 |
Word Rogues |
 |
|
|
On English and Writing: Leon Lanzbom |
|
 email: lanzbom@yahoo.com Who Are We? Words -- so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become  in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. --Nathaniel Hawthorne Growing up at the Jersey Shore, my favorite memory was sitting in the shore break with my friends. We'd move up as close to the edge of the continent as possible and play a game called "Let Go." The idea: relax our bodies and let the water take us wherever it wanted to go. We might end up thirty feet down the beach, or stranded like seals in a pile of shells, but we had to remain as flexible as possible until the sea finished it's sinister mission with us. Years later, I would play "Let Go" again, but not in the shorebreak. I ran a huge chiropractic practice on Cape Cod, and after fifteen years decided to "Let Go" and let the world take me where it wanted. Against the advice of my accountant, I sold my practice and moved to San Diego. I broke out my old surfboards and got myself back into the ocean. I'd sit out in the line-up on my Skip Frye, letting the tide take me where it wanted to go, contemplating if I should play it safe and open another office or start over with what I truly loved, writing and literature. Always one to chose heart over bank account, I "let go" again and chose writing and literature. I went back to school, starting at San Diego Mesa College, and moving on to a BA in American literature, an MA in children's literature, and an MFA in poetry. Along the way, I observed how my most dedicated professor taught. What made them different? I noticed that the best were able to take even the most boring subjects and offer them in a way that was uniquely theirs--same subject, same words, different retelling. So, here I am, lecturing in many of the same classrooms in which I was taught, attempting to bring grammar, writing, poetry, and literature to life, trying to retell the same story a thousand other professors have told before, trying to make every class "my first class." Whether you're a student, an aspiring writer, or even a published writer, welcome to Word Rogues. I hope that you have an unquenchable thirst for ther music of communication--spoken, written, and visualized, and I hope this site helps you find your way through the common problems of the written word. Take a look around. You'll find several descent resources on writing, grammar, and critical thinking. You may even want to peak in on some of my live English classes, running this very moment. But most of all, don't let it scare you. Let go. --Leon Lanzbom ______________________ Word n. [Old English. Indo-European Roots shared by Latin verbum.] 1. A meaningful sound or a combination of sounds that communicates a meaning and may consist of a single or combination of morphemes. Rogue n. [Origin unknown] 1. One who is playfully mischievous; a scamp. ________________________ For my students: You will find here aids for writing, your syllabus, and other interesting tidbits to help you through your semester. This site--always a work in progress--changes daily, so bookmark this page, return soon, and check it out, get playfully mischievous. If you are not a student, please feel free to check out our grammar and writing sections. Why Are We Here?  This site, built and maintained by me, Leon Lanzbom, offers tips on the most troublesome aspects of writing, English, and grammar and contains active community college English classes. You will also find here, a huge list of usable links to other writing and grammar sites. I'm always adding and subtracting here, but most students find them very helpful, particularly with MLA protocol.I get letters every week from instructors from Japan to New Jersey, asking if they might download a syllabus or rubric or final paper assignment. My answer is always yes. Please, me casa et su casa; take what you need. Everything on this site is yours, whether you are student or a professor. I'll even share with math departments as long as you guys stay on your side of campus. I find that students respond well to dynamics. So, I've tried here to make even the most boring subjects come to life. I don't want students to just understand concepts, I want them to fall in love with them. I want them to find the beauty in words and their origins. I want them to understand that a sentence is a fragile things and whole essays can be lifted to new heights with the right sentence in the right place. I want my students to take chances, even if I have to hand back their papers and call it a work in progress. In every one of my classes I expect all my students to disregard the negatives of the past and start from scratch and believe anything is possible, especially good writing. |
|
| A Few Cool Places and Sites | ||
|
||
| email etc | ||
|
 
the dictionary is in the devil 
Last words Don't be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. --Henry David Thoreau |
|
| Cool Sites | ||
|
   
    
   
|
|
| Word Rogues | ||
|
 All information on this site is for educational use only and qualifies as fair use of the material under United States Copyright law. The images and information included in this entire site is claimed as fair use because:
|
|
|
|
|
| © lanzbomicci designs |
|