Group #4 - Bethanie, John, McKenzie, Rebecca

            While reading the our last three assignments, we have found that there are many opinions about what “everyday writing’ is. The three readings all have similar ideas as well as different ones.

            Between Lillis and Barton and Papen, they all agree that writing makes up connections in societies. They agree that writing is practiced by everyone in a community (except the illiterate) to form networks and a means of communication. The both use postcards, and their prevalence in society, as an example. Lillis, Lyon, Barton, and Papen all agree that writing travels through time. Even as technology has advanced, we have not stopped using writing as a form of communication.

            While the authors have similar ideas of what makes up everyday writing, they all have different definitions of what everyday writing actually is. Lillis believes that everyday writing can come in nearly any form. This includes doctors’ notes, love letters, school notes, and legal documents. Lillis and Lyons also disagree on the importance of writing in today’s society. Lyons says that writing was more valued in earlier times, as it is not valued much anymore. Lillis says that the smallest form of writing, such as a text message, is still important to the study of everyday writing. It is also interesting how Lillis is the only one to have an interest in modern forms of communication, such as emails and text messages. Lyons, Burton, and Papen all focus on more outdated forms of writing, such as postcards and letters.

GROUP 1 caity, hunter, brighton and holly

People who study everyday writing all seem to have several different viewpoints on what everyday writing is and what the true definition happens to be or what it even consists of. Famous writers and researchers, Lillis, Lyons, and Gillen and Hall tackled this task of what everyday writing is by creating their own definitions and how to classify everyday writing in literature and in life. These definitions have some similarities, but also distinct differences that include and exclude certain types and characteristics of writing.  These differences are particularly apparent when they assert who everyday writing most effects and how and who it has the most significant impact on in societal terms.

            To start, some similarities between all the theorists include the fact that Gillen and Hall identify everyday writing with the revolutionary technology of post cards, the efficiency and size accompanied with the postal service made them an essential key in the evolution of everyday writing. This ordinary and efficient idea started to spread everyday writing. Lillis also believed that YouTube and blog posts can be classified as everyday writing and a revolutionary way to create everyday writing by means of technology. She believes that everyday writing, for the blandness and ordinary work that it is, has been more efficient and created more work for research and in-depth study of what everyday writing is through technology. They both agree that technology spreads the idea and implication of everyday writing, for Gillen it was the post card and for Lillis it was the internet and social media. Lillis and Lyons both agree that we can interpret the world through studying everyday writing and what it means. They both agree that everyday writing is a form to look at life and its components, whether it is post cards or love notes.

            With all of the similarities, there are still apparent differences between the three theories. For example, Lillis and Lyons differ on who everyday writing is available too, for example, Lillis says in a socio-cultural way that writing is different per culture, in western society it is looked at as a needed degree in order to “write” and everything that is not based on hard writing with a degree is everyday writing. While Lyons says that everyday writing should be seen as everything with different aspects and domains.  Lyons states that everyday writing is life and its domains do overlap; for example, it keeps a household together, families, businesses, it is all of society and it is all everyday writing. Lillis states that everyday writing is just casual and ordinary and can be studied from there, while Lyons states that everything essentially is everyday writing. 

            In conclusion, each of these texts has ideas of what everyday writing is. Lillis emphasizes the omnipresence of everyday writing and how it can give us insight into a singular writer’s point of view and life, while Lyon focuses on the importance of everyday writing and what it means for society as a whole. Lastly we have Gillen and Hall who give us the origin and evolution of the postcard and the prodigious effect that it had on the Victorian Era in Britain. As a group, we feel that Lillis has the best theory for the concept of everyday writing, but all theorists bring an equally supported idea of what everyday writing is.

Group #3 Marin Haffner, Isabella Gibson, Kristina Goodman, Antonella Furrucho

     After reviewing all three perspectives there are significant differences and similarities between them. Lillis describes writing as an everyday practice. She does not go into detail on specific types. However she does categorize different forms but keeps them general as everyday writing. She divides everyday writing into two forms, those driven by peoples everyday needs and interests and then those driven by institutional demands and regulations. For example, legal and religious texts. Lillis uses the words like ordinary, ubiquitous, and invisible to depict everyday writing. She explains that everyday writing is so normal in society that people don't even acknowledge it. Lillis then describes that "real writing" provides insight to people lives and has easy accessibility.

     Lyons explains everyday writing and its history. He depicts writing as a lost art but before it served a purpose. He defines writing as once an instrument of oppression and a cultural practice confined to social and political elites. Now in present day people underestimate writings importance. Lyons notes the origin of writing and influential moments in history that affected writing such as, the mass emigration across oceans and the first world war. 

    The third perspective we encountered is from the book The Anthropology of Writing. In chapter 9 it specifically confronts postcards. Explaining that postcards provide an easy outlet for people to write as little or as much as they want. Postcards are utilized to send immediate messages to people. Texting has replaced the essence of postcards today. Postcards were an outlet for ordinary people to talk about everyday occurrences. 

    All three perspectives depict everyday writing as limitless. Any classification of people can write. It has a wide range of use wether it may be of high importance, such as a government regulation, or as simple as a postcard saying hello. They all confront the fact that life could not carry on without some sort of writing. Everyday writing is used subconciously without one even realizing its vast importance and influence on life.

    The differences between all three perspectives are how they categorize an label everyday writing. Lillis claims everyday writing as any form whether it is driven by an everyday need or by an institutional demand. Lyons defines writing as having more importance by holding it to a higher standard and claiming that we underestimate the value of everyday writing. Gillen and Hall talk about postcards and their simplicity. They highlight this aspect through the use of postcards and how they portray random thoughts and informal messages. All in all, these writers discuss everyday writing through different opinions and stand points while still having some similarities.

Lillis, Lyons, Gillen & Hall

     All theorists believe that everyday writing is more personal and handwritten. Each believe post cards are involved in everyday writing. All agreed that one kept up with postcards for banter and updates. All agreed that letters and handwritten objects were everyday writing. Writing was important for communication.

Lillis believes that everyday writing includes legislative documents, religion, and tax forms. We don't agree with her because documents and tax forms are mass produced and formal. Religion is not everyday writing since it is another category in itself.

Lyons thought postcards were the main form of everyday writing and how everyday writing was the main form of communication with the soldiers in WWI, and how for jobs, you needed good penmanship.

Gillen & Hall agrees with Lyons in how everyday writing was the main form of communication. But they believed that women were the main writers.

Group 5:
Erin, Liz, Sarah, Nick, Laura

GROUP 2 Collaborative Journal 1

Katherine Kurtis, Joseph Ferrin, Jessica Curatolo, Robert Castle

ENC 1145

1.27.15

Collaborative Journal 1

            All three of these texts that try to define everyday writing, agree that it is mundane, boring, and really common. Because of this they view everyday writing as able to be discarded. It doesn’t necessarily need to be ignored, but it also isn’t so special that it has to be kept and remembered forever. They try to show how everyday writing is boring through the mediums of writing that they think should be the definition of everyday writing. Lyons uses “home writing” as his definition, which includes letters, grocery lists, postcards, and he discusses how it has a historical connection. Lillis has a more all-encompassing definition of everyday writing, but he adds government papers, medical documents, resumes, and work related writing. Gilan uses postcards to get his point across.

I think they would all agree that all types of everyday writing serve different social functions. This is shown in the wide range of writings they think are everyday writing. Letters, and postcards help us to communicate. Lists help us remember. Work related writings allow us to delegate and manage. Government papers allow us to have a structure, and medical documents give explain our issues so that they can be understood.

As a group we disagreed with Lillis the most. We agree with all of them that everyday writing is mundane, but we disagree with Lillis’s definition. We thought government documents and medical documents were interesting and not boring, as well as too formal to be considered everyday. As a group we came up with the definition of everyday writing as “home writing”. Meaning things that come out of the house, or in other words, writing that is done without having to think and structure too much and is done comfortably. We don’t mean to say that it has to come literally from the house. A letter written at a coffee bar is just as much “home writing” to us as is a letter that was written lying on your stomach on your bed.

These discrepancies in the definition of everyday writing are the differences between the three writers. Another difference is that Lillis uses charts and graphs to back up his argument, and Gilan uses postcards from Europe, which gives way to some cultural differences from America in the everyday writing. They are all similar in their ranking of everyday writing on an excitement scale from 1-10. Which would be about a 2.

Postcard -- Appalachian Scenic Highway; Asheville

I was drawn to this particular postcard because of the location of the photo. This card evokes certain memories for me because when I was a child, my family and I took countless road trips through the Blue Ridge Mountains all throughout the state of North Carolina. I found it very interesting that this card is from the city of Asheville, where i have visited multiple times -- this gives me a personal connection to the Postcard. I vividly remember the winding roads with extraordinary views of mountain ranges in the distance. A picture like this, makes it easy to remember the smells and the feeling of the air in those mountains. The postcard also intrigued me because I was curious as to why those people were stopped outside of there vehicle. Maybe their car broke down? Possibly they stopped to get a view of the scenery? The possibilities are endless. I love being able to look at a postcard like this, and imagine all of the different things that could be happening in the picture. If only there was writing on the opposite side, to maybe provide some insight to the mystery of this blank postcard.

Card Assignment-The Pond Garden

       The postcard I chose was called "The Pond Garden" from 1968.  As you can imagine,the postcard depicted a beautiful view of a garden within a palace situated in England. The fact that the postcard was left blank secretly killed me on the inside.  The first thing that came to mind was how such a beautiful postcard went to waste, as it  was clearly left behind unwritten and without a stamp. Apart from its beautiful scenery and questionable mystery, the postcard held certain traits that drew me in.  First, the scenery in itself resembled  certain scenes from the film "Alice in Wonderland". The "Pond Garden" reminded me of the palace where a character called, the "Queen of Hearts" lived.  The structure of the garden including its vivid flowers, elegant architecture, and unique statues seemed to give me an image that you could only see in movies.  Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of roaming about my own palace and strolling casually within a garden as seen in this picture. Nevertheless, this postcard ironically motivates me to be successful as I know that hard work eventually pays off.  http://www.fsucardarchive.org/items/show/108.

Overseas Highway Bridge at Pigeon Key

I am drawn to this postcard because it reminds me of my favorite place in the world. Destin, Florida is where I spent three years of my life. Unfortunately, my family did not live there for longer. However, we had visited many times prior to living there and have continued to return since we moved away. We owned a condo on the beach that we rented out to people but we also used for our own personal fun. I spent an enormous amount of time swimming and going to the beach at The Crescent Club (named because it was shaped like a crescent moon). My family came to know and befriend most of the workers there which made it feel like a family reunion every time we went. I had birthday parties, christmases, and many days and nights of relaxation and fun with my family at The Crescent Club. We also owned a home not too far from the beach in Destin. In our neighborhood, Pelican Bay, is where I met my best friend Skyler Price. We had so many adventures together at my house. We would climb trees, make trails in the forest, bike around, and go to the docks that lead out into the bay at the other side of our neighborhood. In this house my family and I hunkered down during hurricanes. We got our Schnoddles, a breed of dog, at that house and we renovated and customized our rooms. Also, in Destin are some of our favorite restaurants and attractions. There is the Red Bar, The Crab Trap, The Race Track (go karts and arcade), Big Kahuna's (water park), Whale's Tale (our favorite beach restaurant), and Bay Town Warf (a place with a bunch of restaurants and night life). Destin is the place I want to live as an adult. It is my most treasured location. However, none of that was on the card. The reason this card attracted me is because of the bridge. To get to Destin you have to drive across the 331 Bridge. I remember every time we would go to Destin my sister and I would always wake up at the toll booth for the bridge. We would roll down the windows and watch the water as we went over the bridge to go home. Without that bridge, there would be no Destin for me. That bridge is my literal connection.

http://www.fsucardarchive.org/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=This+postcard+shows+the+Overseas+Highway+Bridge+at+Pigeon+Key+at+Night.++There+is+a+full+moon+in+the+blue+night+sky.++There+are+palm+trees+and+plants+in+the+grass+in+the+front+of+the+postcard.++The+bridge+stretches+off+into+the+distance.

"Gee, I Wish I Had A Girl"

I chose the postcard "Gee, I Wish I Had A Girl."  The front of the postcard shows a young boy standing in the moonlight, admiring a couple and wishing he had a girlfriend himself. The bottom of the card reads, "Gee, I Wish I Had A Girl," and on the back the writer adds, "Yes I do, it's you." This postcard stuck out to me because it exemplified the humor of its era.  In the twenty-first century this postcard would be the equivalent of a cute, flirty text message that would most likely be answered within minutes.  In 1910, a postcard had to be sent all the way from Iowa to Indiana to relay this playful message.  I think it is unique and captures the innocence of young love, and shows how it's changed over the years. It leaves me wondering what happened to this couple.  Was it just young love, or did they end up together for the next fifty years?

http://www.fsucardarchive.org/items/show/780

Card Assignment-Driftwood Motel

The card that I chose was one titled Driftwood Motel.  I was attracted to this card because the picture on it looked like it was out of a vintage movie.  The picture is clearly dated--stuck in time with the vintage washed out colors, old styles of cars, and women's fashion that hasn't been around for several years.  Written on the card is a women writing to her mom and dad about a trip that she is on with a guy, that I think is probably the her husband or her boyfriend. The writing on the card is casual too, so it seems like she writes to her parents a lot and is probably close with them, especially if she feels the need to tell her just the little things she is doing and how she was feeling during the day.  I also can't help but wonder if the beautiful looking motel in the picture is just as beautiful as it was when the picture was taken, or if it is run down and old looking with age.  I find it so interesting that this little card with so little written on it was able to give so much insight into this time and this person's everyday life.

Cheerio

The postcard I choose was one titled "Cheerio" from 1939. It depicts a woman in a bright red bathing suit in a pool. She also is sporting a smile and a the words "cheerio" is written with her cigarette smoke. This card interested me for many reasons. Mainly, for the cigarette and how the writing on the back is so generic. If you were to have a postcard like that in this day and age, people would ridicule the cigarette in the picture. Back then, it was a norm in society and that fascinates me. The fact of how society changes is amazing. Also, the writing on the back I feel has no meaning. It is very basic because they are talking about the weather and water and that of course, is a cliche for "there is nothing else to talk about."

FSU Card Archive Writing Assignment

This card is a post-card from a boat I have been on in my life. I chose it because it was the time in my life when I got over my fear of boats.So to have the smallest connection with someone so many generations before me is really what stood out to me. Honestly, I think I have a modern day version of this post-card. The card has so much wear on it with its faded yellow color that must come with age and it does, it is from 1937! The card has worn edges and in faded deeply. The message on the back is short and simple it says, " Having a good time. Lil" I think whoever this is sent to would really appreciate that, it is at a very interesting point in American History and its right before World War Two so things seem calm.  The hand writing is so elegant and I think whoever wrote this must have been a lone traveler just exploring the world and keeping an open mind. If Lil wanted to criticize or judge or interpret she might have said that in her message but instead she just is having a good time, very simple. She is probably sending this back to a lover or dear friend and one of the few people close to her. This stood out to me to see the connection that Lil and I both have and it's through that everyday writing that takes place that a close personal bond is formed with someone I have never met.

http://www.fsucardarchive.org/items/show/2501

BOULEVARD IN MIRAMAR, MIAMI, FLA.

I was drawn to the postcard with the picture of the Boulevard in Miramar for a few reasons; I have memories of driving that bridge myself, and the fact that the author of the postcard was a Reverend on vacation seemed somewhat unexpected. I remember distinctly my father driving us to Miami to show us where he and my mom grew up-- it was one of the first road trips my family took, and one of the best weekends of my childhood. The first thing I thought of when I saw this aged photo of the bridge was little 7 year old me, belting out the lyrics of "where is my hairbrush?" on the veggie tales soundtrack while the wind was whipping my hair around in the backseat of our nearly rusted out Toyota 4runner.

Regarding the Reverend, it struck me odd that a devout man from Pennsylvania would decide to take his vacation to a big city like Miami. The only thing I can think of when I try to visualize the scenario is a Reverend taking shots at a discotech on Southbeach. Absurd, I know-- but it humored me and made me like the postcard, therefore I have to put this imagery in my explanation as to why I picked the card in the first place. 

Florida Drive-in Welcome Postcard

This postcard is blank, but has a photo of a scenic drive-in welcome center. It has cars on it, looking like it was from the 1960s. I remembered this one time my family and I went to a drive-in setting restaurant at Hollywood Studios (MGM) at Disney. The postcard advertises free orange juice, maps and picnic tables to sit at. The orange juice advertising reminded me of when we had tons of orange trees growing in our front yard. My siblings and grandma would always make fresh orange juice. Yummy memories. This Drive-in Welcome center is like a rest stop on the highway nowadays. The postcard was found south of Orlando, dead in the middle of Florida. Card says it was from a town near Havana, FL along highway 27. It says that the pictured welcome center is the latest model for tourists to visit the new welcome centers. I just wonder who would buy the card and not write anything. Maybe they bought the card as a reminder of a memorable pit stop during their road trip though Florida.


http://www.fsucardarchive.org/files/original/7d0b492342c457d1effdf05f8d509563.jpeg

Postcard; San Diego's Zoo

   The postcard that grabbed my attention immediately was this one about San Diego Zoo. When I saw the title, it first brought up my memory of going to San Diego Zoo when I was twelve years old. Before going into the zoo I thought it was going to be boring because I had been to a few zoos before and they didn't do much for me. Also as a teen boy, I pretty much thought everything my parents and sisters wanted to do was dumb. Anyways I was forced into the zoo and ended up having a great time, one that I can even remember 6 years later. To begin with, there was so many more animals than your average zoo. There was games and little rides even that were fun, so you weren't just looking at animals. I remember the zoo was on its own mountain kind of, with some attractions down in the valley and others on the hill-side. Sometimes the view was just as good as looking at the animals.
   Other than the memory of going, the next thing to catch my eye was the address. It was addressed to Tim Tam Trail Tallahassee. Then the address led me to read the letter part of the postcard which I found equally as interesting. So Barry, the guy who writes it, is in San Diego for his Uncle's granddaughter's wedding. He writes that he enjoyed the zoo, especially the young panda, and that his Uncle is showing him and two others (the writers mom and maybe a friend/relative) a great time. He's telling this to three people, of which I am guessing are either siblings, cousins, or close family friends, because why else would these people want to know about the writer's family. It's cool to see that this writer sent this postcard and make the inferences such as that he may come from a big but close family or maybe he's never been to San Diego before, but seems to like it.
   Overall, this postcard was interesting and definitely grabbed my attention and got me thinking about his letter part of it and my connection to the place.


http://www.fsucardarchive.org/files/original/c586f40fb4595a3db12496f95efca723.jpg

The Unmarked Postcard

The postcard I was most drawn to was the women posing with children in the carriage. What I found interesting about the about the postcard was the fact that it didn’t have anything written on it. It was not stamped nor postmarked. The postcard only contained a black and white photo of two women standing behind a carriage with an infant boy and girl. I like the fact that there is a mystery behind this postcard. We can simply only assume what’s going on. Do the children belong to one of the women or one? Do the children even belong to any one of them? Are they relatives? Can we assume the space between the two adults mean they aren’t that close? There are so many questions we can come up with to try and get the whole purpose of this postcard but it remains unknown. Its just fascinating how our brains could come up with different reasons why something occurred. Did the sender just simply forgot about it? Maybe he or she became distracted which led to the forgotten postcard? Or did he or she just decided not to send it off. Why? Since the card seems personal, maybe the sender thought it would bring back memories that were good. Or bad. The postcard could have been on its way to the mother of the children, but the sender came to the conclusion it would probably be hard for her to see her children while so far away. What about the father? Is he the sender? Or receiver? Overall, what I'm trying to point out is that this unmarked postcard holds a lot of possibilities. In my opinion, this is what makes it so interesting. It makes you think and wonder. You begin to crave the truth behind this postcard. You can come up with a bunch of conclusions, but the mystery will remain unsolved. 

"I Got This All Night"

The postcard I chose to write about is called, “I Know You Won’t Believe It- But the First One I Caught Was 250 Lbs.” This card first caught my eye because it was not like the other postcards. Instead of having a picture of a location, this one has a cartoon. When I clicked on the link to see a larger picture, I noticed that it was humorous as well. I could not think of any reason why someone would want to buy this card. I looked for what was written on the card. The only thing written was “I got this all night.” This made me laugh, and I decided to investigate further. The interesting part about this card is that I cannot make out if the name of the sender is male for female. I began to wonder what the context of this card was. Was it a man bragging about his success with the ladies? Or was it a woman, fed up with men commenting on her size? Regardless, the briefness of the note and the humorous picture on the front leaves me to infer that this may have been a running joke between the sender and the recipient. The recipient is male, Mr. Ed Salsich. Could these people be related? Could they be in some kind of relationship? The possibilities are endless. And the truth is that we may never know the answer. However, it is interesting that we can come up with many different ideas about what this card means simply by looking at a picture and a short note on the back.

Front:

http://www.fsucardarchive.org/files/original/9f75240635519ad1292cce24f2c76e9b.jpeg

Back:

http://www.fsucardarchive.org/files/original/3f2a83d691b104ea81b79f5da03428ca.jpeg