I Remember, Part 2

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Break’s over!

Take out the list you created for I Remember, Part 1. Arrange the lines in some sort of order.

• Read over your list. Is it anchored in the emotional and physical landscape of a child?
• Does your list turn? Does it have an arc and a discovery?

(What is an arc? Simply put, an arc is a change or transformation. Typically, in a story, a character undergoes a change or transformation, moving from one state to another. Perhaps there's a reversal in fortune. A character goes from weakness to strength or from a low point to a high point. These things also hold true on many poems.)

Does your list build to a high point? Or drop to a low point? Is there a change or transformation? If so, you have an arc.

Is there a line that catches you? That swells the heart or makes it turn over? Is there a line that draws you in?

Is there a place you'd like to explore further? (If so, pull that line out now and explore it with another "I remember" list.)

• Look, too, for those lines that convey a concrete image. Concrete language calls up an image or picture. Can you see the concrete image?  Does each line use definite, specific, concrete language?

If not, revise or recast those lines. Our greatest writers are effective because they use words that refer to specific objects or events that are available to the senses. For example, the word "love" is not concrete; it's abstract. But the word "moon" is specific and refers to an object that can be seen.

Here's a simple test: can you draw the object or event? If you can, it's concrete. (Some of you may argue that you can draw "love," but meaning of love changes with time and circumstances, whereas a moon does not. Get it?) Test the lines of your poem by asking yourself if you can draw a definite and specific picture for the line.

Admittedly, this is a difficult craft technique to understand, but wait until you see the difference it makes in your writing! Whether you write poetry or prose, the best writing is concrete.

• Do not rhyme your poem. (Why can't you rhyme? You'll learn the answer to the question in an upcoming class.)

Experiment

Are your memories in the best possible order? Do they build to a moment? (Think arc, as described above. Think rising-and-falling action.) If you need to reorder your lines, do so now. Try writing the lines, with the last line first, and so on. Trying using the same line as the opening and closing line of your poem.

Take a break

Read:

• Cynthia Rylant's picture book, When I Was Young in the Mountains.

Consider and reflect upon this picture book as an "I remember" prose poem. (Does it inspire you develop your own "I remember" list further? If so, go for it!)

Take Another break

Read:

• Gregory Orr's, A Litany. (No, this isn't a poem for young children, but a poem based on a very true, sad accident written for adults.) Note where and how his poem builds to a moment or turn.

Break's Over

• Return to your "I remember" poem and see if it builds to a moment or a turn, the way Orr's does. (No, the turn doesn't have to be that dramatic.) If your poem doesn't have an arc or turn, recast or rewrite so that it builds to such a moment.

• Is there one particular line that you'd like to develop into a different "I remember" poem? If so, try it.

• Cut each “I remember” from your “I remember” poem. Reorder your lines, so that the first becomes the last and so one. Which way do you prefer?

Post 2.1 Writing Journal

Post your revised "I remember" poem to your Writing Journal.

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