Just One Thing with Jennifer Battisti

Jennifer Battisti’s essay “If You Want to Know What You’re Made Of” thrums with pain and power as it pulls us into the path of a relationship. Here she shares just one thing about the piece:

“This piece is a result of a prompt which focused on writing a self portrait about a particular age. I chose 16. Prompts sometimes get a bad rap. Some people feel they are restrictive, or only a tool for beginning writers. Of all the emotionally raw writing I have attempted, most of the best pieces were born from prompts followed by free writing. I have come to rely upon prompts to unlock the well of memory churning just below the surface. All of my writing begins in a notebook, never on a computer. There is a current ignited with pen & paper. Prompts are tricky invitations with the power to seduce the subconscious onto the page, while bypassing the fears about what it would mean to tell the truth. The memories in this piece still scare me, but my trust in the process of free writing is bigger than fear. The page gives trauma a container outside of the body. My spiritual relationship to writing is a daily practice that took decades to build. It has undoubtably saved my life.”

Photo credit: Matt Goias