The line up for the coming week includes poems by Richard and Dorianne Laux read at the Dodge Festival opening session on October 22… https://vimeo.com/469337858/09f9eb057e at minute 53:32 Richard Blanco reads his poem below at minute 6: 28 at the same session. at another session I heard Naomi Shihab Nye read her poem… Enjoy!
America, I Sing You Back by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke**
Streets by Naomi Shihab Nye
Snowdrops by Louise Glück
Revolutionary Letter #1 by Diane di Prima
Carlos by Alberto Rios****
Refugio's Hair by Alberto Rios
Joy by Dorianne Laux
My Father, In English by Richard Blanco
****
Nutshell: I started the session mentioning what Ed Hirsch said in his session in the Dodge Festival about "How to read a poem"... that a poem's purpose is really to inspire the reader... and that the meaning is about the relationship of poem and reader... that when you read the poem aloud, the poem goes through you... He quoted Borges, something on the lines of "it is only by accident that I wrote this, and you are reading it, as it could be the other way around." https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/68427/it-is-something-of-an-accident-that-you-are-the-reader-and-i-the-writer
The topic came up of how much one needs to know about the poet to truly understand the poem... Can the poem stand alone, by itself? In the case of the first poem, it enhances our understanding to know it is
written by a poet of mixed indigenous and European roots. She is known for addressing issues of culture, prejudice, Indigenous rights, the environment, peace, violence, abuse, and labor in her poetry and other creative works. The dedication to her father, to Whitman and to Hughes pays tribute to voices of America that are not considered mainstream, such as Native American, gay, black. She paints in rhythmic lines with beautiful images the insinuated heartbreak of the abuse of the natural beauty of America. A powerful singing of a Motherland-child relationship... We spoke about the "yes... and" vs. the disillusionment of "yes...but"... An example her power: "as I cried this country, my song grew roses in each tear's fall"; and "I remain high on each and every peak, carefully rumbling her great underbelly, prepared to pour forth singing"...
The implication of "they" as greedy politicians, violators of the earth for personal profit runs deep.
The more you read the poem, the more the placement and repeated words make an incantatory and memorable impact.
**She calls on Whitman, I hear America Singing, and Hughes, I too…
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/poetry/america-sing-back?mc_cid=3cb4e03adc&mc_eid=248758c95e
https://poets.org/poem/i-hear-america-singing
It brings up associations with Elizabeth Alexander’s Praise Song: https://poets.org/poem/praise-song-day
In a 2019 interview, U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo says, “I always tell my students about poetry ancestors. Every poem has so many poetry ancestors. How can we construct a poetry ancestor map of America that would include and start off with poetry of indigenous nations?” Read more.
**
Streets: We discussed at length the idea of streets as metaphor for life, for what leads us to come together. We were taken by the image of the fig tree continuing even after the death of the man who will no longer harvest and enjoy them, but the birds will. We are all interconnected... and short as our "street" may be... it is peopled by memories of all we have experienced. We discussed as well how grief will find its right place, as Naomi says, "Each thing in its time, in its place."
Bernie offered the idea of a triptych in the third stanza... the crowd... the grackles, the sky,
and we all appreciated the personification of the sky, which sews, sews, tirelessly sewing... a sense of endless continuation even with the daily drop of a purple hem.
Snowdrops: The opening admonishment, the choice of snowdrop as speaker, make the words "yes risk joy" even stronger. Indeed, a message of "hope springs eternal" but we could feel it is a hard-won statement.
Revolutionary Letter #1. Without any background on poet or poem, we sensed a sadness, a sense of isolation perhaps borderline desperation. The "(we hope)" in parentheses perhaps will be realized in a future letter... Why revolutionary? Perhaps her authenticity in speaking her voice... this is no rehearsal for life but a game played in earnest.
Carlos: I had found this tucked into an article where Rios speaks about Refugio's hair. It is referenced
in Whispering to Fool the Wind — published in 1982.
https://poets.org/national-poetry-month/dear-alberto-rios-carlos
Yes, perhaps a real man, the same uncle "whose soul had the edge of a knife"... but also the embodiment of what touches us all: loneliness, pain inside... boat... the fisherman, anchor...by any other name... and our desire... really, just to grow old, be happy... We didn't quite understand all the pieces, however, felt how Rios could invert what should be familiar to something far more complex.
Refugio's Hair: Story telling at its vivid best with a hint of magical realism. What shouldn't be a bad thing... learning how to ride a horse... turns into a horror story... and the "unspeakable deed" is indeed exposed. Powerful.
Joy: A wonderful reminder...the "Joy" in the title "even when... even...//when... when... as you would... (fragment)... as you accepted... (and the quiet unfolding repeated as the final sentence threads through the last two stanzas... to that final word, "amazed".
Why is it we feel guilty if we can feel joy when bad things happen... Thank goodness for it!
My Father, in English: Beautifully read... in fact, the question came up, why the poem appears as a long block... Blanco does not read it that way, but puts meaningful pauses in. It is the kind of poem that immediately grabs the heart.
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