The document provides instructions for creating a personal vignette by having the reader list their first experiences from the past year, describe a specific moment from one of those experiences, write a paragraph about that moment, and then craft a poem focusing more narrowly on an aspect of the described moment using poetic devices. The purpose is to distill the poem into one or two lines that can serve as a personal vignette capturing the essence of the experience in a concise way.
The document provides instructions for creating a personal vignette by having the reader list their first experiences from the past year, describe a specific moment from one of those experiences, write a paragraph about that moment, and then craft a poem focusing more narrowly on an aspect of the described moment using poetic devices. The purpose is to distill the poem into one or two lines that can serve as a personal vignette capturing the essence of the experience in a concise way.
The document provides instructions for creating a personal vignette by having the reader list their first experiences from the past year, describe a specific moment from one of those experiences, write a paragraph about that moment, and then craft a poem focusing more narrowly on an aspect of the described moment using poetic devices. The purpose is to distill the poem into one or two lines that can serve as a personal vignette capturing the essence of the experience in a concise way.
The document provides instructions for creating a personal vignette by having the reader list their first experiences from the past year, describe a specific moment from one of those experiences, write a paragraph about that moment, and then craft a poem focusing more narrowly on an aspect of the described moment using poetic devices. The purpose is to distill the poem into one or two lines that can serve as a personal vignette capturing the essence of the experience in a concise way.
• LIST YOUR FIRSTS • Take a moment to consider the new experiences you’ve had over the course of the past year. Think about the things you did for the very first time. Maybe you moved to a new city, started a new passion project, or fell in love.
✎ Use the space below to record your five firsts from the past year.
• DESCRIBE A MOMENT • Select a first from the list above and think of a specific moment from that experience that you wish to unpack further. Once you’ve selected your first and thought of your moment, take some time to respond to the questions below. You’ll pull from these responses later when you sit down to write your poem.
• WRITE YOUR PARAGRAPH • Using your responses to the questions above, draft a short paragraph describing your moment in plain language. Start at the beginning of the experience and work your way through to the end.
• WRITE YOUR POEM • Now that you’ve done all of the legwork, it’s time to write your poem! When you wrote the paragraph above, you wrote about an experience from start to finish in plain language. Now, you’ll narrow the lens to focus on a very specific moment from that experience and write about it using poetic language. Alison, for example, wrote her paragraph about meeting her daughter for the first time but narrowed her focus in her poem to write about what it felt like to hold her daughter for the first time.
Think about how you might be able to narrow the focus on your own big picture moment and translate it into a poem using some of the poetic devices mentioned in the class:
● Simile: Comparing two things using “like” or “as” ● Metaphor: Comparing two things without using “like” or “as” ● Personification: Attributing human characteristics to something nonhuman
• SELECT YOUR VIGNETTE • It’s finally time to create your personal vignette! To do this, you’ll select one or two lines from your poem that can tell a complete story without the context of the rest of the poem. Look for lines that ring true to you and your story or take on new meaning when isolated. The most important thing to keep in mind is that these lines should be capable of standing on their own.
✎ Go back through your poem above and highlight the lines that stand out to you. Once you’ve selected a few lines to serve as your personal vignette, write them down below.
