The Children of Beslan by Irakli Kakabadze
American Syntax by Chin-In Chen
Before I was a Gazan by Naomi Shihab Nye
From Another Approach by Mary Jo Bang
Soonisms by Barton Smock
Growing Up by Eavan Boland
I had included this quotation from Anais Nin, which summarizes the spirit of these special gatherings:
Each friend represents a world in us,
a world possibly not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
Indeed, the in person session (11) and connecting with 7 on zoom, another in person for a hybrid session
of 13 with 5 staying on felt like a gathering of friends... mirroring thoughts together that would not have occurred without each other.
Summary:
The Children: based on the 2004 terrorist attack on a school in Beslan. https://www.britannica.com/event/Beslan-school-attack
It starts with the capitalized "First of September" and ends with "hiding behind September first."
We noted religious overtones of the bells, the crossing of the Grandmothers, the light backpacks hanging like crosses... the sacrificial lambs.
There is an innocence in the voices of the children telling blended with an irony absent of rage -- The flowers in the 4th line reappear towards the end of the poem,
Here our flowers for you, who/were supposed to open the door of life's wisdom for us... /but the flowers have chosen a better fate.
What is in the heavy bags the fathers are carrying in their heads? Dead bodies, bombs?
The sober listing of "empty, silent notebooks, unopened books, flat, inanimate illustrations...
desks without purpose
boards painted black
and that word "first" again, the blackboard on which is written "our first short history".
It is impossible to speak of this poem without reciting it. The contrast of what should have contained hope ending in tragedy is told in such a tragically neutral way.
American Syntax: Ching-in is transgender, brought up by immigrant parents obsessed with proper use of English. She speaks of her obsessional writing and rewriting here after reading the poem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEXbxXGQmRE
We all enjoyed the poem, the clever set-up of contrasts especially the teeth at the end where chipped and perfect apply to much more than the teacher. The beginning starts out with obedient syntax... a slip in of the adjectives "dead" and "greedy" applied to "clean" and "sponge and then comes the crazy "The corner lifted,/peeking a window furtive." We noted the predominance of strident ee vowels, lots of "r" which is difficult for a Chinese person to pronounce. Some had reminders of parochial school;
What is about to bite? We can't see the menace implied in this ending fragment...
Before I was a Gazan: Before being labeled by nationality, religion or otherwise defined, we can imagine this boy, filled with pride going to school. What is his "piece of paper" -- his ID card? his homework?
both? 11 lines into the 19 line sentence... and before appears again -- no blood, no description of an explosion, just the verb "got subtracted"-- for everything mentioned before, the uncle, the teacher,
the best math student and his baby sister...
The irony of "this plus that", multiplied -- the reality of subtracted... and the painful desire for a solvable problem. Understated and powerful.
From Another Approach: interesting to hear Mary Jo read the poem and note how she treats the enjambments, stresses would and could in the 4th stanza. How the question in stanza 3 doesn't sound like one... unlike the long 2 and a half stanza long question that starts in the 6th stanza and ends on the first line of the 9th...We discussed the monsters "who look enough like us to be us" and "my similar" --how there, there can be a calming and tender expression vs. pointing to someone, there... there...
At first blush, it seems to be about climate change... but what is the "personified day"? And who is this couple?
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/23/from-another-approach
Marna brought up the movie Wall-E : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E
Judith brought up Black Boy (and Native Son) by Richard Wright.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Boy
Soonisms: Well. We listened to Barton Smock read it. We had no glimmer to help with "long and short lives of his children" or his "necessary and fake finalities" as father. We agreed we could not find an atom of meaning.
I'm not sure if it was here that Judith started to recite (Gilbert & Sullivan, The Gondoliers- 6th song)
Of that there is no manner of doubt — |
| Growing up: For sure, you need to see the sketch/drawing by Renoir of the two young girls. We were taken by the language... the craft... the ka-pow of the final line-- perhaps memory is all any of us have... and perhaps we are all pencil sketches-- indefinite and infinite with hope. The "blooding with womanhood" of the young girls has multiple interpretations. Maura was reminded of another Boland poem, "The Singers".  |
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