Konrad A. Czynski, Ph.D.

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MISCELLANEOUS - Midterm Exam-Format
Sunday 2/25/18: Folks, here is what I propose as the Midterm Essay-exam. And you will see that I am NOT requiring you to REread all the pages on the RevPp-sheet that I gave you - ONLY the pages specified for your exam-essays whose Topics we'll retrospect in class tomorrow.
PART I: STC - 2 in-class, handwritten OBJECTIVE, reading-knowledge-based Essays @ 20 points (= 40 pts.) - no book, no notes, paper provided. The Topics to ponder in your reading and to write about are:
A) REQUIRED Essay: Based on your attentive reading in STC of pp. 29-30 ("[We] were soon ... me still."), HIGHLIGHT what James Lenfestey tells us/describes for us about his visit-experience at the Shisen-do in Kyoto. You must offer narrative specifics/descriptive details to support your statements. (What is the "take-away" for him? ...)
B) Your CHOICE of 1 of 2 Topics for your second, in-class Essay:
- EITHER #1 - Based on your attentive reading in STC of pp. 46-50 ("Our 'pleasure dome,' ... Paradise."), HIGHLIGHT how East meets West  in James Lenfestey's encounter with Prof. Jiang Feng. You must offer narrative specifics/descriptive details to support your statements. (poetry-lovers, ...)
- OR #2 - Based on your attentive reading in STC of pp. 61-65 ("After breakfast ... cell phone."), HIGHLIGHT how East meets West in James Lenfestey's encounter  with Abbot Minghai at the Bailin Buddhist temple-monastery. You must offer narrative specifics/descriptive details to support your statements. (tea & conversation, ...)
PART II: BWB - 1 typed Objective/Subjective Essay - within 2 pages (minimum of a substantial single page - double-spaced) @ 60 points - your CHOICE of 1 of 2 Topics:
- EITHER Topic #1 - Based on your attentive reading in BWB of pp. 77-79 (Ch. 11: "I ate a ... 'You're welcome.'") and p. 143 (Ch. 19: "Without much ... DEPARTS.") PLUS (for a pointed reMINDer) the temple-gate plaque in STC on p. 21, compose your Obj/Subj Essay in which you, first, Objectively explain Rinpoche's water-glass lesson, and then Subjectively present your own Reader's Reflections on its significance/interest for you since you chose to write about it.
- OR Topic #2 - Based on your attentive reading in BWB of pp. 107-112 (Ch. 14: "When I ... okay,' I said, ..."), compose your Obj/Subj Essay in which you, first, Objectively explain Rinpoche's education-of-the-spirit lesson, and then Subjectively present your own Reader's Reflections on its significance/interest for you since you chose to write about it.
P.S. A little "good food for thought" from the DALAI LAMA handout: he tells us, as does Rinpoche, that the immediate gratification that people experience in appeasing sensual impulses is merely a "brief elation" (Rinpoche's "puffs") that cannot truly bring enduring "calmness of mind" that we might call serenity and what Rinpoche calls "heaven here."
P.P.S. Anonymous: "We read works of Literature in order to live more than our own life, which is enhanced thereby."























































SPRING 2014 - Topic for your 5-6 (min. 4 1/2) pages = your typed book&film-related ESSAY to be handed-in to your specified due-date.

Choose 1 of the following 3 films - view it attentively - in whole or in CHOSEN part - taking notes as you watch it, especially for the part/s that interest you in relation to one of 2 books:

1 - LOST HORIZON - JH's 1933 novel made into a Hollywood classic -1937

2 - IN SEARCH OF MYTHS AND HEROES - SHANGRI-LA, presented by Michael Wood - PBS Home Video  production - documentary - free on the WEB: JH's novel's central actions take place in a mountain-monastery called Shangri-La

3 - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MARCO POLO - free on the WEB thanks to WLIW21 website - documentary: two Americans, in the early 1990s, undertook to travel from Queens, New York, to Venice, and then to follow Marco Polo's itinerary into Asia as close to how he travelled as possible - and in the course of their journeyings they made their autobiographical film-narrative

After viewing the film, compose a 5-to-6 page (min. 4 1/2 pp., but more if you wish!) COMPARE and/or CONTRAST Essay divided, as usual, into Objective and Subjective Parts:

- OBJECTIVE: Present, in a visually descriptive way, WHAT you viewed in the film (scene/s of dialogue, event/s, staging, ...) that grabbed your attention because it was either different from or similar to something of particular interest to you in your reading - either in our Marco Polo book by Laurence Bergreen or our novel by James Hilton, Lost Horizon.

- SUBJECTIVE: Explain WHY you chose WHAT you chose to focus on as a viewer and as a reader and as a writer. Ask yourself such questions as (and certainly come up with your own questions as you ponder): Did the film enhance/deepen my reader's appreciation of Hilton's work of fiction or Laurence Bergreen's historical bio-narrative? Did an event/experience or character-portrayal or location come alive for you as a reader thanks to being a movie-viewer? Did you prefer the film-version to what you read? ...  

For this academic+personal kind of Essay, ALL perspectives/opinions are valid - your prof does not dictate what you choose to write about nor how you express your ideas. Find what INTERESTS you - and if it is interesting for you to write about, it will certainly be interesting for me to read about. And, therefore, it will a GOOD writing-endeavor!

Schedule of book&film ESSAYS - due-dates & names:
WEEK XI - W 3/24: Courtney, Nicole, Monica, Rebecca
WEEK XII - W 4/2: Brandy, Thomas, Hannah, Sandra
WEEK XIII - W 4/9 - Melissa, Munkh, Craig, Taylor
WEEK XIV - W 4/16 - Soko, Brianna, Nikholai, Seth, Joanna, Kain, Janelle
WEEK XV - W 4/23 - Bailey, Nancy, Jacob, Colin
WEEK XVI - W 4/30 - Sarah, Chai, Anu, Prabal



















































  Informal Writing Endeavor #1:
You will handwrite it at home on lined paper provided by your prof & bring it to class for discussion on WED 7/3. Here is your thematic topic in 2 parts:
- OBJECTIVE - read attentively these pages: from bottom30 ("Conway was ...") to top37 ("... being alone.") with a focus on what Rutherford in his typed manuscript (read by the unnamed story-narrator) says about Conway's personality. That is, what does he descriptively present as Conway's character-traits, which are not always recognized/appreciated by others? These qualities are described several times, culminating at the top of p.37 You must work in QUOTATIONS, if briefly, as textual evidence to support your ideas.
- SUBJECTIVE: Keeping in mind that Conway endured the hardships and challenges of World War I (1914-1918) trench-warfare when he was of college-age, is his psychological predisposition in certain circumstances (let's call it his "attitude toward living in the moment") understandable to you? Briefly explain what you think.
Formal TYPED Writing Endeavor #2:
This is due in class on Friday 7/5. So, following our reading Schedule, read attentively in Lady Sarashina's memoir section #1 on p.31 and from section #3 pp. 44-top47: "The house ... Empress herself. As you read these few pages focus your attention on WHAT Lady S tells herself (= us, her 21st-century readers) about her youthful zest for reading the literary genre called TALES (Monogatari). In these 2 sections Lady Sarashina is recollecting her girlhood - when she was between the ages of around 12 to 14. So,
- OBJECTIVE PART: Highlight, with brief quotations to support your ideas, WHAT Lady S reveals about her interest in reading TALES, many of which deal with imperial court life, especially the very famous Tale of [Prince] Genji [the Shining Prince] written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu (c. 978-c.1024). In the complete English translation pub'd by Penguin Books, the Tale is over 1,100 pages!!! (I've read only an abridged version in English.) Be sure to present her seriousmindedness about such reading-experiences. Include how certain relatives (all female!) nurtured/encouraged this interest.
- SUBJECTIVE PART: In today's global society, since elementary school education is mandatory/required by law for children, in your opinion, WHAT ROLE does READING play in a young person's life-experiences - say, between the ages of 12 and 14? Lady Sarashina did not have video-games and other electronic distractions (like movies via Netflix); her imagination was stimulated by the Tales - spoken as well as read - which formed her entertainment. In your opinion, are works of Literature (novels, plays, poetry) today still what grab young people's attention these days? Were you an avid reader at Lady Sarashina's age? What types of "reading material" grab your interest today? Do you see yourself as being as eager to read - now in college - as Lady Sarashina was at age 14? Would Lady Sara be exceptional at MSUM - or typical?
Fri 7/5/13 - Formal TYPED Writing Endeavor #3:
       In this coming Monday's assigned Reading-Pages from MP = Ch. 4: 58-73, we meet 2 travelers to Mongol-ruled China who PRECEDED Marco Polo. Specifically, from upper60 ("Marco was not ...") to lower68 ("... his braggadocio [= Italian, meaning "bragging talk"], we meet 2 Franciscan Friars (= the Roman Catholic Christian monks wearing brown, woolen hooded-robes with sandals & a knotted cord-belt) who did indeed travel all the way to the Mongol court-city of Karakorum (in pre-Kublai Khan's rule) and who wrote about their journey-experiences: Giovanni [= John] da Pian del Carpini and William of Rubruck [= Guillaume de Rubrouck).
        Now, READ ATTENTIVELY the following pages in particular: upper64 ("Inspired by ...")-lower68 ("... braggadocio."), and then compose your Formal Typed 1-page Writing Endeavor divided as usual: 1) OBJECTIVELY highlight fascinating facts from Friar William's account that grabbed your interest/intrigued you, and 2) SUBJECTIVELY respond to this question: In what ways does the social scene - the society - of the city of Karakorum appear to you to RESEMBLE/BE SIMILAR TO a 21st-century, multicultural urban setting? = That is, given Friar William description of what he observed in Karakorum, what aspects of city-life there make you/us think of a modern PLURI-cultural/-religious/-ethnic city? AND would you enjoy visiting Karakorum? Briefly explain whether Yes or No.
Mon 7/8/13 - Formal TYPED Writing Endeavor # 4: due TUESDAY 7/9 -
        In Ch. 3 of LOST HORIZON - pages bottom64 to lower67: "The rain ceased and ... of Shangri-La." - we read a conversation between Mallinson and Conway as they trek their arduous way to the monastery (= place of being-alone: monos: one/singular - monks living in contemplative/meditative solitude far away from the social-world) - the Buddhist tradition of Tibet calls such a lamasery = place where lamas pray/meditate/chant; lama means "teacher" - called Shangri-La. In their dialogue, Conway gives Mallinson advice, learned from his World War I war-experiences, about how to deal with challenging circumstances in Life. Conway explicitly brings up "the War" several times in their conversation.
         So, compose a typed, 1-page OBJECTIVE Writing Endeavor in which you highlight Conway's approach-to-Life as he expresses it to Mallinson in their conversation. Be sure to work into your own writing pertinent quotations as textual evidence to support your ideas. And so, in this OBJECTIVE piece of writing, present what MORE we learn, through this scene, about Conway's character - his personality and attitude toward Life's difficult situations
         So, THIS TIME, your Essay in NOT SUBJECTIVE - it is NOT an opinion-piece. Be DESCRIPTIVE and present WHAT your READ = what Conway says that illuminates/reveals more about who he is as a person who gained lessons in practical wisdom from his war-experiences.
Tuesday 7/9/13 - Formal TYPED Writing Endeavor # 5 for Thursday 7/11:
          This will be both Objective and Subjective in 2 parts - 1-page typed. In the assigned pages of LOST HORIZON for this Thursday,  read attentively mid96-lower101: "Meanwhile the grand tour of Shangri-La ... 'No hurry.' He [= Barnard] laughed loudly ... ." In these pages, the elderly Chinese monk/llama named Chang takes Conway and the others on a "grand tour" of the lamasery/monastery.
          OBJECTIVE Part: In a descriptive way, highlight the "tour" by presenting fascinating/surprising details about WHAT Shangri-La offers the 4 guests - especially WHAT delights Conway.
           SUBJECTIVE Part: What did the tour of Shangri-La reveal to you about the lamasery that astonished/puzzled/pleased you in particular? = That is, was there anything you "saw" that delighted and/or intrigued you? And would you like to be a guest at Shangri-La as depicted in the novel?
Thurs 7/11 - Formal TYPED Writing Endeavor # 6 due Friday 7/12:
        As indicated in the Writing Schedule Part of our SYLLABUS, in the assigned pp. 50-69, there are 2 "Chapters" in particular in which Lady Sarashina writes about certain family-relationships. In Ch. #5 - lower53-mid56 she tells us about her sister. In Ch. #11 - 64-68 she tells us about her father.
         So, you CHOOSE either #5 or #11 - and this will be ONLY OBJECTIVE, with nothing personal/subjective about your reader's response - in which you present details, with pertinent brief quotations, about
EITHER #5 = how she describes her relationship with her sister
OR #11 = how she describes her relationship with her father
in terms of events, persons involved, feelings, ... - and you MUST elucidate/comment on at least ONE poem that expresses her thoughts = you MUST explain the meaning of the poem as her way of communicating emotions/thoughts regarding either her sister or her father. 
Friday 7/12/13 - Formal Typed Writing Endeavor # 7 due Monday 7/15:
        Read attentively in the assigned pages for MON 7/15 these pages especially: from mid110 ("Conway was glad ...") to bottom116 ("As far as it goes." - Mallinson is speaking), and compose a 1-page typed Writing Endeavor in which
1) you OBJECTIVELY highlight, by presenting story-details supported by brief quotations,  MORE about those aspects/features of Shangri-La - BOTH the lamasery AND the valley community - that delight/please/interest CONWAY (NOT the other 3 travellers). You MUST include mention of BOTH the lamasery itself AND the valley society, since in both cases we learn some new facts about them..
2) you SUBJECTIVELY present the aspects of Shangri-La "seen" in these specific pages that may NOW interest/surprise/intrigue YOU.
Monday 7/15/13 - INFORMAL handwritten OR typed 1-page Writing Endeavor due Tuesday 7/16/13
In 2 PARTS derived from MARCO POLO - pp. lower190 to lower192: "After painting a picture of ... to this ordeal."
Present in your own ELEGANT and ELOQUENT words, with several descriptive details from Marco's travel-account narrated by our author, L B:
#1) the story about the city of Pagan, which is the story of the 2 burial towers for the Burmese king (today Burma = Myanmar). AND what, according to Marco, was Kublai Khan's response to a certain Mongol military plan regarding this royal memorial after the conquest?
#2) the story about a certain local custom described by Marco that he observed in a region called Bengal (to the northwest and adjoining Burma/Myanmar). How do the details about this ancient custom make you think of a quite common pop-cultural phenomenon in our society?
Tues 7/16/13 - Formal TYPED Writing Endeavor #8 -1-page due Wed 7/17:
Tomorrow's chapter in LOST HORIZON, Ch. Eight, is a short 11 pages, but it is the heart of the novel. In its pages 155-66, Father Perrault explains at length to Conway the VISION that came to him long before, which also explains the lamasery's very mission = the role it will play for humanity in the near future.
      In your own eloquent and elegant and grammatically correct words PLUS brief but significant quotations, EXPLAIN that VISION and the lamasery's PURPOSE as presented by Fr. Perrault to Conway. We will spend more time in tomorrow's class on this than on Marco Polo, so our lunch-break will be early.
      *** Announcements: NO writing-assignment due for Thursday.
      Yes, this Friday we will focus our attention on Lady Sarashina. And so, just like last Friday, you are excused from reading any pages in MARCO POLO. I'll comment on the assigned-pages within 30 minutes, then our Break, then Lady Sarashina - and I will give you your typed 1-page Writing-Endeavor #9 topic on Thursday due in class on Friday.
      *** NEW Announcement: Your typed 2-page (3 if you wish) movie&book Writing-Endeavor may be handed in EITHER this Friday OR Monday. In either case, I do expect Friday's Lady Sarashina 1-page Essay to be your good work as usual. Thank you for your cooperation.
Thursday 7/18/13 - Formal TYPED Writing Endeavor #9 - 1-page for FRI 7/19:
      In Ch. 18 (pp. 83-88) of Lady Sarashina's Memoir, we learn about certain experiences at the royal palace where she is an "occasional" lady-in-waiting for an imperial Princess. She writes of conversations and poetry-activities with court lady-friends as well as of an encounter - purely spoken, not visual (see note 144 + bottom135-top136) -  with a high-ranking male courtier, who is a shakuhachi-player (flutist) from a distinguished family (see note 142 - p.135).
      In your purely OBJECTIVE Essay, and based ONLY on this Chapter 18, highlight, with narrative details + plus brief quotations, what it was like for Lady Sarashina to be an 11th-century Japanese court lady-in-waiting. That is, you must describe the sequence of happenings involving Ladys Sarashina and explain the topics of both her conversations and the poetry-exchange (= the traditional subjects of Chinese and Japanese and Korean Art and Poetry = Nature's seasonal  beauties). Be specific - and include mention of the Gentleman's winter-experience at the sacred Shinto shrine at Ise, where a High Priestess and Shinto nuns reside. All of this shows Lady S to be a sociable person, AND it also gives us first-hand experience of what it was like for men and women at court to interact in a rather formal, indeed ritualistic, kind of way. 
Fri 7/19/13 - Formal TYPED Writing Endeavor #10 - 1 page due Mon 7/22:
      In the assigned Chapter 14 of our book MARCO POLO , READ ATTENTIVELY pp. mid313-316: "Marco conveys ... was home." In these pages Laurence Bergreen gives us a summing-up of the unique importance of Marco's journey-account covering over 2 decades when he was REEEEEALLY far away from his birthplace in Venice, Italy, to which he and his father & uncle do return looking more like strangers than native Italians. In YOUR OWN well-composed words + brief quotations to support your statements, highlight OBJECTIVELY what L. B. presents as an overview of  the historically significant figure of Marco Polo who REALLY was extraordinary for his time. 
MONDAY 7/22/13 - FOLKS, for tomorrow TUES 7/23, read in MARCO POLO ONLY pages mid325-top331: " from " [Luigi] Rustichello of Pisa was not merely ... of his travels." In these pages we learn about Marco's relationship with Luigi R. when they are in prison in Genoa - Sept. 1298-Aug. 1299. They collaborated on composing Marco's narrative, but their original prison-manuscript was lost over time. All we have are copies of copies ... totaling about 120 manuscripted versions in the preprinting (= c. pre-1450) era in Europe.
     I ask you to read attentively these pages ONLY so that we can spend more class-time - after the Break - on LOST HORIZON, Ch. 11.
     As you read in LOST HORIZON, Ch. 11, pp. 209-top219 = from the Ch.'s beginning - "They reached the balconied ..." to a little more than half of the Ch. - "..., and Mallinson left." - THINK ABOUT Mallinson's criticisms/negative thoughts and observations regarding Shangri-La as he tries to convince Conway - in their debate-conversation - that they BOTH must leave the Valley of the Blue Moon. Reading this chapter-section attentively prepares us to appreciate the latter-half of this Ch. = pp.219 to the end: from "Conway sat alone ...." It is (may I say) suspenseful and quite dramatic.
      AND SO, for TOMORROW's 1-page TYPED Writing Endeavor, based upon your careful reading of pp.219-to the end, explain OBJECTIVELY the personal factors (= Conway's motives) involved in Conway's final decision affecting Mallinson in particular. = What are Conway's REASONS for deciding to act as he does? And what does his decision to act tell us about his relationship to Mallinson as well as to Lo Tsen? AND what does all this reveal about Conway's character = the kind of person that he is in his heart of hearts?
TUESDAY 7/23/13 - NO pre-class written or typed Assignments. READ attentively ALL the assigned pages as in our Syllabus - AND give particular attention to the following pages. I will require you to HANDWRITE in class short Essay-style responses to 2 Questions from MARCO POLO and LOST HORIZON - 1 from each, of course:
        1) In MARCO POLO: upper339-upper340: "Approaching his ... all in one book.": on the final years & end of Marco's life  +  344-bottom350: from the EPILOGUE - The Storyteller: "Despite the ... Marco Polo.": on the significant influence of Marco's narrative DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD (commonly called TRAVELS, which is really a geographical, historical, cultural, biographical Memoir), AFTER his death BOTH in manuscript versions in the pre-printing press era (pre-c. 1450)  AND in published book-editions from 1477 onward.
         2) In LOST HORIZON, the Epilogue  = only 11 pages: Rutherford meets again with the unnamed narrator. Through their conversation we learn what evidence-like details Rutherford has come up with in his journeys that give a measure of credibility/believability to the narrative that Conway "dictated" to Rutherford over the course of  part of the sea-voyage they spent together from Shanghai to Honolulu (pp. 17-18). The "dictated" account (which is a sort of Memoir) spoken by Conway to Rutherford narrates, as we know, everything that happened to Conway and the others from the air-flight out of Baskul (= Kabul, Afghanistan) to the difficult departure from Shangri-La (= the Valley of the Blue Moon somewhere "hidden" in the mountains of Tibet). TAKE NOTE of the dialogue-moment when Rutherford and the narrator speak briefly, but significantly, of the impact of World War I on Conway.
         *** As of right now, this is how I see the last 3 days of our class:
         - TOMORROW, Wednesday: in-class handwritten responses to 2 essay-style Questions as explained above. Paper provided.   *** I will have a topic for you to focus upon in your reading of LADY SARASHINA, which will be the basis of your TYPED 1-page Writing Endeavor due in class on Thursday.
         - THURSDAY: Reading in MARCO POLO as in our Syllabus: pp. top351-361 of the EPILOGUE + LADY SARASHINA as in our Syllabus: pp. 90-110 = Chs. 20-34. You will hand-in to me a TYPED 1-page Writing Endeavor - topic to be presented on Wednesday, as mentioned above.     *** I will give you 2 topics to reflect upon for our "Exam." One topic will be a TYPED 1-page Writing Endeavor to be handed in to me in class; the other topic will require you to handwrite an Essay-style response in class. Each topic will have a limited focus. Paper provided. AND I will ask you to do the usual Course Evaluations.
          - FRIDAY: You'll come to class at the regular time with your Typed 1-page Essay on one topic, and you'll "manuscript" your Essay-style response to a Question about the second topic. And then you'll do the Course Evaluations. And then you'll be liberated by around noon - so, at last you'll be free before 1:15, enjoying all the minutes I owe you!

WED 7/24/13 - In Lady Sarashina's Memoir As I Crossed A Bridge Of Dreams (given that title by Ivan Morris, translator), Ch. 29 (pp. bottom104-upper107) is a retrospective self-reflection that conveys Lady Sara's varying experiences - both happy and not. At one point in her narrative, she declares, "Never have I known such sorrow." Before saying that, she describes how her "life had been full of worries." And after saying that, she analyzes WHY her life turned out the way it did.
          AND SO, compose an OBJECTIVE Typed 1-page Writing Endeavor within 2 pages in which you 1) present the several experiences leading up to the event that made her feel "such sorrow," and  2) explain the causes in her past (as she herself acknowledges) that made her view her present life's hopes as unfulfilled, which also made her worry about her future life - that is, her next bodily re-incarnation. (This future existence would depend upon her Buddhist spiritual "merit" - that is, good or bad karma = her good or bad deeds that would determine her "salvation.")
         In order to understand fully her reflections, YOU MUST READ the numbered notes to guide your appreciation of her "inward turning" - her looking inward seeing her past reflected in the mirror of memory - AND YOU MUST include brief but pertinent Quotations from her as textual evidence to support your statements. Thank you! Looking forward to reading your BEST WORK so far! (Only one more Typed Writing Endeavor left - due on Friday! Topic to be given tomorrow, Thursday - along with the topic for the in-class Informal Writing Endeavor.)













Thursday 7/25/2013 - Writing Endeavors for Friday 7/26/2013 due in class:
#1) Formal TYPED 1-page Writing Endeavor focused on LOST HORIZON: Thinking about our reading-journey from Baskul to - and then from - the mysterious Valley of the Blue Moon in the Kuen-Lun mountain-range of Tibet - guided from beginning to end by Rutherford and the unnamed narrator - with Hugh Conway and the other cast of characters, RESPOND to the three thematic questions as thoughtful interpreters of James Hilton's novel about Shangri-La LOST HORIZON.
        In your Essay-style response, be both OBJECTIVE in presenting significant, pertinent story-details in support of your ideas and SUBJECTIVE in expressing your well-pondered interpretation in a logically organized, clearly stated and grammatically correct manner.
        AND SO, compose an essay-style Writing Endeavor in several paragraphs forming a composition with a Prologue/beginning, Middle, and Epilogue/conclusion as you respond to the following questions: WHY did James Hilton appropriately choose LOST HORIZON  as the title for his genuinely literary work of fiction? (This is your well-considered opinion.) WHAT plausible meaning could HORIZON signify in the title? (Remember: A literary title is often intended to be understood symbolically/metaphorically, not necessarily exclusively literally; and it might even be both.) And in WHAT sense has the HORIZON been LOST? (Who lost it? Forever lost? Where might it be found? How so? ...)

#2) Informal MANUSCRIPTED in-class Writing-Endeavor - paper provided - focused on MARCO POLO - FROM VENICE TO XANADU, by Laurence Bergreen: First of all, read at least TWICE - and let your imagination be fully engaged - pp. upper7-lower8 of the Prologue - "As he [= Marco] languished [= captured and forced to live in wearying conditions] in the [prison in Genoa called] Palazzo ... as his Travels.." As you read this very short extract, keep this question in mind - you will be expected to handwrite in class an OBJECTIVE Informal Essay-Response to it: How did Marco Polo's book Description of the World - commonly called his Travels - come to written (unpredictably indeed!) in the first place? How Marco's narrative was first written down is a fascinating story all by itself, and scholars wish they knew far more about the circumstances of its composition.
     AND SO, be prepared to retell that short story, and be sure to include essential historical specifics, such as the CORRECT spelling of names! And for the record, Marco was captured in September of 1298, placed in the Palazzo prison in October 1298, and released in August 1299, along with Luigi, who vanished from history thereafter. It is intriguing to wonder if Marco would ever have written about his 24-year long odyssey had he not met the storyteller-writer Luigi R. and spent 10 months or so with him in confinement. ...