How does history and poetry relate and create each other? The
three poems that stood out for me in this weeks readings on the above topic
were James Welch’s “Harlem, Montana, Just Off The Reservation”, Chris Abani’s
“Say Something About Child’s Play” and June Jordan’s “Racial Profile 2”
James Welch was the first poet I read as I pondered the
question of what comes first history or poetry. In his poem “Harlem, Montana,
Just off the Reservation” my favorite line is:
“Money is free if your poor enough.” It sums up the history
of thieves and it says so much about his politics regarding impoverished
people. The line “Harlem on the rocks” too speaks of how hard it once was and
still is for some brown and black folk there. But the last line “We’re rich
help us, oh God, we’re rich” is also special because it’s layered. For me it
conjured up images of every U.S. president saying, “God bless America” after
every speech as if we need it most. It also made me question if this was the
cry of someone who wants desperately to know how to manage a windfall, really
fast. It also could be a response to the pressure of knowing people right
outside their door want what they have in more ways than one.
Chris Abani’s poem has a spectacular ending as well that
reads:
“Take my right eye it has seen too much but leave me the
left, I will need it to see God.”
This poem is brilliant also because it reminds me of Sierra Leone and blood diamonds or the
history of child soldiers in the
Congo, who have had very few champions in recent years to help remove them from
slavery. There most important
gifts would be the gift of words. Have you ever talked your ways out of
trouble? It is a luxury. Education allows one the powerful choice of words that
can free anyone who may be enslaved. Maybe it’s just the election season right
now, but I was also fascinated by his placement of the words right and left in
this modern day riddle. The right claim to be closer to God but one could argue
most of them haven’t seen a lot of poverty up close. I happen to think his
choice of keeping his left eye is a shout out to leftists and liberals
everywhere.
June Jordan’s poem “Racial Profile 2” is full of rhythm,
color, sound, and culture. It
tells of a personal history of losing one’s temper possibly at the wrong times
not once but twice. Being harassed
by police officers is never fun. The feeling in your gut that you’re only being
frisked at the airport or on the city block simply because of the color of your
skin but you do your best to grin and bear it and not act your “color” that
bitter shade of black. In this poem she doesn’t apologize for being on her best
behavior and feeling a slave revolt coming on. I love how her knowledge of history brings up her fury and
also dictates her response. My
favorite stanza:
"You bring out the best behavior Sunday/ Rice and peas in coconut oil and ganja/ Fantasy and Arawak free or gone/ To Rasta fury and a cane-field/ Flaming slave revolt/ In me"
-Venus Jones
That particular Chris Abani poem really struck me as well. It's interesting that you relate his left/right word choice with political affiliations. That would make sense though seeing as how this poem is about a child enduring through times of war, and it's typically the conservatives who are pro-war, and the liberals firmly against it. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteGood Venus, you find the social/cultural/ historical and human elements to these poems. They ache a kind of history from a personal space and experience.
ReplyDeleteChanel's comment reminds us of where it's written from, whose right, whose left
great
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I thought "money is free if you're poor enough" was a reference to welfare, but I think your interpretation works too, since by the end of the poem we see imprisoned thieves. I like that Welch identifies the Native American and black struggles with one another in this poem by using Harlem as a figurative place of isolation and oppression. He even brings in racial oppression against the Turkish. In a poem that seems so particularly regional, it's interesting that Welch shows just how similar racial struggles can often be.
ReplyDelete"Have you ever talked your ways out of trouble? It is a luxury. Education allows one the powerful choice of words that can free anyone who may be enslaved."
ReplyDeleteGo innnn though! This poem left my hairs standing up on my arm. His use of repetition and dialogue put me right in the place of this even being a conversation that occurs -- one where you have to answer the question of which limb you want sliced off. Who truly wants to answer that? How does one have wiggle room or choice, or the gall to even say "Take my right eye"? He shows us, in matter-of-fact dialogue, that the unthinkable occurs on a daily.
I'll echo that I think it's interesting you compared it to the election season of left and right, as I'd imagine Chris to see all mainstream politics as being corrupt, given how he's been jailed for his anti-government beliefs. This is in a Nigerian context, but I can believe it would serve globally as well (not like the US has any less war blood on its hands, regardless of who's "running" the white house.)
I also wanted to highlight an interesting article I found about Chris. I won't vouch for its validity, but just wanted to throw a monkey wrench in there on opposing opinions of Chris' work:
http://xokigbo.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/chris-abani-distorting-africas-history/
Either this person has true motives to destroy Chris' career, or some of his work is actually hyperbolized. Not sure.
I wanted to say a bit about James Welch's work as well, but I'll save that for tomorrow...
Uni Q,
DeleteWow! Thanks for sharing that article. It's in depth and quite interesting. Also thanks for reminding me how important it is to research the background of some of these writers. It may open up windows in some of their poems and in Abani's case a can of worms...eh? LOL
Your comment on June Jordan's poem Racial Profile #2 reminded me of the very complex identity that is being created when I read June Jordan's poetry. The both/ and simultaneity opposing binary thinking that is so prevalent in Poetry of color is something alive in June Jordan's. We speak about one thing, exist as another, and acknowledge something else entirely. Her poetry also refuses to be constrained or apologize, like you said in your blog response. This type of poetry takes history and the present and represents the intersection of being of "color" and being a woman at the very same time.
ReplyDelete