On Young on Notation...

Young’s essay on reading poetry captures different types of notation used by four various cultures during four different time periods. He explains how notation plays an important role in how one did/could read a text.

Young explains how the ancient groups in Mexico, such as the Mayans and Aztecs, with no written language, used notation (as heavy elaborate “book paintings”, for example) in their religious/mythical/historical studies to intensify their current knowledge, as a tool to their primarily oral learning.

Mayan and Aztec notation was read in many ways, depending on the situation. It might accompany elaborate public religious ceremonies, as large book paintings hung on walls as guidance for prayer, or it could be used more intimately, such as a singer performing for a small audience holding up pictures to further define his song/story.

Kinesthetics were probably involved mainly through the senses of hearing (the story, lesson, prayer, etc.) and sight (the powerful imagery) and the connection perceived by this pairing. Notation would seem a powerful tool for any society with much oral use and no written language.

Young explains how poetic notation in 9th century China was used to evoke responses, such as singing, music, or more writing from the reader. Text was also used everywhere, such as on buildings and cliff faces, requiring readers to travel to interact with the words.

The act of physically writing the poetry (as in cursive calligraphy) was purposeful in getting readers to intimately interact and respond to the text. Chinese poems demanded gesture and vocalization from the reader, which seems highly kinesthetic.

English poets in the 1600s also employed notation in order to get readers to become more in touch with the text. Many were ambiguous in their spelling, use of letters, punctuation, and meter. They used this peculiar form of notation to force the reader to read aloud and linger longer, and hence gain a better understanding of the text.

Manuscripts were passed around and transcribed, which also played a part in reading and absorbing the text, as did elaborate usage of puns, which could also be interpreted as a sort of notation. The act of copying the text would have been kinesthetic for the reader, as well as the vocalization. Like the other cultures, this vocalization seemed to play a very important role in understanding the text.

Young shows the final culture, contemporary North America, as using notation to aid in the reading and performance of poems. Many poets also use notation to not only to stimulate vocalization and movement, but also as a graphic statement.

Many poets also employ notation in the hopes of regaining the act of reading as an “art.” They do this much the same as the English poets, to force the reader to slow down and gain a better understanding of the writing.

Just perform, or watch some poetic performances on TV or the Internet, and you can grasp immediately the kinesthetics, through sound and movement. The readers and performers are aware and passionate, exactly how those of the other cultures certainly must have been.

The Web and Myself

The web... I've used it since I was 18. That would be about 13 years. It seemed so incredible to me when I first used it. I would travel a half hour to my friend's house just to use MiRC, which was/is(?) a popular (still is? isn't?) chat program.

I don't chat anymore. Nowadays, I probably take the web for granted, and really have no "strange feeling of awe that takes over me" like I used to. I don't think that it could ever evoke a response in me like it did at first.

I use the web in almost the same way everyday... I check my two email accounts, browse Craigslist and participate in my online courses. If I have some extra time, I look at the WWE webpage, Youtube, some gardening sites, take some surveys (paid ones), go on Webkinz, or surf for whatever I might have on my mind, or on a piece of paper, to study about on the Web...I am a Wikipedia addict.

I truly love the Web. My first experiences with it was like the beginning of a passionate love affair. It was very intense, and I couldn't get of it. Now, it is a part of my everyday life, and I rely on for various reasons. It helps me with a lot of things, gives me happiness, and entertains me.