Fun Friday Writing: GIRL
Exploring identity with Jamaica Kincaid
Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry; don’t walk barehead in the hot sun; cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil; soak your little cloths right after you take them off; when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse, be sure that it doesn’t have gum on it, because that way it won’t hold up well after a wash; soak salt fish overnight before you cook it; is it true that you sing benna in Sunday school?; always eat your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach; on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; don’t sing benna in Sunday school; you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions; don’t eat fruits on the street—flies will follow you…
One of the biggest challenges when writing a personal statement is learning how to describe yourself. I love playing with Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” to explore how culture and societal labels shape who we are and the boxes we struggle to break.
Read Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” or listen to the author read it and then answer:
Is “Girl” a story or a poem?
What rules and expectations have been given to you by your parents and/or culture? Make a list!
Looking at the list that you made for #2, what are some other labels that put people in a box?
When doing this exercise with my college students, labels we’ve come up with include:
Boy
Girl
Wife
Ladylike
Thug
Teacher's pet
Slut
Halfie
Cat Lady
How many more can you add to the list? Feel free to comment with yours!
Writing Activity
Picking a label from the list or creating a new one, make it the title of a 2-page piece that closely mimics Kincaid's “Girl.”
First, read and/or listen to “Girl” closely again to examine how the literary devices (repetition, stream of consciousness, rhyme, meter, punctuation) create the tone, mood, and style of Kincaid's story … poem? Prose poem?
I’d love to hear what you come up with! Comment or message me with your piece inspired by “Girl.”
Have fun writing!