The Single Story of California's Regions

The past couple of weeks we have divided the state of California into three (very broad) geographical regions: the Bay Area, the Southland, and the Heartland. In doing so, we have also read literature, both historical and contemporary, from each region in order to come to a better understanding of whether or not there are regional "voices" in California literature and, if so, what are their defining characteristics. Certainly, California's diversity is something that comes up in nearly every one of our conversations about the literature of the state, so there is no way we can do justice to the multitude of experiences found throughout our state, but as students learned from Chimamanda Adichie in 10th grade English, it isn't that stereotypes are not necessarily untrue, but rather that they are incomplete.

For this blog entry, I want students to identify a stereotype that comes to mind to them when they think about each of the three regions and then how that stereotype was either reinforced or challenged by one of the texts that we read from that region. Thus, you should have at least three paragraphs (one paragraph per region) in which you identify the stereotype for that region and then use one of the texts that we read from that region for your commentary. Good luck and I look forward to reading your reflections!

Homeland Poetry

In our Literature of California class, we have transitioned into our California Regions unit. We have broken up the state into three distinct regions: The Bay Area, The Southland, and the Heartland. Last week we read works about the Bay Area and this week we are moving into our discussion of the Southland.

One of the poems students read over the weekend was "Santa Ana of Grocery Carts" by Aracelis Girmay. This evocative poem is a sensory observation of the Santa Ana that Girmay grew up in. In reading the poem, you can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel Girmay's Santa Ana. It is both a love letter and a study of her hometown.

For this week's blog post, I want my students to write their own sensory poem about the city that they live in. I'm looking for at least 10 lines of poetry (they need not rhyme) that draw the reader into the sensory experience of your city. Besides the poem, please write 4-5 sentences where you describe your town and a little bit of the inspiration for your poem. Please also include an image of your city as well.

Above is a picture of the city that I grew up in, Rancho Cucamonga. More specifically, I grew up in Alta Loma, a smaller "town" within the city of RC. Nestled at the base of Mount Baldy in San Bernardino county, whenever I think about where I grew up, the mountains always loom large in the background. I had no idea how lucky I was to wake up and go to sleep to the sight of these mountain while I was growing up there, but now, whenever I see them, I know that I am home. Here is my poem:

high land

by Greg McCandless

main streets became flood channels

during heavy storms

mountain flotsam, human garbage

           pooling at four-stop intersections, a one-stoplight town. too

small for me.

small world, full of 

whites, mexicans, blacks, Tongans, Mormons,

       red tile roofs, citrus groves and houses,

three floorplans in our subdivision, alternating and reversed,

a puzzle that, once figured out,

confirmed my fear of conformity.

majestic mountains, majesty for some

overbearing parents

of one.

crisp, cold winter mornings, breathe rising

and mixing with smog, tight

lungs, tightening even more until

an escape plan is hatched

alta loma, high land

         bye land. Still,

i'm always drawn back.

The "Picture Perfect" State

Welcome to my blog! My name is Greg McCandless and I'm an English teacher at the Sage Hill School in Newport Coast, California. This year, I am teaching a senior English elective course called "Literature of California". Over the course of the year, we are going to be tackling the question of what it means to be "of California" through novels, short stories, poetry, film, and other mediums in a quest to better understand the rich and diverse state that we live in.

Over the summer, my students were asked to read the novel The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar as well as some short critical pieces by David Wyatt and Wallace Stegner. They also were able to pick a "California" film to watch (including LA Confidential, The Maltese Falcon, Milk, and LA Story). We then spent the first week of school discussing these texts and setting thematic goals for ourselves as we work out what the definition we currently have for "California" is and how that might evolve as the year progresses.

This week, students were asked to create a visual metaphor that represents their current definition of California and the results were really fascinating, everything from collage to sculpture to an animated flip-book.

In addition to our ongoing reading, I will be asking students to regularly write a weekly blog, in which we will discuss and explore some of the ideas that we talk about in class in more depth. You will soon be able to see a list of all of my students' blogs here on my blog homepage and I encourage folks to come back and check out some of the great work my students are doing.

For this week's blog post, I want to riff on the idea that "one picture is worth a thousand words". I want my students to choose a picture (either a personal photo or one they find on their own) that they feels captures their "California". They will upload the picture and then not only introduce themselves to their readers, but also explain why this picture best captures their ideas about the State we live in.

Here is my picture:

This is a picture of me taken at Newport Beach sometime when I was around five or six years old (so likely around 1982 or 1983). I chose this picture to represent "my California" because it captures every really great memory I have from growing up in California. I lived about forty-five minutes from the coast but we went there often as a family and usually rented a house in Newport every summer for a week or two. I've always felt particularly drawn to the ocean and I think that is mostly because I spent so many happy times there as a child. To me, California is a place of freedom and endless possibility- which is captured in the perspective of this photo as the ocean seems to seamlessly blur into the blue-gray skies behind me. It is also a place of warmth and carefree attitudes; it is a state that values individuality and creativity. It is my home.