Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 02:42:37 -0400 From: "Ask, and it will be given you" Subject: [WRITERS] EXER: Who is that? If you visit the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle, you'll probably see the Pacific Voices exhibit. To quote from the handout, "Pacific Voices is about cultural identity, about how we know who we are... how do we get our sense of cultural identity? How do we pass our culture along...?" The designers of the exhibit found that the answers to these two questions are organized around three main points: 1. Language and Stories 2. Teachers and Elders 3. Ceremonies "... the themes are universal.... we invite you to think about the stories, ceremonies, and teachers that helped shape who you are." Just for fun, here are some of the names of exhibits. Language of the heart, first language, writing and family trees, language nests, carriers of tradition, Masters of sea and land, guides of life, festival of the holy child, honoring family names, and family reunion. Considering the contest we are currently starting (what? You didn't know we had a contest going? Take your browser and visit http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/summer98/summer.html and look at the August contest.) Where were you? Well, now that you're back... Considering the contest we are currently starting, you might pick one of the exhibit names as a kind of topic or theme for your poem. Write it in the middle of sheet of paper. Now write stories, teachers, and ceremonies at three points around your topic. Consider your topic in terms of each one in turn -- the language of the heart and stories, then the language of the heart and teachers, and then the language of the heart and ceremonies. Write down the words, phrases, or whatever you think of when you put this topic together with this answer to the two questions of how do you get your sense of cultural identity and how do you pass your culture along. Sprinkle lightly or heavily with children. Or, if you prefer, try offspring, issue, one's flesh and blood, posterity, small fry, fruit of the womb, children, grandchildren, or family. (Watch out, he's been at the thesaurus again... :-) Having turned, churned, learned and possibly burned a few ideas, consider shaping a poem around one or more of the thoughts you have just been working through. Or perhaps you simply want to place a child in the context of stories, teachers, and ceremonies -- and tell us about that child in poetic measures? Who are you? How do you present yourself to others? Child, parent, adult -- all three? Or leaning towards one, or away from one? May You Have Many Poetic visions... As you skip down the memories of yesterday tink