Brown Girl Dreaming....again

    Yes, I am posting about Brown Girl Dreaming again...is it that obvious that I really like this book? I am still amazed by how quickly I was captivated by this book, despite having a limited familiarity with free-verse poetry. Honestly, before taking this course I have never been introduced to books that utilize free-verse poetry as a structure. I'm glad to be taking away a newfound appreciation for this particular style of writing, from this class!
      Last week Dr. Jones informed me that she had been listening to the audio version of this book. What surprised me was the fact that Jacqueline herself was narrating the story! Considering the fact that this is a memoir about her life as a little girl, I was immediately interested in listening to her read the story out loud. It's really weird to listen to an author read a book they wrote about their own life-its mind boggling! As I began to listen, I was taken back by not only the tone of voice she used, but the pace that she read at as well. Needless to say, I was definitely reading her book in a completely different way. I think this just goes to show that their are countless interpretations to how a book can be read. WAIT....I literally just had an "ah-ha" moment. I recall learning about the transaction that occurs between an author and the words they write for their audience (not sure if this was LTED 600 or 609). From the perspective of our good ole friend Kucer, we learned that readers often misinterpret or read a text differently than the author had intended. Obviously the author is the only one who truly knows how their work was meant to be read. It is up to the author to structure their writing and use of word choice to set the stage for how a reader might interpret and read a text.
      Although I finished reading Brown Girl Dreaming a few weeks ago, I would like to take the time to follow along in my book and listen to Jacqueline read more excerpts. I am interested to see whether or not the way I interpret the text or the message I take away from it will change based on the way she narraters it.