Welcome

Gloucester High School 2008-2009 AP English students this is your blog.
You will be spending a lot of time here over the next twelve months.

1.
Please introduce yourself in the comment box below.:

STEP ONE
Click on comments.

STEP TWO
If you do not yet have a Google Account click on "Sign Up Here"
Follow the directions for creating a Google Account. (You can use any valid pre-existing email address to create a Google Account.)

If you do have a Google Account write your username (your user name is your email address!) and password.

STEP THREE
Write a comment introducing yourself to the class.

STEP FOUR
If you have any problems with commenting come see me in 2207 ASAP. Also, if you have not yet given me an email come see me.


2. At the end of the week I will post the summer reading assignments. I suggest that you print a copy out a copy of the directions for yourself. I also suggest that you get the books as soon as possible: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, Translations by Brian Friel, and Song of Myself by Walt Whitman.

Notes on the books: The two novels--Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys--are widely available. You could buy a new copy, a used copy (visit local used bookshops; or, use AbeBooks), or take the book out of the library. I recommend that you have your own copy but I realize that may not be possible. Translations by Brian Friel is a bit more difficult to find but I found several used copies through AbeBooks, as well as new and used copies through Amazon. The Bookstore (on Main Street in Gloucester) will also order books for you. Song of Myself by Walt Whitman can be bought for $2.50 (not including shipping) through Dover Books. Whitman's poem can also be found on the internet in several places including here with excellent notes and commentary. Finally, the poem can be found within Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, which is very widely available and includes many fine works in addition to Song of Myself.

3. Finally, sometime next week (after the AP teachers have had a chance to get together) I will post the summer meeting times.