Random? ideas excerpted

Hey Readers,

Sometimes it's nice to digress.  I've read some random books encountered along the way ( in addition to my GRE book list ):

"Golden Harvest: Essays in Honor of Joseph A. Galdon S.J." edited by Susan P. Evangelista et. al:
Reading this is helpful in understanding Father Galdon's philosophy ( especially his teaching philosophy, which dealt mostly with Significant Human Experiences [like student-centered to the max] ). 

"The Mustard Seed: Reflections for Daily Living" by Joseph A. Galdon S.J.:
This is a collection of Father Galdon's articles ( homily/sermons a la newspaper column style ).  It's a nice mix of literature, religion, Jesuit philosophy applied in everyday situation.

"For All My Walking: Free-verse Haiku of Taneda Santoka with Excerpts from His Dairy":
Taneda Santoka was a begging and wandering monk ( so relatable, diba? ).  These free-verse ( not limited by typical sound patterns or certain haiku schools ) haikus were created during his meanderings.  In an ironic way, he could be like a rockstar monk writing about sex and Sake.  Also the diary excerpts give good background to situate his haikus that reveal the transcendental in the mundane while showing typical concerns of writers, such as inspiration, process, and publication.
 
"On Becoming Filipino" Selected Writings of Carlos Bulosan:
"Now You Are Still and other Poems" by Carlos Bulosan:
This book is a collection of Bulosan's short stories, essays, poems ( some also appeared in "Now You Are..." ), and personal letters.  I read some of the stories and all the other writings.  In his works, there are a lot of anger and sadness because of the injustice he encountered and saw in life.  Nonetheless, his personal correspondences still showed a sense of hope and peace.

"Very Short Stories for Harried Readers" edited by Vicente Garcia Groyon
I love flash fiction ( and its playing with typography/form ), and this collection contains plenty of exemplary examples of [sudden] fiction ( an awesome bonus is that these writers are mostly Filipinos, thus they serve as fabulous role models ).

"A Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemingway:
I was inspired to read this after an author referred to it in an article about a Writing Center philosophy.  So far this book is a mix of Paris/France travelogue, and memoir of/ gossip about expat[s].  Hemingway talked about walking around Paris, chilling with his wife, writing stories et. al., partying with artists, such as Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Scott Fitzgerald, and more.

Excerpts from:

"Writing Centers in Context: Twelve Case Studies" edited by Joyce A. Kinkead et. al.:
So far, what I'm liking about this is the direct application of the generalities ( mentioned by Olson ) to different Writing Centers across the United States.  Each Writing Center's history and approach is interesting.  I'm learning about a potential Writing Center-to-be ( multiculturalism and writing as a political act ), and will soon understand the main approach (foundation) used by Utah State University's Writing Center in training USU Writing Center tutors ( c'est moi ).

"Writing Centers: Theory and Administration" edited by Gary A. Olson
So far, this is a good general introduction.  Sometimes I feel that this is so elementary; maybe I feel this way because I've been working in a Writing Center for 4 years and recently I've been reading tons of Writing Center articles for personal research ( so most of what the writers talked about sounded like a broken record ).  The articles focusing on Administrative responsibilities are enlightening.  Overall a good review.