From the Book of Outlines

When you speak of your life, remember 
to use examples universally, colloquially, 
familiar to your audience.

You may not have grown up in this country,
but now you have collected your own share
of anecdotes about Elvis or Muhammad Ali 

or the Beatles. If you use those first, 
you might then be better able to move
into those other narratives 

you love for their intricate 
complexity, for the way they mix 
without fear all registers of feeling.