Professional diary assignments to be included in your portfolio:

Entries in your professional diary need to be typed, double-spaced, because this diary will be come an important part of the portfolio that you will submit at mid-semester and again at the end of the semester.  If you have questions, or need any clarifications, please e-mail me: suzanne.bunkers@mnsu.edu  

1.  Do a portrait of someone in your life; then do a list. Use Tristine Rainer's The New Diary discussions and writing suggestions as your guide.

2.  Select one entry from Sarah Gillespie Huftalen's early diary, and explain what about that entry compelled you to read it and write about it.

3.  Create a brief portrait in words of one individual in Sarah's diary other than Sarah herself.  See what you can discover about that individual's life (and Sarah's life) through what Sarah says about this individual.  Class members will write in response to one of these prompts:  a.  altered point of view: write from the other individual's point of view about him/herself and Sarah; b. dialogue: create a dialogue between this individual and Sarah; or c. unsent letter: write an unsent letter to Sarah from this individual.

4.  If you were Sarah and were planning your obituary, what would you say in it?  If you were someone else (e.g., Henry, Billie) doing Sarah's obituary, what would you say?

5.  What would you say if you were a good friend of Sarah's (e.g. Reba, Wilma) and were writing a eulogy to deliver at her funeral?

6.  Imagine yourself as a P.I. (private investigator) who is looking into the life of one of the individuals in Sarah's diary.  What questions would you want to ask that person in order to find out more about his/her circumstances, attitudes, and behaviors?

7.  In her recent book, Leaving a Trace: On Keeping  a Journal (2001), Alexandra Johnson outlines ten patterns found in diaries: 

"Journals contain ten categories of life patterns: longing; fear; mastery; (intentional) silences; key influences; hidden lessons; secret gifts; challenges; unfinished business; untapped potential.  Each category corresponds to a way we engage or hold back in life.  To begin to see a journal through these ten organizing devices is to unknot years of tangled entries.  It's most helpful if you go back through journals first by posing each life pattern as a question" (125).

To learn more about Alexandra Johnson's book and to see journal writing suggestions, click on http://www.twbookmark.com/books/70/0316121568/reading_guide14091.html     Here is the link to "The Connection," a radio program featuring the author reading excerpts from her book: http://archives.theconnection.org/archive/2001/03/0329b.shtml   

Here is a link to "The Writers' Lounge," a web site that features suggestions for journal writing and contains a review of Alexandra Johnson's book:  http://writerslounge.com/   

8.  Would you please bring a hard copy, (typed, double-spaced) of the assignment below to our next class to share with classmates? The assignment has two components, listed below:

a. Select one important entry from the 1943 or 1944 diary entries made by Anne Frank. In 2-3 sentences, paraphrase the entry (i.e., put the entry into your own words).
b. Then, write one paragraph in which you explain how and why the diary entry you have selected illustrates an important theme that you see present in the diary as a whole.

9.  Review the URLs on this linked page:  http://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~susanna/annefrank.htm   

Then select one of the web sites to explore in detail.  After you have completed the exploration, please type a one-page double-spaced evaluation of what you believe are the most significant and/or useful aspects of that web site.