“Where I Come From”
** Elizabeth Brewster. Another Canadian! Nature is a consistent presence in both her
life and poetry. There is usually a feeling that being surrounded by nature and the idea of
nature is initially great, but will eventually become cloying (or overly sentimental, saccharine,
corny) – does this statement reflect this particular poem?
A central idea here is that at least part of our character is formed by the place we are
born/grow up in. Like many Canadians, nature played a large role in her life. She was born in
1922 in the quiet Canadian countryside – like me! – she always carries that with her. Bring
projector for pictures of my home!
What place has influenced you the most? Why not write a poem for the classroom/make a
collage/ submit a reflection on this for the newsletter?
Poetic Devices:
Metaphor – “People are made of places” means our characters are shaped by where we grow
up
“carry woods in their minds” means memories of their ancestral/childhood homes
“door in the mind blows open” meaning remembering
Imagery – used here to paint very different pictures of nature/cities (duality) also parallelism
Sensory language – effective/visceral/relatable
Tone – duality, positive and nostalgic about nature and negative about city
Structure:
- Long, run-on sentences reflect how memories/thoughts work – not strictly ordered and
structured, more flowing (like “TC” and the long sentences that rep the continuous nature
of life)
- This poem is simple but not inelegant, subtle and understated, and undoubtedly effective
(again, simplicity keeps focus on the images and ideas)
- Stanza break signals shift in poem from general and city to personal and country
- All images and short snapshots of life – how memory works; not complete and organized
narratives
Analysis:
In stanza one, Brewster’s city images are generic: museums, glue factories, offices and subways.
Her city is Western, and it would not be too far to go to say that it seems Canadian. If so, it is
interesting because it can be a comparison of two Canadas – the urban and the rural.
The second stanza is the poem’s heart. Here Brewster introduces us to the place that made her.
Here her images are less clichéd and her language far more evocative: “blueberry patches in the
burned-out bush” and the warm, romantic imagery of “battered schoolhouses/ behind which
violets grow”. These images show care and personal connection in their extreme detail. Again,
the analysis of the minute details of life is seen in our poetry. She ends the stanza with her main
theme, the link between nature and the mind: “Spring and winter/ are the mind’s chief
seasons: ice and the breaking of ice”
This is what Brewster is made of; it is a poem that involves the reader (is relatable) as she is
inviting us to consider the places that made us, and to consider how exactly they did so. This is
not the blank narrator we’ve seen before, but is like “TC” in that it gets us to look at our own
lives/selves by showing us a poet who is analyzing him/herself. Brewster leaves out a lot from
her poem – she presents us with images and one declaration (line 1), but does not make the
grand realization statement that, for example, “TC” makes. Instead, her images invite the
reader to put the pieces together and see how ‘places make people’.
“WICF” is an appreciation of subtlety, deep reflection and quiet beauty (how does this relate to
our other poems?)
Man and Nature’s relationship: we are shaped by the nature around us. Nature as a part of us
we carry always. Not as “one” or unified with nature as in “TC”, but she recognizes it’s power in
our lives and that it is obviously important to us because we carry it/it affects us. In other
words, our identity is shaped by the nature/world around us.
Questions:
1. Does Brewster dislike the city? Why/why not?
2. Is she being overly affectionate in her memories of “home”? (nostalgia)
3. What kind of a person has been “made” by this rural place (ie, what can we infer about
Brewster from this poem/her early ‘place influences’)?
4. How does where you live “make” you?