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“Facing It”

Explore the profound impact of Maya Lin's design and Yusef Komunyakaa's poem related to the Vietnam War Memorial. Understand the emotional depth and psychological revelations triggered by seeing concrete symbols.

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“Facing It”

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  1. “Facing It”

  2. Warm Up Free Write Recall a moment in your life in which seeing something concrete led you to a deeper, psychological revelation. Write about that experience, describing in detail both what you saw and what you now know as a result of seeing it.

  3. Maya Lin: Designed the Vietnam War Memorial • 21 years old • Senior undergraduate architecture student at YALE • Studied Scandinavian cemetery design in Denmark and was fascinated by what she called “the architecture of death.” • Submitted design and won out of 1420 submissions

  4. In a statement accompanying her entry, Lin envisions the experience of seeing the Wall for the first time: “…the memorial appears as a rift in the earth- a long, polished black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth…Walking into the grassy site contained by the walls…we can barely make out the carved names upon the memorial’s walls…seemingly infinite in number…”

  5. YusefKomunyakaa’s experience • Served in Vietnam from 1969-1970 as a correspondent and managing editor for the military newspaper Southern Cross (work that earned him the Bronze Star). • Spent much of his tour of duty in the field, witnessing combat and reporting about it • Did not begin writing poetry about Vietnam until 14 years after returning home

  6. 1984 • Began to reflect on his experiences • “Facing It” is only the second poem he wrote about Vietnam • Shaped by visit to memorial a year earlier • Poem said to be “the most poignant elegy that has been written about the Vietnam War” (R.S. Gwynn)

  7. Read “Facing It” • As you read, created a numbered list of images. • Why did the speaker select and arrange the images in this way? • What do these images reveal about what the speaker faces? • How does one experience lead him to another? • How does visiting the wall help him face these experiences?

  8. 2nd Reading: • Make notes about the speaker’s experience of the wall, particularly the play between past, present and future that the wall creates for him.

  9. Write Essay • Thesis • Body Paragraphs

  10. Works Cited • Poem Guide: The Poetry Foundation; “Facing It” by YusefKomunyakaa

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