This is so fun: “Where are you from?”

 

Today I’m delighted to share with you one of my most favorite writing projects ever.

 

I have a hunch you’ll love it, too. It’s called Where I’m From.

 

Based on a piece by George Ella Lyon, you can take a jaunt—a pleasant meander, a treasure hunt—that leads you to “the sources of your unique you-ness that you’d never considered before,” according to her old website.

 

George Ella Lyon’s Where I’m From begins this way:

 

‘I am from clothespins,

From Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.

I am from the dirt under the back porch.

(Black, glistening,

it tasted like beets.)

I am from the forsythia bush

the Dutch elm

whose long-gone limbs I remember

as if they were my own. . . .”

 

(Click here to read more of her piece and how she got started with this adventure.)

 

Here is an excerpt from the “Where I’m From” essay Ann Kroeker wrote:

 

“I am from the persimmon tree, ripe fruit dropping, splitting, squishing soft into the grassy lawn below. I am from sweet-spring lilac and lily-of-the-valley. . . . I am from soybean and corn fields, hay and straw, and Black Angus cattle. . . .” (Click here to read more of Ann’s essay.)

 

My own attempt to write of where I’m from has been great fun. And it’s many pages long!

 

Where are you from?

 

Your own Where I’m From essay

is valuable material for your memoir.

It adds details and richness and pizzazz

and personality to your stories.

 

Lyon’s template (which I can no longer find online) suggests you write something like the following:

 

I am from ______ (specific, ordinary item), from _____ (product name) and _____.

 

I am from the _____ (home description . . . adjective, adjective, sensory detail).

 

I am from the _____ (plant, flower, natural item).

 

I am from _____ (family tradition) and _____ (family trait), from _____ (name of family member).

 

I am from _____ (something you were told as a child).

 

I am from the ________________ (description of family tendency) and ____________ (another one).

 

I am from _____ (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.

 

I’m from ___________ (place of birth and family ancestry), and ___________ (two food items representing your family).

 

From the ___________ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the ______________ (another detail), and the ______________ (another detail about another family member).

 

I am from _____________ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).

 

Lyon’s template is a good place to start—but think of it as a jumping-off spot. Feel free to soar way beyond it. Branch out in new directions.

 

For example, consider including:

 

song lyrics, poems, Bible verses,

sounds, sights, smells, tastes, textures,

popular hobbies and pastimes,

hairstyles, shoe styles, and fashion trends.

 

What information, even everyday stuff, might your kids, grandkids, and great-grands never guess about you?

 

A word of caution:

Writing “Where I’m From”

can be addictive.

Keep a pen and paper on your nightstand.

 

“Where Are You From?”

I’ve been having a whale of a good time with a writing exercise making its way around the writers’ blogosphere.

I have a hunch you'll enjoy it, too.

Based on a piece by George Ella Lyon, you can take a jaunt, a pleasant meander—a treasure hunt—that leads you to “the sources of your unique you-ness that you'd never considered before,” according to the website “Where Are You From?” at http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm.

The exercise gives us an opportunity to “look afresh at what we normally take for granted” (George Kneller).

George Ella Lyon’s Where I’m From begins this way:

“I am from clothespins,

from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.

I am from the dirt under the back porch.

(Black, glistening,

it tasted like beets.)

I am from the forsythia bush

the Dutch elm

whose long-gone limbs I remember

as if they were my own.…”

(Read more of this poem and how George Ella Lyons got started with this adventure at http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html.)

Here is an excerpt from the "Where I'm From" essay Ann Kroeker wrote:

“I am from the persimmon tree, ripe fruit dropping, splitting, squishing soft into the grassy lawn below. I am from sweet-spring lilac and lily-of-the-valley.… I am from soybean and corn fields, hay and straw, and Black Angus cattle grazing in the pond field.… I am from Dick and Lynn, editors who carried home the scent of newsprint and ink in their hair and clothes.…”

(Continue reading Ann’s essay at http://annkroeker.com/2011/06/30/there-and-back-again-where-im-from.)

Melissa Brotherton, a gal from my growing-up territory, writes words I treasure. Here’s a snippet:

“I am from rhododendrons and daffodils celebrated by parades and lemonade stands, from volcanos that rest, and gray beaches littered with rocks and worn down shell fragments.… I’m from a city whose name you only pronounce correctly if you’re from there.…”

(Read more at http://melissabrotherton.com/2011/06/22/where-im-from.)

Here’s an excerpt from Stephanie Precourt’s essay:

“I am from crayons left melting in the sun, from Kool-Aid and tying a sheet to the box fan in the hallway.… I’m from Irish lullabies and stumpy cankle legs, from Wilsons and Maynards and Hoovers and Riddles.… I’m from I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart.…”

(Continue reading Stephanie’s piece at http://www.adventuresinbabywearing.com/2011/06/where-im-from.html.).

My own attempt has been great fun—it’s four pages long and I’m not finished! I’ll share excerpts soon.

How about you? Where are you from?

As part of your memoir, perhaps you’d like to write an essay about your one-of-a-kind you-ness. You can start by looking over this template at http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm.

Consider the template just a suggestion, a starting point. Feel free to branch out in new directions. For example, like Stephanie, I included song lyrics in my essay. You could include poems or Bible verses, too. Anything goes!

Give it a try. Look afresh at your uniquely unfolding life—maybe you’ve been taking it for granted.

What kinds of information, even everyday stuff, might your kids, grandkids, and great-grands never guess about you? Put it in writing!

(A word of caution: Writing “Where I’m From” can become addictive. You’ll want to keep pen and paper on your nightstand.)

If you compose your own Where I’m From, please share it with us!

Leave a link to your blog in the comment section below, or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spiritual-Memoirs-101/208789029139817), or e-mail me at GrandmaLetters [at] aol [dot] com. (Replace [at] with @ and [dot] with a period, scrunch everything together, and your e-mail should reach me.) Write “Where I’m From” in the subject line so I’ll know it’s not spam. Thanks.

Soon I’ll suggest a way you could use this format to structure your memoir. The idea intrigues me. Y’all come back!