A Word (or Two)

8th and 9th-grade students at Taft Freshman Academy engaged in a timed writing exercise where they created their ‘life story’ in 24 words. They were then instructed to whittle that number down to one word. Via interviewer to interviewee student dyads, they repeated the process with a peer. What words do we choose to describe ourselves? What words do we not use? What seems important and what seems unimportant at the moment? What do we hear when we listen? What questions do we ask? I also read them the poem, What You Need For Painting (from a letter by Renoir) by poet and short story writer, Raymond Carver. Below find some examples of the one and two-word creations the students developed. One word describes how they see themselves, and the other describes how they see their partner.

Lesson Note: Raymond Carver’s ‘What You Need for Painting’ serves as good advice for writing poems. If we are correct to consider that poetry is like the visual arts–only using words, then we are right on target with this list poem of colors, brushes, and a few notes of encouragement one needs to begin to create.