n a m e
where I come from
by
elizabeth brewster
n a m e
Where I Come From
by Elizabeth Brewster
People are made of places. They carry with them
hints of jungles or mountains, a tropic grace
or the cool eyes of sea gazers. Atmosphere of cities
how different drops from them, like the smell of smog
or the almost-not-smell of tulips in the spring,
nature tidily plotted with a guidebook;
or the smell of work, glue factories maybe,
chromium-plated offices; smell of subways
crowded at rush hours.
Where I come from, people
carry woods in their minds, acres of pine woods;
blueberry patches in the burned-out bush;
wooden farmhouses, old, in need of paint,
with yards where hens and chickens circle about,
clucking aimlessly; battered schoolhouses
behind which violets grow. Spring and winter
are the mind's chief seasons: ice and the breaking of ice.
A door in the mind blows open, and there blows
a frosty wind from fields of snow.
n a m e
PART
A:
RESPONDING
AND
CONNECTING
1. Identify a metaphor in the poem.
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2. Why does she write, “almost-not-smell or tulips in the spring”? What
does this reveal about her opinion of urban life?
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3. What does Brewster mean when she write, “nature tidily plotted with a
guidebook”?
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4. What does Brewster mean when she writes, people are made of places?
How are ‘people made’ in the excerpt from What We All Long For?
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5. What are the juxtapositions in this poem?
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k/c/t
YOU ARE ...
BELOW
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 4
LEVEL 4+
able to understand the
ideas in the poem
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to identify literary
devices such as
juxtaposition and
metaphors in the poem
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to connect poem
to other texts
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
knowledge
and understanding and
thinking
totals
/15
n a m e
PART
B:
WRITING
STRONG
PARAGRAPHS
When you use the words of others in your own writing, you have to identify
who, what and where the ‘words’ come from. That is your legal obligation.
But there is also a stylistic obligation to use the quote properly and clearly
in your writing. That is why when you use a quote from another source, you
have to provide a ‘lead’ or ‘lead-in to help with the transition from your
ideas to the ideas of your source.
a. Read the following paragraph and note the use of topic sentence,
lead-in, quote, explanation and conclusion:
Topic
sentence
Walk outside and look around.
Lead-in
What you see is what is influencing you and what is ‘making’
you at this very moment. Elizabeth Brewster’s poem, Where I
Come From, echoes this sentiment. When she writes,
Quote
“People are made of places,”
Explanation she is arguing that our environment, not our biology, is the
primary sculptor of our identities. The air, the smells, the
schools, the enemies, and the temperature all combine to
help shape who we are today. Where we come from has a
huge impact on our present, as well as our history; without
it, we would have no history or understanding of who we
are.
Concluding
sentence
Thus, the places of our past and present create what stares
back at us in the mirror every morning,
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The lead-in refers to some of the ideas that will be revealed in the
quote (what is ‘making’ you refers to the idea of Brewster’s, ‘made of
places’ quite specifically).
b. Read the following paragraph and identify the parts of the
paragraph:
Big city life is a maze of shifting identities. One moment
you are a passenger, the next a customer, and the next
a student. We all, at some time or another, share these
identities. We are not unique, nor anonymous, when we
walk down the street. The stranger passing you may have
just shared one of your identities, such as tooth brusher.
In Dionne Brand’s story, What We All Long For, she
writes how we mistakenly assume that life in the big city
is lonely and anonymous. “Anonymity is the big lie of the
city. You’re not anonymous at all. You’re common, like so
many pebbles, so many specks of dirt.” We mingle, we
mix and we meld the identities of big city life. We don’t
all get to the same point in the end, but we know that
the snoring passenger sitting across from us is actually
part of us. We’ve shared that identity. We are them, and
we should take comfort in that.
c. Try writing paragraphs with strong topic sentences, lead-ins,
quotes, explanations and concluding sentences. Find one quote
from the story and one quote from the poem and incorporate
them flawlessly into the flow of the paragraph.
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n a m e
PART
C:
CREATING
You live in a city and have probably experienced the “juxtapositions” that
make the city such a vibrant, diverse, beautiful and ugly place to exist.
1. Think about the many juxtapositions about where you come from.
2. Write them down.
3. Write a two stanza poem about the juxtapositions where you come from.
The first stanza should begin with PEOPLE ARE MADE OF PLACES.
The second stanza should begin with WHERE I COME FROM.
4. The poem MUST include juxtaposed imagery.
5. The poem MUST include metaphors.
6. The poem must include strong adjectives, verbs and adverbs.
7. Write a first draft
n a m e
people are made of places
where I come from
9.
Use your poem and imagine five (5) photos that reflect the juxtaposed
imagery/ideas created by your words.
10. Take five photos.
11. Arrange the photos and poem creatively.
12. Present your photos and read your poem.
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name:___________________________
RUBRIC: WHAT WE ALL LONG FOR/WHERE I COME FROM
MEDIA CREATION
STRAND: WRITING/MEDIA STUDIES
app/com
YOU ARE ...
BELOW
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 4
LEVEL 4+
able to write clear,
coherent paragraphs
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to use lead-in
strategies
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to use and explain
quotes
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to use sentence
variety, clear grammar
and organization
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to write using
justaposition
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to write original
metaphors
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to use strong
adjectives, verbs, and
adverbs
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to find create
images/photos that
reflect the content of
the poem
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
able to organize and
appealing media project
poorly
minimally
adequately
well
excellently
superbly
application
and
communication
totals
/45
n a m e
J U X T