What if (part one).

Birth and Death

-Her eyes were closed, covered in goo… she had little hairs sprouting from the top of her head… 10 fingers, 10 toes… now where the hell was her dad?

-His hands were cold, face white, body still, just like mine.

Love and Hate

- I couldn’t stop thinking about him, he was always on my mind, was this love? Or lust?

- They said the first few months would be like a honeymoon… they were wrong, it didn’t last but a few days.

Rich and Poor

-Credit cards extended from my fingertips, I was unstoppable.

-I sighed as I looked at the kitchen table, papers piled high, reminding me of how deep in debt I had become.

Where were you last night?

“where were you last night”, she hissed. I looked at her, with a frustrated heart. I sighed, turned around, and never looked back. It had all become too tiring.

Where were you last night, read the letter addressed to me. There was no stamp, and no return address. Who wanted to know, I thought?

Changing your life (rewriting the story in different voices).

My mom had cancer when I was 4. My sister and I were left with the neighbor lady. We were at McDonalds in midway one day, and I got spanked. I don’t remember what I did wrong. I was mad that she spanked me, after all, she was not my mom.

Jane had cancer, so I was in charge of her two kids. The older one obeyed the rules (and me). The younger one was only 4, but she could have been better behaved. I spanked her once, because she wouldn’t quit bugging me. Damn kid, wasn’t even mine, I never signed up for this.

I tried to take care of my little sister when my mom had cancer. I was 11, old enough to take care of a 4 year old. Our neighbor helped out, while mom was gone, but I didn’t much care for her. She was always stepping on my toes. Didn’t she know that I was supposed to be in charge of my sister? Mom left me in charge.

Ways to describe age:

Crows feet (around the eyes)

Age spots

Sitting a certain way (like they used to)

If her joints ache

If she eats dinner early

Any “quakes” in her voice

The typical “old lady” voice

Use of old language

Type of shoes (old lady nurse shoes)

Blouse/Cardigan?

Hairstyle

What she smells like (old lady smell)?

How many pills she takes

What the pictures in her house look like (b&w)?

Any grandkids running around?

Any drawings by kids/grandkids?

What kind of stories she shares (about war, the depression, etc)

Naming your characters:

Petty thief: Robert Wagner the Third

Bitter woman: Katrina Grosslova.

Shy young man: Sanjay Sharma.

Lecherous boss: Jerry.

Lottery winner: Miss Louise.

a couple of writing prompts

1. Write a poem about a lost love. This can be any kind of love. It can be a love of someone, romantic or otherwise. It could be the love of a stranger, or an ideal love (that you have theoretically, or maybe actually) lost. It can be a love of an animal, stuffed or real. It can be the love for an inanimate object, such as a piece of furniture, an article of clothing, etc. Write about a lost love, in which you don’t say “I miss you everyday, like the sun misses the moon”. Write about a lost love in a way that describes your appeal to the person/place/thing, and what has happened since you are no longer together. You can write about the interactions you had (try to be creative here, use words that will help us feel your loss—without saying directly that you are at a loss). You can write about hopes for the future, perhaps a new love or a rekindled love. If you choose, you can write about a person/place/thing without ever telling us who/what you are writing about. The goal here is to elicit emotions, to show us how you feel, without having to explain it word for word. Try to avoid clichés. It is okay to use an idea (of a cliché), but avoid the actual wording.



2. Many people find it easier to write when they are sad, depressed, or angry. It is often a challenge to write about happy experiences, but this documentation can prove very useful in the future, especially when one is feeling down. Write about a time when you felt detached from the world. If possible, write about a positive time. For example, if you run, think back to a time when you had an amazing run. What made it different? How did you feel? Did you feel part of your body? What did it (the run) smell like? Taste like? Was there a breeze? Sun? How did nature’s elements affect your body, your mind, and your run? Rather than say “the sun warmed me from head to toe”, think about the cosmic/deeper ways the sun moved you. Did it energize you? If so, how? Did it inspire you? How? How did you feel when you were on your run? Did you see other people? Did other people see you? What made it so memorable? If you had this experience and it was not on a run (perhaps it was during meditation, or a mindless activity like shoveling snow or cutting the grass), note that. Dive in to how you felt doing this mundane activity, and why it mattered? What changed (either in you, or in the activity)? The idea here is to remind ourselves of what our bodies are capable of, and how far we can push them (or pamper them). We want to try to connect the spiritual and physical parts of our existence, in a way that is poetic and reflective, but not superficial or fluffy.



3. Write a letter to God. It can be any god, or multiple gods if you’d like. In this letter to god, feel free to ask questions. You can ask about the afterlife or about your present life. If something is not going well, tell god about it, and ask for guidance. If you don’t believe in god, tell him/her why you don’t believe in them. If you do believe in god, tell him/her what they mean to you, and how they play a role in your life. In your letter to god, it’s okay to be angry. If you want to tell god a joke, that is fine too. It is an open letter to god. Think of this as similar to writing a letter to “Santa”, but without the North Pole and reindeer (and hopes of a 5 year old thinking that Santa exists). Your letter can be serious, funny, sad, argumentative, or cautionary. We wont share these letters with the class (unless you really want to), and I will read them (privately) unless you don’t want me to. If you don’t want me to read your letter to god (since I am not god), that is okay, but you will have to write something else (for me to read) in addition to writing your letter to god. Since we are at a public school, I can probably get into some trouble for having you write letters to god, so here is my preface/warning. I am not saying that you need to believe in god to complete this assignment. God (for this assignment) can be anything, or anyone. I do not care if you believe in god or think he/she is bogus. The purpose of the assignment is to get your mind thinking about the ideas of “greater powers”, and to ask questions. There are no right or wrong answers, just lots of questions to be asked. You will not be graded on your views of god, or your questions of god. All that is asked is you put an honest effort towards listing and asking these questions, and don’t hold anything back.

my spoken word assignment

This assignment would best work with high school seniors.

I feel like spoken word can sometimes be more intimate (for me, as a speaker), because not only do you have to write it, but it has to be performed/spoken aloud. It's hard for me (as an educator) to put limits/suggestions/prompts about what a spoken word piece should contain... although, I understand that sometimes, this needs to happen.

To the class (of seniors):

We will be writing and performing our own poetry for incoming freshman. When I was a senior in high school, there were many things I wish I would have learned/been told in the previous three years. There were lessons, many unwritten, that needed to be taught. (i.e. freshman grades count just as much as your senior grades.... if you want to go to college, and have a lot of options, you need to get good grades from the start).

Other lessons would have been nice too... i.e. take gym class during the summer, where it's only 3 weeks long, you don't have to shower with anyone, and you can use the time (in high school) that you would have been in gym class for a different elective).

The idea behind our spoken word pieces, is to educate our incoming freshman. Tell them what you have learned, or what you wish you would have learned or known when you started out. You could write your piece in a way of "I have learned", or "If I could go back in time, I would....", etc.

We will be performing our pieces next week, to an incoming freshman class. Be prepared to answer questions from students and teachers. You are in a very powerful position here, hopefully helping to make new students feel more comfortable, in addition to giving them an inside look of what the high school experience can be like. Remember, you don't have to hold anything back... but you certainly can if you want. Just think of what you would have like to have known on your first day of high school.

MY spoken word poem

A tribute to Eli Lily


I quit takin my pills last week.

Yes I did.

I quit takin my pills last week, cuz they made me wanna die.

Same pills I've been taking for a year.

But this time, they made me wanna die.

I quit taking my pills last week,

and been sick ever since.

But I'd take nausea any day,

over wanting to die.

Got me an appointment with my therapy lady on thursday,

cuz I wanted to die.

Haven't seen her in a year, she said I wasn't trying hard enough.

What the fuck does she know?

Probably more than me.

I quit taking my pills last week, cuz they made me wanna die.

you don't know me (a spoken word poem by malyssa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apuApak1CJ0

This young woman has a helluva voice. In 93 seconds, inspired me, broke my heart, and inspired me once more.

This piece works, because as a young woman (15 years old), she is using her poem, her spoken word piece as a way to communicate a lot of hurt and pain she has endured. In the first 10 seconds, she explains that it has taken her 15 years to get an idea of who she is, yet it takes others 15 seconds to decide who she is. For this young woman to acknowledge this fact, AND call others out on it... works.

It works through her voice, her honesty, her ups and downs in her speaking and movement. It works because she is assumingly at school (based on the background of the video), speaking to her peers. It works because she uses this opportunity to define herself, question others, and have center stage.

What's to admire? Wow. Her voice, meaning not just the spoken delivery, but the brut honesty she puts forth. Not a lot of young women (I know) would the kind of courage to talk about homelessness, drugs, self-harm... in front of their peers, or anyone for that matter. I admire her use of words too, the use of slowing and speeding up the delivery, and her all around fierce attitude. She also uses the word "bitch" in the poem, once, but does so in a very useful way.

What's not so good? Who I am to judge a young woman and her words? If I were to say, "what could be worked on", I would only offer the advice to articulate a little better when speaking so fast. I think that for the quality of video (equipment) that was used, this piece was fine. Besides, it's more about her message than it is having fancy equipment to record everything perfectly.

As far as a poem being a performance, I think she's got both. It's a poem, it rhymes, it discusses her issues with being judged, as well as gives a very intimate look into the person she is and why. Performance wise, this young woman has it going on. Her voice, and eye contact, her use of gestures... all are on point.

I am.

I am five foot seven, a buck fifteen drippin wet.
but there's more to me than bones.
I am a body covered in scars, some accidental, some not.
I am a victim, of violence, racism, and occasionally my own mind.
I am a victor of hockey games, tennis meets, and dean's list,
none of which matters much, to me, or you.
I am a learner, educator, ex-lover, and my mother's second favorite child.
I am a has-been runner, a will be graduate, and maybe a runner once more.
I am followed, harassed, asked, and pestered daily...by your "average american".
I am the little kid who never stayed awake late enough to see santa eat my homemade cookies.
I am significantly below the poverty line, I can limbo it without bending my knees or arching my back.
I am not who you think I am, nor what I want to be.
I am an imperfect perfectionist, who will always live life as a work of progress.

Lesson Plans (2 and 3).

Plan 2:

Brainstorm with students (as a large group) as many cliche phrases as come to mind. List them on the chalkboard. Some examples could be...

See the world with rose colored glasses.
What goes up, must come down.
Snow like a white blanket.
What goes around comes around.
The apple of my eye.
Pick yourself up by your bootstraps.
Apple a day, keeps the doctor away.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Beauty is only skin deep.

As a class, try to come up with 15+ examples if possible.

Explain then for each student to grab a piece of paper and start writing on one of these cliche phrases. The goal for this lesson is to use the ideas of the phrase, without using the actual words or phrase. Each student will get about 10-15 minutes for their writing time.

After this writing time, the class will break into groups of about 5. Each person will read their poem/writing to their group. The idea/hope is that the group will be able to name the "cliche" which the piece was inspired by. The purpose of this is to show students (and teachers) that the meaning behind cliched events and sayings can be extrapolated using creative thought and word choices, and that often we need to look at the way we write and describe things (people, attitudes, etc) to make sure that we are not falling into the trap of reproducing another cliche.


Plan 3:

This is best done in the fall or spring, when it's beautiful outside, and students are itching to be outside.

Gather the class, making sure each student has a pad of paper and a pen. Next, go for a walk... it's probably the safest (for kids who like to elope) to stay on the block directly across from the school. As you pass by the houses, have the students make notes about what they see.... how does the yard look, the paint job on the house, the manicured lawns, or "things" laying around in the yard (i.e. grills, toys, gardening tools). Are people (neighbors) out in their yards? Are any flags flying?

On the way back to the school, have the students take careful notes about their own school and it's setting. Is there an abundance of trash on school grounds? How does the lawn look? Is there a "sign" with the schools name on it? How does it make them feel? What about their school are they proud of? What are they embarrassed about?

Upon returning to the classroom, have each student circle and list the nouns on their lists (i.e. flags, grass, toys, busted up sidewalk, police officer). Next, have the students go through and add details to several (as many as they can) of their nouns (i.e. the overwhelmingly large American Flag, the green grass that has been trampled by neighborhood kids, etc).

Finally, have the students free-write about "their community". What does their community look like? What kind of energy do they feel in their community? Are they proud to be a part of the community? Who is the community?

The idea behind this lesson is for students to become more observant of their community. By paying attention and noticing ones surroundings, perhaps they will feel more connected to the larger community, or feel inclined to make changes (either physical changes to their community/landscape, or attitude changes about their community).

When students feel a sense of connection, often the relationship (between themselves, community, school) will heighten, increasing the desire to become a more active participant (in themselves, their community, and their school).