PART 1
Begin by writing a paragraph telling us about a person you know well. What kind of music does he/she like? What sort of clothing does he/she wear? What sort of interests does this person have? What sports? What does he/she look like? Your descriptions in this section should be fairly subjective (filled with your opinions about what sort of person he/she is). This paragraph should be written in prose form. Next, get access to this person’s bedroom or office—someplace where there will be lots of personal objects. Now, write a paragraph showing—in close detail—what you see. Begin with the bedside table, or the objects on the dresser or desk, and work your way around the room. Be sure to write enough detail that we can visualize what the objects are. This paragraph should not contain any subjective descriptions, but rather a series of objective details describing objects. This paragraph, too, should be written in prose form (in other words, don’t worry about poetic lines right now). Your finished product should be roughly one typed page (double-spaced) consisting of two lengthy paragraphs.
PART 2
Now take some of the descriptions of objects from the person’s room you’ve selected and break these descriptions into lines for a poem that will offer the reader a description poem about the person. Don’t worry about development breaks such as stanza breaks (if you find this too intimidating—but please use them if you want to). DO, however, make use of sound devices (assonance/consonance/alliteration) and line breaks (try enjambment if you wish). This will keep your poem from sounding like a mere list of closely described objects. Your finished product, when read aloud, will conjure up clear, precise images of a lived-in space which, in turn, will give us an excellent glimpse into the person who inhabits that space.
