Def Poetry Response

I think that the most effective Def poetry video I watched was Julian Curry's "Niggers Niggas & Niggaz." I felt as if the topic was extremely relatable today, especially because he was calling people out on a socially controversial topic. He was pulling them out of a state of complacency. He was calling them out on something that has gotten out of hand and needs to be stopped out of self-respect. The way he used his hand motions to portray the scenes he was talking about, such as the 3:00 train where the word "nigger" is heard often, helped you envision the scene. He throws his hands around, which is a powerful outward display of emotion. His voice sounds determined and yet also frustrated, which compels people to listen to him. He also brings the poem around from putting everyone down who says "nigger" to asking for a response. He asks that they work together to create a new "dream song, a theme song" called "those who used to be called niggers." The poem draws on so many emotions, from surprise, to guilt, to determination and sadness, and finally to a state of action. It is a pump-up poem, a poem to raise awareness and break down barriers. He does not want people to simply leave when they hear that word. He doesn't want people to look at the ground when they hear that word. He wants them to be proud of their ancestors who for so long labored and were labeled under that degrading term, and he wants them to defeat that word once and for all. It is a moving and compelling poem, especially with his in-your-face, call-you-out type of presentation.

Baraka's Poems and Essays

After reading the essays, it was clear that Baraka is a black nationalist who wanted nothing more than to see his people stand up for themselves in a way that was outspoken and decisive. He was unhappy with the black attitude, with the black artists (other than the jazz and blues musicians), and with the manner in which  they were attempting to gain equality. He also was anti-semitic. When reading the poems, I saw a lot of the same themes. He wrote in "Ka'Ba" about how the black people are beautiful, but they need to "return, destroy, and create." He wants them to embrace black nationalism, as seen again in "A Poem Some People Will Have to Understand" when he mentions that they cannot be complacent any more. They need to be people of action. This relates back to when he was saying in his essays that people complain about their situation, yet they remain unable to read and do not attempt to educate themselves. They are lazy, yet through these poems he is trying to inspire them to action. Again, in "Black Art," Baraka directly addresses his feelings about the black art's mediocrity. He articulates his feelings about how the "black" poems have been complacent in their nature. He wants poems about killing, assassination, and action. It is in this poem that his anti-semitism is revealed yet again when he uses examples of killing Jewish people in telling the blacks what types of poems to write. Therefore, Baraka's essays ideas reflect directly into his poems.

Favorite Poem

My favorite poem from today was "God works in a mysterious way." I really enjoyed it because it was at a level of difficulty that allowed me to ponder and analyze, but also at a level where I felt I could grasp the meaning of it. Some of the poems that we read for today were very interesting, but I found myself distracted from the reading because I kept turning around possible meanings in my head. "God works in mysterious ways" is so interesting because it has many subtle allusions, such as "veiling" and submitting "to winds," that refer to the Bible. I love finding subtle similarities in word choices such as this. I also like this type of poem because it is powerful in its ending. It does not end in a confusing way or a vague way like several other poems do. It ends with a command, a clear exertion of what the narrator is asking or even demanding from God. It is interesting that the narrator is almost pleading for God to take over and "mortify [their] wolves" and then ending with a statement that if He does not do so, they will assume their own sovereignty. This poem speaks a lot about human nature, faith, and the struggle with faith. I think it is interesting to read poems that are real, ones that are not sugar-coated, and this poem does just that. It takes a real-life issue that is so universal even now and turns it into a readable, yet still analyzable, poem. After re-reading what I wrote, I feel as if it boils down to the idea that I love poems that I can relate to, yet they still reflect on the time period we are learning about. I enjoy poems that are understandable, yet leave much room for reflection and analysis.

Gwendolyn Brooks' Poetry

Writing styles and themes varies significantly between every individual, but in Brooks' poems, a new view and a new perspective is offered into the war against racism. She provides the perspective of women during this time, whether they be white or black. It seems that sympathy and apathy is a much more common theme in her writing than in any of the previous poets that we have read. In the poem about Emmett Till's incident, Brooks seems to sympathize with the white woman's helplessness in her situation. It seems that the women are portrayed as the object that causes several racist fights and deaths, but that they are victims at the same time because their experiences are exaggerated to provide an excuse to kill black boys and men.  Also, rather than focusing on inequality in jobs or in general, the poems tended to focus on home life and domestic metaphors. This can be seen in the poem "kitchenette building" when Brooks writes about the realistic, tangible scene of chores and housework versus the loftiness of dreaming. Women had dreams, yet they were often set to the side and not allowed to have a say in what their husband or significant men in their race wanted to do. The poems of Brooks often allude to realistic conditions and state simple truths about their lives rather than display a desire to fight or to use violence to change the state of the country. They are simply more informative and anecdotal than they are used to rally people for a common cause, like the past poets we have read.