Prompted

Spring 2018

Prompt: Write a memoir in six words, no more, no less.

Mama

Friend

Student

Traveler

Teacher

Wife

Mama

- Shannon McGuire Perry ’95, South Dartmouth, Mass.
Stuff between

birth, eventual death, with stuff between

- Davis Anthony Scott ’50, Moorhead, Minn.
Deep conversations

Nightly deep conversations in dorm hallways.

- John Wetterholt ’86, Phoenix
Zirkle

Midnight finals Zirkle. Friends, fire, nothing.

(The juggling club used to meet at the Zirkle at midnight each night during finals to juggle and blow off steam. Some of the members were really great at juggling fire torches. Especially in winter, the moving fire was lovely when the reflections bounced off the snow. The announcement used to always say that “nothing” was happening at midnight at the Zirkle. I was never a very good juggler, unlike many, but made some great friends trying and failing to juggle flaming torches.)

- Eileen Curley ’96, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Birth to Death

birth

laugh

love

grief

live

death

- Carly Jerome ’11, Takoma Park, Md.
Vegetarian

Stopped eating animals at age 18.

- Susan Grodsky ’74, Rockville, Md.
Enjoyed

I lived, learned, taught, and enjoyed.

- Ted Amann ’87, Portland, Ore.
In rhythm

My
 
Experience
 
Moving
 
On
 
In
 
Rhythm.

- Laurie Hultberg ’73, Ithaca, N.Y.
Repeat

Grow, cook, eat; write, publish, repeat.

- Elisabeth Bailey ’94, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada
Four

From four bikes to four kids

- Ruth Anderson Lang ’03, East Palo Alto, Calif.

Prompt for Spring 2019

If you could travel forward or backward in time to experience Grinnell during a different era, when would you want to visit and why? Send responses of up to 100 words by Feb. 1, 2020, to magazine[at]grinnell[dot]edu with “time travel” in the subject line. If we publish your submission, we’ll send you a special T-shirt.

Submit a Prompt for a Future Issue

Submit your own writing prompt that you’d like fellow readers of this magazine to respond to. Try to keep it under 30 words. Send it any time to magazine[at]grinnell[dot]edu with “prompt” in the subject line. We’ll accept these on a rolling basis. If we use your prompt, we’ll give you credit and send you a special T-shirt.