Somewhere in the last two weeks (I’ve been on vacation, and I can’t remember who said what when), a friend and I were talking writing and new ideas and wondering, are there really any “new” ideas? Even the story of creation, while it varies among religions, carries the same theme and many of the same elements.
When talking memoir, we all have our stories about when we left home for college or when we first fell in love or the moment we first realized we were “old.”
So, rarely is a story told that is completely new. Still, similar experiences, told to each other or written to share, can be flooded with individuality. Audre Lorde recognized this when she said:
There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.
We see the world through our eyes only, and the world we view is shaped by interior and exterior forces–by our personalities, sure, but also by the people and places that have taken up station throughout our journey. Christine Hauser highlights this in her post, “Who Are Your People?” on Flash Memoirs:
Your mix of cultures is a powerful factor that shapes the uniqueness of who you are and your one-of-a-kind voice.”
For Hauser, her “cultures” are what others might call “labels.” She lists her cultures as Artist, Writer, IT Worker, Ex-Pat, and American, to name a few. And, she explains that each culture has impacted the person–and the writer–she has become.
I get that.
That’s what makes each of our stories original, even if they aren’t straight, out-of-the-box new ideas.
If you made a list, what would it look like? Would one culture stand out to you more than the others?
The Prompt
Who are your people? List them, choose one, and tell us a story.
As a warm up, read Rosalie Sanara Petrouske’s essay, “Nature Lessons,” at Lunchticket (a great literary journal online).