The Cave

Classroom Projects
The following projects will allow teachers and students to explore some of the methods used in creatingThe Road, which began with journal writing -- observations of a trip into the desert. As the events, both remembered and recorded in the journal, were clarified and condensed, they took the form of lyric poetry. These projects also involve the transformation of remembered and imagined events into documents.
For students, personal experience is a subject of immediate interest. The first exercises are designed to inspire students to write from their experience. These early projects provide an example of the process involved in creating The Road . Later exercises build on these early ones and provide a method for integrating personal experience, analysis, and critique into a creative response to a work of art. Although described as creative writing exercises, the project methods can be applied to any of the creative media -- dance, visual art, music, or drama, for instance -- with equally interesting results.

Please remind students to keep in mind that descriptions of personal experiences involve individual sensitivities and values. Mutual respect will enhance the sharing of creative work.

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