“Facing It”
Warm Up Free Write
Recall a moment in your life in which
seeing something concrete led you
to a deeper, psychological
revelation. Write about that
experience, describing in detail both
what you saw and what you now
know as a result of seeing it.
Maya Lin: Designed the Vietnam War
Memorial
 21 years old
 Senior undergraduate architecture student at
YALE
 Studied Scandinavian cemetery design in
Denmark and was fascinated by what she
called “the architecture of death.”
 Submitted design and won out of 1420
submissions
In a statement accompanying her
entry, Lin envisions the experience of
seeing the Wall for the first time:
“…the memorial appears as a rift in the
earth- a long, polished black stone wall,
emerging from and receding into the
earth…Walking into the grassy site
contained by the walls…we can barely
make out the carved names upon the
memorial’s walls…seemingly infinite in
number…”
Yusef Komunyakaa’s experience
Served in Vietnam from 1969-1970 as a
correspondent and managing editor for
the military newspaper Southern Cross
(work that earned him the Bronze Star).
Spent much of his tour of duty in the
field, witnessing combat and reporting
about it
Did not begin writing poetry about
Vietnam until 14 years after returning
home
1984
Began to reflect on his experiences
“Facing It” is only the second poem he
wrote about Vietnam
Shaped by visit to memorial a year
earlier
Poem said to be “the most poignant
elegy that has been written about the
Vietnam War” (R.S. Gwynn)
Read “Facing It”
As you read, created a numbered list of
images.
Why did the speaker select and arrange
the images in this way?
What do these images reveal about
what the speaker faces?
How does one experience lead him to
another?
How does visiting the wall help him face
these experiences?
2nd Reading:
Make notes about the
speaker’s experience of the
wall, particularly the play
between past, present and
future that the wall creates for
him.
Write Essay
 Thesis
 Body Paragraphs
Works Cited
 Poem Guide: The Poetry Foundation; “Facing It” by Yusef
Komunyakaa