House with the blue bed by Alfred Arteaga

1. House with the blue bed by Alfred Arteaga Chapters: 1 – 9 Presented by Anna Li and Elianeth Ramirez

2. agenda • General Introduction • Chapter summaries • Matching game • Discussion

3. Alfred Arteaga Narrator of House With The Blue Bed Born in East L.A., raised in Whittier, California HWTBB includes short stories and memories in his life that have shaped his identity HWTBB includes “…themes of violence, change, cultural conflict, racism, and human vulnerability…”

4. Blood, sand, blood Describes a walk/journey by with water with a companion Alfred Arteaga sees life linearly like a time line “…the little boats becoming more so, shrink in view then wait in memory behind the hill.” “….we’ll walk about the same, and this bright light can neither repeat nor fade.” Alfred Arteaga and his friend are represented as a fiery glow “…bright light…” “…the distant sinking’s fiery glow….”

5. SandLife is unpredictable Beach in Donegal Bay Describing the sand and experience of walking on Donegal Bay Beach the sand has the consistency of “cake frosting that has been allowed to sit” “Our feet walk not so much confidently as they do relatively ignorant, disinterested in our trail of steps yet jerked to reaction at the trip, stub, twist, or sudden plunge” (pg 6). walking the sand of Donegal bay is disorienting, but every time you plunge into the sand, you are re-awakened into reality

6. Sandsthe journey is more important than the destination Compares the sands of Galveston, TX to the sands in Ireland Comes to the conclusion that he prefers the sands in Ireland because it is unpredictable and complex “I begin not with the material matter there, but with the steps and the possibility of sand” (pg 11). Each step in the sand represents unforeseen events in his life Prefers the excitement of not knowing what the future holds, rather than following a predictable, prescribed path

7. Airevery life is significant and affects the world Reminisces on an experience at Ben Bulben with four other people: a poet, a composer, a hotel manager, and a piano teacher. Specifically recalls the wind as he steps out of the house with the “lost” piano teacher and faces the sea “Standing there not taking a step I, in a small way like the mountain, made chaos, broke the flow of air from the sea in fragments like meaning” (pg 16). Being able to affect the natural environment gave him a sense of purpose and significance

8. Breathlife moves forward Compares the typewriter and synthesizer Both machines attempt to recreate human phrasing and flow, “the beat of breath” (pg 17). “…they regularize a pace of meaning (syllable or note) over a span of time, whether it is the human time or breaths or electronic time of seconds” (pg 18). The syllables and notes in written music and words are like events in life, always moving forward in time (like a time line)

9. Bodieshumans act as they truly are when faced with death and injury Recalls three instances in which an unmoving human body urges one to reconsider what it is to “act human” First instance: A woman is hit by a car by Earl’s Court Road. She rests in her own blood and despite being injured/in pain, resembles a calm, awake Ophelia in Millais’s painting. Onlookers kneel by her and watch in silence and with worry. A woman also aids her by retrieving her shoe. Second instance: In Paris, a woman is hit by a car and wails in pain. A pale man steps out of his car and slaps the taxi driver that hit her. “The pale man must have needed to do something, driven as he was by the woman’s inability to get up and by her growls in primal French. Third instance: In San Jose, two men and a boy are on the street. One man seems to drunk as the boy tugs at him, and before them a man lays still. Policemen then enter scene and handcuff the drunk man as well as the fallen man despite his unmoving body and dragged him to the curb.

10. Rapetime is fleeting Silverlake New York  L.A Alfred was 24 years old accompanied by his wife and new daughter at this time Sisters house While everyone was asleep he was awakened by a women’s scream “I was dazed and filled with fear: where was I?” (pg.23) At first he didn’t know where he was and had to recollect his thoughts Once the neighbor went outside to check if the woman was okay, it was too late “ But it had all been too late; even the screams, the live screams, were a record of a violence past.” (Pg 24)

11. Daysfeeling lost evokes a sense of excitement Divorced his wife and returned to L.A from San Jose to live with men who had no children. But he had his daughter. Worked at Berkeley Dislocasiais seen as, “disorientation” that he feels throughout his life “The disorientation I felt wakening, in the dizzy transition from sleep, came to be for me, rather a transition, a lifestyle” (pg 25) Visualized dislocasia as a “timeline” ”Yet I had no panic and managed to find some small ironic pleasure at each occurrence: again? Ah, dislocasia.” (Pg 27) Enjoyed his disease

12. Mazelife is a spontaneous journey Alfred tells a story of when he got lost in Mexico “One reason I could find some joy in spontaneous displacement is that it is such a break with the normal, for usually I have a very good sense of direction, of space and location.” (pg. 29) He leaves his wife and daughter in the apartment and walks into a street called, “Calle Niño Perdido”= lost boy Street “That I was lost fascinated me: it was truly serendipitous and the surprise delighted me.” (Pg. 30) However, in London, he knew how to get around

13. Flightwe all crave a sense of freedom Hummingbird, represents him. He likes to travel and feel free. “In my dreams as a child and in my daydreams after, I wonder at the ability.” (pg 35) LA was experiencing unpleasant weather “The angry earth, the gray sky, and the solitary accommodation all increased the sadness of my spirit…” (pg 34) “ The lighter sand blowing over the darker, the noise of wave and wind, the wind itself, and me with wings: for a moment or two I knew what it was to fly” (Pg 35) Mexico is his escape, because he likes feeling lost. He is living life day by day, feeling spontaneous.

14. Fallgood deeds are not always recognized Talks about his daughter’s life (Xóchitl) like a timeline While in the bar, they witnessed the bartender’s girlfriend flirt with a customer. Once the bartender saw his girlfriend talk to a man, he spoke with her Alfred and Xóchitl witnessed the bartender’s girlfriend leave the pub, with joy The woman was then hit by a car& Xóchitl and Alfred did their best to help That same night, he sees her at the pub once more He realized that the woman was not aware of his worry during the accident This was an important event impacted Alfred’s life.