The Writer by Richard Wilbur In her room at the prow of the house Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden, My daughter is writing a story. 5 I pause in the stairwell, hearing From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys Like a chain hauled over a gunwale. Young as she is, the stuff Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy: I wish her a lucky passage. 10 15 But now it is she who pauses, As if to reject my thought and its easy figure. A stillness greatens, in which The whole house seems to be thinking, And then she is at it again with a bunched clamor Of strokes, and again is silent. I remember the dazed starling Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago; How we stole in, lifted a sash 20 And retreated, not to affright it; And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door, We watched the sleek, wild, dark And iridescent creature Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove To the hard floor, or the desk-top, 25 30 And wait then, humped and bloody, For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits Rose when, suddenly sure, It lifted off from a chair-back, Beating a smooth course for the right window And clearing the sill of the world. It is always a matter, my darling, Of life or death, as I had forgotten. I wish What I wished you before, but harder. Writing Metaphor Assignment Consider your experiences as a writer—the frustrations and the satisfactions you felt as you shaped words into meaning. Choose a metaphor that will tell others about you as a writer. You will build an extended metaphor, just as Wilbur has in his poem. Your goal is to show others what you are like as a writer. • The metaphor you choose can take the form of an animal, a machine, or something else. Any metaphor you choose will be correct if you support your assertion. • Your definition of yourself as a writer is crucial to your metaphor: Are you thinking of yourself as a paper writer, a letter writer, or something else? If your definition is not implied in the metaphor, you need to define it early in your project. • Remember to provide detailed support for your metaphor. Think about specific characteristics of yourself as a writer that compare to the item you have chosen for your metaphor. Project Options 1. Write a paper that presents your metaphor. Choose the format that works best for your explanation. You might choose comparison/contrast to work through the ways that you compare to the object you’ve chosen. You could choose to write a persuasive paper that explains why the metaphor you’ve chosen is best. Other formats will work as well. Don’t feel limited to these two. 2. Create a scrapbook the presents your metaphor to a reader. You can include photos, magazine clippings, drawings, text, and decorations—whatever makes sense for your metaphor. You can create a paper-based scrapbook, or work online in PowerPoint, using a slide for each page of your scrapbook. 3. Design the CD cover for a soundtrack for a movie of your writing process. Your soundtrack should include songs that directly connect to your metaphor. Create the CD cover that includes the song list with artists’ names and liner notes that explain the choices. The cover should communicate your metaphor to someone who looks at the details there. If desired, you can burn a CD of your playlist to include, but including musical files is not required. 4. Compose an acrostic poem that spells the metaphor that you have chosen with the first letters of each word. The poem should demonstrate how the metaphor you have chosen describes you as a writer. If desired, you may include a short explanation that points out additional details. 5. Write a letter to the class that describes and explains the metaphor that you have chosen. Since none of us know much about you as a writer, this is your chance to tell us—using firstperson, friendly language—what we should know about you! 6. Create a transcript for a cartoon interview with the object/person that you have chosen for your metaphor. Use some make-believe to guess what the object/person would tell you. If it helps, think of a Disney version of the interview as you get started. As part of the interview, make sure that the connections between you as a writer and the object/person are clear. Ask it to share its feelings about the comparison, for instance. 7. Compose a short story that tells the story of you and your metaphor. You might think of any short story format, but in particular fables or picture books might be a good place to start since they are often shorter texts that communicate a message quickly. Remember that your story must show how you as a writer are like your metaphor. 8. Compose a song that communicates your metaphor. By reading (or listening to) your lyrics, others should understand why you have compared yourself to the object or person that you did. You can compose your lyrics to an existing tune or write your own music for the song. If desired, plan to perform or record your song in addition to turning in your lyrics (but performance isn’t required). 9. Reveal all in a tabloid exposé that tells readers about you as a writer. Detail your metaphor in a newspaper story like those that you see in the checkout line at the grocery store (e.g., The National Enquirer, Star). If you prefer a more mainstream magazine, pretend you are a celebrity author and your metaphor is being described in Us or People. To get started, imagine that the magazine’s writer has secret footage of you writing. Write the story that the reporter would turn in to the editor. Writing Metaphor Rubric CATEGORY Focus on Metaphor Support for Metaphor Creativity Grammar & Spelling (Conventions) 4 There is one clear, wellfocused metaphor. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information. Relevant, telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or predictable. The project contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used imagination. 3 The metaphor is clear but the supporting information is general. 2 The metaphor is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information. 1 The metaphor is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information. Supporting details and information are relevant, but one key issue or portion of the metaphor is unsupported. Supporting details and information are relevant, but several key issues or portions of the metaphor are unsupported. Supporting details and information are typically unclear or not related to the metaphor. The project contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used imagination. The project contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use imagination. There is little evidence of creativity in the project. The author does not seem to have used much imagination. Writer makes no errors in grammar, mechanics, or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writer makes 12 errors in grammar, mechanics, or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writer makes 34 errors in grammar, mechanics, or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar, mechanics, or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writing Habits Journal Questions 1. What are your best memories about writing? 2. What is the easiest thing about writing for you, and why? 3. What is the most difficult thing about writing for you, and why? 4. What different kinds of writing do you do? Who reads your writing? Where is your writing published or shared with others? 5. What materials and/or equipment do you like to have on hand when you write? What are these items for? Why do you have them? 6. What steps do you follow when you write? Outline your writing process, using a simple, informal outline format. 7. Are you a procrastinator when it comes to writing? What do you try to avoid? What do you typically do instead? 8. What’s the biggest influence on the way that you write? Why does it make a difference? 9. If someone else were observing you as a writer, what would they notice? What would they see or hear? 10. Overall, how would you describe yourself as a writer? What kind of writer are you, and why do you say so?
