reading poetry while stuck in a hurricane

missed the first two days of #TheSealeyChallenge and instead of catching up, i finished a total of one book.
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[@ayushij]

hey i have a question and i don't really know who else to ask, but i really want to pursue English Literature / Creative Writingfor higher studies, but I feel I'm not upto the level yet as I'm an international student and I don't have stuff like AP lit so what do you suggest I do to 'prepare'? What all should I know? as of now, all i know is i love reading any kind of book:) thanks! (Im currently in high school I'll be starting 11th next)

[@christinacascadilla4473]

Ayushi Jha, you shouldn’t feel deficient in anyway just because you have not taken the AP literature or AP language and composition courses in an American high school. Half of the teachers in this country who are teaching those classes don’t know what the heck they are doing, so most of the high school students who have taken those classes are not necessarily well-schooled when it comes to literature or writing. What you might want to do is search the Internet for some of the many lists suggesting what books you should have read before taking the AP literature test. Then start reading those novels on your own. The most important thing I can tell you is that you need to take responsibility for your own education. So always be reading.

[@eleniarizona]

definitely want to echo Christina's comment, and say that reading itself is the most important thing! and if you want to pursue creative writing, you can also try writing your own poems/stories and submitting to literary magazines. there's a lot that take international work!

[@ayushij]

@@christinacascadilla4473 thank you so much! this really helped! :)

[@ayushij]

@@eleniarizona thank you so much! will try to do all of this:)

[@christinacascadilla4473]

eleni arizona, this is why I recommend the novel The World According to Garp by John Irving to anyone who wants to be a writer. Not only is it an interesting novel (especially for the time it was written-however, I admit that seeing transgender issues discussed now would be no big thing) with a Dickensian structure, but there is also a textbook in creative writing hidden inside, especially in the “Dog in the Alley, Child in the Sky” chapter. There is so much good advice on how to write in that novel, since the reader is following a writer from before the time he was born to (deleted not to spoil the novel.). There is a lot about feminism in the novel, too. READ IT! There is so much to read, but the Dickens’ stuff like Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield is a good place to start for anyone who wants good examples of how you create interesting characters. And that list of novels that show up most often on the AP Lit exam is also a good way to become an educated reader. In five years I’m hoping to make it back to Stanford as a professor. I’ll keep you posted on that. And this comment had better get a heart just for its length. And remember: In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases.