I Am From [Exercise #1]

Due by Wednesday February 1, 2017

Hello darlings and welcome! Our first prompt is a fun one that will help you loosen up and generate new and surprising images. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Set a timer for 30 seconds.
2. Once the timer starts, write down five concrete images you have seen at some point in your life. Don’t overthink it, you don’t have time!
3. Reset the timer for 30 more seconds, and go through each of your senses in turn, devoting 30 seconds to each. Write down five concrete snippets relating to sound, smell, touch, and taste.
4. Now look at your list. There’s probably some surprising and strange things in there. This is good! Pick out at least one from each section that sticks out at you as particularly unique or sparkly. They do not need to seem cohesive. When I did this exercise, I circled: the bottom of a swimming pool (sight), chickens in the yard squawk and peck (sound), roses of every color and size (smell), a silk slip (touch), and the inside of someone else’s mouth (taste).
5. Now take these snippets, and weave them into an I Am From poem. Essentially, you will connect the concrete sights, scents, and tastes with the refrain “I am from.” Here’s a beautiful example of an I Am From poem from George Ella:

Where I’m From
I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.

I’m from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I’m from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I’m from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.

I’m from Artemus and Billie’s Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments —
snapped before I budded —
leaf-fall from the family tree.

6. If you get stuck, just repeat your refrain of “I am from.” You don’t have to stick exclusively to images you generated through the quick free write, let your imagination go where it’s called. You also don’t have to keep every one of the details you initially picked out, this is just a starting point. Refine the piece as much or as little as you like, and give it to the community for feedback.

7. Want to join us for Prompt #1? Comment below to be added as a contributor! Remember, becoming a contributor means joining the community and committing to leave two feedback comments for fellow writers.