Max,
    Could you give us some examples of the concepts and applications you
mention here--not just in Ray's book but in your use of it?  I find that
although the application of grammar to reading literature and to style in
writing is a crucial goal, the good ideas for making those connections are
few and far between.  I am especially interested in the potential use of
knowing grammar to support reading (comprehending difficult texts, reading
poetry, as well as viewing the craft) in addition to writing.

Brock

-----Original Message-----
From: MAX MORENBERG [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2000 12:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The Grammar Debate


Bill, wonderful summary of the issues.  I wish it were easy to summarize
solutions.

I've become enamored this past semester with Katy Wood Ray's book WONDROUS
WORDS , which is on the craft of writing.  She explains craft in literature
(children's to articles in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED).  And she shows how to teach
students (elementary and middle school) how to read as writers and write as
readers (how to recognize craft in literature and how to get that same kind
of craft into their own writing). I'm using Ray's book  in my junior-level
grammar class (mostly for English Ed majors) along with my own text.  The
final paper in the class is a "craft paper," in which students have to take
a piece of literature of their choice and explain its craft.  Usually, the
students work on a chapter or a few pages of a novel or short story,
anything from Henry James to primary-school picture books.

Ray's book has allowed me to focus on the relationships between grammar,
writing, and literature.  I THINK I'm finally getting students to see some
use in their gaining a knowledge of grammar.  But, damn, it's taken me a
long time to figure out how to do so, though it's what I've been trying to
accomplish for 35 years or so now.  Maybe I'll finally succeed before I
retire.   Max

**************************************
Max Morenberg, Professor
English Department
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
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