give us a direct insight into the writer’s opinion. I would like to use a recent headline regarding funding for First Nations homes. The headline is a contradiction “Harper government defends First Nations housing fund, despite poor results” as listeners (as Chamberlain would put it) this make us feel close to the story and as if these people have an advocate. The article is short, but I would argue that it takes Harper’s side, yet had we had another writer’s article I am sure that we would view the situation in a different way. The power of words once again, demonstrating the faith we have in this journalist’s words. We believe the words that are given to us.

Please tell me what you think,

T

Brothers, Grimm’s. ‘Grimm 021: Cinderella’. Pitt.edu. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 May 2015.

Chamberlin, J. Edward. If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?. Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 2004. Print.

Beeby, Deab. ‘Harper Government Defends First Nations Housing Fund, Despite Poor Results’. CBC 2015. Web. 28 May 2015.

Chamberlin, J Edward, and Alfred A Knopf. If this is your land, where are your stories?. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 May 2015.

Hi Fellow students!

My name is Tai Grauman and I am a late joiner (and even later because this site baffles me).  I am going into my intermediate year of my BFA acting program but I am also beginning a double major in First Nations Studies.  Many have advised me against a double major but I am bound and determined to complete it.  I am of Metis descent and my heritage informs my art and passion for theatre daily.  I have a particular interest in First Nations Canadian literature and art.  I am looking forward to gaining a widened knowledge of First Nations writers and works from present and past which give insights into the Native American identity post colonization.  I am also excited to research “the power of stories” (Paterson), as my daily life as an actor is fuelled by stories, the power of words written on a page are of the utmost importance to my life.  I am also keen on the bullet point in the overview which says “gain some expertise in storytelling” (Paterson), that sounds like fun.  This course consists of analytical insight into Canadian literature, and the understanding of the difference between oral stories and written literature.  It is centred around the art of storytelling.

This is a picture from my favourite play Rez Sisters written by Tomson Highway.  It is a play about a group of women who live on a Reserve.  One of the reasons why I fell in love with this play was because it isn’t solely about one aspect of these women’s lives.  As a reader or audience member, their honesty makes us laugh, their love for one another makes us smile and their tragic stories make us cry.  I have also attached a Review of the play, it is a review of a more recent production.  I chose this review because it emphasizes that the play is both heart wrenching yet hilarious.  It is a beautiful piece and I believe it is a very important play within Canadian theatre history which is not often given enough credit.  In her review Amy Smart quotes actress Tantoo Cardinal who was in the original production as well as this recent production, Cardinal states when referring to the act of change through the arts, “It’s like water.  Water can get through places where maybe a textbook or lecture or something like that might not get through.” (Smart).  I agree with Tantoo, I think theatre is a fantastic way to give a group of people a voice, all we have to do is get society to listen to them.

For my second hyperlink I have attached a recent CBC article about a clothing line released by two Canadian designers.  The fashion line was labeled with a discriminatory title.  Along with positive art forms (like Rez sisters), there is harmful discrimination made through art forms.  It is also interesting to note that on the article social media addressing the issue is attached, but below the article is an accumulation of insensitive comments regarding the issue.  An interesting observation to make on how discriminatory art can be circulated and perceived.  I feel as though these comments demonstrate a strong example of the power of words.

I look forward to reading all your blogs!

Tai

Baccari, Ava. ‘The Rez Sisters | Theatromania’. Archive.theatromania.ca. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 May 2015.

Cbc.ca,. ‘Dsquared2 Under Fire For #Dsquaw Women’s Fashion Collection’. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 May 2015.

Smart, Amy. ‘At Belfry Theatre, Rez Sisters Tale Rings True After 28 Years – See More At: Http://Www.Timescolonist.Com/At-Belfry-Theatre-Rez-Sisters-Tale-Rings-True-After-28-Years-1.1378437#Sthash.Aggl58zd.Dpuf’. Times Colonist 2014. Web. 20 May 2015.