Reflection: Of Poetry and Protest

“At home however, I lived in a black world and no matter what I read, it did not reflect my life.” Wanda Coleman page 20.

Reading the opening pages of “Of Poetry and Protest” felt like coming home. That feeling of love and familiarity that hits you that can’t be explained, only felt. It delves into the complexity of blackness which I still have a hard time explaining but these writers have captured it in a way that makes sense. Often time when reading works from non POC they are filled with literary references, passages and experiences that do not resonate with me. But going over these works and immediately understanding the references to Emmett Till, being haunted by ghosts from generations past, fucking for generations for a “light” child gives me a sense of pride I’ve yet to feel at Mills. This text is necessary for both my craft and existence as a writer of color. To both read and write poetry (or prose) that is reflective of my existence.

“When write I tend to engage with the real world. I intend to engage the real people who live in it.” Camille T. Dungy, page 41

My digital copy of this book is filled with highlights of quotes that reflect on my stance as a writer of color, and touch on the work I want to do. Black literature has always had a purposeful function in my eyes. It’s supposed to liberate the individual and the audience and is not a tool to be taken lightly. This isn’t a self-proclaimed mantra, if our society didn’t get off on oppression we might be having a different conversation. But since we’re here, I find comfort knowing that basically somebody else finally said what I’ve been thinking for years and I’m happy to have quotes to pull from to support my ideas, as well as the permission (that I probably didn’t need) that the writers in this text gave to tell my truth. Telling my truth has always felt like I’m exaggerating my experience and that the things that move me to write aren’t real issues to discuss. I also didn’t want to make others uncomfortable but living in this fear is a disservice to my culture and my ability to implement social change.

“Afro-American literature...reveals American lives, culture and history in a depth that nothing else is able to do.”

Amiri Baraka, page 10.

What stands out to me is the connection to between art and lived experiences. The need for writers of color to read work that reflects our daily lives, struggles, and interest and the need for writers of colors to tell our truth without being labeled as “angry or political.” What also stood out as a woman of color is now more than ever is the time to advocate for us. Reading the “Raising Black Boys” piece,” the focus on black males and the number of black males listed in the racial murders with no convictions. Yes black men are targets in America but so are black women and our existence is continuously swept under the rug, even by our own kind.

I appreciated the convergence of photography, prose and poetry in the development of this book, and the stylistic choices used. In my experience, some workshop classes undermine the rhythm and flow of poetry and artists don’t always have the opportunity to practice their works outside of them being on paper. Many writers touched on poetry being a living thing, and how they drew influences from many areas in life. This moved me because it explains my creative process and again helps me to stay true to my course and not allow myself to become product of the MFA program. I fell in love with how each author talked about how their lives set them up to be a poet, and the various influences that they bring to poetry from personal experience. This is important to note because writers aren’t separate from our work, we are our poetry - what we write, and how it is written.

“I know that combined exposure to my parent’s voices and a diverse catalog of music prepared me in some way to become a poet.” Cornelius Eady, page 45

All in all, I take this text as a conversation. That talk you have with a good uncle or aunt when you finally grow up from the big-kid table. As you can see in this reflection, I best describe my feelings with this book by interacting with it, letting the words speak for themselves and adding additional opinion. I’ll be honest and say that I have to reread the poetry again to truly “get it,” We can get into the use of erasure poetry, playing acting, sound, incorporating new media elements etc. at a later time. I’d love to hear these poems first before giving a proper opinion. But  for now I’m most appreciative of it’s existence, the reason behind it was created and what it’s supposed to do. That’s just as important if not more than the actual writing itself. I look forward to finishing this book to have a better analysis and appreciation of it.