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.
I appreciate your line of thought in this. And I can see how we can make this connection as far as a post-colonial perspective goes. Oppression is the same thing, no matter what person brings or is trying to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteHowever, while I could make a connection, I didn't really gather from reading Cisneros that she was going for that post-colonial commentary. Surely, she brings out a lot of feminist-looking subject matter, in addition to that oppression (especially in a private sense) that we allude to. But on the whole, I think that her focus was on detailing her background, and what has come from it in regards to relationships and the like. Cisneros does make ALOT of references to historical events that denote terrorism and oppression, but I can't see it being a purely driving force in her poetry.
After reflection on this topic since the presentation of Cisneros, i definitely see this reading and see this as a common theme in her work. I also noticed how Cisneros's and Diaz's poetry had similarities in how they made this colonializism and oppression connection
ReplyDeleteAfter reflection on this topic since the presentation of Cisneros, i definitely see this reading and see this as a common theme in her work. I also noticed how Cisneros's and Diaz's poetry had similarities in how they made this colonializism and oppression connection
ReplyDelete