'In These Uncertain Times': West Virginia Teacher Goes Viral For Her Poem 'The First Lines Of Emails I've Received While Quarantining'
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (KDKA) - How are you getting through these uncertain times?
Are you adjusting to a new normal?
If you'd love to never get hear again about uncertain times and new normals, you'll enjoy a writing teacher's take, as have many thousands on the internet.
Jessica Salfia teaches creative writing at Spring Mills High School in Martinsburg, West Virginia. She wrote -- and tweeted -- a poem titled, "The First Lines of Emails I've Received While Quarantining."
The poem captures this moment when email marketers are trying to calibrate the right balance between sensitivity and salesmanship.
"Count your blessings, Share your blessings
Get Free Curb-side pickup or ship to your house!
Chicken! Lemon! Artichokes!
As you know, many people are struggling"
"The longer that this has gone on," says Salfia, "the more that that sincere language started appearing juxtaposed with, 'let us sell you this product that is going to make all of this better for you in some way.' So the sincerity started becoming very hollow."
Her poem struck a chord in these uncertain times. Within a day it had been shared 20,000 times. That number has since doubled.
The Guardian wrote about her poem. The CBC ran a story. Spanish and Indian papers picked it up.
But this may be the best part.
Says Salfia, "I've had marketing companies and communications companies reach out and say thank you for letting us know what we were getting wrong."
She says she's they've promised to address the clichés right away.
Wouldn't that be a nice, new normal.
