Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Nikki Giovanni in Her Own Words and Hugh Gallagher's blog

1. Click on the link below to listen to an interview with Nikki Giovani, poet author of "Ego Tripping."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15775783

2. Click on the link below to view Hugh Gallagher's blog. LIsten to an audio of his "College Essay."
http://www.hughgallagher.net/neurofuzzy/essay.html


Leave a comment about what you learned in the Giovanni interview or in Gallagher's blog . State your name and period after the comment.

Deadline to leave the comment: August 29, 2011



45 comments:

  1. Both of them were just kind of bored of while writing when they wrote these

    corey weidig

    period 7

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  2. Hugh Gallagher had done everything but go to college and it seems like he wanted to really bad
    michael rohr
    period 7

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  3. Hugh Gallager's interview to me said,"I was young and I didnt think that this essay is neccessary so I am going to make up alot of things and submit it," and it ended up becoming the most forward email in the 90s. Nikki Giovanni's interview is her speaking about the tradgedy and saying there was nothing more we could do and also speaking about her writing and her passion for Tupac and what her tattoo symbolizes.





    Dynah Minix
    Period 1

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  4. Hugh Gallagher thought the college essay was foolish so he made up an essay about things that were not true about himself. Nikki Giovanni's tattoo has a deep meaning is like a symbol for tupac.

    Jennifer Lima
    period 7

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  5. Hugh gallager was a motivational writer along with nikki giovanni.I learned that the shooters name was seung-hui cho. they both changed lives of many people. that email was the most popular thing in hughs years.

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  6. Hugh Gallagher turned something that he thought was foolish and a waste of time into something big. Next time i am bored i will definitely give writing a unbelievable, unrealistic story a thought.

    Jannah Wright
    period 3

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  7. Hugh Gallagher was just a teenager trying to get into college, he made up and essay and it turned out to be so good that it spread through out the world. Nikki Giovanni was a women that went through a tragedie and she wrote a poem that also spread world wide; she also has a deep admiration for Tupac and it meant so much to her when he died that she got a tattoo saying "Thug Life."

    Avery Juarez
    Per.7

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  8. Hugh Gallagher was just a 17 years old guy trying to get into college and have some fun to the same time, he didn't know how good his essay was. He was just trying to express his thoughts, he even said he lied in some parts of his essay and Nikki Giovanni was an African American woman that has experience a big tragedie before, and she made a poem base on her life and also explains the meaning of her tattoo.

    Fatima Gutierrez
    7 Period (:

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  9. The essay was really funny in some ways, especially when you realized what the lies were and saw how he covered them up.Otherwise it was very entertaining.

    Maya Hunter
    7th period

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  10. Both of the writers were motivational speakers who hid their lies inside their poems about their life.

    Stephen Brown
    1st period

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  11. Hugh Gallagher made up lies on his college essay because it was amusing to him. It turned out to become very popular

    Patrick Wallace
    1st Period

    ReplyDelete
  12. I learned from Gallagher's blog that he didn't want to write just another boring college essay. He decided to make it funny with writing a bunch of lies. He wasn't aware of how big his essay would become and actually get in to the college he was applying for.

    Christina Valdez
    1st Period

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  13. Hugh Gallagher wanted to make his college essay more interesting by using a clever method of putting in truths and lies about himself.

    Robin Johnson
    7th Period

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  14. Hugh Gallagher wanted to make it seem like he was interesting and not just some plain person applying to college. On Giovani's interview I learned that she had experienced a horrible tragedy and she just wanted to tell others about herself but in a more interesting way.

    Mary Reardon
    1st period

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  15. Hugh Gallagher's essay was sent to many different colleges, won first place in a national writing contest, and was published in Harper's Magazine.

    Axel Perez
    1st Period

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  16. i thought the interview was interesting because of her dedication and love for the school she works for
    Ben Campbell
    3rd Period

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  17. Hugh Gallagher College Essay Has Lies That Makes The Whole Essay One of a kind, Which turns out to be Amazing and foolish. Nicky Giovanni Is an african American Women That Has A Tatto That says "Thug Life" she admires tupac because he relates To her tragedie.

    Cleidy Villatoro
    Period : 7

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hugh Gallager wanted to go to college so he wrote an essay about his life and it got published around the world
    Nikki Giovanni wrote a poem about her life and got a tattoo that symbolized tupac
    Both of the writers expressed their lies in a poem about their lives.

    Almendra Caceda
    7th period

    ReplyDelete
  19. Nikki Giovanni admired Tupac s much that she even has a tattoo saying thug life. She thought Tupac was a genius. Hugh Gallager thought writing an essay about what you have accomplished in your life as a teen was stupid so he decided to just have fun with it.

    Alex Tortolero
    7th period

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  20. I think hugh gallagher is a very good writer and even though some of the things he said were lies it still makes a good essay. Christopher villafuerte per 1

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  21. Nikii Giovanni inspires me with what she said that she rather be with the man and woman who are running than the whose chasing at. She also inspires many other people with her creative poems.

    Guadalupe Rincon
    3rd period

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  22. Nikki Gioanni wrote about a tragedie that happened with some people that she knew. She said that since she couldnt do anything about it or like even think about it, she just decided to write about that event. She also got a tattoo with the words "Thug Life" symbolizng Tupac and their relation on what has happened in their lifes.
    Hugh Galler wrote an interesting college essay which became a really big sucess, just because he was a bored kid that thought college essays were a dumb thing to do.

    Both of them insipe a lot of people in many defferent ways.

    Samantha Maldoando
    3rd Period

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  23. Nikki Giovanni knew the shooter in the crime scene and was once his teacher. She had some issues with his behavior in class but she said "you cant switch a person out of a class because u don't like them".
    Hugh Gallagher's essay got him into college and also won first prize in a contest. The essay was just frustrating him so he decided to have fun with the essay and make up some lies.
    Maisie Munoz
    1st Period

    ReplyDelete
  24. I like the way Nikki Giovanni can read her poem as it was all truths, and she is so proud of what she is.
    Hugh Gallagher's story was funny how he was bored and just started creating crazy lies for fun. It turned into a great thing.

    Natalie Jares 7th Period

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  25. Nikki Giovanni is a professor at Virgina Tech. She was a very known poet in the Black Power Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. She is a Tupac Shakur fan and even has tatoos of his sayings on her arm. She was devestaed of the massacre at Virginia Tech and even knew the shooter and some of the victims. Though she believed though this was a terrible devestation there could have not been any way to prevent it. These days she still is a professor at Virginia Tech and enjoys writing poerty.

    Hugh Gallagher was applying for colege in 1989. He was just shocked by the essay question since he was just a teenager and had done nothing by then. After a few hours of frustration, he started writing lies for his essay since he did not know what else to do and wanted to entertain himself. NYU did accept him due to his wonderful essay and was even sent to different colleges. The essay was so great that when the internet came along in 1990 it was passed around in emails everywhere and even John F. Kennedy Jr. wanted to meet him in Hugh's freshman year of college. His essay was sent in to a writing competion and one first place and even got published in book such as Urbane Legends. These days Hugh writes and even writes for Rolling Stone Magazine and his famous essay is still known today and is even used on dating sites. He says he has no problem with people using his essay to find love.
    Nirvana Solano
    7th period

    ReplyDelete
  26. I learned from Hugh Gallagher's blog that you can write a college essay in creative ways, even if it may seem absurd when you read it the first time through. Hugh Gallagher got a boring, old writing prompt and turned the outcome into something very interesting and unique. What I got from him, is to not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and to take risks any time you plan on writing a great piece of literature.
    Hanna Ibrahim
    3rd Period

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  27. Hugh Gallagher's essay taught me that you can write an exaggeration in a story, poem, essay or whatever you write and still have a hidden meaning or truth behind it. I've learned to to be more creative with my writing when it comes to essays and such things like that.

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  28. Nikki Giovanni is a poet who I had never heard of until I listened to this interview. She is a strong, wonderful woman who knows what she believes in and follows her heart even if it is not the popular path. Ms. Giovanni is a true leader who makes paths for others to follow. She admired Tupac Shakur and talks well about him. Ms. Giovanni is eloquent in her speech and down to earth at the same time. She is a very interesting and genuine person. Ms. Giovanni is also compassionate and empathetic and uses poetry to illustrate her thoughts.

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  29. Nikki Giovanni started working at Viginia Tech when she was 44 and has been working there for about 20 years. The student that went on the rampage was her former student and said she knew he was weird but said that society needs to learn with all types of people. She inspires me to do just that, and if we learn from all types of people they can teach us something in return.Nikki is strrong and independent and there arent many people like her. Hugh Gallangher wrote his essay in 1989 when he was 17 because he was frustrtaed that he couldnt come up with an answer to his essay. He decided to make up lies. It became the most forwarded email of the 1990's. This tecahes me that creativity pays off and its worth it to go outside of the box. Take a risk with what you do, whether it be projects and essays and people will notice you

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hugh Gallengher made it seem like he had a whole life story but turns out he hadn't gone to college
    Steven Grady
    period 7

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  31. Nikki Giovanni wrote poems to her mother and grandmother when she was little.Hugh Gallagher just wanted to have fun and made a bunch of lies to make his essay to get into college.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I think Nikki Giovanni was kinda in a rush when writing this poem. When Hugh Gallagher was just having fun when he got the college essay.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I think both of these were very talented but hugh's college essay was creative and well thought with humor while nikki's was poetic and hidden
    Hanna Teshale Period 1

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  34. I thought Hugh Gallagher's paragraph to college he wasn't caring about his punctuation as much as he cared about making the reader think and see what he was actually trying to say. Nikki Giovanni on the other hand cared about how her lines were put together as well as trying to make the reader think.
    Sydney Duran
    Period 1

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  35. i think Hugh Gallagher wanted to go to college so he just added so many lies in his essay and Nikki Giovanni inspires me she i caring and an awesome writer
    selam nicola
    3rd period

    ReplyDelete
  36. Nikki Giovanni is a professor at Virginia Tech, she is a poet who wrote about the Black Power Movement, she is a inspiring woman, who's inspiration also came from Tupac Shakur, which lead her to get a tattoo on her left arm saying, "Thug life" in her words, "I rather be with the man and woman who are running than the crowd whose chasing it."

    Astrid Varela
    3rd period.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Where are the others? Let your friends know they need to comment before 12 midnight so that their entries are in on time.

    Congratulations to those who made it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  38. I think it is sort of cool that Hugh Gallagher just made up lies about himself because he was bored and those things that he made up just made him get into the college he wanted. And so he doesn't really know what might have happened but he just did it for fun and it was lucky that someone found it!
    Chi Ngo, P.3

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hugh Gallagher's essay seemed more lively to me that Giovanni's.
    Hugh's essay caught my attention though. The essay kind of helped me
    realize that even when there is something that you don't want to do, you can
    always have fun with it, and that all you need to do is be creative. His essay
    is creative, and unique, and it pops out. I think it shows a bit of his personality,
    maybe being the type of person who likes to live his life not knowing what will
    happen next. Maybe he is the type of person who likes to tell jokes and make
    people laugh. I don't know what he really is like, but look where this essay got
    him. Into a great college, and with everybody reading this essay, setting
    examples.
    Joan Stainton
    Period 7

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hugh Gallagher wrote a lot of lies but it became really popular. Nikki giovanni's was more meanigful.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hugh Gallager had a good essay but there were many lies but it still became very popular. Nikki Giovanni didnt plan on writeing hers but it changed many peoples lifes.
    Natale Jones
    Period 1

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  42. I think its amazing how Hugh Gallagher wrote this essay to entertain himself and then overnight turned out to be a huge hit everywhere it was forward from email to email published. I bet he would of never thought that would happen to something he wrote out of boredom. He won first place in a contest and also got accepted to great colleges because of that and that is very inspirational.
    Iris Martinez
    3rd period

    ReplyDelete
  43. Nikki knew this guy and he was in virginia tech and she was teaching him and she was on the plane coming back from san francisco whend she got the news of him killing 32 people including himself and it was just tragedy and very emotional for Nikki to hear this stuff. I think its amazing that i get to know all the stuff that happened to Nikki and get to know her experience in different events shes been through, not as a poet.

    Alec Bernhardt
    1st period

    ReplyDelete