Listener Lyric Essay
Introduction
The project that we worked on for Narrative Visual Perspective in our English class was titled the Listener Lyric Essay. We started this project by reading Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric, an example of a relatively new literary genre known as the “lyrical essay,” which blends prose and poetic language to create a hybrid form. Throughout the reading process, we began to develop our own lyrical essays. The core content of our essays would come from an interview of someone who has a distinct difference from ourselves.
My Essay
I choose to interview someone that had a very different upbringing than me, with very different relationships, experiences, and overall lifestyle. The person that I interviewed described the insecurities that came along with the way they were raised. I took their story as a mix of bullying, class warfare, and eating disorders and combined all three to create my essay. I deeply valued writing this essay. It taught me to always be grateful for what I have and who I have in my life. It taught me to be more empathetic because you never know what someone is going through or what someone has been through. It also reminded me why I love telling stories because it allows me to be the voice of the voiceless and to tell the unheard stories, stories that everyone can relate to one way or another.
I have also decided to not share my lyrical essay on this website. It was very personal to myself and to my interviewee and I wanted it to be. If you would like to read my essay, please email me at jordans@freestyleacademy.rocks.