Option 1 | 20 minutes
Write 10–20 lines of your own version of Chrystos’ “They’re Always Telling Me I’m Too Angry.”
Use Chrystos’ framework as a jumping-off point. What happens when you replace her rage with your own? Swap in the injustices and contradictions etc that you see.
Chrystos:
They go to therapy to understand themselves
pound anonymous pillows safely with a stranger
Your version:
they rot in megachurches and city halls praying to the corpse of christianity,
money laundering as baptism
wondering why they’ll never be saved
(Or something like that!)
Option 2 | 40 minutes
Whatever genre you’re already working in (memoir, fiction, poetry, personal essay, etc.), use the title “They’re Always Telling Me I’m Too Angry” as a writing prompt to move your current project forward.
Run with the scenes, characters or conflicts that come up.
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Reply to someone else’s work. Leave love and name a part of their piece that stood out to you/made you feel something. Ask a respectful question if you have one.
