Imagine, for a moment, that
today you aren’t you. You don’t have to drag yourself from bed to go to school
or prepare for an eight hour work day. You no longer live in your house or in
your town. You don’t have a dog. Or now you inexplicably have dozens of them.
Today, you can be anyone you want. Yesterday you were 16, but today, you might
be 73, a different sex, work a different job, drive a different car. Your
sister stole your inheritance. Your car broke down. You’re a pastry chef or a
spy. Today, you’re the astronomer Williamina Fleming discovering the Horsehead
Nebula or Jack the Ripper prowling alleys. Only one thing is certain: you are
finally free of the chains that have plagued you your entire life—“just be
yourself”—because today you must be someone else. 
What a relief!
The desire we all have at some point in our lives to run away from ourselves isn’t one we can regularly indulge—at least not without serious repercussions. But through writing and reading persona poetry, we can put on masks (or personae, in Latin) and see with different eyes.
Complete the Persona Worksheet and write a 15 line Persona Poem. This poem should be about someone who is alive or who once was, a historical figure, a deceased relative, a Hollywood actor or actress, etc. Your Persona Poem MUST be about a PERSON other than yourself.
No comments:
Post a Comment