Due Sunday Morning! @ 8;30 Am east coast time.

The towering American writer William Faulkner once wrote, “Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it." There are two essential ways writers learn to write: by writing and reading. Writing, like all communication, is imitative. By reading others, you begin to understand what subjects you can write about and how to construct eloquent and beautiful sentences. Often this understanding comes easily; writers, by and large, love to read, so absorbing sentences, metaphors, ideas and images takes little effort.

Take a subject—something observed, a topic you would like to research, a recent book or album, a film, or social phenomenon—and begin to write about it.  Like Luc Sante's writing about Patti Smith, a recent work of writing, music, film, or art may trigger memories or inspire you to think more broadly about what it means. Conduct some research about your subject (just how much research is up to you) and think about the persona you wish to share with readers. Most importantly, however, reflect upon the larger meaning of your findings, ask “why,” and present this meaning to your readers along with the other questions it may raise.

Repeat this exercise two times; in other words, write about two different subjects. You might write about one musician and one film; or you might write about a TV series and an author, etc. Aim for each writing to be several paragraphs, approximately 500 words each: total of 1000 words. Include in-text citations and an MLA reference list for each of your two entries responding to this prompt.