Sunday brunch, conversation, and graphic novels

Rainy this morning, but I stepped out of the apartment to meet Irene for brunch at Cafe Zola. We had crepes and then coffee at Sweetwater Cafe across the street. With a window view of the grey sky and large low clouds, we discussed teaching and books. I told her how I was invited to do the introduction for Don Lee's reading (major pressure again), and she told me about the English 124 class, What Is Literature, that she'll be teaching this semester. The subtitle of her course is "Maps To Anywhere," and it deals with images, perceptions of beauty, travel, and cultures. I managed to give her some suggestions since most of her material is familiar to me. The material is so familiar that I wish I were taking her class. Here are some of the books and movies she's including in the syllabus:

- God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
- The Matisse Stories by A.S. Byatt
- American Beauty
- Amelie

Graphic novels and movies? Persepolis and Amelie? If I were a freshman, I would be first to sign up. I told Irene about the Michael Sowa paintings hanging on Amelie's bedroom walls, and said they'd be interesting to discuss in the classroom.

At Shaman Drum, the local independent bookstore, I picked up books for my travel writing course, and inspected the books ordered for my own course. After that, I wandered around looking at books for other courses - one of my favorite activities. Many interesting titles and I had to stop myself from buying books for a course I'm not enrolled for. One of the most compelling courses - Graphic Narrative. Titles include Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth by Chris Ware; Maus I and II; Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns; Edward Gorey's Amphigorey. Pity I've maxed out the course load this semester, and I'm maxed out of semesters anyway. The reading list on the course website is one of the best I've seen.