Truth in Imitation

This year we are approaching personal narrative through the lens of food memoir on the theory that it might be more concrete for the sixth graders and also inspire them to write on a novel topic rather than rely on those 2-3 experiences they describe year after year. (You know them-- the bike crash, the outdoor lab overnight camping trip, the time they fell off the monkey bars and broke a bone, the loss of a grandparent).

To springboard into the unit we are using Knoxville, TN, by Nikki Giovanni, a short poem full of sensory detail, food, and a strong sense of place. After we read it, students think of a beloved place of their own, brainstorm details, and write a poem using Knoxville as the model. As a fellow writer in the class, I went through the process and composed my own poem.

Here it is:

Acadia National Park, Maine

I always like summer best--
You can pack a snack bag
and roadtrip 12 hours
and listen to audio books
and play name that tune
until you smell the Maine,
fir and pine and balsam,
and eat lobster every night
and wild blueberries
you picked yourself
and gingerbread
and popovers
and hear the gulls call
and the waves roar
at Thunder Hole
and climb all 26 mountains
crossing warm granite ledges
with cool breezes
and swim in icy ponds
under impossibly blue skies
and wake up every day
with your whole family
just like you did
when you were little.