On...imitation

And the class is divided. Half howl that imitation is somehow cheating and the other half cling to Sellers' idea of "scaffold" as if it were a liferaft - which I think it can be. They seemed happier with the idea of riffing off one line after another than with the "mad libs" idea of "fill in the blank."

After talking around the subject, I led into my in-class Kincaid exercise. Poems were born...about corgis and cutting, horses and problems with french pronunciation. I fielded questions about footnotes and foreign languages in poems. I think the exercise earned its place in the plan.

Feel free to imitate :) There's an link to an audio clip of Kincaid reading the poem on Links Out Loud.

Class Exercise #3: An Imitation of Kincaid's "Girl"

Kincaid’s piece presents two speakers (perhaps)—one handing out advice and the other listening and chiming in. A common experience. Take a moment to pick an instance from your life when you have either given or received advice. Now re-read Kincaid’s “Girl” (page 55) and get ready to write your own imitation.

Kincaid’s first “line” is “Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap;” An imitation on the general subject of “advice about choosing a dog” might be “Choose a dog that runs towards you and make sure you write down his name;” An imitation for a poem on the general subject of “buying groceries” might be “Bend the beans in half and see if they snap;”

End each line with a semi-colon and the poem with a question mark. Have the Kincaid open as you move through each line. Write fast. This is a practice draft. You’ll revise later in your own time. Here we go!

1. Write a command starting with a verb (i.e. Bend the beans to see if they snap;)
2. Write a command starting with the same verb (i.e. Bend the carrots to see if they’re old;)
3. A “don’t” command (i.e. Don’t let the man with the beard and apron see you do this;)
4. Command starting with a verb;
5. Command starting with a verb;
6. General advice;
7. Command starting with a verb;
8. Question about truth that includes a day of the week;
9. An “always” command;
10. Advice using the same day of the week;
11. Command using the same day of the week;
12. A “don’t” command.;
13. Response from speaker “B”;
14. “This is how to” line;
15. “This is how to” line using same verb as the previous line;
16. “This is how to” line using same verb as the previous two lines;
17. “This is how you” line using a new verb;
18. “This is how you” line using the same verb as the previous line;
19. “This is how you” line using a new verb;
20. “This is how you” line using the same verb as the previous line;
21. “This is how you” line using a new verb;
22. A “don’t” command;
23. “This is how to” line using a new verb;
24. “This is how to” using the same verb as the previous line;
25. italicized response from speaker “B”;
26. Question from speaker “A” that starts “You mean to say…?”;

Things to consider as you revise. Kincaid has high energy moments. Her advice about avoiding sluthood is an example. Another is the turn to blackbirds and spit. Try to incorporate some energy peaks in your own piece. Also, Kincaid tells us something we probably didn’t know – benna and duokona. Try to tell your reader something new in your own piece.