First impression I love Water and Power. It’s powerful and I had a personal connection with the subject matter. I realized I must have never read the word gigolo before, had to google it and thought the connection was great. Los Angeles is the aging lover, the suburbs are the young fresh and manicured faces being supported by the lifeforce of LA. I love the way this sets up the image in my head for the rest of the poem.
The subject of this poem detests the people who have moved into their native land, the place where they connect with their heritage. When I try to think of who they are talking about I can’t help but to sort of see myself. As someone born in the midwest and transplanted to the bay area I can acknowledge and step back when it comes to others having a connection with a place that I don’t have.
The people who chose to move to the valley are drawn in by the nice green lawns they leave places like New York for. Aside from others like me who were used to having lawns generally, some people decide to leave other cities in search of the suburban lawn. Although they have become transplants as well, our subject can’t stand those who cannot appreciate a different way of life. Always complaining about things that were “better back there”, something I can’t help but to be guilty of on occasion.
As the conclusion of the poem draws near, we spiral into the real point here. These transplants came in search of perfect green lawns, but this is only possible through design. The natural landscape had to be altered, water had to be dammed up and rerouted to feed these lawns. Areas that “once were green” have been exploited at the expense of those with the most connection to the land, to entice people with new money to spend.
I really enjoy reading works like statement on the killing of patrick dorismond. First in the essay Ali Lansana points out something important in understanding the perspective of the poem, “people of color are introduced to cultural and racial dynamics very early in life”. The poem deals with the explicit language and implicit meaning those who know, will know.
Lansana directly inserts the emotional language that might be associated with the wording of this statement. This demonstrates how even something that is supposed to be clinical and by the book, reporting of facts, is changed by who is looking at it. More insidious and important is the way in which language can be used to influence judgements with emotionally charged language. Children under 18 are often referred to as adults, undocumented human beings are referred to as illegal aliens. It is important to remember writers generally know who they are trying to speak to, too often we get swept up by emotion instead of taking the time to critically evaluate what we are reading.
I'm pleased to read and comment on your blog post Katthryyn (Kathryn?) not only because I'm trying to respond to someone different every time, but also because we'll be presenting together for Group 5 (I think?). This entry gives me a perspective of your lens and it's one I'm really aligned with. Of all the readings for this week, the Water and Power poem also made a big impression on me. I'm glad you selected it especially since you personalized it with your background as a Midwesterner who, like the people in the poem, has moved to California. Your reach to identify also indicates an acceptance of what is named in the poem: otherness transferred to the poet's here-ness. Like you, I'm from the Midwest so I know we've been imprinted with lawns in our rearing. I lived in LA and to see so many lawns there in a place that's technically a desert, is to witness the American expansion and colonization onto the landscape and not only to the native people who were pushed out. Water and Power is a great poem that addresses what it's like to be pushed by that force.
ReplyDeleteHey Kathryyn, the following of the images in Water and Power do evoke a kind of environmental post colonial perspective, bringing in the artifice over the natural. It's interesting how Hearle makes the poem dense and creates a "god" ness in the environs of LA. You hooked into Lasuana's language really well and gave us a good idea how he affected the death of Dorismond, making a larger statement on the killing of black men. Some really good observatons
ReplyDeletee