Bibliographies and Poetry and Such

Working thesis: Despite the difference in age and experience, Alice plays the role of Morrie in the lives of the creatures she encounters in Wonderland.

A quote from Morrie's favorite poet, W.H. Auden.
Creative Commons License 2.0: credit to Debra.

1.      [Non-textual source—searched Video on library search]

Morrie Schwartz lessons on living. Ted Kopel. ABC, 1996. VHS.

I think it would be really interesting to watch this all the way through. Mitch talks about these interviews in the book, and it would be interesting to see them firsthand. Being able to reference things that are directly referred to in the book would be valuable and fun.

2.      [Newspaper source—searched Newspapers under Database Finder]

“Richard Harris discusses his experience with Morrie Schwartz.” All Things Considered. NPR News. 31 Aug. 2001. Radio.

Finding out about Morrie from another person’s perspective could lend a good view to what I know about him so far. It’s always valuable to learn about something from multiple perspectives, and hearing about someone else’s relationship/experience with Morrie is just the thing for that.

3.      [Source found through LION]

Michael J. Hyde. “Acknowledgment, Conscience, Rhetoric, and Teaching: The Case of Tuesdays with Morrie.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly 35.2 (2005) : 23-4. LION. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

This article deals with some of the main themes of Tuesdays with Morrie in more depth than is usual. Since it’s such an emotional, feel-good sort of book, the rhetoric of Morrie’s life is often overlooked, and his abilities as a teacher aren’t given the attention they might deserve. This is a good way to add some depth to my research.

4.      [Ebook—ebook search from library page]

Schwartz, Morrie. Morrie: In His Own Words: Life Wisdom from a Remarkable Man. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009. Ebook. 28 Feb. 2014.

I accessed this ebook by doing an ebook search from the library search page. I didn’t know that Morrie had written an autobiography or something like it. It’s not even really an autobiography, it’s more of a book about how to deal with life’s many trials and situations. I think it would be beneficial and super fun to read this book as a way to get to know Morrie and some of his ideas better.

5.      [Print source at library—reference works on English poets]

Smith, Stan. “Auden.” Great Writers of the English Language: Poets. Ed. James Vinson. London: The Macmillan Press, 1979. 32-40. Print.

W.H. Auden was Morrie’s favorite poet, so I did a little research into Auden and read some of his poetry. From what I understand, one of Auden’s most defining features was landscape representing a spiritual condition. I can see how this would be appealing to Morrie. I think learning what kind of poetry and other literature Morrie was drawn to adds depth to my understanding of his personality.

     6. Allen, Eleanor. Victorian Children. London: A. and C. Black. 1973. Print.

I think this will be a good way to gain some insight into what kind of atmosphere Alice might have been raised in. In order to compare her to Morrie, I feel like I’ll need more information about her as a person, and since first-hand accounts are a little difficult seeing as she’s a fictional character, historical context in a good way to start.

7.      Bratton, J.S. The Impact of Victorian Children’s Fiction. N.J.: Barnes and Noble. 1981. Print.

I like the looks of this because it gives some insight into Alice and Carroll simultaneously. There’s a lot to be learned from the sort of life an author may have led, and learning about the impact it created is going to help with that. I think this book deals mostly in literary history and criticism of Victorian children’s fiction, and I’ve never looked into that much before so I think it will come in handy.

8.      Weems, Mary E. “My Tuesdays with Morrie.” Cultural Studies: Critical Methodologies Vol.1 no.1 (2001): 62-9. Web. 24 March 2014.

This I actually really enjoyed. It’s a bunch of poetry inspired by Tuesdays with Morrie, and I found it very interesting. I thought maybe it would be fun to compare some of her poetry to the poems that Alice comes up with, since Alice’s poems are sort of adaptations of the real poems. I guess they’re based on real poems is what I’m trying to say. Anyway, it might be a stretch to use this, but then again it might not.

9.      Wright, George Thaddeus. W.H. Auden. Boston: Twayne Publishers. 1981. Print.

While we’re on the subject of poetry, I thought it might even be a better idea to compare Alice’s poetry with the poetry of Morrie’s favorite poet, W.H. Auden. I’ve thought about it, and I think I could plausibly work that into my paper. I think comparing Alice and Morrie in terms of poetry would be super fun, and I think it could actually work with my paper the way it is now (I wouldn’t have to make too many changes, I mean). I think I like this idea. And this book is a biography of Auden. I would probably also look up some more of his poetry if I were to do this.

Next up for this paper is some serious writing and potentially (if I can work up the courage) an email to Mitch Albom, discussing the possibility of other literary Morries (such as Alice). I'm excited and super nervous to really start working on this paper.