March 2009
Welcome to The NYWC Narrator, a quarterly newsletter from NY Writers Coalition. Each issue includes a feature article on a NYWC workshop or writer, writing from one of our workshop participants, community news, and a writing prompt and craft suggestion.
Spotlight on NYWC Workshop Participant Jacqueline Carter-Cutting
Jacqueline Carter-Cutting challenges all my pre-conceived notions of what a United States Army Veteran is. At 38, this attractive and svelte mother of two immediately put me at ease with her rolling island accent, graciously offering me a slice of cake when I met with her one recent afternoon at the Brooklyn Vet Center in downtown Brooklyn. She agrees she is not your stereotypical soldier, confiding to me that when she was in Basic Training her drill sergeant called her “Old Mama.”
A native of Guyana, she moved to Barbados at age 25, where she lived for three years before marrying a U.S. citizen and relocating to the United States in 2000. Jacqueline cited one of the reasons for her move to the States, “It’s the dreamland, where everyone is able to make it.” But when I asked if she still felt that way now, she shrugged her shoulders and said with a laugh, “it’s a work in progress.”
In October of 2001, only three months after moving to New York City from Miami, and one month after September 11, she was laid off from her job at American Airlines-American Eagle, so, at thirty years old, she enlisted in the United States Reserves. She had always wanted to be a soldier.
Jacqueline describes her deployment in Kuwait as not that bad, explaining the emotional baggage that went with it was much worse than the daily toil. Her job, which she wasn’t allowed to talk about, involved interacting with many people each day, and her calming demeanor invited everyone around her to share their woes.
Jacqueline started writing poems in the early 90’s to “take away anger,” and has been at it every since. She has been attending New York Writers Coalition workshops at the Brooklyn Vet Center, led by Yvonne Garrett, since its inception in March of 2008. She claims writing has a calming affect on her and it has helped her deal with her road rage, a condition she’s developed since returning from her deployment. Her experiences in the service have influenced her writing as well. While she writes both fiction and non-fiction, the emotions from her past come through in all her writing.
When not writing or serving in the United States Reserves, Jacqueline attends nursing school at Kingsboro where she will be earning her R.N. in a few short months. She plans to continue her studies to earn a B.S.N. so she can practice psychiatric nursing both in the civilian world and in the army.
A Poem
by Sadie McCann, Age 5
A poem is writing,
Coloring pictures of Bratz.
A poem is a baby,
A carriage, a bassinet, a nie nie,
A soother, a blanket, a name.
A poem is a big sister helping a
Little sister. She changes their diapers,
She can feed her baby food, she can
Put on her clothes.
A poem is like a Mom who helps
Out. A Mom turns off the TV when
We do our homework. A Mom calls
You to have a milk bath.
A poem is like a Dad. A Dad yells
At us, if we’re not cleaning up.
When we’re doing something, he tells
Us to eat.
A poem is like an Aunt. Our Aunt comes
Over when our Mom tells her to come over.
An Aunt helps us clean up. An Aunt plays
with us. An Aunt gives us piggy backs.
A poem is like my grandmother,
A grandmother gives us money
For Christmas and New Years.
A Grandmother teaches us
Chinese. ”Gung hey fa choy,” that
Means hand over the money.
A poem is like my grandfather,
He gives us food to eat when we
Go over our grandfather’s house.
A grandfather gives us presents.
A poem is like a family and
I love my family.
Tip Jar: Haunts
Write about someone or something that haunts you. It could be a person, a moment or an experience. It doesn’t have to be good or bad (or it could be both) - just something that always stays with you and pops up at random moments. Write as fast as you can for ten minutes. Don’t worry about what you’re writing or whether it makes sense.
Thanks to NYWC workshop leader Melanie O’Harra for contributing this prompt!