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50/50 Exercise #43: Identity and Place

“This is my city, and I am as much a Roman as anyone here.”

—Words that I will put in the mouth of a fictional character one of these days
The prompt is to describe a place—a location “that is meaningful and powerful for you,” and then to write about who you are in that place. I’m thrilled and terrified by this assignment. No one who knows me will be surprised at my choice. It’s the place that I return again and again—Rome.

I’m excited by the task because I’m always happy to think about Rome. I can talk about it for hours and hours. I’m scared because …more

March 18, 2008 | Category: 50/50 Spring 2008, History, Memoir, Nonfiction, Rome, Travel, Walking, Writing workshops | 4 comments

50/50 Exercise #25: Halfway

For several years, I’ve tormented many of my friends, confidants, and co-conspirators with long reveries about how writing is a lot like walking. Each is a habit, an exercise that is practice and performance at the same time, a Zen meditation, an everyday struggle, and a source of daily joy in tiny doses.

Today’s writing assignment is on the theme of “halfway,” which brings to mind the pattern of landmarks that tell me how far I’ve come and how far I have to go in my daily Memorial Park regimen. So I thought I’d take a break from writing about thinking and thinking about writing to take my beloved readers on a walk at the park (from the indoor comfort of my writing chair, to whatever place you like to read). …more

February 27, 2008 | Category: 50/50 Spring 2008, Exercise, Nonfiction, Walking, Writing workshops | 5 comments