Our first assignment to commence the creative writing project was an open-ended journal that allowed us to explore what creativity means to us and how we can use it in unison with the text/media of our choice to design a unique project. I used this as an opportunity to begin thinking about the direction of my project, although I had no idea where it was going at the time.
Creativity is the ability to conceive or innovate. My impression of creativity is its fleeting nature; I cannot summon creativity when I need it, but it comes sporadically, often when I’m not intentionally trying to think creatively.
I do feel that my work requires a great deal of creativity. As a tutor who works with many Delta students, some regularly and others only once, I need to be prepared to adjust my explanations of a concept depending on who I’m working with. Sometimes, this necessitates creative thinking on the spot to conceive of new ways to describe something I’m very familiar with in a way I haven’t considered before. In this way, creativity becomes a tool I can use when I struggle to relate to a student’s lack of understanding of something I know well.
For this project, I have decided to work with Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif.” It is a dialogue between the lives of two women, Twyla and Roberta, who meet at young girls in an orphanage and whose radically different lives collide on several occasions after their childhood friendship. From the beginning of the story, the audience is made aware that one of these girls is black and the other is white, but we are given no clear indication as to which girl is which race. In doing so, “Recitatif” is an exploration of the portrayal of women in writing, and the assumptions readers make about race in literature.
One of the central themes of the story I’ve chosen, is the arbitrariness of race. Inspired by this concept as a whole, I wonder if I could use this explore the assignment of character identities in literature. What could withholding an important element of a character or characters do to the interpretations of a story? “Recitatif” reads like a totally different story if we assume either of the girls’ races, and in doing this, it tries many of the assumptions its readers have about race. Could I pull this off with other aspects of a character’s identity, such as their gender?
This assignment, which also included a double-entry log (not included) to further unpack the chosen text and provide ideas, was helpful in getting me started. I had the opportunity to spend more time with “Recitatif” and consider how it could inspire my second project for this class.
The Switch 