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Famous Last Words: Best Writing for the Week

My best writing for this week was not for this class. It was for my Advance Creative Non-fiction class. We are wrapping up the semester by writing what are called lyric essays. Lyric essays are kind of a hybrid form of writing that includes strong sensory details that give the language the lyrical feeling while also employing strategies to tie the writing together like an essay. I wrote mine using lines from gospel songs. The songs were out of my great-grandmother's hymnal and I used the lyrics to structure my essay into three parts. The real meat of the essay was about my great-grandma and I's relationship as we both grew older. It was really hard to write but I think it turned out beautifully. It was hard to write as in emotional, not difficult craft-wise. I am not particularly religious but the hymns were a way for me to connect with my childhood spent with my Grandma Polly. I got some great feedback from a small peer review group in class last week and I get to workshop the piece with the entire class on Wednesday.

I was nervous going into writing the lyric essay because at first, I wasn't getting the concept. After a few failed attempts I thought of the old hymns Grandma Polly would sing to me when I was little and inspiration came to me. I've been writing about her a lot recently. She died when I was 16 and I think writing about her helps me hold onto the memories of her that are slowly slipping away as I age. It took a lot out of me to write the essay but I really think I stumbled onto something great. Everyone I've allowed read it so far said that the language is powerful and emotional - one person even described it as a kick in the throat but like in a good way. I think I might try my hand at writing more lyric essays.

(Made with QuotePixel - Lyrics from one of the hymns in my essay)

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  1. JillianApril 29, 2018 at 11:42 AM

    When you lose someone who is so special to you, the pain and grief never completely fades away. I lost my grandfather last summer, and I wrote a sort of tribute to him for Mythology and Folklore last semester. Writing or doing other things to release your feelings and thoughts about grief helps me and I think it helps a lot of people. I would love to read your essay, it sounds absolutely fascinating!

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