I’ve been looking through the Oxford English Dictionary . . . picking words from our reading and thumbing through . . . so to speak . . . entries.

Even given my line of work I do not slow down my reading process often enough to go word-by-word. Looking up words I was sure I knew still resulted in new and deeper understanding.

I hope you are (or will be soon) experiencing something similar: the deep satisfaction of stopping to smell a word–really drink it in–in order to help you capture the fragrance of a poem.

If you want to check out the OED, go to the library’s website and click on the link “Reference Shelf:” http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/page.cfm?siteID=86&pageID=25.

Find the OED’s hotlink under dictionaries.

Are you confident about how to cite all those dictionary definitions you are using in your OED paper?

The OED tells you everything you need to know for your Works Cited page (HINT: Yes, it clears up any questions you may have about citing the electronic version . . . Isn’t Dr. J’s blog great?!): http://www.oed.com/services/citing.html

Here’s a helpful link for basic in-text citation guidelines: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/

And, one relating to works cited basics: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/

Finally, a handout created by The Writing Center at Brigham Young University that addresses all the basics, including the in-text citation of poetry (pdf format): mla

Learn about how to use poetry and analysis as a form of activism:

 http://www.margaretsoltan.com/?p=20847

TED Talk by James Geary, "Metaphorically Speaking"

I will post my own blog here throughout the semester.

Please join my site so you can add your own comments. You can always post a brief note here and then link it with a more extensive comment on your own blog.

New to blogs? Not to worry. Been blogging for a while? Please share your tips and suggestions with me and the rest of the class. Let’s learn together.