The James Logan Courier

By Zola Boyd, Courier Staff Writer


When I received my list of suggested 20th century novels in my AP Lit class, I was surprised to see one of my favorite books, William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch on the paper.

Although it is considered one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, the book is still obscene to some, called "pornography" by my own journalism teacher. A scattered and oddly poetic novel, it tells the tale of a heroin addict unmoored in New York city, Tangiers and eventually the wasteland of Interzone, a journey in and out of reality through the labyrinthine mind of an addict.

“Between the clouds, I caught sight of the sun slipping behind the moors like a streak of blood. The leaden sky seemed to press down heavily on the land. I had lived all my life next to the open sea, and those dark hills made me feel strangely hemmed in. For all my brave talk, I suddenly felt very small and alone. How stupid I'd been not to let Dad come.... Then the car turned a corner, and the church tower and gray stone buildings of Wyldcliffe village finally came into sight. The driver pulled up outside a tiny general store on the rain-blackened street. ‘Where to, then?’ he growled. ‘The Abbey,’ I replied. ‘You know, Wyldcliffe Abbey School.’ He twisted his head around and glared at me. ‘I'll not take you to that cursed place,’ he spat. ‘You can get out and walk.’”

Have you ever dreamed of what life would be like if you never died? How the world would change? How people would change? But what if in all those years of living you had to stay in the same area? The same place you’ve lived all your life? Watching as everyone you knew and loved died? Would you feel trapped? Lonely? Okay? Well in this book Evie Johnson is about to find a world quite like this.

By Laurel Brodzinsky, Courier Staff Writer

“From the neck half-way down the back, was something which was not flesh. A couple of inches thick, it gave the corpse a round-shouldered, or slightly humped, appearance.

It pulsed.”

While the threat of an invasion of aliens from space might seem cliché now, it wasn’t in 1951 when Robert Heinlein, famous science fiction writer, wrote “The Puppet Masters”. The novel is a quick read (175 pages) with a continuously moving plot, but still manages to bring out important themes like fear of assimilation, sacrifices for freedom, the problems with efforts to create a Utopia, and loss of individuality.

MISCELLANEOUS
Open House is tonight! Students, be sure to remind your parents that Logan’s Open House is tonight from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. This is your parents’ chance to drop in to visit your teachers and see some of the excellent work you’ve done this year. Today during 3rd period you will be given a flyer to fill out your schedule; please bring it home to your parents so they know what classes to go to. Thanks, and we look forward to seeing your parents tonight!

It’s time again to nominate a teacher or counselor for Teacher of the Year. Ask your teacher for a nominating form or get one at your house office, fill it out and turn it in by April 30th.

Yearbooks are still on sale. Buy your yearbook for $90 in Room 44 after school. Hurry, before they sell out!

From wikipedia
Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974) also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophone player, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.

Ammons began to gain recognition when he went on the road with trumpeter King Kolax band in 1943, at the age of 18. He became a member of the Billy Eckstine and Woody Herman bands in 1944 and 1949 respectively, and then in 1950 formed a duet with Sonny Stitt. His later career was interrupted by two prison sentences for narcotics possession, the first from 1958 to 1960, the second from 1962 to 1969. He recorded as a leader for Mercury (1947-1949), Aristocrat (1948-1950) and Chess (1950-1951), Prestige (1950-1952), Decca (1952), and United (1952-1953). For the rest of his career, he was affiliated with Prestige.

Learn more about Gene Ammons at geneammons.com.