This is a brainstorming exercise. Create a storm in your brain!
What might you want to do with your Lyric Essay (or braided essay, or hermit crab essay)?
What will be your topic(s)?
Which form do you want to try?
What research might you need to do in order to accomplish your goals? (for example, Jamison had to research
Blue whales, the history of 52 Blue specifically, SOSUS, the Navy, and Leonora’s history in order to write “52
Blue”)
How might you organize your essay, keeping in mind that logical organization is not necessarily best for a
creative assignment that values associative thinking, lyricism, strange juxtapositions, and calculated
waywardness?
How can you play around and be experimental so that your essay doesn’t turn into an academic essay meant
to inform or persuade?
How cute are hermit crabs?