Fatimah Ashgar adresses te exploitation of woman bodies and does that in a way that highlights how one can own their body. Owning your own body sounds simply, but in practice can be very difficult. The way she describes the body in her poem Unemployment is very beautiful and powerful for me 'The scars around your nipple", "The thick knit wool down your legs", "praise the lumpy back fat" I love these descriptors, but I am not really sure the meaning of this poem. At first read through it seems she is saying 'Thank G-d I'm not conventionally attractive, or I would have been a sex worker." I don't like what this poem could potentially be saying about the woman who do answer those internet adds, though I do understand the fear of having to do that work to survive, and I don't necessarily disagree with what she saying.
The repetition of 'sister' at the end of every line gives a great rhythm to 'Ghazal of My Sister' by Angel Nafis. The Ghazal is a traditional poetic form originating in Arabic poetry. to quote Wikipedia "A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. " I definitely feel that sentiment in this poem. There are multiple description of the 'sister's' body in this poem. I find those are the lines in the poem that really honor and uplift this person. Which I think is important to have and to balance the sadder parts of the poem with feelings of love and an expression that she has worth and it lives inside her body, so no one can take it away. Nafis' other poem 'Conspiracy: A suite' is so powerful and says so much about the perceived worth Black Girl's Bodies and their treatment by the medical industry I don't know how to talk about it.
"Proximity' By C. Dale Young is such a beautiful poem and the body in this poem is presented in such an emotional way. Young describes the body in a way where his emotions and feelings inhabit the body and I think it is a very affective way of eliciting these emotions in the reader. As you read it you can imagine these instances in your own body. I love the line "Not the sense of touch, but of being touched" I am unsure in what ways this poem may complicate the political, but I appreciate the ways Young explores presentations of the body.
'Then' by Lawrence Joseph helps me understand how the presentation of the body can complicate the political. There is something about the body, and presentations of it, that is so immediate and so personal. It is a way to relate to and affect any reader. The political exists inside peoples bodies. And it affect, damages, murders these. Presentations of the body take the political from concepts and ideals and shows where these policies become real.
I found Fatimah Ashgar's poem to be a "reverse" narrative, for lack of better words . The flip of the poem is that there is safety in being "ugly". I think it was brilliant and empowering, also it made me think of how some cultures scar young girls to make them undesirable.
ReplyDeleteVery nice Rose, I also appreciated how you research the ghazal and found its relationship to The poets works. It's interesting that you looked at the female interpretation of the body and a male. Where the male feels invisible in the female feels taking control. Good job
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