Man, should have shown this--it seems like everyone is addicted/turns immediately to the associative in the class save me...or a few other people. I think this is an interesting perspective on what/how associative is viewed, and in a light-hearted way:
Scene is from Black Dyanmite, a great send up to blaxploitation films of the 70s. The whole film is so smartly written, and this scene proves it.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
I Heart "One with Others" So Hard
Man. Such a good read. I think this might be the case where the form is "perfect" for the content, or maybe where the content directly inspired form. I'm sure there are tons of other books about the American Civil Right's movement, but because this focuses on one event, one so local, it feels almost...personal. The fragments really have the feel of multiple voices, but there is a certain clarity that rings through as characters (is that the right word?) are revealed/gain depth throughout. I'm kind of disappointed there was a "real" explanation at the end of who, in reality, the people were, as I think the mythic status people like "The Invader" has works well when there is a certain air of mystery to them, but I could also understand the need to actually discuss these real movers and shakers for this walk. I'm also kind of disappointed there was a page 51, but I could see how that may have been "too cute" for this kind of project, and with such gravitas, tongue-in-cheek doesn't work to well.
This book definitely goes up to 11. And it was interesting that E L-S was a huge fan. I may have to check out some of her other books. Word.
This book definitely goes up to 11. And it was interesting that E L-S was a huge fan. I may have to check out some of her other books. Word.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Writing and Reading
Writing
Prompts are fun--I like being stretched, especially if I can still retain my "voice" (whatever that means). I think I am writing "riskier" work this semester, which I feel is a good sign. Sometimes, I get "stuck" writing, and all poems I produce start feeling/sounding the same; at least knowing different ways to begin a poem, I'll have more tools at my disposal when I recognize I'm taking the "easy way" out besides setting my moleskine on fire.
Reading
I enjoyed E L-S and Kiki's reading. In regards to the whole "tone" question, seeing E L-S in person really does a lot in terms of tone. In the book itself, the references/awareness/postmodern ennui may make him look, well...dickish, but in person, you see this is just natural E L-S--his concerns only heightened/made more real by the sheer amount he has read and how "complicated" the texts he has read/engaged with are. Reading his book seems more akin to having a chat with him, and while Avatar seems to be filled with more conceit/less humor than From Old Notebooks, I admire the fact that he "risks" so much in his work. The premise of Avatar reminds me a bit of The Fountain but seems to have less plodding and more in depth engagement with concepts we, as sapiens tend to take for granted, e.g., the stability of words and the idea of consciousness.
Although the endings, still, bother me on the page some, Kiki's reading did have a certain life to it, and I could see why others in the class were so enamored with her work. She's a good reader; her tone seems to spring naturally from the work, especially with poems like "Secret Ninja" and her Valentine's poems.
Again, both cats seem down to earth, and throughout my first year here, I've been consistently impressed by the talent of the writers we bring to campus, both in terms of their books and how they read. Nice work, CCC, lol.
---
I've been into djent music lately. Anyway, I've been semi-addicted to this song; maybe I'll buy the cd soon.
Prompts are fun--I like being stretched, especially if I can still retain my "voice" (whatever that means). I think I am writing "riskier" work this semester, which I feel is a good sign. Sometimes, I get "stuck" writing, and all poems I produce start feeling/sounding the same; at least knowing different ways to begin a poem, I'll have more tools at my disposal when I recognize I'm taking the "easy way" out besides setting my moleskine on fire.
Reading
I enjoyed E L-S and Kiki's reading. In regards to the whole "tone" question, seeing E L-S in person really does a lot in terms of tone. In the book itself, the references/awareness/postmodern ennui may make him look, well...dickish, but in person, you see this is just natural E L-S--his concerns only heightened/made more real by the sheer amount he has read and how "complicated" the texts he has read/engaged with are. Reading his book seems more akin to having a chat with him, and while Avatar seems to be filled with more conceit/less humor than From Old Notebooks, I admire the fact that he "risks" so much in his work. The premise of Avatar reminds me a bit of The Fountain but seems to have less plodding and more in depth engagement with concepts we, as sapiens tend to take for granted, e.g., the stability of words and the idea of consciousness.
Although the endings, still, bother me on the page some, Kiki's reading did have a certain life to it, and I could see why others in the class were so enamored with her work. She's a good reader; her tone seems to spring naturally from the work, especially with poems like "Secret Ninja" and her Valentine's poems.
Again, both cats seem down to earth, and throughout my first year here, I've been consistently impressed by the talent of the writers we bring to campus, both in terms of their books and how they read. Nice work, CCC, lol.
---
I've been into djent music lately. Anyway, I've been semi-addicted to this song; maybe I'll buy the cd soon.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
On the DL, second half
So, a best way to describe my experience post reading: it's like a cookbook with only the top half of the recipes, only the ingredients. I learned a lot more about being DL, which enriched my little context that I had, but I saw nothing in terms of way to address this. The "main" answer was that "talking" would solve some issues--having open and honest dialogues. But this seems like a very weak answer, considering how much of the book discusses just how much secrecy/deception is involved in being DL and how having those conversations, if with the "wrong" people, essentially "kills" any sort of life a person has.
So, my solution: more acceptances of alternate lifestyles in mainstream black media.
I just think, at least for white people, there are shows like Queer as Folk and The L Word, which treats alternative lifestyle as not some sort of anathema but very real lifestyles, with the same sort of complications any "mainstream" lifestyle has. It humanizes it to the point where the only difference is that the couples are not heterosexual--they still argue, have debt, get angry, etc. the same as other people; nothing is fundamentally wrong or unnatural. In the black community, the predominant treatment of alternative lifestyles is decidedly negative, perpetuating existing caricatures of the overly effeminate man or the hyper masculine female. Or, if the caricature of the effeminate man is passed, then it morphs into some sort of wanton sexual deviant or duplicitous person like Will Smith's character in Six Degrees of Separation.
The only serious engagement I've seen in media comes through Noah's Arc, and that only lasted two seasons of about 26 episodes and a movie. I think acceptability comes from combating stereotypes via media; that's how, I feel, blacks began to "change" their image from some sort of less-than animal, and I feel this can be the same way that these intentionally buried voices can begin to sound, become used to, and eventually come out. Since the black culture, in general, seems to consume media so, it seems to be the best way to "talk"; however, the issue is that this media is usually in terms of music and then movies--I don't think you're going to have rap or r&b cats preaching tolerance anytime soon if they don't already as there is no money in it.
So what? Well, we learned, via the book, that DL brothas™ come in all shapes, sizes, ages, social classes, but not much in terms of true "identifications"--we, as readers, got a lot of issues/problems but very little in solutions. Education, especially education to stem the spread of disease, is necessary and important--but until those people become "ok" or feel safe enough to admit their lifestyle and make sure they live it as safely as possible, it's like you're talking about the illumanati all the time. Yes, we know it exists, but there's little we can do about it.
Who's going to step up and make it clear that being honest, even if this "violates" the stereotype of black man = extra masculine, virile, etc, is ok, that this will not fundamentally change how people interact with you, that this won't result in more loss than gain?
So, my solution: more acceptances of alternate lifestyles in mainstream black media.
I just think, at least for white people, there are shows like Queer as Folk and The L Word, which treats alternative lifestyle as not some sort of anathema but very real lifestyles, with the same sort of complications any "mainstream" lifestyle has. It humanizes it to the point where the only difference is that the couples are not heterosexual--they still argue, have debt, get angry, etc. the same as other people; nothing is fundamentally wrong or unnatural. In the black community, the predominant treatment of alternative lifestyles is decidedly negative, perpetuating existing caricatures of the overly effeminate man or the hyper masculine female. Or, if the caricature of the effeminate man is passed, then it morphs into some sort of wanton sexual deviant or duplicitous person like Will Smith's character in Six Degrees of Separation.
The only serious engagement I've seen in media comes through Noah's Arc, and that only lasted two seasons of about 26 episodes and a movie. I think acceptability comes from combating stereotypes via media; that's how, I feel, blacks began to "change" their image from some sort of less-than animal, and I feel this can be the same way that these intentionally buried voices can begin to sound, become used to, and eventually come out. Since the black culture, in general, seems to consume media so, it seems to be the best way to "talk"; however, the issue is that this media is usually in terms of music and then movies--I don't think you're going to have rap or r&b cats preaching tolerance anytime soon if they don't already as there is no money in it.
So what? Well, we learned, via the book, that DL brothas™ come in all shapes, sizes, ages, social classes, but not much in terms of true "identifications"--we, as readers, got a lot of issues/problems but very little in solutions. Education, especially education to stem the spread of disease, is necessary and important--but until those people become "ok" or feel safe enough to admit their lifestyle and make sure they live it as safely as possible, it's like you're talking about the illumanati all the time. Yes, we know it exists, but there's little we can do about it.
Who's going to step up and make it clear that being honest, even if this "violates" the stereotype of black man = extra masculine, virile, etc, is ok, that this will not fundamentally change how people interact with you, that this won't result in more loss than gain?
Kiki Petrosino: The Endline Endgame and Race Relations
I have mixed feelings about Fort Red Border. During the in-class lovefest, I just kind of slinked away quietly in my chair. On one hand, I love the ambition throughout, and the voice seems fresh, clear, and intriguing. However, there are two main issues I have with it, especially the first section: the last lines and the idea of race.
---
In terms of the last line, for the most part, I felt they took me "out" of the reality of the poem. To me, they felt like the cliched intro-to-poetry type poems where the idea is that the last line is to be some multifaceted/epic turn of phrase, something that is haunting and not only comments on the poem, but comments, in a larger sense, concerning the world around it. For example, in "Mustang Bagel," the crux of the poem seems to be the mundanity of a coffee shop experience, how Redford's grilled cheese is unsatisfactory, and a proposal-esque box of chocolate/salt. The end line, "I have to blink against it all," seems to work both to indicate the literal brightness therein, but also seems to comment about Redford being too "thirsty"/bright/blinding her--it reminds me of the trope of blinking hard to see if you're dreaming, and it is uncertain whether this dream for the speaker is pleasant or not. It seems like a lot of the poems end on this kind of note, where the last line can be made to fit, but seems a bit tonally off or trying too hard to do something provocative. It seems the strength and resonance for me comes from the fact that she has a knack for elevating the shit out of plain language/situations (like a NY school poet), with experimental flourishes that keep the reader's attention--I don't think last line gimmicks are needed, but maybe I'm just over/under reading it. It's known to happen.
---
The other issue I have is how she deals with the Damoclean race issue (or really, what it seems, the lack thereof) in the first section. This distills to one basic question: is the fact that Redford sees/notes the only difference between them is in terms of hair good or bad? "Afro" is mentioned at least three times in the first section, and one poem, "Dread," is focused on exploring Redford's fascination with her hair, specifically, what it means to wear it "natural." And I could very much see how differences in hair can be an important pivot point, but it ignores so much other content that can addressed via race. At times, it feels like Petrosino tries to cast both as amorphous blobs in order to focus mainly on their interactions, which I get, but it seems a bit half-assed, to me, to make such a big deal about hair earlier on (which shows difference) and not investigate this more. Their isolation from society works to eliminate, I guess, needs to "complicate" the issue of interracial relationships by avoiding dialogue/remembrances of family/friends/colleagues/etc concerning the relationship, so if she wants to work exclusively through the trope of hair...well, there's still a lot of ground to cover. I just think of this:
*As a side note, when I went to see this here, I was literally the only person there--back row, center, baby!
So so so so so so so so so so much is made of hair in the black community. So much. It's just a point of curiosity, and given Redford's inclination towards the curious, specifically in "Dread," I wanted to see more. The speaker seems to construct her identity more as a female (especially when doing the "pencil test" later on) than a black female, which I think changes a score of implications. Going back to "Dread," a question that this aroused in me, having three sisters, is whether this straightening described from growing up was more the "knocking out the curls" or more "having it lay flat and be bouncy luxurious."
I know that, before my sisters were "old enough"/had money to perm their hair straight, my mom, on Sundays, would put the metal comb on the eye of the stove and straighten it that way. A blow dryer, even with product, would not be enough. I know when I blew dry my hair either to make it look ridiculous or when I was getting it braided, it just stuck out and would not produce "silky" results until I added something with more heat, like a hot comb or a straightening iron.
So maybe this isn't spotted by a non-black reader, but it does make a commentary on the "goodness" of her hair, because if that's all that it takes to straighten it (some lotion [with no indication of lye content/mom wearing gloves] and the fact that this straightening could be done every six weeks versus every week), it does also imply, at least to some base degree, her overall "lightness," which again, is another huuuuuuuuge black issue: what makes "attractive." There is a battle of "light skinned" versus "dark skinned" in terms of beauty, and I think it's telling if Redford is being public with someone who looks like a Tyra Banks versus an Alek Wek. In a way, being lighten allows you to "blend" (or at least pretend to) in mainstream culture, as it almost becomes a lesser of two evils: "well, if that sort of relationship exists, I'm glad it's with..." It sort of makes it less necessary to address race issues, as the "curiousness" that exists may be more good-natured.
It's not that big of the issue in the long run, but it seems like if you're going to introduce something so coded in race as hair, it can't just "disappear." If the focus is more on the relationship dynamic of "everyman a" and "everywoman a," how does 'froing it up alter that? To me, it just seems like a huge gap that arises, where it feels very much that the speaker is aware of her blackness in this relationship and all of the sudden it disappears. Maybe I'm just mountain-ing out of a molehill.
---
So yeah, overall, liked it--felt some of the endings to be weak/contrived, and disappointed by the hot potato like response to race throughout, but nonetheless a strong work.
---
In terms of the last line, for the most part, I felt they took me "out" of the reality of the poem. To me, they felt like the cliched intro-to-poetry type poems where the idea is that the last line is to be some multifaceted/epic turn of phrase, something that is haunting and not only comments on the poem, but comments, in a larger sense, concerning the world around it. For example, in "Mustang Bagel," the crux of the poem seems to be the mundanity of a coffee shop experience, how Redford's grilled cheese is unsatisfactory, and a proposal-esque box of chocolate/salt. The end line, "I have to blink against it all," seems to work both to indicate the literal brightness therein, but also seems to comment about Redford being too "thirsty"/bright/blinding her--it reminds me of the trope of blinking hard to see if you're dreaming, and it is uncertain whether this dream for the speaker is pleasant or not. It seems like a lot of the poems end on this kind of note, where the last line can be made to fit, but seems a bit tonally off or trying too hard to do something provocative. It seems the strength and resonance for me comes from the fact that she has a knack for elevating the shit out of plain language/situations (like a NY school poet), with experimental flourishes that keep the reader's attention--I don't think last line gimmicks are needed, but maybe I'm just over/under reading it. It's known to happen.
---
The other issue I have is how she deals with the Damoclean race issue (or really, what it seems, the lack thereof) in the first section. This distills to one basic question: is the fact that Redford sees/notes the only difference between them is in terms of hair good or bad? "Afro" is mentioned at least three times in the first section, and one poem, "Dread," is focused on exploring Redford's fascination with her hair, specifically, what it means to wear it "natural." And I could very much see how differences in hair can be an important pivot point, but it ignores so much other content that can addressed via race. At times, it feels like Petrosino tries to cast both as amorphous blobs in order to focus mainly on their interactions, which I get, but it seems a bit half-assed, to me, to make such a big deal about hair earlier on (which shows difference) and not investigate this more. Their isolation from society works to eliminate, I guess, needs to "complicate" the issue of interracial relationships by avoiding dialogue/remembrances of family/friends/colleagues/etc concerning the relationship, so if she wants to work exclusively through the trope of hair...well, there's still a lot of ground to cover. I just think of this:
*As a side note, when I went to see this here, I was literally the only person there--back row, center, baby!
So so so so so so so so so so much is made of hair in the black community. So much. It's just a point of curiosity, and given Redford's inclination towards the curious, specifically in "Dread," I wanted to see more. The speaker seems to construct her identity more as a female (especially when doing the "pencil test" later on) than a black female, which I think changes a score of implications. Going back to "Dread," a question that this aroused in me, having three sisters, is whether this straightening described from growing up was more the "knocking out the curls" or more "having it lay flat and be bouncy luxurious."
I know that, before my sisters were "old enough"/had money to perm their hair straight, my mom, on Sundays, would put the metal comb on the eye of the stove and straighten it that way. A blow dryer, even with product, would not be enough. I know when I blew dry my hair either to make it look ridiculous or when I was getting it braided, it just stuck out and would not produce "silky" results until I added something with more heat, like a hot comb or a straightening iron.
So maybe this isn't spotted by a non-black reader, but it does make a commentary on the "goodness" of her hair, because if that's all that it takes to straighten it (some lotion [with no indication of lye content/mom wearing gloves] and the fact that this straightening could be done every six weeks versus every week), it does also imply, at least to some base degree, her overall "lightness," which again, is another huuuuuuuuge black issue: what makes "attractive." There is a battle of "light skinned" versus "dark skinned" in terms of beauty, and I think it's telling if Redford is being public with someone who looks like a Tyra Banks versus an Alek Wek. In a way, being lighten allows you to "blend" (or at least pretend to) in mainstream culture, as it almost becomes a lesser of two evils: "well, if that sort of relationship exists, I'm glad it's with..." It sort of makes it less necessary to address race issues, as the "curiousness" that exists may be more good-natured.
It's not that big of the issue in the long run, but it seems like if you're going to introduce something so coded in race as hair, it can't just "disappear." If the focus is more on the relationship dynamic of "everyman a" and "everywoman a," how does 'froing it up alter that? To me, it just seems like a huge gap that arises, where it feels very much that the speaker is aware of her blackness in this relationship and all of the sudden it disappears. Maybe I'm just mountain-ing out of a molehill.
---
So yeah, overall, liked it--felt some of the endings to be weak/contrived, and disappointed by the hot potato like response to race throughout, but nonetheless a strong work.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Poem of the World...A Twenty-First Century (Meta)Narrative
So, I'm trying to construct an e-version of my poem of the world, chronicling the beginning of the process, here:
arriving at JoAnn's, here:
a quick peak, media res, of the sewing awesomeness:
and a brief reflection, here:
The video is acting weird. I'm trying to clear that up. And get some decent pictures up of the finished product!
arriving at JoAnn's, here:
a quick peak, media res, of the sewing awesomeness:
and a brief reflection, here:
The video is acting weird. I'm trying to clear that up. And get some decent pictures up of the finished product!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Updates
Soon:
Thoughts on Fort Red Border
Poem of the World (with video!)
Change my life book (which has been completed)
General feelings on the exercises/my writing.
Be patient, kiddos.
Thoughts on Fort Red Border
Poem of the World (with video!)
Change my life book (which has been completed)
General feelings on the exercises/my writing.
Be patient, kiddos.
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