Wheeling Year Reflection

I decided to pursue option B of project three because I enjoy writing creatively and Kooser’s piece was very interesting to me. Upon starting this project, I was influenced by Kooser’s “The Wheeling Year.” I admire how he makes different stanzas to introduce different ideas and I try to mimic this technique. My text qualifies as creative nonfiction in its own right because I use my sense to create vivid descriptions, I use stanzas to separate my ideas, and I write not only about my “place” but also my thoughts, which allows me to not only tell, but show you a place that’s very special to me. I use very descriptive images in order to not only tell but show my special place. By carefully picking out the words I write, it allows the reader to picture my place how I see it. Kooser does this in his piece “The Wheeling Year” right off the bat in the first stanza, “And then, with its massive

He often makes a new stanza every time he describes something different or a new thought. In my interpretation I jump from how the place looks when I walk in, to ordering my coffee, to finding a spot, to being distracted by the look of the place, to doing my homework, and then finally to my thoughts and reflection of myself. I feeling like using Kooser’s technique helps my audience separate my ideas and makes it easier to read. If I didn’t separate my ideas, then it would seem like I jump from idea to idea without the earlier one being fully developed. It also helps to keep each stanza limited to five to six lines, but packed with insight on a specific idea, just like Kooser. Kooser asks a very deep question in his piece, “if there’s some one thing to live for, how can we choose just one among so many?” I try to make my audience think like this when I observe other people in the place and wonder what their lives may be like. These stanzas are supposed to be insightful and short on