Poets Against The War

The poem I chose from the “Poets Against the War” database is by Jean Gerard, and is titled “Chasing a Grain of Rice”. What strikes me most about the poem is how it doesn’t focus on anything war-related for almost the entire poem, retelling and describing the night’s events with an almost factual tone, but reminds us in the final stanza that war is continually in the back of peoples’ minds. In this poem, it is manifested as a woman mindfully eating the last grain of rice in her dinner bowl. Is this because she knows there may be a time in the near future when there will be none? The end of this poem brings up many questions, but particularly strikes me because it gives such a vivid snapshot of someone’s daily life and the often unseen psychological effects war can have, in the “little things” and ways it can interrupt parts of everyday life for so many people. 

Some misguided ramblings about poems of self-inquiry...

(From an assigned discussion forum comparing Countee Cullen's "Heritage" and T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.")

For me, the most immediately noticeable literary element that these two poems share is their use of repetition and questions. Cullen’s poem has the obvious italicized section that is repeated, and he also asks questions, both within the italics (What is Africa to me?, most notably) and in several other places. Eliot repeats the phrases “how should I presume?” and “do I dare?” among others, and also asks many questions. Additionally, these two both display a very scattered, almost disjointed style, changing focus and subject within their poems with amazing abruptness. Eliot goes from talking about dining utensils to perfume to eating a peach to trousers to mermaids etc…. In much the same way, Cullen goes from the human body to jungle animals to Christianity. Also, I find their presentation similar in regards to intended audience. I could imagine both of these poems as silently formed in the speakers’ heads: it could even be argued that they’re not necessarily intended to be presented to an audience.

Also, just for what it’s worth, I want note that the concept of comparing these two poems side by side is not a new one: I actually found an analysis of the Cullen poem by critic David Kirby in which he calls Heritage a “black version of Waste Land.” But asking which poem feels more “American?” That feels like a copout to me… Cullen’s poem literally refers to Africa, but is American to me in its composition. I find it difficult to quantify the tone I get from Heritage, but it kind of feels like a young, modern African-American is searching for his roots and contemplating his place in the world through the text. Eliot’s poem also features a narrator who doubts himself and is searching his mind for some answers, but it doesn’t necessarily strike me as more “American” or “modern” than Heritage. 

Langston Hughes and the "New Jazz"

(Written in response to Langston Hughes' famous essay The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain):

Hughes' essay on "The Racial Mountain" was very eye-opening to me. I'll admit - I wasn't sold at first on his claim that saying "I want to be a poet - not a Negro poet" meant in essence "I want to be white;" however, as he defended this stance I became more and more convinced of the truth of his statement. Hughes was in essence saying that by conforming, black artists face quite a mountain, and I do tend to agree with him. Particularly striking was his commentary on music: he says in the essay that he often tries to embrace jazz in his writings - but is jazz the "inherent expression of Negro life in America" that he claims it is? Perhaps at that point in history (the mid-20's) it was... and I couldn't help but wonder if that statement could apply to certain sub-genres of rap/hip-hop being the expressive outlet of today's black culture? Artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Nas, Common, etc. say many poignant things and provide what (for me anyways)  is amazing and sometimes genius social commentary, offering critiques and reflections on black life in modern America. So yeah, I'd argue that hip-hop (in this way that Hughes was referring to it, at least) is the new jazz, actually!
Here's an example for you all: pay close attention to some of his lyrics...

Mos Def - Mathematics (with lyrics)

Thoughts on a 9/11 poem

Adam Zagajewski (bio), a Polish poet, had the poem "Try to praise the mutilated world" published on the back page of The New Yorker immediately following the September 11 attacks. Here's a journal entry I wrote in response:

Adam Zagajewki’s “Try to Praise the Mutilated World” is a 9/11-themed poem that I really connect with. When reflecting on it, the aspect that stands out to me and speaks to me the most is the simplicity he uses when framing the world. His imagery evokes memories of beauty and good from my own life, and I get an overwhelming sense of calm after reading the poem. Yes, he seems to be saying, the world has been broken. It has been mutilated. However, for all this bad, there is equal good. In fact, he may be saying there is MORE good than bad. I think it’s incredibly significant that he talks about the “gentle light” and ends the poem by saying that it “strays and vanishes / and returns”. Light is so often used metaphorically in religion, and for me it really gives the poem an almost spiritual feel. Yes, the light always returns – in spite of the difficult events we all live through, the unspeakable atrocities and horrors that we can’t even comprehend in our own sheltered lives. This is a declaration of the triumph of the light: it will always be present! What does the poem say to me? That there is good in this world, there is beauty, there is light; and if nothing else, it is worth remembering that this light, although it sometimes seems impossibly far away, always returns.

Also, I think it's a "declaration" in the sense that i don't sense ambivalence on his part; rather, it seems like absolute wisdom from one who's lived through the bad and seen the good. The poem doesn't ask questions - instead it makes a declaratory case for its point of view.

Introit

Hello and greetings to everyone out there in cyberspace! For my Modern and Contemporary Poetry class, I've started a blog that will serve as a place to organize some of my responses to various topics, discussions, and questions that I've been assigned to ponder. Whether you're along for the ride in a mandatory context (i.e. as a classmate of mine), or are just browsing this blog out of sheer boredom, I invite you to join me in reflecting on some exciting poetry - and to chime in whenever you get the urge.