Course Description

Rachel and Fran will read which ever Haruki Murakami books that they fancy for pure enjoyment. Some of these books include "A Wild Sheep Chase," "The Wind Up Bird Chronicles," "Sputkin Sweetheart," "After the Quake," and perhaps another look at "Norwegian Wood," and others. Then they will share and discuss parts of the books that really captivated them, such as the Ferris Wheel Scene in "Sputkin Sweatheart" or Reiko Playing for Watanabe at the Flat after Naoko's Death Scene in "Norwegian Wood." Then Rachel, and Fran if she chooses, will write 8-10 poems based on their experiences within the vastness of Murakami's fiction. After revisions, these poems will be finished by the end of the semester. Rachel and Fran will meet either at 3:00pm on Thursdays in the Java Joint, or at their leisure online at poetonpause.blogger.com, which is Rachel's online reading journal webpage. Rachel's first two poems are due to fran by the 20th of February, and her first blog meeting will be on the 15th of February. Otherwise, Fran and Rachel will come to a consensus weekly about due dates based on progress of revisions, etc. The student will be evaluted via a PASS or FAIL grade and a written evaluation from Fran, the instructor.