Poets in Space

Dear Daniel Borzutzky,

First of all, how are you? I hope things are easy and comfortable. So here's the scoop: I have a few questions I would like to ask you. There are a few things that I'm curious about, and I would like your opinion. I mentioned something about myself on the first day of our ENG 100 class. I let everyone know that I'm not a big reader. I'd sooner go see a movie than pick up a book. And I don't enjoy writing papers. I find satisfaction in finishing them. But the idea of working on a paper is just stressful. Should I be concerned about this if I'm going to be an English teacher? I don't know anyone who enjoys papers. Did you like them when you were in college? I just wanted to know if you think I might be in trouble. In other words, do you think an English student should LOVE reading and writing? Or is an appreciation good enough?

Do you ever think about "nothingness?" That might seem like a weird thing to ask, but I was thinking a lot about that today. Let's say there is no afterlife. When you die, that's it. You're gone. There is no YOU. So what happens when you die? How can there not be a 'you.' What do you become? Where do you go? You wouldn't know, because YOU'RE NOT THERE! If you think about this for a second, you get this weird feeling in your head. It almost feels like jumping into ice cold water and then getting out really fast. Have you thought about that?

When you read, do you actively take notes? That's what they always tell you to do. Do you think you can still read something, comprehend it, and analyze it without taking notes in the margins as you read? I hope you say yes. But I doubt it.

We're starting to get into "how we read," and I wanted to ask a simple question. How do you read? Do you research a book before you read it? Do you have a dictionary open so you can look up words you don't understand? Do you make sure you know about the author first -- to make sure he/she is not bias or corrupted? What goes into it all? Or maybe you just pick up a book and read.

When I read, I just start reading and taking notes. I sometimes look up words. If I don't get something, I usually just put a question mark next to it and move on. I don't spend a lot of time re-reading and dissecting. I just skip it and move on. You know what I catch myself doing a lot? I look to see how many more pages I have to read. I do it constantly. It's because I can't wait to be done with it. Do you see any problems with how I read or any pointers you can give? Or do you think I'm good to go?

Have there been any poets to go up into space? I think that would be incredible -- to see planet earth and then write about how you felt and what you saw (physically and figuratively). That would be amazing, don't you think? Let me know if there have been any poets who have done that.

All right. That's all I've got. Enjoy your day and go play some Frisbee -- or go see a movie -- or write poems.

~Andrew Terleckyj