Cemetery Creative Writing
Poets and writers find inspiration for their work from countless and varied sources. The purpose of this assignment is to enable you to use our visit to the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery as a springboard for creating a short fictional piece about one of the people buried there.
Each of you should select a single gravestone of special personal interest. Then follow these steps:
1. Prepare a rubbing of the gravestone using crayons and paper or, if the gravestone is too large, drawing a sketch of it.
2. Observe the gravestone carefully, noting its size, shape, the materials from which it was made, any markings or inscriptions on its surface, its placement relative to other gravestones, and its location in the cemetery.
3. Formulate some hypotheses about the life and death of the deceased, based on the limited evidence available.
4. Write a short story, fictional obituary, or other creative piece about the deceased person.
The following questions are offered to help you brainstorm ideas for your piece. Please do not feel constrained by these questions: use any, all or none of them, as you see fit.
Who was the person? What was important to her during her lifetime? How did she die? How would she like to have been remembered? What was her relationship to her family? Near whom is she buried? If she was born outside the area, how did she arrive here? What does her life reveal about the community in which she lived? Did she have any connection with major historical events? What was her occupation? Religious background? Ethnicity? Social and economic status? How did these characteristics influence her life?
Each of you should select a single gravestone of special personal interest. Then follow these steps:
1. Prepare a rubbing of the gravestone using crayons and paper or, if the gravestone is too large, drawing a sketch of it.
2. Observe the gravestone carefully, noting its size, shape, the materials from which it was made, any markings or inscriptions on its surface, its placement relative to other gravestones, and its location in the cemetery.
3. Formulate some hypotheses about the life and death of the deceased, based on the limited evidence available.
4. Write a short story, fictional obituary, or other creative piece about the deceased person.
The following questions are offered to help you brainstorm ideas for your piece. Please do not feel constrained by these questions: use any, all or none of them, as you see fit.
Who was the person? What was important to her during her lifetime? How did she die? How would she like to have been remembered? What was her relationship to her family? Near whom is she buried? If she was born outside the area, how did she arrive here? What does her life reveal about the community in which she lived? Did she have any connection with major historical events? What was her occupation? Religious background? Ethnicity? Social and economic status? How did these characteristics influence her life?
Your piece must be typed.
Also, please attach the gravestone rubbing which is the focus of your piece.
DUE:
Monday, Oct. 21st
Also, please attach the gravestone rubbing which is the focus of your piece.
DUE:
Monday, Oct. 21st