Robin Kimmerer

The experience of being literally heard and understood deeply, in some personally vital sphere, has its own kind of impact- whether of relief, of something at last making sense, a feeling or inner connection or

Writer and composer, Aaron Copland, in his book, “How We Listen,” divides listening into three planes: the sensuous, the expressive and the sheerly musical. Copland argues throughout the work that “[listeners] can deepen [their] understanding of music only by being a more conscious and aware listener.” (Copland, 15) Copland’s strategy of breaking the text up with the three planes of listening helps the reader understand his message in a more complete way.

The great and respected Aaron Copland was an American composer known for his ballad scores. In his essay, “How We Listen To Music” Copland wanted avid music listeners to realize that you can not just be dazed. His mind had sorted out three planes of listening for us: the sensuous plane, the expressive plane, and the sheerly musical plane. He simply defined each plane, illustrating it, and then contrasts between the three. With this people will be a cautious of their music surroundings.

Though the viewers focus first on the centered figures, it is easier to first analyze the surrounding settings to understand them. The stone wall foreground and the open fields of the background each embodies one of the girl’s thoughts. The back landscape is filled with warm, airy colors of blue and orange, as if it were under a bright sun. On the other hand, the foreground’s stone walls and concrete floor has dark, cold, shadowy, earthy colors that seem to appear as if under a stormy cloud. The sunny land suggests free, pure, spacious land previous to the industrialization. Yet, the darkened foreground due to the overcasting shadows resemble the currently dirty,

Arriving in the overgrown drive way trees start to crowd your vision, in the middle of all the trees I see an old beach house; that has stayed the same over the 18 years I have been going up there. Grandma is waiting outside on the front porch we all run up to give her a hug, then we go and start unpacking for a week’s worth of relaxing. First thing we do when were done unpacking is go to the old but new play structure. We sit on the swings and look out towards the big blue Michigan Lake. White caps cover most of the water along with passing boats, and some kayakers. Right over the horizon I can see the lights from the town, reaching into the sky. The sun is starting to set; the sky is painted with pink, orange, and yellow.

Growing up in a small town, it is encouraging to see successful people stem from the same place. Success can be defined in different ways. Most people from my town consider moving to a bigger city and never coming back a success. My cheer coach, Kimberly Truitt, is living proof that success can be defined as growing as a person and overcoming hardships. As a teenager, she atteneded the very same high school that I currently attend, Abbeville High School, where she was also a varsity cheerleader. Ms. Truitt grduated in YEAR and took the first step in becoming what is traditionaly considered a successful person in our town. She went to college in a different state, Florida A & M University. While attending Florida A & M, she pledged Delta Sigma

places where it isn’t faded and where the sun is just so-- I can see a strange, provoking,

Distinctively visual images have the ability to convey complex ideas and concepts about environments and people’s connection to places. The use of distinct images can cause individuals to reinforce their own perceptions or confront their value systems to perceive the world in a different way. In the postmodern Australian novella ‘Vertigo’ by Amanda Lohrey, distinctively visual images are used to convey the schism between urban and rural environments and how it impacts the Luke and Anna’s relationship. Additionally, Lohrey uses unique images to highlight Luke and Anna’s grief over their loss son also demonstrating the how the rural environment allows them to deal with their grief. Similarly I have used distinctively visual images in my collage

It’s hard to pick a specific area of Vermont that has the deepest connection with me, almost every spot I visit sparks a sense of wonder within me. From the Burlington waterfront to the peaks at Stowe I always feel secure and at home in Vermont. On a typical winter's day I am feeling the effects of the cold air mostly through the wind. I can especially taste the crispness of the Vermont air as its refreshing more so than it is unbearable. When I’m up on the mountain during snowboard season I look out and see a field of white that encapsulates everything except the green treetops. A sight that often leaves me filled with energy and mental clarity, I can’t help myself but fall into deep thought whenever I am up on

Often the most important trait a person can posses is to be aware of their surroundings. If someone is aware of their surroundings on a physical, mental and emotional level, they have the power to fully immerse themselves in their experience, without hesitation or limitation. In Saidiya Hartman’s memoir Lose Your Mother, the reader is presented with an orator who lacks complete awareness of their surroundings, which later translates to a lack of self-awareness, while in both Jamaica Kincaid’s and Caryl Phillips respective memoirs the reader is presented with authors who are fully aware of their surroundings and thus self aware as well.

The experience of composing my poem all started when we went to Vista Hermosa. I got to the park knowing that i wanted to lay down on the grass where there was shade but, that didnt work out. Instead I ended up laying down on a very big rock that was located right at a small waterfall. Although it wasn't what I really wanted in the beginning it ended up beiing adaptable and fun to rest at. The reason why I was unable to lay on the grass peacefully like I planned to before was because the grass was wet and there were no areas that had shade which made my heart sank. I didnt want to risk my pants getting wet so i decided to go to a different location within the park where I started to have a liking towards. This location of the park provided

I lay in the center, listening to soft music my iPod or the birds lulling me into a deep meditation. It is in this spot that I’ve had the deepest conversations with myself, coming to realizations and understandings about my relationships to life, others, and me. The secluded stillness allows my brain to freely wander, explore, and reflect deep concepts coming to profound insights that further benefit me in this crazy journey I call life. The winds, curves, inclines, declines of the trail makes it a perfect path to jog on. The isolation from the outside world makes it easy for my mind to focus on nothing but the task at hand – which is making it all the way around the 3-mile trail without stopping. Although, most times this doesn’t happen because I’m so taken back by the surrounding beauty. I always stop to take in the deep blue sky or the butterflies fluttering gracefully through the field of wild flowers. But when I am running I feel virtually weightless physically and mentally. My mind is blank allowing me to become one with my surroundings. The feeling of the cool crisp air breezing through my hair relaxes me as I intensely run to the heart pumping music blasting through my headphones. The path winds throughout an open field into a forest where you come out by the base cemetery. Passing it constantly fills me with emotion, carrying not only the weight for

A red brick house on top of a small hill is where my memories reside. A slightly curved gravel road led to the front of the house. Eight or nine rose brown apple trees randomly covered the plush green lawn. Down the small hill, muddy brown water trickled down a ditch with cattails surrounding it. One enormous willow tree sat in the background, to the right of the house, to complete the picture. It almost seemed like a picture from a postcard. But when

A ways away from a town that I call home, I found a happy place. I often find myself walking through the park by myself. The beautiful trees, the way the yellow and red leaves crumple under my feet every step I take. When the flowers bloom and how it's the most spectacular sight you could ever imagine seeing, all the different colors that appear. When you breathe in and you get this smell of purity, you feel free and alive. Sometimes I like to sit on the old wooden bench where the bench frame is a little rusted, and I get rid of my thoughts and my eyes search the sky. In the winter the icy breeze makes me shiver, and the cold air I take in, is like sitting in front of an air conditioner and breathing in. Some mornings the sun beams across the sky, which is not quite blue yet, but the sun has almost fully risen. When the wind blows, it grazes over the blades of grass. Some days I just stand and take a deep breath in and I can taste the spring. When summer comes around, and the bees are buzzing, and the hot sun beats on the back of my neck, I lay on the soft grass and listen, to the birds chirping a beautiful song, and the kids playing in the park. The sky is the bluest view in sight.

The opening chapter describes a sense of place through few examples. A place is perceived through our sensory responses and cognitive memory which makes that space unique and special as a type.