Week 3 Journal

How are the people of the Shenandoah National Park writers? Or not writers? Who counts as being a writer? What does it mean to be a writer?

Depending on what your definition of a writer is or does determines if the people of the Shenandoah National Park are writers or not. I personally define a writer as anyone who writes for a purpose. That purpose can be personal, business or public; the content of the writing does not necessarily have to be grammatically correct or even structured in a traditional way. Using this definition I would say that the people of the Shenandoah National Park are writers. They are writing for a purpose and are using what literary knowledge they have to communicate to others for a personal business purpose. Though many of them are not formally educated and lack the commonly acceptable writing style they still are able to communicate their intention to the recipient of the letter. The letters all have motivation to behind the writing of them and an intended audience for the writing.

            To me anyone who writes with intent to have it read by an audience even if that audience is just themselves in the future or one specific person. To be a writer means that you write with intent and purpose and a motivation. When you write you are expressing something that you are concerned about and care about in some way.

WEEK THREE: 1937 Shenandoah National Park

   The people of the Shenandoah National Park are indeed writers because they have written letters. Regardless of the poor grammar, these people have produced 'print text.' I had a hard time understanding some of the letters because the grammar was so horrible, such as Mrs. WA Nicholson's from February 5, 1937, but the important thing is that the writer comprehends what they wrote. Although these letters were never appreciated by the park officials, they were not overshadowed. Each letter contains elements of emotion such as fear, worry, and frustration. These expressions make each letter powerful in its own way.
   I agree with Kacey in that the writings of the Shenandoah National Park residents do not have to be published in order to consider them writers. They wrote it. Therefore, they are writers. It is quite simple.  Clearly, the majority of them were never taught the 'proper' way to write, however, they still got their message across. This in itself shows that anyone can still be a writer. Kindergarteners may not be able to spell every word correctly but they still write cards to their parents. This makes them writers as well.  Amanda said "Writing is a form of expression…" and that was evident in these letters. The residents of the National Park were greatly disturbed and reacted by writing letters. It seems as if we all have a similar understanding of what it means to be a writer, who is considered a writer, etc. After all, writing these entries makes us all writers.

Week 3 Journal

The people of Shenandoah National Park can be considered writers simply because they are participating in the act of writing. Their letters to the park officials, in which many are aiming to get something from the officials in order to enhance their standard of living, allow them to be put in in the position of the “writer”. Although I don’t necessarily agree with this, they could NOT be considered writers, simply due to the fact that they are not licensed/professional writers that have their works sent out to a publisher and distributed amongst the masses.  I would say that the question “Who counts as being a writer? What does it mean to be a writer?” is essentially asking the same thing. In my opinion, a writer is anyone who participates in the act of writing. It is very broad, ranging from a person writing themselves a reminder note, to J.K. Rowling writing another edition to the Harry Potter series. Although one is on an immensely larger scale than the other, they can both be considered writing. 

week three

The letters written to the officials of the Shanandoah national park is a form of writing. It may not be formal or published, but it is still a form of writing making the authors "writers". The letters were pleas of help from the occupants that were never answered. The letters had feelings and emotions in them, making them powerful. The letters may have been neglected, but that doesn't make them invisible. The were written words in forms of sentences that expressed feeling which, in my eyes, makes them writers.  There was obvious lack of knowledge of proper grammar and vocabulary, but that doesn't mean they couldn't express themselves any less. There was a profound powerful expressions of anger within the letters that were clearly evident. To me, they were writers and should be recognized as so.

Week 3 Journal

The people of the Shenandoah National Park wrote to the park officials in order to try and get them to fix things to make their home a better place. This makes them writers because of their use of paper and pen to freely express their thoughts and desires to the people in charge of running the park. The people working at the Shenandoah National Park were not writers:  they failed to write back to the residents, and based on the multiple letters of complaints the officials also failed to take action upon the residents’ pleas.

Writers are anyone with the ability to express themselves through words written or typed, and the art of writing is a passion for many. Some writers write because it helps relieve stress and allows us to express ourselves without having to speak. Writers can be just about anybody; even those who do not know how to use proper grammar and spelling can be considered writers. As long as a person takes advantage of their freedom of self-expression by either typing or writing whatever they want to write, they are considered a writer.

Some writers only write information that they find when they are researching something. Scientists and experimental chefs, for example, are writers because they bring new information into the lives of readers. Scientists present to us things that are in or can be created from nature. Experimental chefs create new recipes by trying to make a new flavor when they combine different ingredients, writing down the measurements of each ingredient in the recipe as they add to the dish.

Week 3 Journal

It is obviously evident that the people of the Shenandoah National Park are upset with how they are treated by the park officials and do not approve of their assumptions towards them, the residents. A vast majority of the residents chose to write their own individual letters which support their views on said assumptions. The letters also help explain why certain actions were carried out. For instance, one resident decided to take down the windows of his own home because he felt that vandalism was inevitable. aside from the personal perspectives and explanations inscribed on each of these letters, it is clear that most of the residents of Shenandoah National Park lack proper knowledge in grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure. Although many of the letters can be fairly difficulty to understand at times, the majority still manages to get their main point across to the park officials. Because of this, I believe that the people of Shenandoah National Park are indeed writers.

From a personal perspective, as long as you manage to get your message across to the reader regarding any slight grammar or vocabulary-related errors, you would still count as being considered a writer. The errors, however, may be so plentiful and severe to a point where the overall message that is trying to be sent may not be comprehended at all, but because the people of Shenandoah National Park made an attempt to convey their personal views on the issues made by the park officials through means of writing, I personally believe that this act alone is what it really means to be considered a writer.

Week 3 Journal

The people of Shenandoah National Park should be considered writers, in my opinion because they simply wrote the physical letters. I believe that a writer is anyone who writes, and that there are no requirements to become a writer. Anyone, at any age that has the ability to write can be a writer. The people living in the national park had little to no formal education but yet still wrote to the park rangers to express their feelings of frustration and concern.  Even with severe grammatical errors the letters were written to convey a message and therefore makes the people of Shenandoah National Park writers.

Being a writer can have several meanings, depending on how it is being discussed. For example, in the professional world, a writer would be someone whose work is published or writes to be published. In the everyday and general sense of the meaning a writer is just someone that has taken time to write. The writing does not even have to have meaning although much of what we see typically does. A lot of the everyday writing we thing of is some form of communication. In 1937 we see these examples of letters, and today we can see examples of emails or text messages. In all examples, the one that wrote the message should be considered a writer.