Poems and Pictures
Did you know that there is a global 'I Am From' poetry project? People all over the world have written these poems. Give it a try...
How to do it
Share a poem. Start each line with "I am from ..." and use the poem to express who you are. It doesn't need to rhyme! What games do you enjoy? Where do you like to go? What foods do you love? What do you remember from when you were younger?
You might be inspired by George Ella Lyon's 1993 poem, 'Where I'm From':
I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am fro the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I'm from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.
I'm from Artemus and Billie's Banch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments -
snapped before they budded -
leaf-fall from the family tree.
You can read thousands of other 'I am from' poems here.
Or you can even write your poem by filling in blanks, using a template based on George Ella Lyon's 'Where I'm From'.
This activity gives you the chance to:
- Reflect on experiences that made you who you are today
- Learn about other people’s experiences
- Reconnect with what matters to you
- Be creative and used your imagination
- Share with others
Tips and resources
If poetry isn't your thing, why not try your hand at an autobiographical essay, photo collage, drawing or video?
Have a look in the 'What you have shared' gallery to see what other people have written. See if there are any connections. Have you had similar experiences? Different experiences?
I am from is about reconnecting with yourself, taking time to appreciate where you’ve been.