literature such as poetry. After writing my first book in 1940, I wanted to go back to school to get a higher education and pursue my dream of becoming a poet and professor. Once I worked hard to get my masters degree I started my teaching at Michigan. I decided to become a professor at Fisk University a couple years later which I worked there for more than 20 years. I finally decided to go back to work at Michigan in 1969 in Ann Harbor until my death in 1980 when I was only 66.…
Gwendolyn Brooks was one of the few poets able to move between the academic poets of the 1940’s and militant writers in the 1960’s, creating a fresh style of poetry that reflected the philosophic struggle each African American woman dealt with during this time. Her words spoke of the pain which comes with trying to better one’s life, especially in the face of extreme poverty and racial inequality. Upon initial reading one may see a theme of the stereotypical African American female, often…
Females would be more devoted to read it and the males would not. Even though this is true she has a great approach to this problem. She confronts the issue in her poetry and states how the problem can be fixed. She does not harp on the issue too extensively because she does get into more emotional topics. The subjects that are involved such as the burning down of her house is not always relatable, and I'm pretty sure…
I have chosen to conduct on Jill McDonough’s Habeas Corpus book of sonnets. This book widely and deeply talks about the execution of several people through history and adds on how there punishments were determined. The writer Jill McDonough beautifully put historical events in a book in the forms of poems that had clear questions. These poems strongly insist and stand on the aspect of the individuals being executed due to what they stood for. This was created to ensure the reason of their death…
to function — as one. Slam Poetry, Flag Football, and Experiential Learning all represent a personal connection between an individual and their community. When a slam poet takes the stage, whether it be in front of a thousand people or in front of one person, and clutches a microphone they become the voice of a community. This past year, slam poet, Rachel McKibbens, performed at my school. One main truth I learned through connecting with her was that Slam Poetry connects your voice and…
understood. For humans to gain their own power they must look deep into their soul and endure judgment from others to find the power that they have hidden. As the person starts to mature their power is evolving in the darkest parts of their soul. In Poetry Is Not A Luxury, Audre Lorde explains “ These places of possibility within ourselves are dark due to the fact that they are ancient and hidden; they have survived and grown strong through darkness. Within these deep places, each one of us…
during this time, and Langston Hughes was one to be affected by this plague during his life. He states in his poem I, Too, “Besides, they’ll see how beautiful I am, and be ashamed-- I, too, am America”(lines 15-18) Within these magnificent lines of poetry, Hughes pridefully puts up his shield against racism and states that he, along with all other humans, is beautiful too, and will not be discriminated. Moreover, Hughes states how he too, is America, meaning that not only do whites make up…
Composing song or poetry is a simple form of artistic expression. Through song and poem words are converted to form an image that expresses feelings and emotions only by a very small amount of words. These artists have done this because putting down words on paper generated by emotions going through one’s head is a way of re-living the past and remembering the overwhelming emotions they grapple with throughout their lives. Poet Michelle Williams states that “…. humans have always grappled with…
Often described as a perfectionist, Sylvia Plath was an enviable, popular, academically successful college student when her losing battle with depression began. Having published her first poem at eight years old, Plath was a writer at her core, and her journey with mental illness can be revealed and analyzed in her writing which gave Plath a method of coping with and externalizing her many debilitating anxieties. In her many published poems, stories, and essays Plath covers topics on identity,…
Yanjie Hong Amy Murray Twyning Reading Poetry Essay 2 4/23/2015 The Complexities of identity in Terrance Hayes’s Poems Essentially, the emblematic portrayal of the African American male persona in Terrance Hayes poems is evidence of the experiences that people of color have in their routine lives. Evidently, his interview in the New York Times where lengthy conversations ensue, details emerge of how problematic his life in college and Japan was due to his dark skin (Burt). Arguably, his…