21W.022: Reading and Writing Autobiography Carlisle/ Spring 2021
Assignment Sequence 1
Predraft 1.2
On the first day of class, we read an excerpt from Joe Brainard’s “I Remember”—a catalogue of specific memories from his years of growing up in Oklahoma. We did an exercise in class in which you wrote down a list of eight memories that seem especially resonant or significant for you, even if you are not sure why. You then jotted down five images from your memory; they may or may not coincide with the ten “I remembers” you initially wrote down. (This was predraft 1.1 and you should keep it as a source for ideas, details, images, and themes that you might want to explore in this or another of our essays this semester.)
Your assignment for this next predraft is to choose one of these memories or images and tell its story—what you remember and can recreate about that experience. Just like Chang Rae Lee does in his memoir of a visit to Korea in “Sea Urchin,” try to ground your narrative in specific, concrete, sensory details about the scene and what happened. For example, what did you see? Can you describe the physical place of this memory? What did you hear? Can you recall any smells? Textures? Did this memory make you remember other things? Were other people there? What were their names? And since you will write a narrative of this memory, it might be helpful to think a little bit about chronology. Were you aware of time? What happened first? What happened next? (You do not, however, need to structure your narrative chronologically. You can start in the middle, for example.)
Resist any urge to “sum up” this experience or to generalize about it. Also be sure to choose a memory that you will feel comfortable reading to the class if you are called upon to do so.
Length: Two pages. Give yourself enough time to write a couple of drafts of this piece before you hand it in; proofread it carefully for rough spots with grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Due: February 22nd (by email to me as a Word doc.)
Be prepared to read aloud in class.
Predraft 1.3
In class we have discussed the natural place of reflection and analysis in autobiographical writing. As we have seen in the range of pieces we have read so far, telling the story of one’s personal experience often leads authors to think about the significance —or perhaps the strangeness or the mystery— of this experience. For example, Patricia Hampl questions whether her memory of the details of a childhood event were even accurate; this leads her to other reflections about what makes a memoir “true,” how writers and readers differ, why it is important to “question authority,” and why it is so crucial, personally and politically, that we tell and record our life stories.
Your task for this predraft is to reflect on the narrative you have written so far. Here are some questions you might find relevant and/or useful. The first questions you should ask are “what am I trying to say?” and “what’s intriguing about this story?” Next, here are some other things to think about that might help you expand your narrative with new details, begin your story in a new place, or perhaps even take your story in a different direction: Is there anything in your story that you hadn’t realized before? Do you notice anything especially puzzling? Does your story express something about your family? Your community? Your culture? Your sense of identity? Is the place where the experience took place significant? If so, why? Did the telling of this story lead you to remember other moments in your life, perhaps to even see a pattern of some sort? Should these moments be part of your story?
For now, focus on asking questions of your narratives and offering insights and tentative theories about the importance of the experience for you. (Patricia Hampl does exactly this in her essay). Jot down one page of notes—they need not be in sentence or paragraph form. These are “notes towards” ideas you may want to explore in your draft.
Due: February 24th (be prepared to share with pod members)
Predraft 1.4
Drawing upon your last two predrafts, draft an introduction of one or paragraphs (no more than one page). Strive to do three things: engage your readers; briefly orient your readers to your subject with details about time and place (setting); establish focus for what is to follow. Use specific, evocative language to lead your readers into the story; avoid general or abstract language, and resist the urge to tell readers what the story is about. The Russian novelist Anton Chekov stated this well: “don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on the broken glass.”
As we have seen in our readings so far, there are many ways to begin an autobiographical narrative: with details about time and place, with the words “I remember,” with the focused description of setting or scene, with dialogue. You can also choose to begin in a non-chronological way, perhaps starting in the middle or even close to the end.
Due: March 1. Be prepared to read aloud to our class.
Essay Assignment Sequence 1
Draft Guidelines
Draft (5-6 pages)
Your assignment is to tell a good story: to write an engaging, persuasive first person narrative about a real life experience. In your first in-class predraft, you wrote a catalogue of twenty memories: ten “I remembers” and ten images. In the second predraft, you narrated the story of one of these memories, and in the third in-class predraft, you reflected on the question of what this memory means, what questions it raises for you. Next, you composed the draft of an introduction. Use these four pre-drafts to help you launch an autobiographical essay. You should look for connections between scenes, people, and commentary (are there places where you talk to your readers and offer ideas from your current point of view?)
As you begin this draft, you will want to expand on the story of your memory, perhaps by paying more attention to some of the key storytelling elements we have identified in the readings we have discussed so far: point of view, dialogue, scene, diction, detail, image, structure. It often takes time, retrospection, and a few attempts for writers to “find” their stories; what they thought was significant seems less so and other memories or images gain importance or vividness. You may want to begin your narrative in a different place, or perhaps shift its focus altogether. Predraft 1.3 may have led you to some intriguing insights about the significance of the memory, which you might want to explore in more detail; these insights might even shape how you want to tell the story. You are likely to find that this predraft (1.3) has another important function: it serves as a “lens” of sorts to help you see what’s missing in your story, what the story might really be about, or how you might expand it. Though your task is still to seek “narrative truth” and use the narrative, the story, as the overarching structure, it is up to you to figure out where, how, and how much you will use your insights or reflections and/or how you will integrate them. As you weave together narrative and reflective elements, you will keep some things, abandon others, and will very likely generate new material as well!
Give your essay a title !
Include with this memoir draft an informal cover letter in which you tell your readers about your process of writing this draft. Here’s a place where you should include any specific questions, insights, or concerns for your readers—your podmembers, members of the class, your instructor. (length: no more than one page).
Draft due: Friday, March 5th (email to me by 5 pm as Word doc.)
(Length: five to six pages).
*Please also write “yes” or “no” at the top of your draft to let me know whether or not you are willing to present this draft in our first round of workshops.
Revision (6 to 8 pages)
We will confer about your draft, discuss several drafts in workshop, and you will also have a chance to meet with your pod (see guidelines on next page). The verbal and written feedback you will receive, along with the comments and questions that will come up during our workshop discussions of classmates’ drafts will give you plenty of ideas about how you can substantially strengthen your draft and make it more complete. We will also talk in more depth about narrative structure– how writers like Maxine Hong Kingston, Henry Louis Gates, Chang Rae Lee, and Natalie Kusz frame their memoirs. To revise means “to see again,” to see your draft in a fresh light—to both edit and expand your narrative. Even if your draft seems finished to you, consider how you might make it even stronger. This is the time to rethink your structure once again, to figure out where and how to begin and end your story, to add details or ideas, to sharpen your language, to change your title. As always, proofread carefully before you hand this in.
Due: March 19th (email to me by 5 pm as a Word doc.) Please include comments and annotations of your pod members (see “pod guidelines” below) and make sure you identify them by name so that they can get credit for their work!
POD GUIDELINES: Peer Editing
In the next week, you will be revising your draft of the first essay. Before handing in the revision on March 19th, you will meet with your podmembers to exchange feedback on your new versions of this essay. In keeping within the scope of what we have talked about in our class discussions of readings, workshops, and conferences, here are the key questions you need to address. Of course, you should feel free to comment on ANY other aspects of style as well!
- What do you think this narrative is about? If it is “about” more than one thing, what do you think these themes or subjects are?
- How does the writer structure the narrative? Does the overall structure work? Why or why not? Are the transitions between paragraphs and/or parts of the story effective?
- Is the beginning successful in engaging you and in launching the narrative? Do you see another place in the story that might serve as a better beginning?
- Is the ending memorable, fresh, and satisfying? If not, any suggestions on how the writer might conclude?
- What parts of the narrative could be edited for either style (anything unclear or awkward?) or content? (Feel free to choose a paragraph as an example of writing that needs to be tighter and more polished.)
- What parts—of either narrative details or reflection—need to be expanded? How?
- What do you think of the title?