The Wealth of Reality: An Ecology of Composition by Margaret A. Syverson PART I
e·col·o·gy 
[i-kol-uh-jee] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
| 1. | the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms. |
| 2. | Also called human ecology. the branch of sociology concerned with the spacing and interdependence of people and institutions. |
Throughout our Rowan University graduate course Writing for Electronic Communities, students consistently question the writing of books on topics that seem otherwise ‘obvious.’ Maybe we know too much. Maybe we think we know more than we do. Maybe we only know that which our environments provide us with and everything beyond is out of our grasps.
For tonight’s class, Dr. Bill Wolff assigned chapters 1-3:
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Introduction: What is an Ecology of Composition
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Thinking with the Things As They Exist: Ecology of a Poem
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“Next Time We’re Not Giving Steve Our Essay to Read”: Ecology of Writers
The introduction was very meaty, elaborating on the environment surrounding a writer, otherwise referred to in this book and on this blog as the ecology. Chapter 2 was my favorite of the three, as it used one example throughout, a poet named Charles Reznikoff, who considered himself a loner yet did not esape community or ecology of poetry. This understanding yields that large or small, the ecology exists as long as any single person presents others with what s/he is thinking. Chapter 3 was equally enlightening and called to mind the Learning Record, an ongoing assignment we have for this class. In this chapter, readers are students, ushered through the collaborative aspect of the interaction of ecology, and then react to this interaction.
I look forward to reading the next three chapters. I have a feeling this will be a keeper on my list of three books for my Review Essay.
