I was surprised, after having read several pieces, by the variety of work in this packet. I can't explain why; the amount of short stories tackling a wide variety of subjects from different angles, with different voices and tones must be innumerable. None the less I found myself thinking "I didn't expect this" and neither did I expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I want to take a look at a few of my favorite pieces.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Hesitation
Landis was feeling hesitant
Deep, black and slothful
A hole that is every action
Swallowed by the emptiness of spirit
Landis twisted
This room this building
This place he knew in fractions
Stopped short of discovery
Landis rocked
Quaked at the encompassing
Bleak terror that welled
Well into the void time
Landis stopped
Landis started
In heaves and sputters
Inaction commited
Commemorates that history
Landis was quiet
Paced by mold
Growth inevitably
Laborious
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Blood Dazzler Response
The biggest difference between Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith and the works we've read so far is that it contains a clear narrative following the hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans in 2005. The narrative style of the book and its concrete subject matter made it much easier to read. A timeline of events is formed, from Katrina's forming, evacuation, land fall, and aftermath of the disaster.
A majority of the poems in Blood Dazzler are written from the perspective of those involved, particularly the victims. The hardships of the survivors and the dead are written in stark detail leaving little to the imagination. Authority figures play a smaller part, showcasing mainly the apathy the government (and the president himself) seemed to have toward the disaster. The most interesting of the "characters" showcased was hurricane Katrina herself. I say herself due to Smith's anthropomorphizing of the hurricane into a very alive, very cruel woman.
Blood Dazzler is very dark and unforgiving in its subject matter, dealing with very disturbing truths of hurricane Katrina. Rape is mentioned several times, more so I believe then general violence. Victims left to die, particularly the 34 residents of St. Rita's Nursing Home and Ethel Freeman who died waiting for rescue. And again, there is a stark reminder of government apathy in the poem What To Tweak which features an email correspondence between a FEMA employee and Michael Brown, head of the agency. Brown's response of "thanks for the update" in reply to a very grim assessment of the situation paints a clear picture of how little anyone cared for the victims left in New Orleans.
A majority of the poems in Blood Dazzler are written from the perspective of those involved, particularly the victims. The hardships of the survivors and the dead are written in stark detail leaving little to the imagination. Authority figures play a smaller part, showcasing mainly the apathy the government (and the president himself) seemed to have toward the disaster. The most interesting of the "characters" showcased was hurricane Katrina herself. I say herself due to Smith's anthropomorphizing of the hurricane into a very alive, very cruel woman.
Blood Dazzler is very dark and unforgiving in its subject matter, dealing with very disturbing truths of hurricane Katrina. Rape is mentioned several times, more so I believe then general violence. Victims left to die, particularly the 34 residents of St. Rita's Nursing Home and Ethel Freeman who died waiting for rescue. And again, there is a stark reminder of government apathy in the poem What To Tweak which features an email correspondence between a FEMA employee and Michael Brown, head of the agency. Brown's response of "thanks for the update" in reply to a very grim assessment of the situation paints a clear picture of how little anyone cared for the victims left in New Orleans.
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