Before I was ever a poet, my father was writing poems about me, so it was a turning of the tables when I became a poet and started answering, speaking back to his poems in ways that I had not before.
Natasha TretheweyRead
Even as I think of myself as a 'rememberer,' I also know my memory is probably doing all this work to reconstruct a narrative where I come off better.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the nature of memory and its inherent bias in shaping our self-narrative.
Natasha Trethewey highlights the complex dynamics of memory, suggesting that while we see ourselves as objective rememberers, our memories are often reconstructed to create a more favorable narrative. This insight invites reflection on how our past experiences are interpreted and how they influence our self-perception and identity, ultimately indicating that our recollections may not be entirely trustworthy.
Themes
MemoryNarrativeSelf-PerceptionIdentityBias
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational talk about the importance of understanding our personal narratives.
More from Natasha Trethewey
All quotes βI've been telling my students, 'Imitate, imitate.' And they say, 'Well, what if I plagiarize, or what if I'm not original? I want to be myself.' And I always tell them, 'Your self will shine through'... If you allow yourself to feel deeply and honestly, what you say won't be like anyone else.
Natasha TretheweyRead
I think that it's hard enough being an adolescent and wanting so much to fit in with your peers, your schoolmates, and to erase any sign of difference, to be part of the group. And being biracial but also being black in a predominately white school marked me as different.
Natasha TretheweyRead
'Memory.' 'Race.' 'Murder.' That's what they say about me. I am an elegiac poet. I have some historical questions, and I'm grappling with ways to make sense of history; why it still haunts us in our most intimate relationships with each other, but also in our political decisions.
Natasha TretheweyRead
For a long time, I've been interested in cultural memory and historical erasure.
Natasha TretheweyRead
Often as a poet I find that I am somewhat outside an experience I want to hold onto, consciously taking mental notes or writing them down in my journal - for fear that I will forget. It's not unlike being on a trip and taking pictures, your face behind a camera the whole time - the entire experience mediated by a lens.
Natasha TretheweyRead
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