Special Topics - Graphic Novels and EFL

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction-- formerly the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel-- has been awarded annually since the year 1917, and while there has been no award presented 11 different times over the course of its history, 86 awards have been granted since its inception.  Only 3 men-- Booth Tarkington, John Updike, and William Faulkner-- have received the award multiple times.  While there are, of course, many other literary awards-- including genre specific awards such as the Hugo for science fiction or the Spur for westerns-- none of them carry the prestige of the Pulitzer Prize.  The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction stands, at this juncture in history, as one of the penultimate achievements in the career of a writer-- and it is for this reason that Art Speigelman's special award for the graphic novel, Maus, in 1992, is so incredible.  While Speigelman did not win the coveted Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which went to Jane Smiley for her novel, A Thousand Acres, the selection committee felt so strongly about his work that they honored him with a special prize-- the first and only time that a graphic novel has received a Pulitzer. 

Dating back to the pulp comics of the 1950's and 60's, the prevailing view of educators across the world has historically been very negative when it comes to comics.  Dave Gibbons, co-creator and illustrator of The Watchmen, in a recent interview with the Guardian, stated that he has, "vivid memories of the prefects at my school going through my desk and confiscating comics and burning them.” He goes on to say, "There were scares in the 50s about trashy American horror comics, and there has been this notion that comics are very low culture." Now, however, Gibbons has been named the first "comics laureate" of the UK, and is charged with becoming an "ambassador for comics and their potential to improve literacy."  (Flood) After decades of being reviled by educators, comics are beginning to be seen as another weapon in the fight against illiteracy; the work of artists like Speigelman and Gibbons have helped usher in that change in perception.  Neil Gaiman, author of the vaunted Sandman graphic novels as well as several bestselling novels, put it best: "But all of a sudden I felt like someone who'd been informed that she wasn't actually a hooker; that in fact she was a lady of the evening." (Burdette)

Now that the stigma has in part been stripped away, educators can fully explore the educational application of the graphic novel.  Carola Hecke, a German researcher, in an articled entitled “Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School and University English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms,” writes that, “Graphic novels may not only serve as an engaging means to teach comics literacy and intercultural communicative competence, but also as a means to read and analyze American culture.” (Hecke) This makes an incredible amount of sense since it's exactly what we do with children-- we use illustrations to help them understand concepts-- but the stigma against the graphic novel somehow overrode common sense in this arena.

One thing that Hecke does not mention-- but is nevertheless true-- is that the educational value of graphic novels is not limited to EFL programs, and there are already courses on graphic novels being taught in most modern American universities. Hecke writes, "Graphic novels are not yet standard material in high school EFL classes, as many teachers are not yet familiar with them or do not know how to work with them. This kind of insecurity should no longer prevent the use of graphic novels in schools, which is why this use should be taught at university." (Hecke) This is a valid point. Whether in EFL classes, or in traditional primary schools, teachers cannot teach something that they themselves are not comfortable with. Luckily, comic publishers also realized that a lack of visibility was impacting comic sales in the mid-1980's, so they set about creating genre-specific awards-- dubbed first the Jack Kirby Awards, from 1985-1987, and then the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, from 1988 to the present. Now in their 27th year, the Eisner Awards comprise a ready-made resource for finding the most innovative and artistic comics currently being published. From categories like "best short story" and "best new series" to "best lettering" and "best publication for kids," the Eisner Awards-- showcased at www.comic-con.org-- are an ideal starting point for both casual readers and educators (or librarians) who may not be familiar with popular comics, but recognize the educational value inherent in the medium. 



Works cited:

http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Special-Awards-and-Citations

http://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards-current-info

Hecke, Carola (2011). Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School and University English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms. Amerikastudien / American Studies, 56, 653-688. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23509434

Flood, Alison (2014). David Gibbons, first comic laureate: "They're not just cheap, lurid entertainment." The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/20/dave-gibbons-comics-laureate-child-literacy-watchmen

Burdette, Anthony. A Comic By Any Other Name... Timesunion.com. http://blog.timesunion.com/comicbooks/a-comic-by-any-other-name/930/

Sci-Fi Annotation

Author: Yevgeny Zamyatin

Title: We

Genre: Science Fiction

Publication Date: 1924

Number of Pages: 203 pages

Geographical Setting: One State, formerly Earth

Time Period: A future totalitarian society that places value on obedience, rationale, and logic over imagination and emotion.

Plot Summary: D-503, a brilliant mathematician and loyal subject of One State-- an future version of Earth where the most highly-held ideal is a willingness to forsake individuality and subjugate yourself to the control of the government for the betterment of society-- has almost finished building Integral, a technologically superior vessel that will be used to explore the depths of space and assimilate any extraterrestrial races encountered, when he meets a beautiful and mysterious stranger called I-303. After being exposed, for the first time, to ancient vices such as cigarettes and alcohol, D-305 is slowly seduced into the web of a terrorist organization known as MELPHI who's goal is to reunite the citizens of One State with the "savages" in the natural world. Eventually, D-503 must chose between his long-held belief in the authority of the almighty One State, and the woman he has grown to love.

Subject Headings:

Russian fiction -- 20th century.

Satire, Russian.

Totalitarianism and literature.

Appeal: Adult fans of hardcore science fiction and dystopian literature.

3 terms that best describe this book: dystopian, thrilling, romance

Similar Authors and Works:

1984 by George Orwell -- Set in a totalitarian future, the story is one of illicit-love in a society where free-thought is forbidden and an all-powerful government keeps order through terror and lies. While blatantly re-writting history at will for the Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith begins an ill-fated romance with a woman named Julia, and is eventually hunted down by the Thought Police and arrested for treason. 

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley -- Another dystopian story set in a totalitarian future-- in this case a society in which genetic modification of human beings is routine and a premium is placed on genetic sameness-- that centers around an ill-fated romance and ends in tragedy. 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro -- Ruth, Kathy and Tommy are students at Hailsham, an elite boarding school in England, where they are educated and raised by a cadre of "Guardians," and where  a premium is placed on creativity. As they grow, they come to understand that they are different than normal people, and eventually it is revealed that Ruth, Kathy and Tommy are actually clones created for the sole purpose of organ-harvesting to support the lives of natural born humans. A love triangle between the three eventually evolves, and the story centers around their relationships as they struggle to come to terms with their ultimate purpose. 

Prompt Response - Week 7

When it comes to controversial novels, in general, I rally to the side of the written word.  However, I'm making quite a few internal assumptions when I say this, and these assumptions mostly have to do with the type of content I'm assuming is causing controversy around the book.  What I mean to say is that it seems like in America, the content that is objected to most frequently is sexual in nature.  From Tropic of Cancer to Lolita to Fifty Shades of Grey, our country has a long established history of an inability to handle sexual content rationally--most likely a puritanical hangover from our days in the original colonies getting dusted on moldy bread. Any piece of art or literature or media in this culture that makes it to the mainstream is judged, first and foremost, on its sexual content.  Look no further than Janet Jackson's immortal nipple-- thank you Google images-- if you really need proof that our country loses its collective shit over sex.  But on the other hand, every 8-year old boy in America is running around with a stuffed ninja turtle, kicking and punching his way to the corner for a time out while his parents just kind of smile, and shake their heads, and "boys-will-be-boys themselves" down to the juvenile detention center.

The point I'm trying to make here is not that somehow violence trumps sex, or vice versa, or that we should be scared of either in an artistic context, but simply this: who am I to judge? There're too many people in this country with radical values, and given that I don't rely on some ancient spectral figure(s) to discern what is morally or ethically right or wrong, the fact is that I'm never going to understand that kind of a perspective. This is good, in my opinion, because this helps me to ignore the "controversy" and focus on whether the work in question has any kind of artistic merit. This is why I can explain to someone, with no shame via a nuanced argument, why Lolita and Tropic of Cancer are canonical literary masterworks, and Fifty Shades of Grey is a trivial, if entertaining, exploration into light BDSM and sexual power dynamics.

Of course, there are different types of controversy. A work like A Million Little Pieces, written by James Frey and endorsed by Oprah's Book Club, was deemed "controversial" not because of its content, but because it was marketed as a lie. Initially published as a memoir, there was a major public backlash once it was discovered that Frey's work was largely fiction.  Oprah even recanted her personal endorsement.  In my mind, this shows exactly the value of a celebrity endorsement. Does the fact that Frey lied about the genre of the work somehow alter Oprah's posthumous experience reading the book? I don't think so. It was the content of the book that initially appealed to Oprah, not the controversy surrounding it; I think her initial review still has some value. Her initial review still implies that she enjoyed reading the book. The book was beautifully written, from a mechanical standpoint, and it feels like Frey was acknowledging a sort of "beat" tradition-- as in Ginsberg and Kerouac and Kesey and Thompson and Burroughs-- as far as novels centered around drug abuse are concerned.  Many, many other people disagree with me. The fact is this: an endorsement can only ever amount to an opinion. 

I also happen to have an opinion concerning A Million Little Pieces: I think it's brilliant. I think that it's brilliant for a true author of fiction-- someone who's job is essentially to be a fantastic liar-- to show such dedication to the lie. 

But then again, I haven't read it yet. 

Annotation

Author: Richard Bachman / Stephen King

Title: The Long Walk

Genre: Horror

Publication Date: 1979

Number of Pages: 253 pages

Geographical Setting: Maine, USA

Time Period: A somewhat vague totalitarian future.

Plot Summary: Raymond "Ray" Garrity participates in an annual competition known simply as "The Long Walk," against 99 other teenage boys from various places in the United States in an effort to win "the prize"--anything you want for the rest of your life. The book is set in a dystopian future version of America in which a shadowy, Castro-esque figure know simply as "The Major," has taken control of the country. In order to win, Ray must simply walk further than all of the other boys in the competition. The boys must maintain the pace of 4 miles per hour, and if they stop moving at this pace at any point during the contest, they are issued a warning by the contest monitors. Warnings are erased by an hour of walking without falling behind-- but upon the forth violation of this simple rule, the offender is shot and killed on the spot.

Subject Headings:

Teenage athletes -- Fiction.

Fascism -- United States -- Fiction.

United States -- Politics and Government -- Fiction.

Appeal: Fans of horror and dystopian teen fiction-- voted as one of the 100 best books for teenage readers published between 1966 and 2000 by the American Library Association in 2000.

3 terms that best describe this book: dystopian, sadistic, heart-wrenching

Similar Authors and Works:

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami -- The story of a group of Japanese middle school students abducted by a fictitious, authoritarian Japanese government and forced to battle to the death on a deserted island. This novel was also adapted into a graphic novel. 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- Another story where teenagers are forced to fight each other to the death by a totalitarian government, this time after being chosen at random. 

The Taking by Dean Koontz -- The citizens of a small town in California are besieged by an unnatural storm and are soon running for their lives from a race of extra-terrestrials hell-bent on ending humanity.  

Week 6 Prompt Response

While I was looking for innovative ways to prompt the horror genre, I came across an article in American Libraries Magazine called Target Library Marketing: Get a Little Risky," which was basically an interview with Ben Bizzle who does library marketing for the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library in Arkansas: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.dreamhosters.com/blogs/the-scoop/targeted-library-marketing-get-a-little-risky/

Bizzle created faux-ecards that mimicked the incredibly popular SomeEcards signature design and created advertisements for a program at his library called Concerts on the Lawn.  He also suggested incorporating cats into advertising-- I suppose this is because despite literally millions of images of cats all over the internet, people will still share a cute cat picture they've never seen before with every single one of their friends. So the first idea that I had was to use old horror novel covers or movie posters featuring cats, and change the text on them to library slogans, like "scare up a good book at the library," etc... or promote specific programs (Halloween programs, etc...) I found a few good images that would be fairly easy to alter in photo shop:

The library could then share them with followers on Twitter, Facebook, etc...

The second idea is a little more ambitious: create recreations of scenes from classic horror stories featuring cats.

So, for example, a cat turning away from a set of menacing headlights and some sort of appropriate text in a horror font that says: Stephen King's "Christine," Pg. 189 - brought to you by your local library. Or a cat dressed up as Dracula, about to suck the blood of another cat. It would be a labor intensive, but it could definitely be done.

Week 5 Prompt Responses

Reviewers are as unique as any business in America, and the diversity we see with models for review shouldn't come to a surprise to anyone. A publication like Booklist, who refuses to publish bad reviews, relies on a readership that appreciates their integrity and structure--the advantage here is that anyone doing acquisitions can simply flip to any page of the publication and find a worthwhile purchase for their library without having to separate the good from the bad themselves.  A publication like the Kirkus Review, on the other hand, might appeal to people who seek some guidance, but would ultimately like to make their decisions based on their own opinions. In regard to eBooks, the fact of the matter is that most main stream publishers have an extremely arduous process when it comes submission and acceptance--which represents a higher degree of quality control-- while eBooks are cheap and easy to produce through a vanity press that may have a universal, cost-based acceptance policy.  Major book reviewers understand this, and may shun unheralded eBooks in any genre-- not just romance-- because of the lack of any kind of editorial standards for self-published books. However, the success of books like "Fifty Shades of Grey," has proven that eBooks published through vanity presses can still gain traction on a grass-roots level and eventually turn into best-sellers.

Ultimately, both the Amazon review and the blogger's review of "The Billionaire's First Christmas," amount to one person's opinion.  While every person has the right to an opinion, and every person's opinion is valid, a review from an organization such as the New York Times--where the reviewer undoubtedly needed an educational background in a literary field of study--should (and typically does) hold more weight with consumers. I would likely buy this book for my library, but that has more to do with the fact that this genre of literature circulates extremely well at my library than how the book has been rated by these reviewers.

"Angela's Ashes," is a wildly popular memoir for a reason-- it met extremely stringent publishing standards and was positively received by major reviewers with substantial backgrounds in the literary field.  When books that come from major publishers are given more attention and granted more accolades it's typically because they are better books, plain and simple. Every book may be submitted to major publishers and they all stand the same change of being accepted.

I'm reminded of the the classic response given by the actor, author, comedian and musician, Steve Martin, when he was asked for advice on "how to make it" by an aspiring comedian: "Be undeniably brilliant." I believe that reviews from "credible" sources ("credible" meaning reviewers that only employ people with a substantial background studying the relevant field of discipline) are more important than they've ever been, given that it's easier to publish and distribute books to a large audience than at any prior point in history.  Ultimately, however, I think it is up to the librarians serving their communities to find books that will appeal to their patrons regardless of how positively they are reviewed, and that a review is only as reputable as the person writing the review.  

Kirkus Review

GONZO: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson

By Will Bingley & Anthony Hope-Smith

Author Will Bingley and illustrator Anthony Hope-Smith pay loving tribute to the life of the legendary writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Told through a series of flashbacks, GONZO recalls a number of key events that shaped the demeanor and destiny of the controversial American author and originator of "Gonzo-journalism." Beginning with his first run-in with the law-- after destroying a mailbox and being interrogated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a pre-teen-- GONZO chronicles the evolution of the author until his eventual suicide in 2005. Hunter's best known work includes "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail," a serial published for Rolling Stone magazine while covering McGovern's camp in the 1972 presidential election, "Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga," recounting his experiences with the Hell's Angels in the 1960's, and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," which was eventually adapted for the big screen. The book also gives the reader an intimate look into his family life and his ill-fated campaign for Sheriff of Aspen, Colorado.

Beautifully illustrated and poetically versed, GONZO paints an unflinching, uncompromising portrait of one of America's most notable authors and pop-culture figures.

Published by SelfMadeHero, London, UK, 2010. 180 pages.

ISBN: 9781419702426