PROMPT by CD: Writing into Hyperobjects

Consider the temporality of objects discussed in “The Pebble” and how time acts upon or defines a “thing.” What does Ponge say about the memory a pebble holds?

Hyperobject: an object so massively distributed through time and space that it cannot be perceived or located linearly. There’s an entanglement in their interactions with human / nonhuman actors, and complications to their divide between objectivity and subjectivity.

Examples include: Plastic, styrofoam, (you can also consider trauma as a hyperobject)

First, take 5 minutes to create a list of 5-6 objects in your memory / your family or community’s memory. Consider items you used every day alongside sentimental ones. For example, a ballpoint pen could be listed alongside an heirloom necklace. For each object, describe the materials it’s composed of, its textures, colors etc. 

Select one of the objects and write a prose poem about its use. Try to write about everyone who has used that object, and how. What were the circumstances? Next, consider the vantage point of the object from the future—what will the object mean to you in the future? What will the object mean to those after you? To those you may never know?