BMCC student Mamadou Bah offers his rendition of Gwendolyn Brooks' poem, "a song in the front yard." Click here to enjoy!

Meet Dr. Vinsonhaler

TEACHING  / COMMUNITY / RESEARCH / ADVENTURES

The Dark Dark Night!

Ms. Amanda Rodriguez

I happened to go to my mother's house this weekend to visit my brother and spend some time with him and I really wanted to try telling him this story because I knew he would enjoy it. I said to him "Hey Elias, I want to tell you what happened to me the other night" and of course he was all ears. We sat on his car-shaped bed in his room (which just so happens to be pretty dim in there as the only window in there faces a brick wall and he only has a small lamp for his main source of light) and I began my plot-I mean story.

"It was a dark, DARK night", his face already lit up with pure excitement. Now if I'm being honest I did forget exactly how the story goes so, of course, I had to pull out improv from my handy-dandy life skills toolbox. In my version of the story, I was on Instagram when the witch arrived at my window and instead of going to bed, the witch and I had a stare down until she vanished from my sight and left behind a puff of smoke that spelled out "I'll be back my pretty". Which brought us to the next night, when of course I am yet again on Instagram when I hear a screech at my door and when I open it, there she is, the green-skinned witch with large lips as red as blood. "My, what green skin you have," I tell the witch, and "my, what big, red lips you have". The witch must not hear this all the time because she smiled and said: "do you know what I do with these lips?". Frightened I said..... that's when I stopped and asked my brother, "what do you think I said to the witch" and he said, "you eat people with those big lips!!". Little did he know he was filling in the gap for me because my creativity was running low at that point and so I said "YES that's exactly what I said" and the witch said, "I'll show you what I do with these lips..." and she put her finger over her lips like this and began to (blow raspberries). This killed him! He found it hilarious. He thought the story was going to have a bad ending but really it ended off on a silly note. 

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Congratulations to a member of our Dream Team!

Hector Liang (Professor V's ENG101 Spring 2016 BMCC) has been accepted into Columbia University!  What a terrific achievement.
Click on his photo learn Hector's three top tips for success.

BMCC This I Believe Public Reading 2016

Congratulations to all those who participated in the first BMCC This I Believe Public Event, hosted in December 2016 by the BMCC Library.

Many readers shared outstanding essays that related lessons learned from true-life stories. Audience members included classmates, visitors, and invited guests.

Here is a selection of four readers from the class of Fall Semester 2016:
Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Cuadros, Mr. Mesidor, Ms. Sanogo.
Enjoy!

Click HERE to enjoy highlights from BMCC This I Believe

Best in Class Kirkwood Community College

Joshua Hollie's essay was selected by his peers at Kirkwood Community College as "Best in Class." When he isn't kidding around with his baby brother, he's working out in the gym or hanging out with his friends. Josh plans to major in psychology. Congratulations, Josh!

Freedom in Friendship

  by Joshua Hollie

Here we were standing in our new high school, 
my brother and I, gawking at our peers in 
astonishment. Their style of dress, choice of 
words, and even their posture differed from our own. With a shock, we realized: We two were 
the only black students in the entire school.  Wuzzup, Iowa! 

Best in Class University of Iowa

Alexa Sandon's "RAP-unzel," a twist on the famous folktale, was selected by her peers at the University of Iowa as "Best in Class." Alexa works as a camp counselor in the summer, and she plans to enter Law School after she graduates. Congratulations, Alexa! Click here to enjoy RAP-unzel.

Best in Class Kirkwood Community College

Marine Collins' essay was selected by his peers at Kirkwood Community College as "Best in Class." Marine loves to hunt--just about anything. He plans to major in Business. Congratulations, Marine!

Make Time for Friends
   by Marine Collins

Starting out my freshman year in college I will admit that I was scared. I felt like I was the only one who was going through this change. Sure, hundreds of other high school seniors were about to jump into the real world just like me, but though we shared the same goal, we all set out on separate journeys. I think what kept me sane my first two semesters was having close friends who were going through the same college endeavor, and so were able to relate to me and give me advice on how they handled certain situations . . . .

A new take on Rudyard Kipling

In a project developed at the University of Iowa, Keshia Fields reframes Rudyard Kipling's "If" to inspire future generations to rise above oppression and injustice. Beautiful work, Keshia.

Watch Keshia Fields' performance.

WINNER: Moonlight Literary Competition

Hannah Valentine developed her novel (Spark) in an independent Honors Project at Kirkwood Community College. The novel, which takes place in ancient Alexandria, won first place in Iowa's community college literary competition. Congratulations, Hannah!

FINALIST: Norton Anthology Student Recitation Contest

In a project developed at the University of Iowa, Simone Frierson interprets Queen Elizabeth's speech on the eve of the Spanish Armada through the lens of African liberation under the leadership of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia. Her highly original interpretation was selected as a finalist in the national contest. Congratulations, Simone!

Click here to watch Simone Frierson's performance.

University of Iowa Poetry Jam

University of Iowa students in Professor V's "Interpretation of Literature" course organized the University of Iowa's first Poetry Jam in Public Space 1 in downtown Iowa City. The event was co-sponsored by the University of Iowa Teaching Center and the University of Iowa General Literature program.

Click here to watch excerpts from the University of Iowa Poetry Jam!

University of Iowa Class Recitation Project

 

"Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance." - Carl Sandburg

Professor V's students bring poetry to life in the University of Iowa Interpretation of Literature course.

Engagement!

An inspiring piece on engagement by one of my star students at the University of Iowa, Jonathan Graf.

Click here to watch. Enjoy the inspiration!