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.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Addendum
I really want (need?) to try right path. It's going to be crazy for me, I know, as I'm intensely logical in terms of things, so I'm always imposing order, or trying to. "This is how this situation should work"; "Given inputs x, y, and z will produce a"; etc. I don't think I even live in the "moment" unless I'm playing sports, which is interesting, as years of practice/conditioning takes you away from making choices with your brain and with your heart (instinct). Especially since I ride the metra, I'm constantly thinking of random things...maybe I'll try to quiet down, tomorrow, for at least five minutes, and allow myself, literally, to be taken to the city.
Updates
Lavender-Smith exercise:
At first, I felt uncomfortable about doing it--talking about a subject I don't really talk about. I never talk about race--it's not that I'm afraid to or anything, but as a black poet, it feels almost expected. I'm still thinking about whether I want to participate in Claudia Rankine's discussion (via email), but I'm constantly reminded of Hughes' essay "The Negro and the Racial Mountain" and what I feel to be bad advice, where essentially, he states a black poet wanting to be a "good" poet means they want to be perceived as white. I just think it's limiting what race politics alone as a vehicle, or even explicit choices to nuance scenes in color for a work. It doesn't allow authentic projections or projections in general at times, and sometimes making those leaps is the only way you approach something interesting, some sort of new truth.
I guess, overall, is that if I start identifying my writing as specifically "one note," I feel I may write myself into corners, even if there is a decent amount of breadth to cover. In this way, I think white poets have it so much easier to "break it" in the industry versus black--there's not that immediate expectation to "write white" in terms of experience, as what white can be has never been limited, in this country. Oversimplification? Of course. And I think Hoagland, in a way, tries to investigate this from the position of privilege, which I think is the most authentic way a white poet can write about race in this country. Sure, the poem is flippant, but I think that is to be mimetic of reactions whites have about the advancement of the other in this country, where "birthrights" may be stolen by those "undeserving" or "tribal." However, any success this poem does is done away by dickish and flippant remarks--wah wah, we know race is a slippery issue, but that's besides the point. If you want to have sophisticated conversations about important issues, you have to take it seriously--dialogue will always be open if parties express genuine interest.
It feels to me, really, that Hoagland isn't ready for this conversation and is using the whole persona != speaker thing as a cop-out to avoid a) substantially defending his work or b) admitting the work's flaws and turning that into another discussion. The goal shouldn't be to vilify Hoagland; rather, the opposite. It's ballsy to have a piss-poor pseudonym for Venus Williams in a poem, and it takes a certain vulnerability to admit, even in something as "light" as sport, that you'd rather not see demographic x rise in the ranks. Does this make anything more or less right? No, but understanding is the key to doing anything productive with content we, as humans, or as artists, don't agree with.
Heading back towards the exercise itself, but one step at a time, I don't feel the need to constantly identify myself as "that black poet Glenn" or "the black first year poetry student at Columbia"; I see myself as so much more that giving precedent to one part of my being versus another seems like an ultimate act of dishonesty. If you're proud of your heritage or a certain aspect of your life, that's good--but when you feel the need to force a certain belief/ideology/etc., and this approach leaves nothing else...well, you're sketching two-dimensional--is this really a good look for a place (and often, a people) who thrive on being pluralistic?
And back fully on topic, I dug the exercise because, eventually, I found a comfortable way (for me) to talk about race. I always hear it, based on my words or actions, that I'm the "whitest black kid" people know. It doesn't bother me, really, as I tend to take very little in life seriously (not in a naive sense, but more a constant global sense), and of all things, something that isn't going to physically hurt me, my family, or way of life? Is this too casual an attitude about race relations? Maybe. Maybe, in a sense, there is some naivete in thinking people who call me friend or some permutation of the word have the best intentions. Eh. Anyway, I just built a list of stereotypes, truism, random facts about me, just a whole bunch of different constructions and literally made it into a black and white issue. I was surprised about the positive feedback in class (I thought I blew it), and the poem has grown substantially. Right now, I'm just torn as to "where," formatting, it should go. I think the content is at a point now where I feel comfortable in the sort of "argument" it's presenting without relying on too much cheap/not widely "stereotypical" information, and I'm just torn whether the lineation still works or if a prose block is needed--if I leave the line breaks, I want them to mean something besides beginning a new unit; I still want some sense of enjambment/delight.
---
Yes Thing, NoThing
At times, you could really tell that stuff was meant to be performed. The more "traditional" poems were concise, but there are issues with trying to represent dynamic language on the page. In undergrad, I did a project on spoken word artist Kirk Nugent. In regards to poetry, I immediately connected to spoken word artists, and having seen him perform live a few times at my alma mater, I thought he was quality. How flat things fell on the page. It didn't even look like an attempt was made to represent any sort of "intensity," but standard lines of text, some better lineated than others. That's part of the issue with poetry as representation--there are schools of spoken word artist that putting page to work is a disservice; there are schools of experimental writers whose live performances would be more "what the fuck" moments than visceral connections. I'm not sure if you need to meet in the middle, but it seems like the further you go towards one end of the spectrum, the more potential audience you're going to miss out on. If you have a specific group that will support you, this is a non-issue, but if you want your work to reach beyond an establish group...well, concessions need to be made.
I enjoyed the reading (though I had to get on a later train)--even though it appeared Torres was sick, he was relatively engaging. I guess I expected "more" in terms of dynamism in the peformance, but it seemed to only happen when he was literally telling a story within a poem or doing poly-lingual jumps. His last piece was truly a performance piece that I'm still making heads or tails of, but he was good.
---
Poem of the World
I suck at reading calendars. The first Monday for "Sewing 101" isn't the 8th...as that's a Tuesday. It is the 14th. This may prove weird--maybe I should call and see if I need to pre-register, lest I be left out in the cold.
-Glenn
---
Just one song. Bought The Roots How I Got Over recently, and have been vibing to the title track. Refreshing. And a bit nostalgic, if only tangentially.
At first, I felt uncomfortable about doing it--talking about a subject I don't really talk about. I never talk about race--it's not that I'm afraid to or anything, but as a black poet, it feels almost expected. I'm still thinking about whether I want to participate in Claudia Rankine's discussion (via email), but I'm constantly reminded of Hughes' essay "The Negro and the Racial Mountain" and what I feel to be bad advice, where essentially, he states a black poet wanting to be a "good" poet means they want to be perceived as white. I just think it's limiting what race politics alone as a vehicle, or even explicit choices to nuance scenes in color for a work. It doesn't allow authentic projections or projections in general at times, and sometimes making those leaps is the only way you approach something interesting, some sort of new truth.
I guess, overall, is that if I start identifying my writing as specifically "one note," I feel I may write myself into corners, even if there is a decent amount of breadth to cover. In this way, I think white poets have it so much easier to "break it" in the industry versus black--there's not that immediate expectation to "write white" in terms of experience, as what white can be has never been limited, in this country. Oversimplification? Of course. And I think Hoagland, in a way, tries to investigate this from the position of privilege, which I think is the most authentic way a white poet can write about race in this country. Sure, the poem is flippant, but I think that is to be mimetic of reactions whites have about the advancement of the other in this country, where "birthrights" may be stolen by those "undeserving" or "tribal." However, any success this poem does is done away by dickish and flippant remarks--wah wah, we know race is a slippery issue, but that's besides the point. If you want to have sophisticated conversations about important issues, you have to take it seriously--dialogue will always be open if parties express genuine interest.
It feels to me, really, that Hoagland isn't ready for this conversation and is using the whole persona != speaker thing as a cop-out to avoid a) substantially defending his work or b) admitting the work's flaws and turning that into another discussion. The goal shouldn't be to vilify Hoagland; rather, the opposite. It's ballsy to have a piss-poor pseudonym for Venus Williams in a poem, and it takes a certain vulnerability to admit, even in something as "light" as sport, that you'd rather not see demographic x rise in the ranks. Does this make anything more or less right? No, but understanding is the key to doing anything productive with content we, as humans, or as artists, don't agree with.
Heading back towards the exercise itself, but one step at a time, I don't feel the need to constantly identify myself as "that black poet Glenn" or "the black first year poetry student at Columbia"; I see myself as so much more that giving precedent to one part of my being versus another seems like an ultimate act of dishonesty. If you're proud of your heritage or a certain aspect of your life, that's good--but when you feel the need to force a certain belief/ideology/etc., and this approach leaves nothing else...well, you're sketching two-dimensional--is this really a good look for a place (and often, a people) who thrive on being pluralistic?
And back fully on topic, I dug the exercise because, eventually, I found a comfortable way (for me) to talk about race. I always hear it, based on my words or actions, that I'm the "whitest black kid" people know. It doesn't bother me, really, as I tend to take very little in life seriously (not in a naive sense, but more a constant global sense), and of all things, something that isn't going to physically hurt me, my family, or way of life? Is this too casual an attitude about race relations? Maybe. Maybe, in a sense, there is some naivete in thinking people who call me friend or some permutation of the word have the best intentions. Eh. Anyway, I just built a list of stereotypes, truism, random facts about me, just a whole bunch of different constructions and literally made it into a black and white issue. I was surprised about the positive feedback in class (I thought I blew it), and the poem has grown substantially. Right now, I'm just torn as to "where," formatting, it should go. I think the content is at a point now where I feel comfortable in the sort of "argument" it's presenting without relying on too much cheap/not widely "stereotypical" information, and I'm just torn whether the lineation still works or if a prose block is needed--if I leave the line breaks, I want them to mean something besides beginning a new unit; I still want some sense of enjambment/delight.
---
Yes Thing, NoThing
At times, you could really tell that stuff was meant to be performed. The more "traditional" poems were concise, but there are issues with trying to represent dynamic language on the page. In undergrad, I did a project on spoken word artist Kirk Nugent. In regards to poetry, I immediately connected to spoken word artists, and having seen him perform live a few times at my alma mater, I thought he was quality. How flat things fell on the page. It didn't even look like an attempt was made to represent any sort of "intensity," but standard lines of text, some better lineated than others. That's part of the issue with poetry as representation--there are schools of spoken word artist that putting page to work is a disservice; there are schools of experimental writers whose live performances would be more "what the fuck" moments than visceral connections. I'm not sure if you need to meet in the middle, but it seems like the further you go towards one end of the spectrum, the more potential audience you're going to miss out on. If you have a specific group that will support you, this is a non-issue, but if you want your work to reach beyond an establish group...well, concessions need to be made.
I enjoyed the reading (though I had to get on a later train)--even though it appeared Torres was sick, he was relatively engaging. I guess I expected "more" in terms of dynamism in the peformance, but it seemed to only happen when he was literally telling a story within a poem or doing poly-lingual jumps. His last piece was truly a performance piece that I'm still making heads or tails of, but he was good.
---
Poem of the World
I suck at reading calendars. The first Monday for "Sewing 101" isn't the 8th...as that's a Tuesday. It is the 14th. This may prove weird--maybe I should call and see if I need to pre-register, lest I be left out in the cold.
-Glenn
---
Just one song. Bought The Roots How I Got Over recently, and have been vibing to the title track. Refreshing. And a bit nostalgic, if only tangentially.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Soon
Coming soon (and by soon, I mean, hopefully, before Sunday):
Lavender-Smith exercise
YesThing, NoThing
Torres' reading
Maybe more? Sometimes, the typing process jogs my memory.
Oh yeah, I may send something to Claudia Rankine...though I tried a couple starts yesterday and quickly abandoned them. Maybe I'll tie this in...or make a separate entry.
-Glenn
Lavender-Smith exercise
YesThing, NoThing
Torres' reading
Maybe more? Sometimes, the typing process jogs my memory.
Oh yeah, I may send something to Claudia Rankine...though I tried a couple starts yesterday and quickly abandoned them. Maybe I'll tie this in...or make a separate entry.
-Glenn
Sunday, February 13, 2011
On the DL, first half
Eh. I'm a bit disappointed. The prose is well-written and authentic, but the way the book was billed...I was expecting more empirical (or, should I say, traditional) research. Most of the "research" I've seen so far has been dude's personal experience (which is chockful of ethos, so that's not a problem), but there are opportunities to really drive home the prose with some numbers, and a lot of these opportunities, I feel, are missed.
The main issue with DL behavior has nothing, really, to do with a morality. There are issues concerning why black men choose to be DL instead of endorsing a sexuality (which, again, is another whole topic about sexuality re: born or learned behavior), but the main point King wants to discuss are the outcomes: mainly, the spread of HIV/AIDS to the black community via this behavior. He's not saying this is the only reason for increase in disease, but the foundation of any good prevention program is education, and ignoring that DL behavior is going home seems silly, in his opinion.
DL behavior in a nutshell: for one reason or another (mainly, the reactions from different sectors of life [church, family, current partners, etc]), black males who have sex with other black males do not speak. By saying something, it makes it real that they may be gay, and heaven forbid you be gay in the black community (this is not meant to be flippant--really, that seems to be the still-running feeling in the black community: it's better to be closeted then go against the other strong, black brothers who've come before you by being a "weak" person: homosexual). Anyway, part of this outcome is safe sex--planning accordingly (having condoms) means you're actively seeking this, which makes it even more evident that the homosexual sex acts are, indeed, homosexual sex acts, not just impulse decisions via external factors like drugs/alcohol, or just needing to "get off." So, you roll the unprotected sex dice, and then if you get burned, literally, you pass it to your heterosexual partner. Again, getting tested would be another admission of homosexual guilt, so dudes may carry diseases that become bigger issues simply because "common sense" preventative measures can't be used because of the complexity of issues that arise from facing the "am I gay" question.
Anyway, if King's point is preventative stuff, I think the use of stats, not necessarily whole sections devoted to studies but more concrete information besides generalizations or solipsisms, will do him well. Spreading of disease: show it. List of issues that prevent blacks from coming out, empirically: show it. "Risky" behavior stats for blacks: show it. There's only so much your own experience or anecdotal information from interviewees can do; saying that the goal of this book is to give readers a "clearer picture of what a DL brother looks like," and saying on the back cover that it "Deliver[s] the first frank and thorough investigation of lie 'on the down low'," I just expected a more diverse use of investigation techniques. Maybe, for a project like this, the anecdote is sufficient evidence. But at times, it really feels ideas would have gained that much more in terms of pop by not slipping into a generalization or only one person's experience.
How is this changing me, currently? It's very interesting to see how my community "works"--I mean, I generally understood the subject, but the anecdotes become more and more telling as I can begin to see myself, facets of my self, or people I know in the situation. The centrality of the black church in regards to life is so interesting, as it really becomes an institution akin to a university. There isn't just Sunday school--there are choirs, usher boards, and various other ministries or auxiliaries to serve in. Your life, it seems, to be based more in church than out of it, so your church becomes your family so x more eyes are on you. It's easy to see the pressure involved there--again, with so much filtering through church, when something "bad" happens to you, it spreads quickly, and in the case of homosexuality and the biblical stance of it, what do you do when you are kicked out from your family. Such a "simple" issue (and a "simple" solution) is really so much more complicated than its given credit for. Homosexuality is less about "immoral" choices in the black community, but essentially, how these feelings let down a whole community. Is this the same for other races? I don't know. I'm black. I can really only speak from my experience growing up baptist and being around in that sort of culture (thought I wasn't required to be so active in church like other young black folks I know are). Something I think would be interesting to see is how this functions for preacher kids, as the microscope is even more on them. King is the son of a deacon, which is up there on the church hierarchy, but it is not it's head--how do you maintain a congregation, who is family, when your own family is off the chain.
Really, this book is about decision-making, and very much about chaos theory in practice: so much is depending on the proverbial red wheelbarrow in the black community--so much depends on everything being status quo, sexually. Other things can be "combated" by prayer: finances, heterosexual relationships, other opportunities, things in-line with biblical teaching. Breaking this mold seems to result in less, not more love, which breeds a cycle of deception that has an escalating scale of danger.
Geez, talk in circles much, Glenn?
---
Some positive hip hop to balance the...questionable earlier choice. I've been getting into The Roots lately, partially because their drummer (yes, they are a live band--no djs on stage, live instruments, real energy, etc) ?uestlove is just likable, and there's something refreshing about live instruments and how that sort of dynamism impacts outcome versus pro tools/autotune/fixed perfection of midi. Anyway, they may be best known for the track "You Got Me" (which is, I feel, part of the reason why Erykah Badu became famous for singing the hook...but she wasn't the original [Jill Scott was], but if I'm remembering correctly, the label felt Erykah was better known which they felt would work in songs favor [which, I think it did]), or being "that house band" on Jimmy Fallon, but it's just refreshing. And all ambiguity aside, some tunage:
The main issue with DL behavior has nothing, really, to do with a morality. There are issues concerning why black men choose to be DL instead of endorsing a sexuality (which, again, is another whole topic about sexuality re: born or learned behavior), but the main point King wants to discuss are the outcomes: mainly, the spread of HIV/AIDS to the black community via this behavior. He's not saying this is the only reason for increase in disease, but the foundation of any good prevention program is education, and ignoring that DL behavior is going home seems silly, in his opinion.
DL behavior in a nutshell: for one reason or another (mainly, the reactions from different sectors of life [church, family, current partners, etc]), black males who have sex with other black males do not speak. By saying something, it makes it real that they may be gay, and heaven forbid you be gay in the black community (this is not meant to be flippant--really, that seems to be the still-running feeling in the black community: it's better to be closeted then go against the other strong, black brothers who've come before you by being a "weak" person: homosexual). Anyway, part of this outcome is safe sex--planning accordingly (having condoms) means you're actively seeking this, which makes it even more evident that the homosexual sex acts are, indeed, homosexual sex acts, not just impulse decisions via external factors like drugs/alcohol, or just needing to "get off." So, you roll the unprotected sex dice, and then if you get burned, literally, you pass it to your heterosexual partner. Again, getting tested would be another admission of homosexual guilt, so dudes may carry diseases that become bigger issues simply because "common sense" preventative measures can't be used because of the complexity of issues that arise from facing the "am I gay" question.
Anyway, if King's point is preventative stuff, I think the use of stats, not necessarily whole sections devoted to studies but more concrete information besides generalizations or solipsisms, will do him well. Spreading of disease: show it. List of issues that prevent blacks from coming out, empirically: show it. "Risky" behavior stats for blacks: show it. There's only so much your own experience or anecdotal information from interviewees can do; saying that the goal of this book is to give readers a "clearer picture of what a DL brother looks like," and saying on the back cover that it "Deliver[s] the first frank and thorough investigation of lie 'on the down low'," I just expected a more diverse use of investigation techniques. Maybe, for a project like this, the anecdote is sufficient evidence. But at times, it really feels ideas would have gained that much more in terms of pop by not slipping into a generalization or only one person's experience.
How is this changing me, currently? It's very interesting to see how my community "works"--I mean, I generally understood the subject, but the anecdotes become more and more telling as I can begin to see myself, facets of my self, or people I know in the situation. The centrality of the black church in regards to life is so interesting, as it really becomes an institution akin to a university. There isn't just Sunday school--there are choirs, usher boards, and various other ministries or auxiliaries to serve in. Your life, it seems, to be based more in church than out of it, so your church becomes your family so x more eyes are on you. It's easy to see the pressure involved there--again, with so much filtering through church, when something "bad" happens to you, it spreads quickly, and in the case of homosexuality and the biblical stance of it, what do you do when you are kicked out from your family. Such a "simple" issue (and a "simple" solution) is really so much more complicated than its given credit for. Homosexuality is less about "immoral" choices in the black community, but essentially, how these feelings let down a whole community. Is this the same for other races? I don't know. I'm black. I can really only speak from my experience growing up baptist and being around in that sort of culture (thought I wasn't required to be so active in church like other young black folks I know are). Something I think would be interesting to see is how this functions for preacher kids, as the microscope is even more on them. King is the son of a deacon, which is up there on the church hierarchy, but it is not it's head--how do you maintain a congregation, who is family, when your own family is off the chain.
Really, this book is about decision-making, and very much about chaos theory in practice: so much is depending on the proverbial red wheelbarrow in the black community--so much depends on everything being status quo, sexually. Other things can be "combated" by prayer: finances, heterosexual relationships, other opportunities, things in-line with biblical teaching. Breaking this mold seems to result in less, not more love, which breeds a cycle of deception that has an escalating scale of danger.
Geez, talk in circles much, Glenn?
---
Some positive hip hop to balance the...questionable earlier choice. I've been getting into The Roots lately, partially because their drummer (yes, they are a live band--no djs on stage, live instruments, real energy, etc) ?uestlove is just likable, and there's something refreshing about live instruments and how that sort of dynamism impacts outcome versus pro tools/autotune/fixed perfection of midi. Anyway, they may be best known for the track "You Got Me" (which is, I feel, part of the reason why Erykah Badu became famous for singing the hook...but she wasn't the original [Jill Scott was], but if I'm remembering correctly, the label felt Erykah was better known which they felt would work in songs favor [which, I think it did]), or being "that house band" on Jimmy Fallon, but it's just refreshing. And all ambiguity aside, some tunage:
Addendum: Carr exercise
Enjoyed it. I tend to think dark in general, but it's usually dark humor and, projected dark humor: not involving me or, if it does, very highly improbable and fantastic situations. The exercise was good for me as it made me confront, in a sense, some of the thoughts in my head, or more generally, the thoughts we tend to bury, even when creative outlets, at times, begs for the sort of vulnerability or uncomfortableness the built into the assignment. Would I be able to keep the steam of my subject(s) over the course of a full-length collection? Probably not. But, I think I could make a pretty bad-ass chapbook from it, or an arc in a very well structured collection.
No music for addendum. Especially since you may or may not be reeling from the wantonness and ridiculousness of Travis Porter's "Make It Rain."
<3 Glenn
No music for addendum. Especially since you may or may not be reeling from the wantonness and ridiculousness of Travis Porter's "Make It Rain."
<3 Glenn
Friday, February 11, 2011
Massive. Sorta. Comparatively.
So, some updates (if you can call 'em that [those?]):
Carr/Carr's reading
On the whole, I liked 100 Notes on Violence more than I thought I would. Generally, I'm not fond of experimental work (have I ranted about Harvey'sExtra Sad Little Breathing Machine already?)--I don't know. It just feels like some of the experimental stuff that gets published just...plays at being experimental. I mean, play is another concept altogether, but if feels so much like artifice that I'm like, "wait what." I'm not being clear.
I have a soft spot for narratives. I also like puzzles. If the pieces you give don't assemble a puzzle, regardless of the end picture, I won't like it. I respect the effort of genuinely experimental writers/writing, but it seems a lot of it is forced just because that's popular. I'm broken-record-ing.
Anyway, back to Carr: based on the title (and the fact that there are 100 poems), I expected each to be more clearly about violence. I mean, you can make the argument that there is the meta-textual violence of the caesura/the violent ends of some poems (where they resolve into white), but the title of the collection gains so much more weight. Without that title, sure, you pick up on the notes of violence throughout, but the clarity of the situation varies. There are sketchy situations; there are dark situations; there are biblical situations. Do they all immediately yell violence? No, but on the whole, I do like the nuanced way that violence was dealt with. This seems contradictory. Gah.
Clarity attempt #2: I like the idea of wrestling with the senseless, and I think Carr does a good job of it without embodying a moralistic tone of right/wrongness--just facts as is.
My like, though, really skyrocketed after hearing her read. The poems just felt surprisingly more human after. There is definite musicality not readily seen/heard on page in the poems, and if you experiment with sound...well, that puts you back in my good graces, fast, as I'm an aural person.
--
Change My Life Book
J.L. King - On The Down Low: A Journey Into the Lives of "Straight" Black Men Who Sleep With Men
Rationale: As semi-mentioned in previous entries, I'm trying to get more in touch with my culture. I don't know. It's weird. I've had, admittedly, an atypical, to mainstream America at least, Black life, especially growing up in the inner city. People still flip when I say I'm from Detroit and don't mean a suburb. The first sport I started playing, at 4, was soccer--I grew up playing hockey and baseball, too. I went to a Montessori school until fifth grade, which was very diverse, comparatively, for a Detroit school in the early 90s. When I went to middle school, it became more homogeneous, and I got the whole "you talk white, etc" shenanigans. I over compensated--I started rapping and using "nigga" any time I could.
Flash forward to now. I'm interested in learning more about my culture. Part of it is I have this weird quest for knowledge; another part is I feel like I "owe" it, a bit--I'm supposed to. Anyway, I originally wanted to get Gates' The Signifying Monkey, but the Barnes and Noble in Plainfield has a...small Af. Am lit section (I'll post a picture). This book, alphabetically, was next down the line, and the concept interests me for a number of reasons, mainly, how much the idea of masculinity plays a role in the black community. You can be all sorts of bad...as soon as you even hint at homosexual behavior, you're all sorts of put out. The book is billed as a personal narrative supported by research both in terms of studies and interviews, and I'm interested to see some of those facts/figures confirm my own thoughts/feelings about the situations, or enhance/broaden my views. It just seems so...bad, especially in today's society, to try to have rigid categories for anything, but I feel that this attachment to old (and often, outdated) categories/concepts is part of the reason we (so weird to use that), as black people, seem to have hit our ceiling in terms of thinking what is possible.
Anyway, most black non-fiction (theory? praxis?) books out now seem to be about where we are "at" in terms of America, and I think the tolerance aspect (beyond the upward mobility, education, etc) is important. If you really don't welcome diverse voices, how can you really know if you reached your full potential? I feel like I'm proselytizing and making things more complicated than they should be...or confusing.
I'll try to short-and-sweet™ this too: I chose the book because I feel DL behavior is a bigger issue than people want to admit, especially in the black community. Simply ignoring the "other" seems to be doing more harm than good for us, especially considering the frequency of HIV/AIDS in our community. I still feel I've butchered this a lot--forgive me, gentle reader.
---
Procured (STOLE! but not really; bought, but from a different class) From Old Notebooks. As with Carr, I'm surprisingly digging it so far. Even when some weightier issues are dealt with briefly, the conversational/aphorism style still makes it accessible. The appearance of pop culture and familiar tropes/situations doesn't hurt the cause, either. I also like (what appears to be) the author's hints throughout on how to read the book--are these to be true (e.g., the impetus of the project)? I don't think it matters, as if this is a fake narrative, it still feels pretty real to me.
---
Poem of the World
Sewing, crocheting, or knitting? I'm stuck. I did locate a JoAnn's a few miles from me that I will go to--the soonest classes are in March. I'm just stuck on what I want to do. I would prefer sewing--I took home ec in eight grade and enjoyed the sewing portion. Even before that, one long car trips to visit fam in S. Carolina, I would get those little cross-stitch "make a picture" things...I would never finish it, but I liked doing them. I like working with my hands, but I like "softer" work...like needlework. I was considering woodworking, but that's just not me. I'm a Project Runway junkie, and I've slowly beginning to get somewhat into fashion. I think I have a definite aesthetic in regards to style (which I don't employ now, because I'm vain and waiting to get an LL Cool J body before sinking money into a new wardrobe), and I think it would be cool to supplement clothes with literally hand-stitched, TLCed clothes. Plus, it could turn into a money saver in long road, especially if I got good at it--I already have a bad-ass label name in mind.
Anyway, the class choice will depend a lot on scheduling here. There is a new baby. I have to be cognizant of that. Plus, the classes are during the week, so it really narrows it down to days I don't have to go to the city for work. Maybe I'll flip a coin or draw straws.
So. This is done for now. It still feels very loose and ramble-y. Am I even typing this now or is this an overly-lucid dream? Sleep: where are you?
<3 Glenn
---
After my whole rant on the state of commercial hip-hop/cats not saying much or doing much with their lines anymore...I post this. How much of a sucker am I for obnoxious hooks and lyrics????? Seriously, every new song seems to be about a) strippers, b) making a sex tape, or c) both. I mean, you still have the "classics" or drug (selling and doing) and money (and what money can get: ice, cars, cribs), but man. I guess this rant will inform other songs I'll put here too, now. I'm shaking my head at myself.
Carr/Carr's reading
On the whole, I liked 100 Notes on Violence more than I thought I would. Generally, I'm not fond of experimental work (have I ranted about Harvey's
I have a soft spot for narratives. I also like puzzles. If the pieces you give don't assemble a puzzle, regardless of the end picture, I won't like it. I respect the effort of genuinely experimental writers/writing, but it seems a lot of it is forced just because that's popular. I'm broken-record-ing.
Anyway, back to Carr: based on the title (and the fact that there are 100 poems), I expected each to be more clearly about violence. I mean, you can make the argument that there is the meta-textual violence of the caesura/the violent ends of some poems (where they resolve into white), but the title of the collection gains so much more weight. Without that title, sure, you pick up on the notes of violence throughout, but the clarity of the situation varies. There are sketchy situations; there are dark situations; there are biblical situations. Do they all immediately yell violence? No, but on the whole, I do like the nuanced way that violence was dealt with. This seems contradictory. Gah.
Clarity attempt #2: I like the idea of wrestling with the senseless, and I think Carr does a good job of it without embodying a moralistic tone of right/wrongness--just facts as is.
My like, though, really skyrocketed after hearing her read. The poems just felt surprisingly more human after. There is definite musicality not readily seen/heard on page in the poems, and if you experiment with sound...well, that puts you back in my good graces, fast, as I'm an aural person.
--
Change My Life Book
J.L. King - On The Down Low: A Journey Into the Lives of "Straight" Black Men Who Sleep With Men
Rationale: As semi-mentioned in previous entries, I'm trying to get more in touch with my culture. I don't know. It's weird. I've had, admittedly, an atypical, to mainstream America at least, Black life, especially growing up in the inner city. People still flip when I say I'm from Detroit and don't mean a suburb. The first sport I started playing, at 4, was soccer--I grew up playing hockey and baseball, too. I went to a Montessori school until fifth grade, which was very diverse, comparatively, for a Detroit school in the early 90s. When I went to middle school, it became more homogeneous, and I got the whole "you talk white, etc" shenanigans. I over compensated--I started rapping and using "nigga" any time I could.
Flash forward to now. I'm interested in learning more about my culture. Part of it is I have this weird quest for knowledge; another part is I feel like I "owe" it, a bit--I'm supposed to. Anyway, I originally wanted to get Gates' The Signifying Monkey, but the Barnes and Noble in Plainfield has a...small Af. Am lit section (I'll post a picture). This book, alphabetically, was next down the line, and the concept interests me for a number of reasons, mainly, how much the idea of masculinity plays a role in the black community. You can be all sorts of bad...as soon as you even hint at homosexual behavior, you're all sorts of put out. The book is billed as a personal narrative supported by research both in terms of studies and interviews, and I'm interested to see some of those facts/figures confirm my own thoughts/feelings about the situations, or enhance/broaden my views. It just seems so...bad, especially in today's society, to try to have rigid categories for anything, but I feel that this attachment to old (and often, outdated) categories/concepts is part of the reason we (so weird to use that), as black people, seem to have hit our ceiling in terms of thinking what is possible.
Anyway, most black non-fiction (theory? praxis?) books out now seem to be about where we are "at" in terms of America, and I think the tolerance aspect (beyond the upward mobility, education, etc) is important. If you really don't welcome diverse voices, how can you really know if you reached your full potential? I feel like I'm proselytizing and making things more complicated than they should be...or confusing.
I'll try to short-and-sweet™ this too: I chose the book because I feel DL behavior is a bigger issue than people want to admit, especially in the black community. Simply ignoring the "other" seems to be doing more harm than good for us, especially considering the frequency of HIV/AIDS in our community. I still feel I've butchered this a lot--forgive me, gentle reader.
---
Procured (STOLE! but not really; bought, but from a different class) From Old Notebooks. As with Carr, I'm surprisingly digging it so far. Even when some weightier issues are dealt with briefly, the conversational/aphorism style still makes it accessible. The appearance of pop culture and familiar tropes/situations doesn't hurt the cause, either. I also like (what appears to be) the author's hints throughout on how to read the book--are these to be true (e.g., the impetus of the project)? I don't think it matters, as if this is a fake narrative, it still feels pretty real to me.
---
Poem of the World
Sewing, crocheting, or knitting? I'm stuck. I did locate a JoAnn's a few miles from me that I will go to--the soonest classes are in March. I'm just stuck on what I want to do. I would prefer sewing--I took home ec in eight grade and enjoyed the sewing portion. Even before that, one long car trips to visit fam in S. Carolina, I would get those little cross-stitch "make a picture" things...I would never finish it, but I liked doing them. I like working with my hands, but I like "softer" work...like needlework. I was considering woodworking, but that's just not me. I'm a Project Runway junkie, and I've slowly beginning to get somewhat into fashion. I think I have a definite aesthetic in regards to style (which I don't employ now, because I'm vain and waiting to get an LL Cool J body before sinking money into a new wardrobe), and I think it would be cool to supplement clothes with literally hand-stitched, TLCed clothes. Plus, it could turn into a money saver in long road, especially if I got good at it--I already have a bad-ass label name in mind.
Anyway, the class choice will depend a lot on scheduling here. There is a new baby. I have to be cognizant of that. Plus, the classes are during the week, so it really narrows it down to days I don't have to go to the city for work. Maybe I'll flip a coin or draw straws.
So. This is done for now. It still feels very loose and ramble-y. Am I even typing this now or is this an overly-lucid dream? Sleep: where are you?
<3 Glenn
---
After my whole rant on the state of commercial hip-hop/cats not saying much or doing much with their lines anymore...I post this. How much of a sucker am I for obnoxious hooks and lyrics????? Seriously, every new song seems to be about a) strippers, b) making a sex tape, or c) both. I mean, you still have the "classics" or drug (selling and doing) and money (and what money can get: ice, cars, cribs), but man. I guess this rant will inform other songs I'll put here too, now. I'm shaking my head at myself.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
It snowed?
So, the snow has been enabling in regards to laziness--I meant to post something last week, but...well...you know.
Anyway, I'm excited for the class--the class description for registration is what sold me. I think, though, everyone has the "same" reservation (one mentioned in class): since the class is so anti-product, what "use" is it for a workshop?
I know, for me, I'm just interested in play...maybe the only thing I'll get from this class are cool starts, or I may even further refine my voice. I see only upside.
In a sort of weird running theme, other classes' readings are informing dialogues in very deliciously intertextual ways--just read Duncan's essay/page "Pages From a Notebook" forThis is Sparta! POETRY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARS (emphasis mine), and one of the main points is that if you're writing simply to get published (and not because words/their arrangements/etc genuinely interest/please you), something is wrong.
What, really, is the state of/use of MFAs--is a class like this really conducive, especially for those who want to teach where a premium is placed on having an in-store product in a book? Again, this was touched on in class, but the term workshop seems to have so much gravitas in the creative writing field (probably as a result of Iowa).
Anyway, to make less ramble-y: excited for this class; interested to see what I will produce (even though that has to be the wrong word--maybe "what I will create," but that seems too god-complex-like).
---
For the change/rock your world book, I'm not sure what to read yet. I bought options Friday: A coffee table book of human anatomy/systems, a book about being down low in the black community, Shit My Dad Says, and Jon Stewart's Earth. Also got Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, but that is kinda unrelated. Anyway, I'm so torn because I'm unsure how "monumental" the change should be--I know each book interests me for different reasons, and I think each can "change" my life:
The anatomy book is (I think) self-explanatory--I'm a science dork (it's what I always test highest in), and I think it would give me more language/ways to engage poems. If I do pull in something anatomy-y in my poems, it's usually very base and surface: a heart, brain, reproductive organs. With so many systems and so many interconnected functions of those systems, I think the horizons will brighten tremendously.
The book about being down low is personally interesting because I'm black, and it's an interesting dynamic concerning homosexuality in the black community. This is a bit reductive, but down low means being "down low," on the hush, creeping, and specifically, it means pretending/fronting/acting like you're heterosexual in public and carrying on homosexual (whether pure sex or beyond) relationships in private. At times, it seems that it's more rewarding to be criminal minded or any other sort of immorality save homosexuality, and this is especially notable in the rap community, or with the phrases pause/no homo. Thinking about it, it seems that being homosexual makes you a less than even more in the black community than other communities, and I'm really interested to see how deep these issues go and how I can further enrich my understanding of my own community. As it stands, I feel like an English-major black guy. We grow up speaking English--why take classes about it, why get a degree in it, waste of time? In the same breath, being black is not just a black and white issue--there are many facets that unfold deeper complexities, and beyond socioeconomic advancement, the "burying" of nigger, one of the issues that seem to be picking up steam is how to "deal" with this issue, with the main problem being that down low brothers tend to contract stds from unsafe practices that stem from them not wanting to admit they're doing the acts, passing it on to wives/girlfriends, and those diseases being passed to others/children.
Somehow, this feels more disjointed on screen than head--hope this makes sense.
Shit My Dad Says will probably give me another perspective to consider--a way to view the "same" relationship differently--what can I learn, literally, from the shit Halpern's dad said to him?
Earth may give me a way to re-engage serious subjects/concepts in a subversive way. I like wit/satire/sarcasm, but my poems tend to turn into serious things, fast. I'm trying a way to work in seamlessly black/dark humor, so maybe this will help.
Eh. Again, I don't know why things start coming out as blurs.
---
For the poem of the world, I would really like to take a sewing class--the nearby Hobby Lobby only seems to offer jewelery classes, and since I'm not a big jewelery guy...well, you know where this is going.
---
That's it for now--as customary, music--I'm in a very...restrained mood currently.
James Labrie - Coming Home
Sylvan - On The Verge of Tears
Jamie Foxx ft. Drake - Fall For Your Type
Anyway, I'm excited for the class--the class description for registration is what sold me. I think, though, everyone has the "same" reservation (one mentioned in class): since the class is so anti-product, what "use" is it for a workshop?
I know, for me, I'm just interested in play...maybe the only thing I'll get from this class are cool starts, or I may even further refine my voice. I see only upside.
In a sort of weird running theme, other classes' readings are informing dialogues in very deliciously intertextual ways--just read Duncan's essay/page "Pages From a Notebook" for
What, really, is the state of/use of MFAs--is a class like this really conducive, especially for those who want to teach where a premium is placed on having an in-store product in a book? Again, this was touched on in class, but the term workshop seems to have so much gravitas in the creative writing field (probably as a result of Iowa).
Anyway, to make less ramble-y: excited for this class; interested to see what I will produce (even though that has to be the wrong word--maybe "what I will create," but that seems too god-complex-like).
---
For the change/rock your world book, I'm not sure what to read yet. I bought options Friday: A coffee table book of human anatomy/systems, a book about being down low in the black community, Shit My Dad Says, and Jon Stewart's Earth. Also got Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, but that is kinda unrelated. Anyway, I'm so torn because I'm unsure how "monumental" the change should be--I know each book interests me for different reasons, and I think each can "change" my life:
The anatomy book is (I think) self-explanatory--I'm a science dork (it's what I always test highest in), and I think it would give me more language/ways to engage poems. If I do pull in something anatomy-y in my poems, it's usually very base and surface: a heart, brain, reproductive organs. With so many systems and so many interconnected functions of those systems, I think the horizons will brighten tremendously.
The book about being down low is personally interesting because I'm black, and it's an interesting dynamic concerning homosexuality in the black community. This is a bit reductive, but down low means being "down low," on the hush, creeping, and specifically, it means pretending/fronting/acting like you're heterosexual in public and carrying on homosexual (whether pure sex or beyond) relationships in private. At times, it seems that it's more rewarding to be criminal minded or any other sort of immorality save homosexuality, and this is especially notable in the rap community, or with the phrases pause/no homo. Thinking about it, it seems that being homosexual makes you a less than even more in the black community than other communities, and I'm really interested to see how deep these issues go and how I can further enrich my understanding of my own community. As it stands, I feel like an English-major black guy. We grow up speaking English--why take classes about it, why get a degree in it, waste of time? In the same breath, being black is not just a black and white issue--there are many facets that unfold deeper complexities, and beyond socioeconomic advancement, the "burying" of nigger, one of the issues that seem to be picking up steam is how to "deal" with this issue, with the main problem being that down low brothers tend to contract stds from unsafe practices that stem from them not wanting to admit they're doing the acts, passing it on to wives/girlfriends, and those diseases being passed to others/children.
Somehow, this feels more disjointed on screen than head--hope this makes sense.
Shit My Dad Says will probably give me another perspective to consider--a way to view the "same" relationship differently--what can I learn, literally, from the shit Halpern's dad said to him?
Earth may give me a way to re-engage serious subjects/concepts in a subversive way. I like wit/satire/sarcasm, but my poems tend to turn into serious things, fast. I'm trying a way to work in seamlessly black/dark humor, so maybe this will help.
Eh. Again, I don't know why things start coming out as blurs.
---
For the poem of the world, I would really like to take a sewing class--the nearby Hobby Lobby only seems to offer jewelery classes, and since I'm not a big jewelery guy...well, you know where this is going.
---
That's it for now--as customary, music--I'm in a very...restrained mood currently.
James Labrie - Coming Home
Sylvan - On The Verge of Tears
Jamie Foxx ft. Drake - Fall For Your Type
Monday, January 31, 2011
...and it continues!
The blog hits keep on rolling--now, in version 2.0: Workshop Radical Space™. I promise I'll have more substantive comments re: the first class...soon. And by soon, before next class.
<3 Glenn
<3 Glenn
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