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.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
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)?
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.
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.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
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.
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.
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