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Home , Adam Johnson (writer), Alan Hollinghurst, Alice McDermott, Alice Walker, Alison Lurie, American Pastoral

May 2020

Dear Student,

You are enrolled in Advanced Placement and Composition for the coming school year. Bowling Green High School has offered this course since 1983. I thought that I would tell you a little bit about the course and what will be expected of you. Please share this letter with your parents or guardians.

A.P. Literature and Composition is a year-long class that is taught on a college freshman level. This means that we will read college level texts—often from college anthologies—and we will deal with other materials generally taught in college. You should be advised that some of these texts are sophisticated and contain mature themes and/or advanced levels of difficulty. In this class we will concentrate on refining reading, writing, and critical analysis skills, as as personal reactions to literature. A.P. Literature is not a survey course or a history of literature course so instead of studying English and world literature chronologically, we will be studying a mix of classic and contemporary pieces of from all eras and from diverse cultures. This gives us an opportunity to develop more than a superficial understanding of literary works and their ideas.

Writing is at the heart of this A.P. course, so you will write often in journals, in both personal and researched essays, and in creative responses. You will need to revise your writing. I have found that even good students—like you—need to refine, mature, and improve their writing skills. You will have to work diligently at revising major essays. This process is challenging but necessary work for even professional .

The A.P. exam is a national, standardized test and will be given in May. It is a three-hour exam, which consists of one hour of objective questions that call for critical interpretation, and two hours of essay writing, which ask for clear responses to three questions. (You can see why good writing is an essential focus of the course.) The College Board scores the tests and provides online score reporting for students in July. Individual colleges and universities determine the number of credits awarded if students score well. High school grades and credits are determined by class work and achievement each nine weeks. The score for the national test has no bearing on your high school .

Our students generally do very well on the AP Literature exam. This year’s results will not available until July, but records from past years are available from the College Board. In addition, students have the opportunity to earn college credit from exceptional portfolios. For example, Miami University is one school that evaluates incoming freshman portfolios.

The AP test costs $94. While expensive, the cost is more than justified in terms of money and college time saved if the students score well. You do not need to pay for the exam until next May.

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Our class size for A.P. Literature is supposed to remain at no more than fifteen to be a seminar course. Usually, though, we accommodate a few more students per class. As a department, we do not like to dissuade students from taking the class; however, we do like to make sure that we have those who are interested in reading, in lively discussion, and in writing. We also like to ensure that those students taking the class are motivated and disciplined enough to handle the active participation and workload. Students’ past course evaluations have indicated that the workload for A.P. Literature was heavier than most of their other senior courses, even their honors courses. Count on spending one hour on A.P. Literature homework each night; sometimes there will be a little , and when large essays or projects are due, there will be more. I want parents and students to understand that this kind of course demands firm commitment and hard work. Please consider carefully if you can make this kind of commitment.

If so, welcome! Students enrolled in A.P. Literature need to do some summer reading. I have attached this year’s summer reading requirements. All of the choices are books of literary merit. These are books—classic or contemporary books—that critics and book lovers have deemed to be more than just entertainment. I want you to challenge yourself for this assignment. Also, do not choose that you have studied for another class. Also avoid collections since you cannot use it for the AP exam in May. Please see the attached guidelines to help you know how to take notes for your summer reading books.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at (419-378-1722) or email me ([email protected]).

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sarah Caserta

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Summer Reading Choices

1. Read How To Read Literature Like a Professor (HTRLLAP ) by Thomas C. Foster and glean from it what you can. Most of the literature that he discusses will be unfamiliar to you; that’s fine. If you want to read some of the stories, poems, novels referenced to in the book- go for it. If not, no problem. However, I want you to take notes for each chapter. A few lines or a bulleted list of interesting ideas will suffice. If you have questions, write those into your notes to prepare you for future discussions. Bring these notes with you on the first day of school to be collected for your first grade.

2. As you read The Things They Carried (TTTC) by Tim O’Brien have your HTRLLAP notes handy. I am asking you to take notes on TTTC that will directly address the ideas that Dr. Foster introduces in HTRLLAP. To prevent these notes from evolving into your first , I ask that you apply 3 of the chapters concepts and ideas from HTRLLAP noted below to TTTC.

SELECT 3 OF THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS TO APPLY HTRLLAP CONCEPTS:

 Introduction: How’d He Do That?

 Chapter 1—Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not)

 Chapter 11—More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence

 Chapter 12—Is That a Symbol?

 Chapter 15—Flights of Fancy

 Chapter 19—Geography Matters…

 Chapter 26—Is He Serious? And Other Ironies

So, for example, you will see symbols in O’ Brien’s novel TTTC. This may lead you to choose to look through chapter 12 of Foster’s book, refresh your memory about how to examine symbols, and then take notes about the various symbols in TTTC. You then will choose two more topics from HTRLLAP noted above and repeat the process. Please also bring the notes for both HTRLLAP and TTTC with you on the first day of school to be graded.

3. Finally, select an award winning novel from the award list. Choose one novel—a challenging, interesting one that you believe you will enjoy—from the literary award winners’ lists. Note: You will be writing several short and long essays about this award winning novel so make sure you choose carefully for both your interest and deep content.  Choose only fiction and avoid short story collections since you may use this novel for the AP test in May!

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Summer reading is not simply a means to inspire mental alertness during the summer months; it is rather the of our course and should be approached as such. The bulk of our study during the first semester will address the texts that you will read this summer, and because all great literature demands multiple readings, you will be expected to at least skim the texts again after school begins. You will be writing about these texts extensively during the first quarter.

NOTE: If you do not plan to complete the summer reading, you must drop this course and replace it with another English class to fulfill your 4 credit requirement for graduation.

For each book, you are to take notes that you will be using throughout the course, especially in the first quarter. Take notes for HTRLLAP and TTTC following directions noted earlier.

DIRECTIONS FOR TAKING AWARD WINNER NOTES: Divide the award winner into 10 almost equal sections. For each tenth of your award winner novel, be sure to stop and take notes about significant passages, list and explicate important quotes, and ask critical questions. Label each 10th with the pages covered (1ST 10th pgs. 3-34) and note 5-8 key quotes and ideas per 10th. Never put a quote down without adding your significant and insightful commentary. Bring the notes with you the first day of class. As you read, consider the nature and significance of each of the following elements of the novel:

Setting Plot Characterization Imagery Irony Tone Theme Allusions Framing Diction Pt. of View Juxtaposition Style Repetition Conflicts Motifs Flashbacks Intertextual connections Author Purposes Foreshadowing

Allow these questions to guide your reading and note taking for your award winning self selected novel: . What are the central purposes or themes of the texts? How are the specific circumstances of the characters related to the author's perceptions of the human condition? What philosophical stances does the author take upon the human condition? What is the 's motivation to compose this work? . What principles of literature guide and inform the craft of the writer? . What is the central conflict in the work? Is the conflict internal or external? How is the conflict developed? How does the conflict drive the plot of the work? How do the characters' traits influence the conflict? How is the conflict resolved? . Is the action of the novel primarily social or psychological? How does the nature of the action relate to other aspects of the novel? . What role do the secondary characters play in the development of the work's meaning? . In the case of novels, explain how the author presents the consciousness of the characters. How does the author use his or her narrative techniques to convey the novel's meaning? What are the author's attitudes towards the characters? . How does the author handle the element of time? . What motifs are relevant to development of the work's themes? . How is the beginning of the work significant? The end?

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------(Emails not sent by the due date will have you removed from this AP course and you will need to find another English course to fulfill your 4th credit of English.)

After you have read through this letter and the attached summer reading handouts, please email me at [email protected] by Fri., June 5th, if you decide to remain in A.P. Literature. This email confirmation will act as your signature indicating that you have committed yourself to a year’s course, paying for and taking the national A.P. Literature exam, and completing the summer reading.

If you choose not to commit to the course, please email me and your guidance counselor to change your schedule.

Thank you and I look forward to working with you! Mrs. Caserta

P.S. If you commit to the course with your confirmation email, join the Classroom code: y3tp2bo

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Book Choices:

PULITZER PRIZE www.pulitzer.org

The , named for Joseph Pulitzer, the very embodiment of American journalism, is awarded to an American citizen every spring by on the recommendation of The Pulitzer Prize Board. There are 21 categories, but the Book Award Annals presents only those 5 relating to books.

2020 2019 by 2018 Less by 2017 The by Colson Whitehead 2016 by 2015 All the Light We Cannot See by BGSU grad 2014 by ; 2013 The Orphan Master’s Son by ; 2012 NO AWARD 2011 A Visit From the Goon Squad by 2010 by 2009 Olive Kitterage by 2008 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 2007 The by Cormac McCarthy 2006 by Geraldine Brooks 2005 by 2004 by Edward P. Jones 2003 by Jeffery Eugenides 2002 by 2001 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and by 2000 by 1999 by 1998 by 1997 : The Tale of an American Dreamer by 1996 Independence Day by 1995 by 1994 by E. 1993 A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by 1992 by 1991 by 1990 The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by 1989 by 1988 by (note: cannot be chosen since read as a class text) 1987 Summons to Memphis by 1986 by Larry McMurty 1985 by 1984 by 1983 by 1982 by John Updike 1981 by 1980 The Executioner’s Song by 1979 The Stories of by John Cheever 1978 Elbow Room by James Alan McPherson 1977 NO AWARD 1976 Humboldt’s Gift by 1975 by 1974 NO AWARD 1973 The Optimist’s Daughter by 1972 by 1971 NO AWARD 1970 Collected Stories by 1969 by N. Scott Momaday 1968 The Confessions of Nat Turner by 1967 by 1966 Collected Stories by

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1965 by Shirley Anne Grau

THE PEN/ FAULKNER AWARD www.penfaulkner.org

The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is a national prize which honors the best published works of fiction by American citizens in a calendar year. Three judges, chosen annually by the directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, select five books from among the more than 300 works submitted, making this the largest peer-juried award in the country. The winning writer and four finalists are honored at a ceremony held in Washington at the Folger Shakespeare Library in May.

2020 Sea Monsters by Chloe Aridjis

2019 Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi

2018 Hernan Diaz In The Distance; Samantha Hunt The Dark Dark; Arch Obejas The Tower of the Antilles; Joan Silber Improvement; Sing, Unburied, Sing

2017 Imbolo Mbue Behold the Dreamers; Viet Dinh After Disasters; Louise Erdich LaRose; Garth Greenwell What Belongs to You; Sonil Yapa Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fists

2016 James Hannaham Delicious Foods; Julia Iromuanya Mr. and Mrs. Doctor; Viet Thanh Nguyen The Sympathizer; Elizabeth Tallent Mendocino Fire; Louis Alberto Urrea The Water Museum

2015 Atticus Lish Preparation for the Next Life; Jeffrey Renard Allan Song of the Shank; Jennifer Clement Prayers for the Stolen; Emily St. John Mandel Station Eleven; Jenny Offill Dept. of Speculation

2014 We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves; Daniel Alaron At Night We Walk in Cirlces; Percival Everett Percival Everett by Virgil Russell; Joan Silber Fools; Valerie Trueblood Search Party: Stories of Rescue

2013 Benjamin Alire Sáenz Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club; Amelia Gray Threats; Laird Hunt One Kind; T. Geronimo Johnson Hold It ‘Till It Hurts; Watergate

2012 Julie Otsuka The Buddha in the Attic; Lost Memory of Skin; Don DeLillo The Angel Esmerelda: Nine Stories; The Artist of Disappearance; Steven Millhauser We Others: New and Selected Stories

2011 Deborah Eisenberg The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg; Jennifer Egan A Visit from the Goon Squad; Lords of Misrule; Eric Puchner Model Home

2010 War Dances; Barbara Kingsolver The Lacuna; Lorraine Lopez Homicide Survivors Picnic; A Gate at the Stairs; Colson Whitehead

2009 Joseph O’Neill Netherland; Sarah Shun-lien Bynum Ms. Hempel Chronicles; Sarah Choi A Person of Interest; Richard Price Lush Life; Ron Rash Serena

2008 Kate Christensen The Great Man; Annie Dillard The Maytrees; David Leavitt The Indian Clerk; T.M. McNally The Gateway Stories; Ron Rash Chemistry and Other Stories

2007 Philip Roth ; Charles D’Ambrosio The Dead Fish Museum; Deborah Eisenberg Twilight of the Superhero; The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel; Edward P. Jones All Aunt Hagar’s Children

2006 Everyman by Philip Roth; The March E.L.Doctorow ; A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher; I Got Somebody in Staunton by William Henry Lewis; Last Night by James Salter; The Chrysanthemum Place by Bruce Wagner

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2005 War Trash by ; The Green Lantern by ; The Dew Breaker by ; Gilead by Marilynne Robinson; Prisoners of War by Steve Yarbrough

2004 The Early Stories by John Updike; Elroy Nights by Frederick Barthelme; Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by Z.Z.Packer; A Distant Shore by ; Old School by

2003 The Caprices by Sabina Murray; The City of Your Final Destination by Peter Cameron; Roscoe by William Kennedy; The Ecstatic by Victor LaValle; Little Casino by Gilbert Sorrentino

2002 by Ann Patchett; Sister Noon by Karen Joy Fowler; by ; The Hunters by Claire Messud; The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri

2001 by Philip Roth;The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon; Harry Gold by Millicent Dillon; The Name of the World by ; Off Keck Road by Mona Simpson

2000 by Ha Jin 1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham 1998 The Comes Home by Rafi Zabor 1997 Women in Their Beds by Gina Berriault 1996 Independence Day by Richard Ford 1995 Falling on Cedars by David Guterson 1994 by Philip Roth 1993 by E. Annie Proulx 1992 Mao II by Don DeLillo 1991 Fire by 1990 Billy Bathgate by E.L. Doctorow 1989 Dusk and Other Stories by James Salter 1988 World’s End by T.C. Boyle 1987 Soldiers in Hiding by Richard Wiley 1986 The Old Forest and Other Stories by Peter Taylor

THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS www.nationalbook.org

In the spring of 1989, with The National Book Awards extant for nearly 40 years, the Board of Directors determined that the moment had come to broaden the scope of the organization beyond the single focus of literary recognition. Acknowledging the signal importance of reading and writing to citizens of all ages and backgrounds -- and the profound gap between the literary community and readers living in underserved communities -- our Trustees established The National Book Foundation to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing .

2019 by 2018 by 2017 Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward 2016 The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead 2015 by Adam Johnson 2014 Redeployment by 2013 by James McBride 2012 by 2011 by Jesmyn Ward 2010 by Jaimy Gordon 2009 by Colum McCann 2008 by Peter Mattiessen 2007 by Denis Johnson 2006 by Richard Powers 2005 Europe Central by William T. Vollmann 2004 The News from by 2003 The Great Fire by 2002 by 2001 The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen 1999 Waiting by Ha Jin 1998 by Alice McDermott 1997 by 1996 Ship Fever by 1995 Sabbath’s Theater by Philip Roth 1994 by 1993 The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx 1992 All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy 1991 Mating by 1990 by Charles Johnson 1989 by

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THE MAN www.manbookerprize.com

The Man Booker Prize was founded in 1969 by Booker McConnell, a multinational conglomerate company. Administered by Book Trust in the , this prestigious award is given to the best full-length novel written in English by a citizen of the U.K., the Commonwealth, Eire, Pakistan, or .

2019 by and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo 2018 by 2017 by 2016 2015 A Brief History of Seven Killings 2014 The Narrow Road to the Deep North by 2013 by 2012 by 2011 by 2010 by 2009 by Hilary Mantel 2008 The White Tiger by 2007 The Gathering by 2006 The Inheritance by 2005 by 2004 by 2003 by DBC Pierre 2002 by 2001 True History of Kelly Gang by 2000 by Margaret Atwood 1999 by J.M. Coetzee 1998 by Ian McEwan 1997 by 1996 by 1995 by 1994 How Late It Was, How Late by 1993 Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha by 1992 by 1991 by 1990 by A.S. Byatt 1989 by 1988 by Peter Carey 1987 by 1986 by 1985 by 1984 by 1983 Life and Times of Michael K. by J.M. Coetzee 1982 Schindler’s List by 1981 Midnight’s Children by 1980 Rites of Passage by 1979 by 1978 The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdock! 1977 Staying One by 1976 by 1975 by 1974 The Conversationalist by Natalie Gordimer; by Stanley Middleton-COWINNER! 1973 by J.G. Farrell 1972 G by 1971 by V.S. Naipaul 1970 by Bernice Rubens

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NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS www.bookcritics.org The National Book Critics Circle consists of more than 700 book reviewers. Since its founding in 1974, the NBCC’s centerpiece has been annual awards for the best book in five categories; fiction, general nonfiction, biography/ autobiography, , and criticism. In addition, each year the NBCC awards the Ivan Sandrof Award for Contribution to American Arts and Letters and salutes one member of the Circle with the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing.

2019 Everything Inside by Edwidge Dandicat 2018 Milkman by Anna Burns 2017 Improvement by Joan Silber 2016 LaRose by Louise Erdich 2015 The Sellout by Paul Beatty 2014 by Marilynne Robinson 2013 Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2012 Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain 2011 Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman 2010 A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 2009 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 2008 2666 by Roberto Bolano 2007 The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 2006 by Kiran Dasai 2005 The March by E.L. Doctorow 2004 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 2003 The Known World by Edward P. Jones 2002 by Ian McEwan 2001 Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald 2000 Being Dead by 1999 Motherless by 1998 The Love of a Good Woman by 1997 The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald 1996 Women in Their Beds by Gina Berriault 1995 Mrs. Ted Bliss by Stanley Elkin 1994 The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields 1993 A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines 1992 All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy 1991 A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley 1990 Rabbit at Rest by John Updike 1989 Billy Bathgate by E.L. Doctorow 1988 The Middleman and Other Stories by Bharah Mukherjee 1987 by Philip Roth 1986 by Peter Taylor 1985 The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler 1984 Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich 1983 Iron Weed by William Kennedy 1982 George Mills by Stanley Elkin 1981 The Rabbit is Rich by John Updike 1980 The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard 1979 The Tear of the French by Thomas Flanagan 1978 The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever 1977 Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison 1976 October Light by John Gardner 1975 Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

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