Writing for the Public Realm The Personal Essay

Writing for the Public Realm The Personal Essay Week 5

Assignments for Week 6 POST: Personal Essay VIEW: Slides posted under Week 6 before or when you do the reading. READ: Sorkin, Michael. “Skyscrapers from A to Z. ” in Exquisite Corpse, 271300. London/New York: Verso. 1991. FOR DISCUSSION: As you read, make notes (and have them handy for discussion) that respond to these questions: • What critical, strategic, or analytical value does Sorkin derive from the alphabetical structure of this essay? In other words, why use an abecedary? • What biases and recurring themes do you detect in this piece? • Look up the words or names that Sorkin uses if they aren’t familiar. WRITE: Read all of the entries but choose and print out at least three to discuss with the class. Under each passage, write a response that explains what Sorkin is saying about the skyscraper (a) as a work of architecture, (b) as part of an urban fabric, (c) as a socio-cultural force, and/or (d) as a work of semiotics, signifying other reference points, e. g. , “cathedral. ”

Considerations for your personal essays: • Your essay should have the narrative structure of a search not a blueprint. • The subject of your essay – your thoughts on a designed place, object(s), system -- should be as specific as possible. – In other words, instead of writing about cell phones, write about your cell phone; or, instead of writing about airports, write about a particular airport you know well. • Remember to carefully describe the subject in all its manifestations to you. Bring your reader close to it. In doing so, you should discover more general qualities that your audience will recognize. • Use metaphors and/or similes. They help the reader (and you) to see the broader significance of your subject. – For example, in an essay on furniture and families: “The scratches on the kitchen table are a map of childhood. ” (metaphor) – OR, in an essay on the subterranean life of the city: “The E train, crossing from west to east, moves like a snake in underground cavities. (simile)