Our First Visitor...

Mary Ann D'Urso

Well, I struggled this week with what to blog about Anna Quindlen’s visit. Should I write that in college and the early years of my reporting career, she is who I dreamed of being? Should I write about her ambition and focus in the face of my own circuitous routes? Should I say that buzz of her visit bounced around 89 York Street, as if the very walls from the first through fourth floors echoed her name.

Maybe this is enough: ANNA QUINDLEN CAME TO OUR SCHOOL.

Please read what my students have to say on first pass. Stay tuned and come back later in the term to see and hear their multimedia projects on their first interview of the semester: Anna Quindlen.

Students React to Anna Quindlen's Visit

Adelia Rivera   

    Yesterday we had an amazing visitor, whom we also had the opportunity to interview. Still guessing who? Anna Quindlen. Although I never had heard about her work until the day Mary Ann told us she would be visiting us here, I was still excited. We had spent so much time talking about her and researching her life. At home, Anna quickly became another member of the family, since I spoke so much about her.

    I never could have imagined conducting an interview period. But I welcomed this new experience. I saw it as a whole new adventure. Everyone was so nervous and did not know what to expect – Mary Ann, being the most nervous one by far. We had always seen her so calm, cool and prepared for anything. This was a whole other side of her. This was very interesting.

    Anna was so natural and this down to earth. It seemed like we were talking to just another one of the girlfriends. I share so many of her life experiences: her mother’s passing at a very young age, having cancer hit her family and juggling motherhood with just about anything else. We learned that she loves to cook and does it very well. I wondered to myself, "Well how the heck does she find the time to cook with her busy schedule?" I know I certainly struggle with it. It should really serve as a reminder and an inspiration that anyone can do anything that they want to do. We all just have to have the desire and put our minds to it.

    We talked about all of Anna's accomplishments, which are many, including her years of writing columns. She's written many novels, three of which have been turned into movies. Anna has even written a piece on the York Street Project called "Public & Private: A Kind Place," featured in The New York Times. She's written 2 children's books, which soon will be a part of my son's book collection. It truly was an honor having her take the time from her schedule to talk to us and letting us into the life of Anna Quindlen. I plan to read most of her books if not all of them. The girls and I joked on trading the books once we've read them. Anna very quickly became an inspiration for me, for us.

Students React to Anna Quindlen's Visit

Shannon Stone

   In the Interview Project portion of our class this week we met Anna Quindlen, a well known and versatile writer who, by the way, won the Pulitzer Prize Award in 1992. Anna Quindlen, who I personally find to be very intriguing, was also a very laid back woman with a dry sense of humor. Anna Quindlen (oh my god I can’t stop calling her Anna Quindlen) made it very easy to ask her questions. SHE WAS SUCH A RUGULAR PERSON!!! Although I have to admit I was extremely nervous to meet her. As if my nerves weren’t already on edge, my English teacher Mary Ann decided to leave myself and 2 other students in the class with her, while she went to get Anna Quindlen a cup of coffee.

   Anna is in her mid fifties and has been married for 40 years. She has two sons and a daughter, all of whom are in there 20s. I was shocked, but love the fact that Anna enjoys watching television. I find it ironic that she likes Law and Order and her husband is an attorney. Anna Quindlen (STOP IT, SHANNON) has written five bestselling novels, children’s books , columns for The New York Times and she has had a successful life and considers herself one of the most lucky people on earth.

    When I got home that day I was in awe!!! I was fascinated that in one interview you could learn so much and hear lots of insights from a woman who has seen many things and knows her stuff. I just had to tell my friend all about this interesting interview. First, I explained to him who she was. Later I was telling my mom, because she knows I take an interest in quotes of all sorts, but I especially enjoyed the quotes from Anna Quindlen. I felt they were coming from a place of such wisdom. One quote Anna said – I’m paraphrasing – was that what makes a good girl doesn’t make a great woman. She also said she learned people are more alike than we think and that no novel was ever written by thinking about it. Last, but not least, her advice to young writers, “Just do it!!”

Students React to Anna Quindlen's visit - cont...

Daniella Maholick

    This past week has been nothing but hectic. I missed about a week of school for many reasons and now am stuck playing catch up. Ugh, I hate falling behind! I missed a guest speaker, Anna Quindlen, whom I would have loved to meet. While researching her I found that she was ONLY the third woman in The New York Times' history to have written a regular column for its Op-Ed page. I probably would've asked her about the feeling she had when her books became movies. Or if the thought of her books becoming bestsellers ever crossed her mind. And did her children influence her to write children's books?

    It stinks that I had to miss all these days and that I didn't get the chance to interview her when I was looking forward to starting the interview project. I still am kind of worried about how much work I missed and how I am going to make it up. Regardless, I am going to try my hardest to keep my head up and ride out these few more months with hopes of graduating in May or June. With a special thanks to Mary Ann, my oh so wonderful English teacher LOL, who's words encouraged me to hang in there. Seeing and reading about successful women helps me "keep my eye on the ball" as Mary Ann would say. It helps me keep my priorities straight and believe that I can accomplish such wonderful things, just as Anna Quindlen, Oprah Winfrey, V.C Andrews and a lot others.

    I am thankful for being back in Kenmare. This rough week has made me realize that Kenmare is not just a alternative high school, but it is also a support system. The staff is always there to help someone back up when they see they are going downhill. They're like pillars that help a person stand, for which I am exceedingly thankful. For a short period of time, I lost my view of the big picture and how an education is so important, but now, just knowing how much faith others have in me made me want to strive harder to get where I truly want to be. The staff at Kenmare gave me that extra push that I needed just when I was ready to give up. When life throws you lemons, make lemonade! (Mary Ann is over my shoulder making fun of this last sentence, telling me I can come up with something better.)

Student' React to Anna Quindlen's Visit - cont...

Becky Rodriguez

My multimedia class had the opportunity to interview Anna Quindlen, a 57 year old, well-known writer and winner of a Pulitzer price for commentary in 1992, a mother of three, Christopher 24 years old, Quindlen 26 years old and Maria 21 years old and the wife of Gerald Krovatin an attorney for 40 years. (I think I just told you a lot about Anna. I have my teacher here yelling at me about this very looooooong sentence.)

As you read this, it’s probably going through your head that she is not married because her husband has a different last name. Well let me tell you that she is married to Gerald and they have been together since they were 18 years old. Quindlen is an independent woman who believes, that even though she is married it’s her own last name she will wear.

I was very nervous at the beginning of the interview, but after we started, everything went smoothly. I had a great time with her and I learned lots of things about her that I didn’t know before. Sometimes we think that we know a person or maybe it comes into our heads that if a person is famous they are mean or they think they are all that, but at the end of the day, I came to find out that Anna is just a normal human being who has worked for years and years to get where she is now. Two things I learned and loved about her were when she said, “If you want to do something, just do it and don’t think about it and stop being afraid and bury your fears.” I’m going to have to agree with her because when we think that things are too much, in the end, we don’t do them and just give up without even trying. It’s funny that Anna is a good writer and yet she hates writing.

Anna is a very nice person to talk to. She didn’t fight us on the questions we asked her. She was kind enough to answer every single question with humor and as clear as we could get it.

Oh yea I also got my own autographed book, “One True Thing,” which I am reading right now. Once I finish, I want to rent the movie.

Students react to Anna Quindlen's Visit - cont...

Tiffany Taylor

Anna Quindlen is an excellent person. She talked to our class about different things about her writing. I also loved when she said her favorite food groups were cheese and chocolate. We have something in common because I love to eat cheese as well. When I asked her the question about when in life she felt most alone, I saw that her had gone down when she said the time her mother had passed away when she was nineteen and she had to take care of her other sibblings.

Anna is a great person. She has good advice for people that want to be writers. Anna said when it comes to writing you just have to do it. I love when she talked about her kids, that her two sons are writers. Anna said she is very close to her father. I can see that her mother was very important in her life. It was funny when she said she didn’t have an IPod, but it is also great that she does love listening to music when she writes. She said she doesn’t miss regularly writing columns.

I love the fact that when she spoke about the York Street Project, she also talked about how Kenmare started out with 30 female students and ended up with 6 that first term. The nuns asked why they had lost so many students. They found out that women had difficulties in having a place to live and they also were having problems with child care for their kids. Today, YSP has St. Joseph’s Home that helps women who need a place to stay with their children. Kenmare is a High School for women who are dropouts . This school will provide you with an education so you can be able to graduate.

I also was excited to go home to talk about her to my family. I told them that Anna is a famous writer. I also was happy to meet her and interview her.

When I asked her my last question, I stumbled over my words. I don’t know what happened because I was doing well. I know she is a respectful person because she looked us eye to eye when we asked her questions. I think that’s what got me nervous, especially since she is a famous writer.

A Response Recipe

Mary Ann D"Urso

The balance of our week focused on guidelines for response or reaction essays and students began rewrites of an earlier reading, "Mangoes, Memories and Motorcycles," by Sona Pai. Pai's piece was included in the book, Best Food Writing 2008. Using a sheet I had worked up for class, and in preparation for their rewrites, we used the guidelines and more fully responded to Monday's essay. Rewritten essays due on Monday, the 15th.

Reading, Ritual and Reacting

Mary Ann D'Urso

The goal for this week's class is simple: Go deeper. As is our Monday morning ritual, the Edible English class began with tea and 30 minutes of reading. This week our selection -- "My Mother's Imposed Fast: I Feel Her Hunger by Natasha Singh -- came from The New York Times' Modern Love column. As described by the Times, the piece is about a daughter studying the void in her parents' relationship. If you're wondering about the connection to food, Singh begins her tale telling us about Karwa Chauth, the day Hindu women the world over honor their husbands by fasting. Singh uses the traditional festival of married women and food as the vehicle to move in and out of the story of her parents' life together, marriage and her own modern marriage. Hunger, we read, comes from more than empty stomachs.

Michael Pollan & Food Rules

 Becky Rodriguez   

    Over the weekend I visited the website WNYC.org to listen to Leonard Lopate's interview with Michael Pollan. The interview was about Food Rules, Pollan's newest book, and the way the American food system works. Something really interesting to me was when Pollan said, "We don't need to know about antioxidants, carbohydrates and everything else because it's really about eating and knowing that nutrition is simpler than what we are led to believe."
     Even though I'm not a healthy eater myself, I know Pollan has a point. I eat some vegetables, but when I cook, my kids and my boyfriend don't like to see anything green, so I don't introduce them in my menu. They're picky. My son is satisfied with eating pizza, rice and chicken. My boyfriend, his father, is the same way. They both have Puerto Rican palettes. But my daughter, who is two, will eat anything! She came out just like me on the Dominican side. Vegetables and fruits, especially blueberries, are her thing. She loves them in pancakes. Realistically, I cannot be cooking two plates. I try to make what everybody eats to make them all happy. I know, Pollan, I know. More salad.
     My brain got so into this interview. Monday morning at 5:00am I woke up out of my beauty sleep to rewrite and add more details to my summary because my brain passed the night going and going like an Energizer Bunny, instead of relaxing. I also memorized Pollan's rule of thumb -- eat food, not too much, mostly plants -- faster than I could memorize a boyfriend's name. Yea, Pollan, this is my rule of thumb: eat food, eat more food and mostly fattening food. Oh yeah, and food that your family enjoys. LOL.

Ruth Reichl & Gourmet Magazine

  

Adelia Rivera

    Today we listened to a podcast to begin studying different methods of interviewing. I chose to listen to the Leonard Lopate show on WNYC.org. I tuned in to his January 12, 2010 interview with Ruth Reichl, former Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet magazine.

    As I listened to this interview, two things popped into my head. I was astonished to hear that one of the number one food magazines, which had been around for 68 years, is dead. This magazine, which is older than me, is no longer around for me to read. I used to have a stack of these magazines in my kitchen. Just thinking about them, I remember the amazing recipes I would cook for my family.
   Then, on the other hand, I started to wonder if there could have been anything that Ruth and her staff could have done to save this iconic magazine. I mean 8 test kitchens is a bit much, along with the yearly trips around the world to send staff to culinary schools. I feel that all this was not necessary, especially for the financial difficulty that this country -- and the publishing business -- is facing. They needed to roll with the times and cut down expenses. Truthfully, I can go to the website allrecipes.com, to get new recipes, at no cost.
    Still, I understand that Gourmet -- possibly the king of foodie magazines -- needed to preserve its reputation.Ruth, who was on tour promoting Gourmet's new cookbook came back to find that the magazine was closing. She said to Leonard that she did not she see it coming. She called it a "huge loss." We would never be able to find that kind of "luxury" where there is a team of people devoted to a magazine, Ruth said in her interview.
    I for one, agree with this statement. In my home, we love to take photographs, so naturally, we admired the photography published in Gourmet. They could always manage to make a photograph of one single and simple item look so beautiful just by the lighting.
    In my opinion, I think that we all need to be a little more frugal as far as finances. If nothing else, Wall Street has taught us that none of us knows what will happen tomorrow. Ruth, along with all the other people behind the scenes at Gourmet, lived a luxurious life. Vicariously, so did we.