Boost Your IGCSE Grades with This Look at 'Where I Come From' by Elizabeth Brewster

Elizabeth Brewster's poem 'Where I Come From' from her 1977 collection, sometimes I think of moving, explores the profound impact of one's birthplace on identity. Brewster, from an impoverished logging community in New Brunswick, asserts that places indelibly affect the psyche, shaping who we are. The poem contrasts urban artificiality with wild rural nature, highlighting the importance of environment in identity formation.

The poem consists of three stanzas and is written in free verse, utilizing enjambment and caesura to create a natural rhythm mirroring thought. The extensive use of lists, demarcated by semicolons, builds a layered, cumulative quality, reflecting Brewster's exploration of identity and place. This structure contributes to the poem's reflective, conversational tone, and reinforces the idea that identity is shaped by sensory impressions, memories, and connections to place.

Brewster uses two contrasting lists to convey the poem's meaning. The first details urban smells and sensations (smog, artificial tulips, chromium offices, crowded subways), creating a sense of busy monotony and superficiality. The second list, evoking rural images (pinewoods, blueberry patches, wooden farmhouses, battered schoolhouses, violets), conjures permanence and deep connection, with a slower, more meditative rhythm. This juxtaposition underscores the fundamental differences between fleeting urban life and enduring rural authenticity.

Brewster's diction is straightforward and plain, as she herself described it. While she uses metaphors like 'people are made of places' and 'a door in the mind blows open,' and similes such as 'like the smell of smog,' her use of figurative language and sound patterning (e.g., alliteration in 'different drops' and 'smell of smog') is restrained and understated, aligning with her preference for clear, unadorned language.

The title 'where I come from' initially suggests a focus on geographical origins. However, when the line appears in the second stanza, the stress shifts to 'where I come from,' emphasizing the speaker's personal identity as opposed to others. This highlights how her rural upbringing has profoundly shaped her personality and worldview, making the title a key indicator of the poem's central theme.

Brewster begins by asserting that 'people are made of places,' a powerful metaphor suggesting identity is forged by one's environment. This connection is deeply ingrained, manifesting physically in demeanor, behavior, and mannerisms. Positive imagery like 'Tropic Grace' and 'cool eyes of sea gazers' illustrates this, while 'carry with them' implies these impressions are an integral, ever-present part of their being.

Brewster then shifts her attention to city dwellers, noting how the 'atmosphere of cities' 'drops from them like the smell of smog.' Her tone becomes subtly disdainful, using plosive alliteration ('different drops') and dismissive punctuation to suggest a lack of refinement and authenticity in urban life. The 'almost not smell of tulips' and 'Museum smell' further portray city environments as bland, artificial, and devoid of genuine vibrancy, with nature and art tidily plotted and constrained.

The poem extends its critique to urban work life, mentioning 'glue factories' and 'chromium plated offices.' Glue factories symbolize the pervasive, obnoxious smells and harsh industrial aspects of city life, while chromium plated offices, though modern, are superficial. The 'smell of subways crowded at rush hours' evokes the dehumanizing experience of densely packed humanity, highlighting the unpleasant and artificial nature of urban existence.

Brewster contrasts this with 'where I come from,' emphasizing the rural identity. The phrase 'people carry Woods in in their minds Acres of pinewoods' highlights the deep, spiritual connection to nature experienced by rural individuals. The verb 'carry' implies dignity and consciousness, and the focus on 'minds' suggests intellectual and spiritual superiority. The visual indentation of this stanza further separates urban superficiality from rural authenticity.

Rural life, despite hardships, fosters resilience. 'Blueberry patches have sprung up in the burned out Bush,' showing nature's ability to thrive. 'Wooden farmhouses old in need of paint' suggest authenticity and timelessness, contrasting with gleaming urban structures. The leisurely 'hens and chickens Circle about clucking aimlessly' stands against the urban rush. Battered schoolhouses with 'violets grow' symbolize beauty and endurance despite harsh conditions, reinforcing the idea that rural environments cultivate stronger, more authentic characters.

Brewster emphasizes the profound influence of climate on rural psyche: 'spring and winter are the mind's Chief Seasons Ice and the breaking of ice.' By excluding summer and autumn, she highlights the extremes of the natural world – the harshness of winter and the renewal of spring. These seasons symbolize resilience, growth, and transformation, suggesting that individuals shaped by severe, unyielding environments develop stronger, more authentic identities than those in more comfortable settings.

The poem concludes with the powerful metaphor: 'a door in the mind blows open and there blows a frosty wind from fields of snow.' This involuntary bursting open of a mental door signifies that rural upbringing is deeply ingrained and uncontrollable. The 'frosty wind' is a vivid, sensory experience, not merely a memory, but a permanent, visceral part of Brewster's identity, shaping her perception of the world. It is harsh yet an inseparable part of her mental landscape.

Elizabeth Brewster's 'Where I Come From' powerfully explores the profound influence of place on personal identity. Through vivid contrasts between urban and rural environments, Brewster argues that our identities are inextricably linked to the landscapes and experiences of our upbringing. The poem's structure and imagery reinforce the idea that these connections are deeply ingrained and often uncontrollable, portraying the rural environment as a vital, formative force, shaping one's physical, mental, and emotional being.