gunk's New Writeupshttp://everything2.com/?node=New%20Writeups%20Atom%20Feed&foruser=gunk2022-05-05T04:01:15ZThe Memory of Rain (idea)http://m.everything2.com/user/gunk/writeups/The+Memory+of+Raingunkhttp://m.everything2.com/user/gunk2022-05-05T04:01:15Z2022-05-05T04:01:15Z<p>In the <a href="/title/heat">heat</a> of summer, a <a href="/title/thunderstorm">thunderstorm</a> is unforgettable. Short lived, but significant. It holds you under its clouds, blocking out the unmoving sun. Your <a href="/title/tears">tears</a> washed away by the passion of the storm. A metallic tang of the <a href="/title/electricity">electricity</a> in the air surrounds you. The rain, soft and all consuming. Memory of the heat quickly escapes you, <a href="/title/lost+in+the+whirlwind">lost in the whirlwind</a>. Forgotten. Until the last lightning strikes. And the last raindrop falls from a crying sky.</p>
<p>Suddenly, it's as if the <a href="/title/storm">storm</a> never existed. That same dead sun hangs in the sky above you once again, accompanied by the overwhelming heat. It's all the same as it once was, but <a href="/title/worse">worse</a>. The heat is <a href="/title/hotter">hotter</a>. The sun, even more piercing. The pain, worse than imaginable. Worse because now you know how <a href="/title/absolutely+amazing">absolutely amazing</a> life could be. Life in the storm. And we ask ourselves, was it worth it? Were all the <a href="/title/screaming+winds">screaming winds</a> worth it, when all we have left is an <a href="/title/echo">echo</a>? Was it worth it just to suffer? They say<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…A Small Place (review)http://m.everything2.com/user/gunk/writeups/A+Small+Placegunkhttp://m.everything2.com/user/gunk2022-05-05T02:24:11Z2022-05-05T02:24:11Z<p>There is no doubt that <a href="/title/Jamaica+Kincaid">Jamaica Kincaid</a> has strong opinions. It is what makes her work attractive. “<a href="/title/A+Small+Space">A Small Space</a>” addresses the almost too-close-to-home repulsive nature of the tourist. It takes a few lines to realize but the intended audience (mainly white Americans and Europeans) is being criticized for their clueless, selfish nature. </p>
<p>Kincaid goes through a travel log to <a href="/title/Antigua">Antigua</a>, her homeland, from the perspective of <a href="/title/you">you</a>, the tourist, displaying her distaste for you through not-so-subtle contrasting phrases. For example, “<a href="/title/You">You</a> wonder why a <a href="/title/Prime+Minister">Prime Minister</a> would want an airport named after him--why not a school… you have not yet seen a school in Antigua.” There are several more examples of this same comparison throughout the writing. Kincaid tells the tourist what they are seeing from their perspective, how beautiful Antigua is, how it compares to their homes. Then you read lines alluding to what the life of a native is here. The best way to describe it is that reading this brings you<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…