The Self-Portrait Poem

You will need something to write on and a writing instrument. For the first part, at least, write by hand. Time yourself as you write in some way (with a timer, the length of a song, or the length of a page). Write for roughly 2 minutes in response to the following questions. Try to write for the whole time, without stopping, in prose (in sentences/paragraphs, without line breaks). Work to get all of your thoughts on the page, without worrying about what you are writing, or how. Follow wherever your mind leads.

The Personality Test

1. Who are you?
2. If you could be any animal, what animal would you be?
3. If you could be any color, what color would you be?
4. If you could be any sound, what sound would you be?
5. What texture are you?
6. What movement is most like you?
7. If you could be any space (cupboard, canyon, church, etc.) what space would you be?
8. What object are you?
9. What do you want to be?
10. What are you not?

Set your writing aside for a bit.

Read a few of the following self-portrait poems out loud. If there are people with you, take turns reading a poem out loud. After each a poem is read out loud, close your eyes and then take a minute to write down the words you remember from the poem.

Self-Portrait Poems to Read:

• “Self-Portrait as So Much Potential,” Chen Chen
• “Self-portrait in a Gold Kimono,” Henri Cole
• “Self Portrait,” Cynthia Cruz
• “Self-Portrait at Ten,” Roxane Beth Johnson

After reading and discussing at least two poems, look over the list of words you remembered. What kind of words did you remember? How would you describe them? What do they have in common? Why do you think you remembered these words?

Go through your answers to the personality test. What words are similar to the words you remembered in other poems? Circle them.

Write a poetry self-portrait using the words that you have circled, that starts with the response you wrote that most surprised you. Your poem should present a true self-portrait, without any biographical information.