Citizen: An American Lyric

I read this book last semester for Professor Marshall's intermediate poetry class and after seeing some of the texts for this class, and the topic of this class, I was surprised that we have not read it, although I think it would not have necessarily fit in with the other works we have read this semester, as those have created a character that fits this class that I don't think "Citizen" necessarily would have.
This book recounts racial aggression that the narrator goes through, a new sort of "racism", a soft racism, and encounters around this topic, like slips of tongue, and place of everyday life, some intentional, some seemingly not. It also speaks on some of the bigger, more televised area of this with Serena Williams and Zinedine Zidane anecdotes.
This brings into question the narrators place in American society, what it means to be a person in America, a black person, someone who still in today's American society, which sells itself as a place anyone can come to and be treated fairly and make their own living, and meet a harsh, different reality. Rankine often mixes the two main topics that we talk about in class together, race and sex, together in this book, which is why I think this book would have been a great fit for this class. The book flows more as a story, and is pretty much all prose poetry, but still carries the poetic feel throughout the book. It is a great read and kept me wanting to read more. It combines lyric poems or essays as well as pictures as well, which also bring another dimension to her book. It is also the only poetry novel to ever be nominated for two genres in the National Book Critics Circle Award (nominated for poetry & criticism).

The Film "Dope"

I just recently finished this film last night (this morning) and wow I was blown away. This film reminded me of a piece of literature in motion. First and foremost, I would highly recommend you watch this film if you haven't. I also do not want to ruin the film in this blog post if you haven't seen it yet either, and I don't think what I am about to discuss will.
What this movie got me thinking of, relating to this class of multicultural women, was the role played by Kiersey Clemons, Diggy. Within the first moments of the audience being introduced to her, we find out that she is one, a woman, and two, a lesbian, and then are directly thrown into how her family every Sunday, has some short of ritual prayer at Church to "pray the gay out of her". The reason I bring this up, is because the audience, without this blatant notification of the narrator telling us who Diggy is, the audience mainly would have assumed that Diggy was just the third boy in the group of the three because of how she dress and acts. This film speaks to many contemporary movemtns that are happening today, and how black men and women are stereotypically seen, especially those growing up is less fortunate neighborhoods where the easy choice is to turn to drugs and the only way to go to college is if you are playing ball. Well, these three friends do not fit these stereotypes. Diggy is a black woman who is a lesbian but we would not have known otherwise, Malcolm is a black teen who reminisces of 90s dress and hip hop, and is the "nerd" to all. Jib is the third member of the group and is latino. The three spends their days getting good grade, jamming out in their rock-type band, and dream of getting with girls.
The three are forced into one large learning experience, and fall down a slippery slope, a common theme throughout the movie, that one things leads to another, when riding home from school once, taking an alternate route to not run into a gang filming a youtube hype video. They run into Dom, A$AP Rocky, and things go for a wild turn from there.
I think this film speaks on levels to what we have been discussing in class, even though the main character and this film shows the coming of age of Malcolm, it most definitely still relates to class. Ziggy is a boyish lesbian of the hard inner city, but smart, sensitive, while still being unapologetic and witty. She shatters the stereotypes of women and black women in her role in "Dope". This film at heart and within each of the three characters, also to others, break the stereotypes of inner city, while introducing the audience to the many facets of inner city life, and show us reasons why and what more there is to less fortunate who are often overlooked and almost always stereotyped.

Back at it Again With English 310

Just like Riley, I am a member of Rosenberg's class, My Three Novels and a Film. Since I have already introduced you guys to my topic of our English 360 final with my oral presentations, I wanted to express my idea for my English 310 final. In the film The Godfather part I&II and novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, two of the main characters, Michael Corleone (Godfather) and Sammy Klayman (Kavalier & Clay) ended up alone at the conclusion of these works. I will be analyzing the similarities like being exposed on national television and differences like killing as opposed to abandoning your family and how being an unjust man/father make an individual end up alone in life.
To relate this topic to our class, I believe that Michael and Sammy have done the opposite in life compared to what the poets that we have studied have done. These two have gone through life lying and in denial, hoping for something that isn't there. The poets from this class have gone through their own individual struggle whether its ethnicity, cultural, or home issues. As a result, in my opinion, their lives have been fairly rewarding. They are established writers in society. I understand that I am comparing characters to real life people, but maybe there is something to be seen here. Men, like Michael and Sammy, are ones who typically take leadership roles. The causes of their actions include people, including family to be most effected. This leads to the suggestion that men under pressure making harsh and irrational decisions. The woman in our poems have kind of taken a back seat, non-leadership role (perhaps influence/inequality of society), letting things around them develop as opposed to trying to make them happen. I do not really know what to make of these findings, whether woman are better decision makers than men, being a follower is better than being a leader, or if I can even compare characters to humans. But anyways, there is the comparison .

Kay's power & her way out in The Godfather

The Godfather is an American classic, originally written by Mario Puzo and later directed by Francis Coppola  starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duval, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton (Kay), James Caan, and Talia Shire (Adrian from Rocky) to name a few.
In my class Three Novels and a Film, Professor Rosenberg's last class, we took a look at Moby-Dick, Song of Solomon, The Godfather, The Godfather Pt.II, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - all coming of age stories. But it is Kay's power, or lack of power, in the hegemonic Italian-mob family that particularly interests me.
near the end of the Pt.II, Michael is naive and not informed about his family as he is more focused on the business of the mob. There is a scene where Kay and Michael (who has been the Don of the Corleone's for a while now, since the end of Pt.I) are talking and Michael is trying to converse with go who it seems is long past their relationship. In one of the most intense scenes in the film, with spectacular acting, Michael says something alongs the lines of "i know you blame me for you miscarriage" and Kay responds "it wasn't a miscarriage, it was an abortion. an abortion michael. just like our marriage is an abortion. something that is unholy and evil. i didn't want your son micahel. i wouldn't bring another one of your sons in this world... i had it killed because this had to end" (referring to the Italian-Mob).
I was one of the few in class who sort of sided with Kay because she was trapped in this family and relationship, and before she did not know what she was getting herself into. But after reading Zami at the beginning of the year, I noticed that Kay was doing the only thing she could within her power, so she did it. This also spoke to American society of the time because Pt. II came out in '74 and Roe v. Wade happened in '73, which was a very interesting point Professor Rosenberg noted. I do not think I would have noticed Kay's reasoning behind doing this and why she did it, not only because she felt responsible for continuing on the Corleone family, but because this was the only power she had in the relationship, over her own body and to abort the baby, without reading and discussing Audre Lorde and her novel Zami in class this semester. I am always intrigued and happy when I can see the relationship between things from one class to another and did so in this case.

More Original Work

Sup guys. As the end of the semester approaches, I feel that the mood of the blog has relaxed considerably as we all become slowly more accustomed to each other's written voices and styles. I'm going to publish another piece of original work, open for criticism and revision. Again, please let me know if you feel that this inappropriate for what is technically an academic space.

DISCLAIMER: I did not actually cheat on my girlfriend. As I talked about in another post, this poem was inspired by this scenario I had in my mind wherein a man woke up in a cold sweat after dreaming he had cheated on his girlfriend.

It happened again
I dreamt I cheated on my girlfriend last night
Even worse
With her best friend.
It wasn't quite as blunt or blatant this time,
instead of full-blown pants off dirty deed,
it was simply inviting her to sleep in my bed
because she's afraid of the dark

I woke up scared, and excited, and ashamed.
The same thoughts that crossed my mind whenever I had these dreams of infidelity.
Do I really love her?
Or is it just physical?
Am I that much of a dick?
Am I going to one day realize that I'd rather live in dreams of doing sinful things with other girls -
one from France,
one from across town,
one I don't even think exists -
than in the real world?

Just An Observation I Have

One thing I have noticed in the past week is how beloved Prince was by so many people. Even after his funeral/cremation has taken place, people are still talking about him. No doubt this is because he was an artist and a character, and not just merely because he was successful in his business.

But to that point, I find it interesting from a social perspective that African American entertainers like Prince, and other black figures as well, maintain such great reverence and respect from people on both sides of the color line, and from different socio-economic backgrounds. This is in contrast to racism that is still deeply prevalent in some niches in society, especially with those who awkwardly still believe that African Americans are still not somehow equal.

My question(s) that I would pose would be: Why does this dichotomy exist? How has this gap been created and still maintained? I think that it could have something to do with economics,and where people are in terms of wealth and stability. I also think that it could be explained simply by "tradition" and an engrained sense that one race is dominant, especially that which perhaps is still prevalent in some areas of the Deep South.

If anyone has any comments or ideas on this, I would be very interested in what you'd have to say. This is just something that I've never really thought about until now.

The Benefit of a Diary

So recently, as a means to facilitate growth in my own creative abilities, I picked up journaling. This is something I do every day, writing down anything that comes to mind. A verse, a snatch of poetry, things that pissed me off that day, etc. Having a creative outlet right at my fingertips is still so fascinating to me. The fact that anything I write can become a masterpiece is the type of poetic inspiration that I feel many of the authors we've read possess. So I sought out a female poet who was a known diarist in order to tie this in to our course.

Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva was a Russian Soviet poet from the early 1900s to her death in 1941. She survived the Russian Revolutions of 1917, witnessed the steady decline of Europe and growth of Nazi power, saw her husband arrested for espionage, and committed suicide shortly thereafter. The entire time, she was journaling, collecting her thoughts for poetic work. One of her poems from 1915 struck me as the sort that would come about from some physical observations she made and recorded.

I Know the Truth

I know the truth - forget all other truths!
No need for anyone on earth to struggle.
Look - it is evening, look, it is nearly night:
what will you say, poets, lovers, generals?

The wind is level now, the earth is wet with dew,
the storm of stars in the sky will turn to quiet.
And soon all of us will sleep beneath the earth, we
who never let each other sleep above it.

 In short, this poem discusses the inevitability of death and the passing of time, perhaps describing the decline of the economy and social stability of the Russian Empire. As well, the line "we/ who never let each other sleep above it" could also be referring to the combative and aggressive nature of mankind, and the inevitability of war.

Blues Music, Y'all

To say the least, we don't have much time left in this semester. That means that there may be very little original material that we can put on this blog. All of his have tackled the material from many different perspectives that relate to discrimination, gender identity, and generally surviving in this world as women coming from multi-cultural backgrounds. But to me, there are more "fun" ways to talk about these individuals as they can relate to relationships and power.

I was very pleasantly surprised that we were able to tie blues music to the work in Lucy Negro, Redux, because I think that there was a connection with the poetry and with the Blues tradition (and if Foghat's music was what Prof. Marshall was firstly drawn to, he has a solid taste in music) I find the connection between what was being said in Caroline's work as it related to women who have a concious autonomy, and also to men who would care about nothing more than pleasure. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" is a song that encapsulates that arch very well, because it demonstrates that kind of struggle.

The Blues is a tradition that is grounded in stark reality, in sadness, and expressing a longing for better. Go back and listen closely to B.B. King, Robert Johnson, and even Stevie Ray Vaughn, and you will see that tradition, and its influence on rock music as well.

That being said, please enjoy one of my favorite Foghat covers, and I would be interested in your thoughts on what Robert Johnson is saying, and how we can further relate that to the struggles of both men and women of all races.

Analyzing an intriguing poem

A poem called by Caroline Randall Williams called "FIELD NIGGER OR, SUBLIMATING LUCY. TIRED OF HEARING CERTAIN QUESTIONS." caught my attention because of its odd structure. I have not seen this kind of style in any poem. As you see on page 39 of Lucy Negro Redux, no single line in the poem is alike another's. But that is just something I noticed later on. The most bizarre part of this poems structure is that there is a tree diagram in the piece! I do not have an answer to why nearly every line is different from the others, but with careful analysis, I do see a reason for the tree diagram, and it is a simple one, really.

The poem begins by asking Williams/the character questions about her appearance and why she dresses the way she does. The reply is that she is trying to be wifey material. In an abrupt turn (any ideas where this change comes from?) a line that says "I am not half black; I haven't been half black" directs the poem into a tree diagram. The first line in the diagram says "since the one drop rule." The "One Drop Rule" is the idea that even one person of a certain ethnicity opposite of the primary ethnicity in a line of ancestry, makes you a part of that type of person. In response with the tree diagram, Williams argues that she is not half black, but fully black because some of her ancestors have been raped by whites, which is the reason she has that bloodline. However, it is not embraced because it was not naturally given to her.

In another sudden change, the poem ends with Williams saying that her ancestors days of being slaves is not done because she is worked like a servant to make works of literature.

Some Original Work

So I approached Professor Marshall about possibly submitting some original work to the blog, and whether or not it would be appropriate, as the author of this work is not a multicultural woman. He stated that if we could tie the work to some aspect of the class, it would be appropriate.

When Jamila Woods came in and did that brief writer's workshop, you recall that she loved my idea behind poetry that stems from a single thought or emotion. We earlier discussed this kind of "poetic thesis", and that good poetry can be reduced to a sort of one line summary. In the future, I'll apply this one-line analysis to some of the work we've seen.

For this poem, my sort of thesis is in respect to belonging to a group that is not only typically conformist, but also one that is usually not exclusionist in nature. The sensation that sort of described this was a brief image I had while driving of a bunch of starlings in a sunset sky.

I see Starlings- thousands of them
A black cloud, swaying and shifting through the sky
The cloud moves like water, with each little bird following those around him
There is no true beginning or end, just a mass of life
Suddenly, it splits
Some go here, others go there,
These birds flock in the truest sense of the word
Clinging to each other for companionship and security
As the clouds reform, I see one little bird, moving as fast as it can to rejoin his brothers
They make no effort to slow, he begins to lag behind more and more
I look and reflect
And realize,
This is me.

Again, if those of you don't feel that this is appropriate for our class' blog, let me know and I'll remove this.

Going Out On a Whim On This One...

While we are all still in the spirit after we all (hopefully) went to the IndyCar panel last night, and perhaps took a ride in the two-seater race car, I am crazy enough to bring this subject onto this blog. As I was once a racecar driver myself in a past life racing mini-sprints (World of Outlaws-type stuff, if it means anything), and still pay a good amount of attention to the racing world, I find it fascinating regarding who is actually driving the cars. If anyone can't see where I could be going with this, read on.

How I am connecting racing to multicultural poets is through the discussion of discrimination and multi-cultural perspectives. I am also trying to think about how not just non-white men, but also women, figure into the modern schematics of who has the talent to drive the car.

Take a look at NASCAR, for example. It was an offshoot of the racing world that was born out of bootlegging in the South. It was all about taking stock engine motors and making them faster, so that the moonshine would not fall into the hands of the law. Besides this goal setting the course for NASCAR to be a major sport, one has to wonder whether or not African American drivers in general have ever really played a big part in the development of not just NASCAR, but in racing in general.

In the Jim Crow South, an African American in stock car racing would've been an odd thing, and maybe even alarming to the status quo as time went on. Car racing has grown into a major sport where the status is based on who can best drive the car, and which team can better manage itself and the driver. While NASCAR has expanded as far as not being a totally "American" or male-dominated sport (take Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves, who both came from the "big leagues" of racing), it could be argued even slightly that there is an inherent discrimination behind the mostly-white, mostly male profession of auto racing.

And as far as multi-cultural pespectives go, we 'Muricans may become more accepting of the fact that it is not only us who appreciates NASCAR or racing in general. NASCAR and European sports car racing, which is perhaps much mor embracing as far as opportunities go, has millions of fans straddling multi-cultural lines, from Argentina to Japan. Think about that as far we stand here an hour away from one of the iconic racetracks in the world.

Does "The Mothers" have an involuntary double meaning?

In todays discussion we talked about similarities of specific poems between Lewis's and other poems we have read throughout the semester. I analyzed the poem "The Mothers." Professor Marshall explained that the poem was about two females that engaged in some kind of sexual activity while they were at work. This is a reading that I think was the authors intent, however, I do believe this poem serves as a double meaning whether it was intentional by the author or not. The poem reads:

We meet—sometimes—between the dry hours,

Between clefts in the involuntary plan,

Refusing to think of rent or food—how

Civic the slick to satisfied from man.

And Democratic. A Lucky Strike each, we

Sponge each other off, while what's greyed

In and grey slinks ashamed down the drain.

No need to articulate great restraint,

No need to see each other's mouth lip

The obvious. Giddy. Fingers garnished

With fumes of onions and garlic, I slip

Back into my shift, then watch her hands—wordless—

Reattach her stockings to the martyred

Rubber moons wavering at her garter.

I think the first few phrases that say "dry hours" and "involuntary plan" are references to an unplanned pregnancy. The line "Civic the slick to satisfied from man" refers to the relationship and duty that men and woman are supposed to have sex. The next part of the poem seems to be some kind of abortion, as the "ashamed" (fetus) goes down the drain. In the next stanza, it seems as if the patient is happy after the unplanned pregnancy had been aborted, and the doctors hands are full of a substance from her vagina. The last two lines represent the woman putting back on her cloths after the abortion.

The reading of two females doing some sort of sexual activity at work is probably the most accurate reading of this piece. However, I do see a tie between an involuntary pregnancy and the realization of a woman who prefers another woman over a man. 

Quick Reactions to "Sable Venus"

I have found Voyage of the Sable Venus to be an interesting read so far. I think that it is one of the most unique set of poems because they take inspiration from tangible things, such as statues and photographs. I think that this also contributes Robin Lewis' work as very dependent on imagery, leaving the reader to picture the scenario that the thing could be depicting.

While I found the first section to be linear in that its poems were linear and "prosy", I had much difficulty with the second section, even though I understand the work was image-centered. I get the idea that Lewis is trying something totally off-beaten, and puts much of the work on the reader to picture the things in our heads. My first inclination is to say that much of it was distracting, because many of the pieces in the "catalogs" were not linear, written in an abstract way. Perhaps there is a reason for that, but I felt that this took away from my getting what the poem, or the whole package, was about. To be honest, I found myself struggling through this part, and only got the gist in the last few pieces.

I would be intrigued if you guys also found the second section difficult to grasp, or if you see a rhyme or reason behind such experimental poetry. It is definitely unique, but it begs the question whether or not the reader should be able to get the main message, or if it was meant to be left up to interpretation. If anything, this latter conclusion would encourage more discussion on what it actually means.

She was the Most Corageous

Since I was the only one to not read aloud my poem on Tuesday, I decided to finish it and post it on this blog. I'm not a poet, but here it goes...


March is the fool that comes
before the 1st.
A baby is born next door;
out of wedlock.
Nobody told her how to act
or how to behave
Heck, nobody even told her how to do the laundry,
Instead, now...
She is blessed in the unluckiest way.
with a human being
and no collective support.

Mid-way through March.
All alone,
She was now becoming familiar with the tiny human life.
She became attached to something
in a way
that a man feels attached to empowerment.
Unmarried mothers from east to west
from the ghettos to the suburbs
Looked up to Her for Her internal courageousness;
because only a courageous woman with no husband
would keep an infant with a deadly disease.

April smells of lavender.
it could cover up all
but the stench of mere defeat.

April brought woes to
Her, and only Her
for Her family, was not in sight
and She was losing her child.

March fooled everyone who thought that
April would be the coming of Joy since it was
May, that She lost Her baby girl.

On Dark Noise and What Not

Full disclosure: I'm writing this right before my class at 2:40pm and I need to prep for Jamila Woods class visit. I'm sure folks know of Jamila Woods -- the Chicago poet, the black church voice having, black grl soldier. But what folks might not know is she's in an artist collective called Dark Noise with Prof. Marshall, Fatima Ashgar and others.

I want to turn to the latter really quick. I want to center this post on an interview of Fatimah I heard recently. There's this radio show/podcast in Chicago called AirGo (shout out Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger). Fatimah Ashgar was interviewed on that show and talked about her art being relational. That is, the aesthetic goal of her work is to build relationships.

That's profound. When one thinks about poems or paintings, one may asses the aesthetic value of that poem on painting under the guise of: "what is she saying with this?" or "how does this make me feel?" It's a one-way street -- the goal is to place a piece of work into the world and let it affect those it affects. But the audience does not then turn and affect the artist. In that way, it is not dynamic.

But if the goal of your work is to foster a dynamic, a relationship, that throws a wrench in our conventional aesthetic schema. The aesthetic value of an artist's work is assessed by the relationship. That's radical to me.

I don't know what this analysis can lead to (for our ethics, politics, etc.). It's dope though. Perhaps that's what Dark noise is (a la Audre Lorde and what not)?

Economic Conciousness

Especially with reading Jamila Woods' poetry for class today, I am always pleasantly surprised as to the consciousness of social issues within the variety of work. This may be a simple and granted observation, but nonetheless, it is the level of discourse that is consistent from Audre Lorde to Jamilia that is important.

In Woods' work, there is heavy focus on the class structures that separate poverty and wealth, and how that affects social and familial dynamics. She demonstrates that the relative inequality and the changes in additudes are the result of "being green"; that is, forgetting where you came from and your roots, and placing money over family. Her poem "beverly, huh" demonstrates a stark awareness of this hypocrisy within the black community straddling these economic lines. Woods seems to yearn for unity for overall equality for her race as humanity.

We see a similar dynamic played out in Zami, where economic standing strongly infleunces the lifestyle of individuals who are deemed "outside" of society. Audre Lorde addresses this problem with her own formula of independence, living her own life according to her rules, and putting complete dependency upon herself. In Jamila's work, we can perhaps see the opposite, where the family in Beverly falls into wealth for the sake of comfort, instead of facing prejudice and changing circumstances for the better.

It would be interesting to see if Jamila herself would draw or agree with these connections, and whether or not they influence her in developing her consciousness of other social issues. I, at least as a reader, can daw some parallels, but each poet is different in expressing their ideas.

Reservation Grass

Todays discussion got me thinking about the meaning of Reservation Grass. This poem follows the theme of Diaz's book by incorporating poverty, drug use, and heritage. The poem makes significant references to Walt Whitman. The lines "We-myself and mine-toss it in a pot and wonder how it will feed us all-witness and wait-but never worry, never fret, never give a damn, over mowing the grass" got me thinking about the true meaning of the poem. There are two possible ideas of what this poem may mean. The first, by saying to not care over mowing the grass, this may be implying that Diaz and the rest of those impacted over the drug use and the remains of their ancestors in the yard should completely forget and not worry about the things that have happened in and around their lives. Secondly, the poem may be implying that the ones effected should not worry about the past thats buried in the yard while mowing it-when the subject is brought up-but should always think about it to make sure that the ancestors are always remembered, and the drug use will not be forgotten as a reminder of what should not happen, and a lesson learned.

The first idea of completely forgetting about these situations is a compelling conclusion to this poem. The rest of the book is rather depressing with the theme of drugs and poverty. Diaz's emotions and harsh critique seems to lead to the conclusion that all of the past should be forgotten. However, I believe that the main conclusion of this poem is that Diaz and the rest of those effected should not be troublesome when society questions them about the past. They should always be aware of the past to understand where they come from, and where not to go in the future. I believe this because firstly and simply, Diaz would not have written an entire book if those should forget about what has happened. Also, nobody should forget about the past because they were harmed by it. Having a past means that you have learned something, and Diaz has learned quite a lot from her family and life.

When My Brother Was An Aztec

Following class today, 3/24, I noticed we actually did not really come up with Diaz's thesis or argument, if we had to pick one. I would also like to discuss something else we did not mention in class, the three parts to the book.
The first of three parts really deals with Diaz's family and the cultural in which she lives. In many ways, it talks about life on a reservation, but more in general, the life of a Native American, past and present, in the United States. This section features many poems that deal with oppression of Native Americans, with a strong Mojave theme present. The different poems range from a serious tone, like in "The Red Blues", to a satirical tone, present in "The Last Mojave Indian Barbie".
The second section in this book takes her brothers drug addiction and talks with how it affected the family. Nearly every poem in this section show some sort of parent reaction, her mother or father, to Diaz's brother. It focus on the destruction he brought to the family because of his drug addiction. This is clear in "As a Consequence of My Brother Stealing All the Lightbulbs".
In the last section of Diaz's book, she reflects about life outside of the reservation where she grew up. A common theme here comes from Diaz's viewpoint of how she was thrown into the unknown - world outside of the reservation - when she moved off of the reservation. She puts the readers in the narrators shoes, which puts most of us in unfamiliar experiences as well, and what becomes of it is confusing and not always for certain. In this section she reflects on how unfamiliar and tough it was being thrown into a new world and how she handled it.

So, if I have to write a thesis, or explain to someone what this book is about, I would say that this book is about a Native American family who abruptly moved off a reservation into a new world and where this new, unfamiliar world, brought up many problems - like her brothers drug addiction and her realizing the harshness of the world - that were not on the reservation. Diaz does a great job of placing the readings in the shoes of the speaker in the book and giving the readers enough context to make sense of it and understand part of what she had to go through.

My Brother Was

When My Brother Was an Aztec is engaging to the reader by using common things to americans to explain Natalie Diaz's heritage of being a native american. One of the most unique ways that she does this is in her poem "The Last Mojave Indian Barbie." Diaz talks about how the Mojave Barbie is not like the american barbie because of her accessories that Mattel gave to her. The entire poem was very explicit in its meaning but one part that really resonated in me was the part when Ken makes Mojave Barbie put on her "traditional outfit, still twist-tied to her box." There is a lot to unpack in Diaz's writing as she makes the reader really question the situation. Is Ken oppressing Mojave Barbie? Does that mean that there is a bigger picture of oppression? (Similar to the white founding fathers of the United States making native americans like the Mojave move under their will) Does Mojave Barbie not accept her culture since her traditional clothing has never been touched? Is she trying to protect her heritage by not allowing other observers create unfair stereotypes about the Mojave? (Either way she is telling Mattel that she does not appreciate her casting) This only one of he many examples that Diaz talks about in her book When My Brother Was an Aztec.

Connecting Other Perpsectives

One idea that has interested me in this stage of the course is whether we can cross-reference other elements of criticism in literature. As an English/History double major, I find it somewhat easy to identify other ways of looking at writings from both the writer's perspective and the P.O.V. of the historian in hindsight.

Recently in my HIS-497 class, we have discussed different schools of thought and ways of "doing" history. We have looked at literature coming from a feminist perspective, a perspective of disability, and P.O.V.s on how to correctly "tell it like it is". This is easier said than done, but it is worthwhile to think on these different views, and how they connect to the thoughts and emotions of those who came before us.

I feel like we could apply the same kind of discipline to our own study of multicultural literature. We can analyze the way that the poet lays her words on the page, but as a historian, I value the words themselves a lot more than other "structuralists" may, but that is just a generalization. What I am also saying is that if we look beyond the words, and see it from the perspective of tragedy, loss, or hatred, we could be easily surprised how much we can get inside the head of the author. In the end, it may give the work more meaning to us as readers.

Comparing books so far

Before this semester began, I was not aware that authors wrote different poems that would connect into a book. Notes from a Divided Country has given me the best understanding of how individual poems connect to create an overall theme. We have read Zami: A New Spelling of my Name which was the most different type of book that we have read this semester. This book was a biomythology of Audre Lorde's life which was a book of facts with fictional aspects. Poems by Phillis Wheatley seemed more like a bunch of random poems thrown together rather than a book like A Walk in Victoria's Secret, Loose Woman, or Seam, that were all similar to Notes From a Divided Country. All of these books of poems have their own themes that overall connect to the whole books, but I think Notes From a Divided Country does the best to connect its theme to nearly all poems in the book. I make this connection because when Suji Kwock Kim uses words to refer to people like she, he, us, them, and we, these words are spoken mainly referring to the same people at the beginning of the book, as in the end as well. What I mean by this is that Kim's theme of family and war is displayed throughout nearly every poem of every section of the book, which I believe is much more recognizable in Notes From a Divided Country than any other books we have read thus far.

Li Po's quote before Chapter IV

The Chinese quote preceding part IV of "Notes From the Divided Country" is from an 8th century Chinese poet, Li Po, who is widely recognized as one of the most important Chinese poets of all time. I originally wanted to analyze this quote and how it relates to the remaining section, but I found something interesting when I researched the quote.

"We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains." Translation by David Hinton

My reading of this quote as it relates to the chapter is that human life is not necessarily insignficant, but is inconstant. Nature remians, but people are mortal and nobody lives forever. This definitely makes sense with the earlier images of death and destruction during the Japanese occupation of Korea.
In "On Sparrows", Kim, while admiring the ocean, says "Now I am afraid my listening will erase all that is not you." (pg 56) While the message in this quotation is slightly different, we still this message of inconstancy, and that things can wash away with time.

Interestingly enough, I discovered an alternate translation by Sam Hamill

"We never tire of looking at each other -
Only the mountain and I."

I read this translation as the complete opposite: here we see a message of constancy and immortality. In "Levitations", Kim's great-aunt comes back from the dead to appear before her and explain that being dead is not easy. Aside from this brief passage, I admit that it was difficult to find other examples that support this alternate translation. In the end, the fact that there exists an alternate translation that has the potential to completely change the interpretation of the text is very interesting.

Belonging within Faizullah's and Cisneros' Work

This post is perhaps in hindsight when we talk about themes we could've discussed in class. Even so, I think that there is one connection that is important in linking two of the most interesting books we've read thus far. On the whole, I think that Culture, in its broad terms, acts as a major element of identity for Tarfia Faizullah and Sandra Cisneros and their work in Seam and Loose Woman.

This also can further lead to considering the equally broad idea of belonging, whether it is to a place, an idea, or an aspect of a specific culture. Such a tradition or custom can have a definite locus or origin, from where the poet can derive biases and reflect as a kind of "omnipotent" onlooker to that element or history.

I think this is applicable to trying to understand both Faizullah's and Cisneros' work, because both their subject matters entail some sort of origin from where they area able to comment and assert themselves. Cisneros does this by employing stark or aggressive (I use that word very loosely) images or aspects of her Latin culture, to where she is able to comment on the desirable behavior of the strong and effectual woman as a lover and as a force to be reckoned with. And I think that Cisneros was very pointed and intentional about making that connection, otherwise, I think that her work would've been much more "hollow" in giving great meaning to otherwise normal situations. Cisneros injects purpose to the subject matter.

On the other hand, Tarfia Faizullah's sense of belonging and identity entail some relatively complex twists. The origin, of course, is the War of Independence that Bangladesh waged with West Pakistan in the early 70s. Faizullah, though, doesn't try to answer her own concerns about the political ramifications of the actual war, but accentuates her personal connection as a woman of Bangladeshi decent with the Birangonas. While not truly employing a sense of broad culture like Cisneros does, Faizullah still makes a cultural connection with the actual nation from where her blood derives, where she takes on that persona of that all-understanding onlooker.

It would be interesting to see if the idea of actual belonging took precedence in the work which we will read later on in the semester. It would also be cool to see if culture, in all of its broadness, also plays a part, as I am sure that it will based on its already heavy bearing in the work read thus far. Obviously, we can in much more detail than just what I've put here, and would be interested in knowing if there was that same sense when reading both books.

Faizullah Admires America

Tarfia Fiazullah's parents immigrated to New York in 1978. In 1980, Tarfia was born. 30 years later, Faizullah returned to Bangladesh to interview several woman that were involved in the corruption of the Bangladesh government in the 1970's. Faizullah made her interviews into poems, and published her book, Seam. When I figured out the true story behind her poems, I began to realize that Faizullah made several references of her preferring to live in the United States as opposed to her parents homeland of Bangladesh. Faizullah says:

In America, the bodies
of men and woman march forward
in protest, rage candling
their voices-in Vietnam, monks
light themselves on fire, learning
too late how easily the body burns (p. 5).

Faizullah displays the difference between American men and woman and Bangladesh monks in their times of oppression. Faizullah admires Americans for their courage to fight back against the power and earn rights before it was too late. She denounces Vietnamese monks because they did not fight back against their oppression until it was too late. Faizullah embraces being American when she says:

Dark horde of men
and woman who look like me-
because I look like them-
because I am ashamed
of their bodies that reek so
unabashedly of body-
because I can-because I am
and American, a star
of blood on the surface of muscles (p. 12).

Faizullah returned to Bangladesh to learn that she was no different than any man or woman their. After learning about Bangladesh, she comes to embrace the fact that she is an American. She does this by again denouncing her heritage. Although, Faizullah sort of bashes the American culture by saying she can judge the Vietnamese people because she is American and that is the right she has--but again, she is saying that she is an American. Faizullah's visit to Bangladesh made her realize how good she has it in America when she says:

Two weeks ago I crossed two oceans wide as
the funeral processions to your grave (p. 17).

Faizullah explains that her return to Bangladesh was like getting ready to be laid down in her final resting place. She feels that the people in Bangladesh are constantly at risk of surviving. When Faizullah displays her uncomfortableness with the Bangladesh culture, she is implying that she is better off in America than in Bangladesh. I believe that through her studies of 1970's in Bangladesh, interviews with woman involved, and stories heard from her parents, Faizullah appreciates the American environment that she lives in compared to the Bangladesh customs.

Most Engaging topics thus far

The three most engaging topics thus far in this semester have been Lorde's essay, Daniel's "Mr. Greenberg" poem, and "Phyllis Wheatley on Trial". These three pieces have been most engaging not only because of the topics, but because of the discussions sparked in class. These discussions have sparked further interest in these three pieces, more than any other in the class.

In Lorde's "Poetry Is Not A Luxury", she presents to the readers how to think critically and look at a certain something from many and all aspects, in order to get a full look at that certain something.

In Kate Daniel's "Mr. Greenberg", a full class discussion was sparked on the meaning behind the poem and furthermore the meaning Daniel's stances on race.

The first critical piece we looked at, on the authenticity of Wheatley titled "Phyllis Wheatley on Trial", also sparked my interest but not only because of the class discussion, but also my interest in critic's responses. Since this, I have read many critic's responses to other novels, in particular "Moby-Dick" in my English 310. It was great, and definitely a better critique of the novel than this of Wheatley's authenticity.

My main point here is that, this class has carried over into almost every other class this semester. I am witnessing the beauty of a Liberal Arts education each semester here at Wabash, and as an english major I believe it carries over into every aspect of education. I've had discussions in other classes on nearly the same topics that broaden my spectrum and increase my knowledge on these topics, making me more understanding and more knowledgable in these topics than before. I look forward to discussions every day because I know it will only help me by either challenging or teaching me.

Response to "1971"

I'm going to immediately debunk anyone who's thinking, "He's just responding to the first poem in the book." That's purely coincidental - this poem is absolutely fantastic and it's purely coincidental that the first poem of "Seam" was both beautiful and full of themes. (lucky me)

I'd primarily like to look at sections iii and iv:

From a historical perspective, this poem addresses world events in a very interesting manner: the Bangladeshi crisis AND the Vietnam War were happening at the same time. Yet I've never even heard of the Bangladesh crisis. Go figure. The lines, "the bodies of men and women march forward in protest, rage candling their voices." speak to the intense passion felt for Vietnam and the conflict there, but I feel like Faizullah is sort of seeking an equal response for the Bangladesh conflict. She could be saying, "Hey guys, there's even more F***** up S*** going on over here!"

Additionally in part iii, there are countless references to her mother, dresses, weaving, and other traditional feminine or domestic themes. As well, she speaks of soldiers who don't even know that they're soldiers yet, merely "lean[ing] against the cool stone walls of your grandparent's house." This sort of domesticity being paired with the upcoming conflict reflects that none are safe from the reaching arms of war. This is further evidenced by the appalling statistics at the beginning of the poem.

Part iv furthers this theme of "violence on the homefront" with a rape or sexual assault scene that is sort of broken up by bits of memories and sensory experience. While this soldier is attacking her, she can only think of her mother, saris, her home, the ever-present cool green water, etc. In this violence ravaging her people, Faizullah can only seek a reprieve in her culture and her family.

Gender and the Political Scales

There is one element that I have noticed throughout the literature and media we've seen up to last week or so. That element entails the place and influence of politics as far a race, sexuality, and society are concerned. Especially with our own campus controversy on transgender applicants, as well at the national caucuses, these elements of identity have been heightened. But I would just like to gauge some discussion in this.

Of course, politics can play heavily into social norms and customs, to where some aspects of humanity are not "appropriate". We see this played out in the situation of Phyllis Wheatley, where her skin color, perhaps more than her sex, barred her from basic freedoms. Slavery was an accepted system, and there were freedoms that were honored in keeping slaves (seems a little ironic to me). But this was truth, and the system could not be touched. So far along that it was against the law to teach a slave to read and write in almost all cases.

I don't think that we see much of politics getting in the way of Zami, but there is that law banning homosexuality that she always refers to. In that book, it is all about social customs and understandings, and Audre Lorde is conscious of that. Even so, the two are inherently mixed to create and enforce that code. In this case it has a negative effect, but Zami shows that such a person can stand to her own emotions, and not let such a concrete institution.

These are the most attainable examples I can provide now. I would like to see if any of us can pull out some other instances were politics are mixed in with the elements of gender and race, and how society is a factor in it. The main point I want to demonstrate is that not all of the major elements of what our authors are thinking about entails personal understandings. Indeed, much of those may be influenced by outside forces.

The Other Wes Moore and Zami: Survival

So you've all probably read "The Other Wes Moore" for Enduring Questions, and we've recently finished "Zami". I immediately noticed some interesting similarities between the two after my reading and today's discussion.

First, the representation and importance of motherhood. For Lorde, her mother is this constant and dominating presence that controls basically every aspect of Lorde's life. Later on in her life, she would come to resent her mother and bear some emotional scars from her childhood. For the two Wes Moore's, their mothers were extremely important as well. However, this was influenced by their fathers: one had died when Moore was very young, the other was absent for nearly his entire life. Therefore both of their mothers worked exceptionally hard and had to rely on family support to help them survive. For Zami, we could say that Lorde's mother shaped her to live her life in a manner that was as dissimilar to her mother as could be. For the two Wes Moore's, their lives were shaped more by their mothers ineffectiveness and their rough environments.

Second, both Lorde and one of the Moore's came from West Indian backgrounds. As we know, Lorde was Grenadan and Moore's mother was Jamaican and Cuban. Moore's mother remarked that upon coming to America that "she studied the other kids at school like an anthropologist, trying desperately to fit in...The melodic, swooping movements of her Jamaican patois was quickly replaced by the more stable cadences of American English." This sort of adaptation for survival upon coming to America was one that we see as the Lorde family learn what it means to be "white", "black" and "colored".

I very much enjoyed Wes Moore, and as it examines in detail certain socio-economic issues and racial ones as well, I hope to analyze the book in depth as it relates to our course readings.

Thinking about Feminism, Thinking about Lorde, Thinking about Flint

Yesterday, I was able to tag along with Professor Marshall, Dr. Thomas of the History department, and two other students to the #JusticeForFlint fundraiser in Flint, MI. I got to take a picture with Vic Mensa and I survived a heart attack after Janelle Monae looked at me for the SECOND time.

But that isn't the sole reason for this blog post. Last Monday 7 different student organizations and academic departments sponsored a Black Feminism/Womanism Forum. I organized it and gave the introduction. In that introduction a posed a question in a similar form as Meno at 80d of Plato's Meno. How do we as Black people know what liberation is if we have know idea of what freedom looks like? The feminist response, it seems, to oppression is creativity love. And I think the feminist response to that question is creativity and love as well.

The Meno-esque problem is an epestimic one but the feminist answer is an aesthetic one -- an ethical one. Oppressed peoples are required to create the world they want to live in and center love in it. That's what the #JusticeForFlint fundraiser felt like to me. In the face of environmental racism and violence (that is, a poisoning of predominately Black and Brown people's water) is a concert and organizing. Aesthetic and ethic.

This event allowed me to make more sense of Audre Lorde's charge that poetry is not a luxury. Poetry is a product of creativity. And sense creativity is the response to oppression, shouldn't poetry be included in it?

Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison is often referred to as one of the Great Black American Authors and is very accomplished in the field of literature. For my class, English 310 with Professor Rosenberg, we are just beginning to read this novel and I thought it would be appropriated to share similarities between Morrison and authors we've read in this class so far.
Morrison uses vivid language and deeply built characters within her novels. But the themes in her novels, particularly "Song Of Solomon" spark my interest. In this novel, the themes are that of flight, segregation, color, class, and also women, who play a vital role in this novel. In the beginning of the novel, we find out that one of the characters so far, Ruth Dead, after an array of events, becomes the first black patient in the hospital in this town and gives birth in the hospital. Ruth is a complex character who feels alone in this world, even though she is married and has many children and the theme of abandoned women first comes out at this point.
As with many women we've looked at thus far in the semester, Morrison is using her stage to write a novel that delivers a message, one that is not fully clear at the beginning of the novel, but will be later. She also uses her identity and background to make for a more rich reading and background around the novel itself. Her identity and background are present at the beginning of the novel and I believe will play a vital role, along with these common themes, throughout this reading.

Lavelle- Cisneros Heart

Blog post

On page thirty-three of Sandra Cisneros’s Loose Woman book there is the poem titledThe Heart Rounds up the Usual Suspects.  I found this poem very interesting because I read it as a message to all women.  In the poem Cisneros’s has one stanza that reads

I’m loony as a June Bride. 

Cold as a bruja’s tit. 

A pathetic bitch. 

In short, an ordinary woman. 

Grateful to excessiveness.

When Cisneros’s references ordinary woman, it seems to me that this poem is made in honor of woman who feel that being alone and accepting to whatever they are already able to do is enough.  Also in the poem she has two lines that read “Armed and Dangerous.  But only to me”.  Clearly she is making the assumption or the statement that woman are very accepting of the bare minimum and in the long run it is only hurting them.  One may believe that since Cisneros’s is Hispanic that she could possibly be speaking on behalf of minority women as well.  This poem itself does well with tying into a lot of the readings and video viewings we have did in class that consists of powerful women who are making statements on behalf of their gender or their race such as Audre Lorde or Phyllis Wheatley.      

Today's (Feb. 23rd) discussion in class about the poem "Cultural Diversity" was very fulfilling. I enjoyed how we dissected the poem line-by-line and saw the maturity of a young character by her acceptance of someone who is considered different from her by her very own parents. Through the poem, we learn that this is perhaps the authors first encounter with a Jewish person-Mr. Greenberg-and her parents are making sure that she knows there is a difference between herself and the Jewish man. However, this interpretation can be tricky because even though the parents are making Mr. Greenberg out to be very different from the others, they still accept his beliefs in a way by having the option to eat a burger rather than pork.

There is some dramatic irony in this piece. The author found her parents being very exclusive. She had thought that her parents were not allowing Mr. Greenberg to eat the pork. She was unaware that it was against his religion, although her parents knew it was against his religion, they preferred not to tell their daughter this and instead, made Mr. Greenberg out to be different from the rest. So, after watching Mr. Greenberg and not noticing a difference in his behavior from the others, she offered Mr. Greenberg pork, thinking she was doing the right thing by not excluding him from what everyone else was eating.

Connecting Wabash's Controversy with Discussion of Gender

So, in the past week or so, there has been a lot of discussion (I hope) regarding Wabash's current status as an all-male institution, and a new proposal to have an acceptance of trans-gender applicants to the College on the books. As a Student Senate Representative and as a friend to those who are pushing this through the Senate, I have my own convictions on how important it is that Wabash remain all-male (this is well known to you, I think). And while I will put it out there that I do not agree with the resolution, and where I can see inherent problems of autonomy and giving up of a unique element of the College, I still think that the issue of gender deserves good discussion. And I think that it could be had in talking about multicultural women writers who have verged on this.

If we think back to our somewhat heated discussion regarding the principle of the gentleman, and how that connects with other same-sex institutions like St. Mary of the Woods, I think that we can see a point where traditionalism plays a role. It certainly plays a role in Wabash's case, which prides itself on flowing with the times of social change, yet remaining all-male and preserving its customs. Along with this, and more importantly, this issue deals with many variables that can either support or destroy the leigitmacy of such a resolution as we see here now. They are the issues of pre-op vs. post-op; being accepted to this school simply because you say you are male, but may clearly be otherwise (I hate to relate it, but this could be seen as being dishonest); and finally to the sticky issue of gender fluidity, to where an individual flip-flops on his/her gender. And what if a student undergoes a change during their time here? Do we kick them out? These considerations and more strike me as legitimate cocnerns.

But how do we relate it to our discussions in class? We can do this by talking discrimination and traditionalism together, because it is these that the authors that we have read thus far have had to deal with. Naturally, along with this comes the personal issue of identity, and (to the controversy) whether it is viable for one to associate him or herself as a male or female, and how we verge on discrimination. Again, we have touched on this once before in class; but I think we need to futher connect this issue with the experiences that these authors have went through. Whether we can merely imply them or not is irrelevant; what is important is the discussion.

Non-Target Audience Frustration

Recently we've spent a bit of time talking about Beyonce and impact of the Formation video as well as her Super Bowl halftime show performance. Not to be left behind, SNL created a horror movie-esque trailer for a movie "The Day Beyonce Turned Black," lampooning and hyperbolizing the reactions that quite a few white people have had to Formation.

This raises lot of interesting questions for me in regards to target audience. On a broad scale, we like the idea that the stories we tell are universal in some way - that no matter who consumes media they'll be able to relate. People 'lost their damn minds' at Formation because they found themselves unable to relate. "Hot sauce in my bag"? I have guesses, but no real idea. And that does come with some sense of frustration - why isn't Beyonce making music that I find accessible?

But it strikes me that maybe the media I consume is not as universal as I think it is, and I'm just now experiencing that exclusion lack of consideration from the other side. I guess that I just assume that I am universal.

I'm experiencing it again, a small bit in reading A Walk Through Victoria's Secret. Part of our discussion had been around lingerie and breasts, and as a gay man, I generally don't have much input, which is frustrating.

The best I can do during these situations is sit back and listen, which is going to be a challenge.

Sex as a Language

As we wrapped up our discussion of Cisneros, we explored the use of sex as a poetic tool taking on several meanings. While he may be an old, white guy, Walt Whitman understood the power of sex as a language and tool for expression. Not only did he use sex a means of communicating liberation and pantheistic spirituality, but he also appreciated the erotic for what it is in the most literal and physical sense. In his most famous poem, "Song of Myself," Whitman explores this duality to sex. In the second section of the poem, Whitman writes:

The atmosphere is not a perfume, it has no taste of the distillation, it is odorless,
It is for my mouth forever, I am in love with it,
I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,
I am mad for it to be in contact with me. 

The smoke of my own breath,
Echoes, ripples, buzz’d whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine,
My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs,
The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore and dark-color’d sea-rocks, and of hay in the barn,
The sound of the belch’d words of my voice loos’d to the eddies of the wind,
A few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms,
The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,
The delight alone or in the rush of the streets, or along the fields and hill-sides,
The feeling of health, the full-noon trill, the song of me rising from bed and meeting the sun.

In this section of the poem, he describes the unity between the speaker and nature through an erotic experience. However, his sensory imagery also speaks to his appreciation for sex (without specifically laying out specific acts) as a physical interaction. Cisneros does something very similar in many of her poems. She speaks to issues of race, gender, and sexuality, but we may lose sight of her acknowledgement of the beauty of the male and female body and sex itself.

Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

Here's a stream of an excellent documentary on The Black Panther Party. Talks a lot about women's role in the movement. Very entertaining if you want to check it out.

http://www.pbs.org/video/2365657009/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=pbsofficial&utm_campaign=lens_blackpanthers_2016

Prof. M.

Femininity and the "post-Colonial"

For Thursday last week, we read the first half of Sandra Cisneros' poetry collection. "Loose Women." One poem that really stood out to me was her piece titled, "You Bring Out the Mexican in Me" with a sweeping rhythm and sharp lines like "You bring out... The Aztec love of war in me./ the fierce obsidian of the tongue in me./" contrasted it with "...arrogant as Manifest Destiny."

This poem, got me thinking about women in post/anti-colonial struggles and literature. I did this sort of research and thinking in a South African and United States context and began to understand that as much as the Abolitionist movement and the anti-Apartheid movements wished to liberate Black people from their oppression, they never really centered on women. So I would imagine that this is the same in a Latin American context.

Furthermore, I think it is interesting how Cisneros connected powerful imagery to femininity.  And this makes me wonder if a real post/anti-Colonial struggle and world can only be realized if our understanding of power and governance was truly post/anti-Colonial. That is, a non-paternal or patriarchal understanding of power and governance. Because surely we can replace the color of those in power. But if our structures are still oppressive, we'll just be changing the color of the oppressed too.

Just some thoughts.

Lamar & Beyonce

Recently, there have been two performances that stuck out on highly watched televised events. Beyonce and her Super Bowl halftime performance, and Kendrick Lamar and his Grammy Awards performance. Both of these performances sent the message about Black Lives Matter and a lot of white people are angry about it. I just finished watching Lamar's Grammy performance, and the statement is a more explicit one. Lamar walks on stage in shackles and cuffed, in a jail setting, with other black men on stage with him. I believe that much like Beyonce's performance, Kendrick Lamar's will, and already has, blown up in the media sphere.
So, with these two both using their voices and platform to send a message, do you think the message will be better heard now since someone else, particularly a man, has also stepped up and did what Beyonce has done? I think right now, it is too early to know, but I do think another person stepping up will help get the message across, obviously. Is it a big deal that Beyonce took the role in what may be many performances speaking on this message? Or does it not matter at all that one of the biggest artists of our generation took the charge in sending this message, and others are and are probably planning to follow?
I think it does and I think it speaks on many levels, but we are just on the brink of another social movement where big stars are going to start using there platform to take direct aim at this movement.

Was Beyonce out of Line?

It has been just over a week since the controversial Super Bowl halftime performance from Beyonce. Beyonce sang a song about black pride that wasn't an issue. The issue for many people was the outfits worn and the message she displayed to America. During this rough, racially segregated time in America, Beyonce went above and beyond social justice. She honored the Black Panther Party when she and her crew wore outfits that clearly resembled those of the Panther Party. The Black Panther Party was a violent movement of African Americans towards mainly the police force and the government of the United States.

Speaking as a fan of Beyonce and not as a white American, she was completely out of line. This is a time in America that has seen its fair share of racial profiling and disputes between African American citizens and the police force. Beyonce is well respected and has as many followers who will act upon issues by what she says. She is openly saying that violent protests against the police force is necessary for change in America. This is completely outrageous. It doesn't matter what has happened in history, we as citizens should never promote the deaths of other citizens, especially those who are out to protect the general population. The fact that someone with so much respect and power did this during the most globally watched event does not only make her ignorance obvious, but it shows the rest of the world that the United States is a divided country right now. Don't get me wrong, I do like Beyonce and I do believe there is a race issue in America, but when someone promotes violence, no matter who it is, they lose my respect. Beyonce was out of line in her attempt to make police brutality known because she supported the violence of our citizens; an unacceptable way to make this country better. In fact, Beyonce, you just may be what is wrong with this country. #sorrynotsorry

Ethnicity in "Loose Woman" and other texts

I'll grant that this posting may be quite moot, but I think that there is an important connection we can make between the texts that we have read so far. As we are reading quickly through Loose Woman, there is a palpable sense of identity that Cisneros has as being of Spanish descent. However, it seems that much of it is not too positive. I think that we can see clear enough that she struggles with the violence and even discrimination that she sees as an individual who is of another ethnicity. We can also say that this struggle is a sum of social unrest, but it is interesting how Cisneros makes her Spanish identity, and what she may believe to be "flaws", at the core of her poems.

I would posit that there is a connection that Cisneros makes with Audre Lorde and even back to Phillis Wheatley. Even though both of these previous poets have different technical circumstances, the ends are the same. Outside racial prejudice and discrimination clearly affect their livelihoods, but this struggle seems to come back to the concept of actual identity, specifically ethnicity. Even so, all three of these authors have a certain level of command and power to their words (Wheatley is a unique case, as we have debated here and in class), and they also are able not to truly "accept" their being, but to embrace it, and try to find a better way out for themselves. The only difference I would extend with Cisneros is that she seems, to me, not to do a whole lot about the violence that she comes into contact with or is aware about. I could be going into this completely off-the-rock, and I encourage you all to tell me otherwise; it just may be that I am not reading deeply enough.

The crux of this is that ethnicity, as a component of identity, seems to be a great part of this intersectionality connecting these women writers to each other. It drives the hardship, but it may also be an influence in driving each's ambitions. It also here that we could make a connection or distinction between race, ethnicity, and personage as a whole.

Skinhead

In class on Tuesday, we listened to the poem skinhead which was performed by Patricia Smith.  This poem was very interesting simply because Patricia, who is obviously an African-American woman recites a poem from the point of view of a white supremacists.  She portrays this man as someone who justifies his actions of hating the black, homosexual, and female oriented cultures.  This poem was very deep and strong felt simply because Patricia spoke out against a variety of cultures in which white supremacists tend to antagonize.  Her physical appearance in comparison to her voice throughout this poem is very powerful because the message she was sending was unexpected.  I received her message as a justification for skinheads or white supremacists in a means to them being raised and created by the American culture.  At the end she says “and remember I was born right here” referring to America.  I believe her to have been playing into society’s views on Blacks, homosexuals, and women in general to have been the reasons behind white supremacists in the first place.  One question It raises for me though is through America’s early ages and early policies, is the white supremacists actions to be justified?

-Lavelle Hughes

A Curious Note

So I open up "Loose Woman" by Sandra Cisneros (I have a used copy) and I find a very emotional and sincere personal note on the page right before the title. I have omitted the names.

"______
When I was younger, I used to love to read this author's books. When I came across this one, the title called to me! :)
In another 30 years, look back and have a laugh on me.

This is proof someone loves you

You're the best friend God ever gave me.

Keep your head high, smile,
________
4/11/02"

I want to connect this brief message to something that I thought of while reading Zami. Attachment, connection and friendship are three immensely important themes in Lorde's biomythography. This stems from her early childhood and relationship with her mother. Lorde had very few friends growing up grew very close to a select few and developed deeply emotional relationships with them. Indeed, this is something that persisted throughout her life. Though the name that signed this note is not "Audre", I have no trouble imagining it that way.

Audre became attached and deeply devoted to her friends and eventual partners. She spent countless hours with Genevieve and considered her to be her best friend. Lorde and Gennie greatly upset Lore's mother with their friendship, though Lorde paid this no mind. When Gennie died, Lorde fell into a state of depression and felt as if she would never find another like her. As she grows up, she finds several other women with whom she forms intense and intimate bonds. Depending on another person is a sort of recurring theme throughout Lorde's life.

Additionally, the level of connection that Lorde shares with her friends and partners is astonishing. This becomes very evident when she begins having sex with her partners. The level of passion she conveys with her writing does an excellent job of describing how even their souls are connected on a metaphysical level. Lorde truly becomes one with several of her partners, and she is almost like a sponge, absorbing and growing with each relationship.

Lastly, she is a devoted and caring friend. "The Branded", though they would gradually work their ways out of her life, are her best friends for may years. The ladies share everything and depend on each other for both emotional and material support. Later on, we see several other women enter Lorde's life, and she is determined to do everything she can for each of them, like a true and honest friend.

So, the connecting point with this letter is that whoever wrote this note was attached, connected, and very friendly towards the former owner of my book. It speaks to the power of literature and it's connection to friendship. I hope that one day I can find a book or poem that enhances my life like "Loose Woman" has for this person.

"A Brass Furnace Going Out: Song After an Abortion" by Diane Di Prima

Our discussion today about Audre Lorde's recount of her abortion reminded me of Beat poet Diane di Prima's "Brass Furnace Going Out," for obvious reasons, though in perspective of Lorde's abortion coming from an attempt to regain some personal autonomy, di Prima's takes on a different tone, as she was initially unwilling and only later convinced to abort by the father, Amiri Baraka. 

BRASS FURNACE GOING OUT: Song, after an Abortion

I
to say I failed, that is walked outand into the arctic     How shd I know where I was ? A man chants in the courtyard     the window is open someone else drops a pecan pie     into the yard two dogs down there play trumpet     there is something disturbed about the melody.
and what of the three year old girl who poisoned her mother ?that happens, it isn't just us, as you can see --what you took with you when you leftremains to be seen.
II
I want you in a bottle to send to your fatherwith a long bitter note.I want him to knowI'll not forgive you, or him for not being bornfor drying up, quitting     at the first harsh treatment as if the whole thing were a rent party& somebody stepped in your feet
III
send me your address a picture, I want tokeep in touch, I want to know how youare, to send you cookies.
do you have enough sweaters, is the winter bad,do you know what I've done, what I'm doingdo you carewrite in detail of your day, what time you get up,what you are studying,when you expectto finish & what you will do.is it chilly?
IV
your face dissolving in water, like wet claywashed away, like a rotten water lilyrats on the riverbank barking at the sightdo they swim ?the trees here walk right down to the edgeconversingyour body sank, a good way backI hear the otters will bring it to the surface
and the wailing mosquitoes even stop to examinethe last melting details of eyelid & cheeckbonethe stagnant bloodwho taught you not to tangle your hair in the seaweedto disappear with finesse
the lion pads     along the difficult path in the heart of the jungleand comes to the riverbankhe paws your faceI wish he would drink it upin that strong gut it would cometo life.     but he waits till he floatsa distance     drinks clean water dances a little     starts the long walk again
     the silent giraffe lets loose a mourning cry     fish surface     your mouth and the end of your nosedisappear.
the water was cold the day you slipped into the riverwind ruffled the surface, I carried you on my backa good distance, then you slipped inred ants started up my leg & changed their mindsI fed my eyeballs to a carnivorous snake& chained myself to a tree to await your end.your face no sooner dissolved than I thought I sawa kneecap sticking up where the current is strongesta turtle     older than stars walked on your bones
V
who forged this night, what steelclamps down?like gray pajamas on an invalidif I knew the name of flowers, the habitsof quadrupeds, the 13 points of the compass ......an aged mapmaker who lived on this streetjust succumbed to rheumatism
I have cut the shroud to measure     bought the stone a plot in the cemetery set aside     to bury your shadow take your head & go!& may the woman that you find know betterthan talk to me about it
VI
your goddamned belly rotten, a home for flies.blown out & stinking, the maggots curling your hairyour useless neverused cock, the pitiful skullthe pitiful shell of a skull, dumped in the toiletthe violet, translucent folds     of beginning life 
VII
what is that I cannot bear to say ?that if you had turned out mad, a murderera junkie pimp hanged & burning in lime     alone & filled w/the rotting darkif you'd been frail and a little given to weirdnessor starved or been shot, or tortured in hunger campsit wd have been frolic & triumph compared to this --
I cant even cry for you, I cant hang onthat long
VIII
forgive, forgivethat the cosmic waters do not turn from methat I should not die of thirst
IX
oranges & jade at the shrinemy footprintswet on the stonethe bells in that clear airwind from the seayour shadowflat on the flat rocksthe priestess (sybil)spelling your namecrying out, behind copper doorsgiving birthatone     silence, the air moving outsidethe door to the temple blowing on its hingesthet was the spirit she saidit passed above you
the branch I carry home is mistletoe& walk backwards, with my eyes on the sea
X
here in my room I sit at drawing tableas I have sat all day, or walkedfrom drawing table to bed,or stopped at windowconsidering the things to be doneweighing them in the hand and putting them downhung up as the young Rilke.here in my room all day on my couch a strangerwho does not speakwho does not take his eyesoff me as I walk & walk from table to bed.
and I cannot stop thinking I would be three months pregnantwe would be well out of here & in the suneven the telephone would be politewe would laugh a lot, in the morning.
XI
your ivory teeth in the half lightyour armsflailing about.that is youage 9 months     sitting up & trying to stand cutting teeth.     your diaper trailing, a formality elegant as a loincloth, the sweet stenchof babyshit in the house: the oilrubbed into your hair.blue off the moon your ghostshape     mistaken as brken tooth your flesh rejected     never to grow - your hands that should have closed around my fingerwhat moonlight     will play in your hair ? I mean to say     dear fish, I hope you swim
in another river.I hope that wasn'trebuttal, but a transfer, an attemptthat failed, but to be followed     quickly by another suck your thumb somewhereDear silly thing, explodemake someone's colors.
the senses (five)     a gift to hear,see , touch, choke on & lovethis lifethe rotten globeto walk in shoeswhat apple doesnt get     at least this much ? 
a caramel candy sticking in your teethyou, age threebugged     bearing down on a sliding pond. your pulled tooth in my hand     (age six)your hair with clay in it,     your goddamn grin 
XII
sun on the green plants, your prattleamong the vines.that this possibility is closed to us.my house is small, my windows look out on grey courtyardthere is no view of the sea.will you come here again ? I will entertain youas well as I can - I will make you comfortablein spite of new york .
willyoucome hereagain
my breasts prepareto feed you: they do what they can
----
Song for Baby-O, Unborn
Sweetheartwhen you break thruyou'll finda poet herenot quite what one would choose.
I won't promiseyou'll never go hungryor that you won't be sadon this guttedbreakingglobe
but I can show youbabyenough to loveto break your heartforever