Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and forever again.
–Chinese Inscription Cited by Thoreau in Walden
The places we remember from the past, those we see right before us, or those we see in looking into the future– the real and imagined landscapes of our journeys– these are our subject today. What was it like to be there? What did we see? hear? touch? smell? taste? feel? Were we in a mansion, on a mountain, walking a boulevard or navigating narrow city streets? Were we in Morocco or Miami? Was our neighborhood a place where kids played in the street and dogs barked excitedly, where sometimes the flood waters rose to knee height and frogs and snakes made wild companions? Did folks sit on the porch, or did they live behind privacy gates and drive fancy cars? Can you describe your home of homes? And how does it compare to other homes, other places? What makes the place distinct? What gives it character? What kinds of life, what kinds of people and things and what jobs does one find there? If you consulted a map, what would the map reveal or tell?
Writing about place may take the form of a travel journal or memoir; or it may be a guide to those seeking to discover some part of the world from an armchair at home or in advance of making an actual visit. Often people write about the landscapes or cityscapes that they have come to love through long connection. We may become seemingly indifferent to where we live, no longer noticing the particulars, the everyday features and patterns. Sometimes we have to go away to start seeing the world around us. We are nonetheless surrounded by objects; the elemental trees, clouds, sky, rocks, rivers, and fields; and the constructed world of houses, classrooms, malls, towns, and roadways with all that lies beside.
The following excerpt is from Mark Twain's Autobiography:
As I have said, I spent some time of every year at the farm until I was twelve or thirteen years old. The life which I led there with my cousins was full of charm, and so is the memory of it yet. I can call back the solemn twilight and mystery of the deep woods, the earthy smells , the faint odors of the wild flowers, the sheen of rain-washed foliage, the rattling clatter of drops when the wind shook the trees, the far-off hammering of woodpeckers and the muffled drumming of wood pheasants in the remoteness of the forest, the snapshot glimpses of disturbed wild creatures scurrying through the grass–I can call it all back and make it as real as it ever was, and as blessed. I can call back the prairie, and its loneliness and peace, and a vast hawk hanging motionless in the sky, with his wings spread wide and the blue of the vault showing through the fringe of their end feathers. I can see the woods in their autumn dress, the oaks purple, the hickories washed with gold, the maples and the sumachs luminous with crimson fires, and I can hear the rustle make by the fallen leaves as we plowed through them. . . .
Writing Assignment (#3): Writing about place means bringing to a reader's mind the particular aspects that define the essence of your subject place or setting. We stand on whatever ground, sit on whatever chair, stroll whatever paths or sidewalks, swim the river or climb that tree, eat those berries, smell those blossoms, marvel at the moon, swelter in the heat and the dust of late summer, or shiver in the icy blasts that make street corners formidable. In 350 words or more, conjure a precise and compelling portrait of a place you know well. You may adopt a stationary or fixed observer perspective, or you may opt for that of the moving observer. Underline your thesis idea if it is stated, or type it out at the bottom of the page if it is implicit (clearly suggested but nowhere actually stated).
Title the essay. Double space the lines and tab indent for each paragraph.
Topic Suggestions:
Describe a place where you found or find refuge, a sense of peace and well-being.
Describe a place you find stimulating in some specific way or ways.
Describe the neighborhood you grew up in and the influence it had on you.
Describe a scene that is one you have come to know familiarly and the effect it has on you.
Grammar Work: Verb conjugations, tense forms and usage. Review the material on verb forms and use at the following URLs: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/1/ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/2/22, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/07/, and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/1/.
Exercise: Revise the opening two paragraphs of "Coming Home" (handout) by changing the past tense construction of the original to present tense.
