Susan Glaspell's "Trifles" Exercises

from Portable Legacies (page721)

Explorations of the Text

2. What clues lead the women to conclude that Minnie Wright killed her husband?
The clutter in the kitchen, the broken hinge of the empty birdcage hidden away in a upper cupboard, the bad sewing, and last but not least, the dead bird in the sewing basket.

Mrs. Hales drew an analogy of Minnie Foster like a bird that sings, "singing in the choir", "real sweet and pretty". The bad sewing reflects the stability of the mind, or rather thoughts. The bad sewing is a indication of distress or distraction. The dead bird reflect's the brutal silence of Minnie Foster.

Mrs. Hales knew Minnie Foster, who was lively and like a bird; and Mrs. Peters could empathize the death of a pet, when she lost her kitten to a boy with a hatchet.

3. How do the men differ from the women? from each other?
The men was portrayed as sexist people. Glaspell made it clear for the readers to see from the beginning with the line "worrying over trifles" said by Mr Hales. This utterance bonded the women as they "move a little closer together". Then Glaspell formed the story in a way to show how 'serious' the men were in their job by putting them all over the house searching, all except for the kitchen where the women were told to wait. 

The person held for suspect was a women yet the men overlooked that fact. Even with the most stereotypical concept that women spent most of their time in the kitchen, the men did not bother to check the kitchen for clues. They immediately assumed that (there are) "nothing here but kitchen things".


4. What do the men discover? Why did they conclude "Nothing here but kitchen things"? What do the women discover?

After going around the house, the men found nothing but only to go back into the kitchen where the women had already solved the crime. The men's judgement were clouded due to their ego and pride. The women discovered many, from the quilt with bad sewing to the dead canary. They had solved the crime but decided to keep the evidence for they empathize with Minnie Foster's experience of a bad marriage and a hard man.

Research on a Major Playwright - Henrik Ibsen

Descendants to sea captains and businessmen, Ibsen was born in 1828 in Skein, Norway. The eldest of five siblings, Henrik was the only one showing promise. His father’s business failed when he was eight years old and they had to retire to a country house. This incident caused him to experience how materialistic his friends were: they were eager to dine and drink as guests of the affluent merchant but forsook all connections when the Ibsens lost their financial standing.

In his youth, he was a talented painter but his family was too poor to send him to art school and neither could afford to train him for his preferred profession, medicine. At fifteen years old, his father sent him to Grimstad, a small provincial town south Skein. There he became an apothecary’s apprentice, the next best thing to medicine. He was there for six years and led a lonely life. He started to read voraciously and particularly in contemporary poetry and theology. In 1849, he wrote his first play, Catilina, a drama written in verse modelled after one of his greatest influences, William Shakespeare.

Ibsen then moved to Christiania (now Oslo) in 1850 to prepare for university examinations to study at the University of Christiania, after he saved enough money through extreme economy and privation. Living in the capital, he became acquainted with other writers and artistic types. One of these friends, Ole Schulerud, sponsored publication fees for Ibsen first’s play Catilina, which failed to get much notice.

The following year, Ibsen met with a job opportunity to work as a writer and manager for the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen. The position became an intense tutorial in all things of theatre and even include travelling abroad to learn more about the craft. Ibsen left Norway in 1862.

1857, Ibsen returned to the Christiania to run another theatre there. This was a frustrating venture for him and others claim that he was mismanaging the theatre. Despite in deep waters, he found time to write Love’s Comedy (1862), a satirical take on marriage.

In this time period too he married Suzannah Thoreson in 1858, with whom he had a son with. Among his many works produced during this time were The Pretenders (1863); Love's Comedy (1863); Brand (1866); Peer Gynt (1867); Emperor and Galilean (1873); Pillars of Society (1877); Ghosts (1881); and An Enemy of the People (1882).

A Doll’s House (1879), a play significant for its critical attitude toward the 19th century marriage norms caused great controversy at the time. It was also the play that propelled him into the European avant-garde.

A Doll’s House incorporated a plot that he repeated in many following works, Ibsen was in the phase when he cultivated the “critical realism”, where the individual experiences an opposition to the majority, the society’s oppressive authority. When the individual intellectually frees himself from traditional ways of thinking, conflict arises.

Ibsen was a major 19th century playwright, director and poet. He died in May 23, 1906.

References:

Hemmer Prof., Bjorn. "The Dramatist: HENRIK IBSEN." n. page. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://www.mnc.net/norway/Ibsen.htm>.

Merriman, C.D. "Henrik Ibsen." Literature Network. n. page. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://www.online-literature.com/ibsen/>.

Research on a Major Playwright - Susan Glaspell

Susan Glaspell, a playwright, actress, director, journalist and novelist was an American Pulitzer prize winning author. A writer of great production, she published nine novels, fourteen plays and more than fifty short stories. Her stories are often set in her hometown, Iowa, and contain semi-auto biographical contents, and touching on modern issues like gender and ethics.

Born in the 1st of July in 1876 in Iowa, Davenport, she was originally Susan Keating Glaspell. Her parents, Elmer Glaspell and Alice Keating, a farmer and a teacher respectively, gave her a conservative, middle class home and a family that was not well off. Living on the family farm, she was an animal lover and would often rescue stray animals. Later on, the family farm was increasingly threatened by urban development. Glaspell’s view of the world was shaped and formed by her grandmother’s tales who talked a lot about the regular visits of Indians to the farm in the years before Iowa became a state. Glaspell’s growing up across an ancestral village, she was influenced with the belief that Americans should worthy inheritors of the land. This became a recurring element in her elements. This lifestyle in Davenport had an intense influence in her work and gave her a voice that was unique from any other American writer of playwright of her time.

Little was known about Glaspell’s early life or her parents but one point that remains clear was that she had kept many virtues she acquired during her childhood and from her birthplace. These virtues were reflected in her works both positive element s and negative elements.

She attended public school in Davenport and in 1897, she entered Drake University in Des Moines. It was in college that she aspired to be a writer and was fostered. She then began to submit stories to magazines. Two years later she received her BA and went on to be a journalist for the Des Moines News. After years of works, she decided to give up her job and to go back to Davenport and focus on her own writing.

1903, Glaspell enrolled herself into the University of Chicago to do graduate work but it was known that she did not achieve any degrees higher than her BA that she received from Drake. During this period, Glaspell’s life was partially in shadows.

She was introduced to George Cram Cook who later became her husband after travelling together. They moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts where they alternate their summers and winters there and Greenwich Village in New York. Their migration between the two locations was a result of being involved with the Liberal Club. This group helped Cooks to create the Provincetown Players, the group of actors that help produced Glaspell’s plays.

Through 1915 and 1916, Glaspell had her first formal season with the Provincetown Players, who produced two of her one-act plays: Suppressed Desires (1915) and Trifles (1916). Suppressed Desires was co-written with her husband and Trifles was her most anthologized play. Trifles, one of the most commonly-taught plays in American Literature classes was surprisingly not an award winner.

The background for Trifles was from a crime Glaspell covered when she was working as a journalist for Des Moines News. On December 2, 1900, John Hossack was murdered with an axe as he slept. His 57 year old wife, Margret, was charged with the killing.the jury did not believe her story that she slept through the killing, even though she lay next to her husband as he was murdered. She was found not guilty.

Trifles was the play that allowed Glaspell to begin refining her technique of one-act plays, but more importantly, it allowed her to employ a device which she could make uniquely of her own. This device appeared numerous times through the span of her work and it became a trademark of Glaspell’s plays.

Seven years with the Provincetown Players and she contributed ten plays the theater group. After creating a name for herself, she left for Greece with her husband in March of 1922. After about two years there, her husband died in Delphi and was buried in Greece. Glaspell continued travelling Europe and had a second marriage with Norman Matson in 1925. Their marriage was short lived and divorced in 1931.

While they were married, they wrote a play together, called The Comic Artist, but like their marriage, it was not successful.

1930 Susan Glaspell wrote another play, Alison’s House. It was a play loosely based on incidents of the life of Emily Dickinson. Employing Glaspell’s signature device, the unseen central character, it was a full length play of three acts. It was not received well by audience and was only staged a mere 42 times but it was chosen to win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1931.

Susan Glaspell died on 27th July 1948.

References:

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 8: Susan Glaspell.." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. . n. page. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap8/glaspell.html>.

Simkin, John . "Susan Glaspell." Spartacus Educational. n. page. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jglaspell.htm>.

A Date with a Literary Scholar: Refaat Alareer

A lecturer, a poet (though he claim otherwise), Mr. Refaat Alareer, graced us, the class of BBL3406, with his presence on the 21st of October.

Photo credits: Amy Amilia

His session with us was a powerful one. He brought us to Gaza with his words, paint mental images of the chaos in Gaza: how the boarders of Gaza is surrounded by Israeli soldiers; how they couldn't export nor import; how the fishermen couldn't go further than three miles in the sea for there, Israeli soldiers are guarding too; and, how it took him a month to get out of Gaza to come to Malaysia. He then told us the resilience of the Gazans/Palestinians: how despite being oppressed, they spring back almost immediately, continue living life.

"Poetry: the only way of defending and resisting the presence of oppression."

Palestinian poets who wrote in Arabic:
- Mahmoud Darwish
- Tamim Bargouti

Mahmoud Darwish, deceased, was the father of modern Palestinian poetry. Tamim Bargouti, son of a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother, was a wonderful poet who inspired many and revolutionized how people think. According to Mr. Alareer, Tamim was "young and cute", so everyone like him. However, our speaker favoured Tamim for his originality in imagery and metaphors.

Palestinian poets who wrote in English:
- Rafeef Ziadah (We Teach Life, Sir)
- Susan Abulhawa (Wala!)
- Rami Kanazi

"More young poets write in English than in Arabic now"

Compared to their native language, Arabic, English is a more and the most accessible language. Work in the native isn't as influential and it would be in English. Poems in English transcends the boarders of Arabic. Other than expressing, they aim to expose the unjust, to remember and tell their stories, and most importantly, the readers are able to see the poets as they are through the writings. What frustrates Mr. Alareer the most was not only meaning might get lost in translation, but to be represented by a translator or a mediator "can never be the same".

"...believed I will never be able to swim, to drive a car, and to write..."

How it all started:

Mr. Alareer wanted to start a blog after the war. He wanted to see how the past and future relates and connects. 

Ironically, a lecturer of English in a university in Palestine, he believed he will never be able to write. His encouragement was from his students, who initially sent him creative works of their own. He started to see the "amazing stuffs" they produced and learned from them. Here, they broke the traditional teacher-student relationship. This became a two way learning, and he starts to follow his own advice: "get rid of this opinion that you can't write!"

His advice:

- read a lot of good and high quality poetry

- believe that you can write good stuffs

- have the will to do so

- scribble your thoughts. Always

- imitate

- be yourself

"To read poetry, you first have to like poetry"

Mr. Alareer personally like the Romantic poetry: the easy way around their words, the techniques used. 

"To write, you have to make long term goals" 

He gave an example of a book published by Bill Clinton entitled "My Life", where in the prologue Bill Clinton talked about long term goals and this was his: "I wanted to be a good man...and write a great book". These was listed by Bill Clinton when he "was a young man just out of law school". To Bill Clinton, being a good man was "for God to judge" but to write a great book, it takes time.

Mr Alareer showed us the significance of making these long term goals. Long term goals is "a decision and then you take it from there." A book isn't produced overnight but it take years to cultivate the skills. For example, noticing is a skill developed with time. The descriptions of people/characters J.K. Rowling used in her Harry Potter series depended on her noticing.

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default." - J.K. Rowling

Mr Alareer moved on to tells us the importance of failure, backed up with a quote from the author if the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling. We should not be discouraged by failures or rejections we receive.

"If learning or education is a prey, you should keep it in a cage."

He then prompted us to start writing: "the worst about writing is that it needs writing". He urged us to scribble down every idea, to note, to freewrite. In this modern age, our mobile phones could be used too. He said this as if he couldn't stress on it enough.

"Imitating is the first step, but somewhere, you have to stop imitating and be yourself."

He told us of his humble beginnings in the journey of writing, (refer to point 1) and how important imitation can be and at a point, we just have to stop imitating and be true, be ourselves.

What is in my poetry?

- dialogue

- performance/drama

- Palestine

These three are the elements that are always in his poetry. Element of dialogues, although he didn't intentionally create them, it just happened. His idea was that his poems can be recited solo or two way, making it into a performance. Palestine, the reason why he started writing.

Mr. Alareer then recited some of his poems, while pausing to highlight the important points and teaching us the basics of poetry: punctuation, tense, and verb change and the implications of these. Despite his many pauses to coach, the emotions were heartfelt. 

Mr Alareer explains how young poets rise up to publish their writings not only in English, but on social media. They are hoping to raise global awareness via social media. He then encouraged us to write/blog.

Q&As:

Ayuni:         Who are your favourite poets and why?

Mr Alareer: John Donne. The depth, layers and play with words and structure.

                  T.S. Eliot. Romantic poets.

Maya:         What was the style of poetry in Gaza before the war?

Mr Alareer: Before the war, it was mostly personal. Personal poetry was and is still there, but after the war, more time and effort war for Palestine war writing. It became more intense and "evolved" after the war.

Azze:

Mr Alareer: Bring a writer means being able to be everyone else. You don't have to be the person and have first hand experience. Living in that society. You don't have to be a mom to write about mothers. You can read and see from people around.

Significance of olives.

Olive and olive oil symbolise Palestine in culture. Olive is used to cure diseases and sicknesses. Olive trees symbolise the connection and interaction of man and land. 

"Resistance is creative; occupation is boring."

The Palestinian resilience shows creation. They never give up and keep going back.

'5 Broken Cameras' a film by Emad documenting the resistance and determination of the Palestinians. To the Palestinians, "forgetting is a crime", they are there, they need to tell the story.

"Writing: an important tool of resistance."

Get Refaat Alareer at thisisgaza.wordpress.com

Bill Clinton - My Life (PDF)

War Poems: From World War 1 to Contemporary Poems on War

Considered as the first modern war, World War 1 was one of mankind's greatest tragedies. Men went out to fight, thinking it was for an honourable cause but only to be greeted with gruesome deaths and mass murder. In this situation, poets played their part as soldier, onlookers and victims. What separates them is that the poets were those most talented to represent in words and depict the situation and experiences of war.

Some of the modern wars that happened were:
World War 1
World War 2

and various Civil wars

Some of the modern war poets:

Rupert Brooke
Edward Thomas
Wilfred Owen
Siegfried Sassoon
Herbert Read
T.S. Elliot

War poems generally revolves around themes of:

Death. Honour, Pride/Patriotism, Wastage (of lives and funds), Religion, Humanity, Sufferings

Some wrote of the glory to die for one's country (pro-war), others talk about their abandoned families and death (anti-war).

Women war poets wrote on the direct and active service and experience of war. Women war poets wrote on the themes of the losses of brothers, husbands and sons; making the weapons; and, nursing the wounded. Some of the names: Rose Macauley, Edith Nesbit and Edith Sitwell.

Links:

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/warpoets_knew.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_poet
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/forgotten-poems-recovered-by-american-civil-war-research

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/tutorials/intro/women

What is... Poetry? Drama?

Poetry
Poetry is a form of self expression, used to convey emotions or ideas. With the original intention to be read or spoken out loud, poetry makes use of rhyme, meter, diction to make the form of the poem sound pleasing to the ear, or at least, to the reader.

Due to it's compact form, words are normally chosen with care. Not only meaning of the words are crucial, the literal meanings and the images they depict, but the sounds of the words are important too. Syllables and sound adds to the musical quality of the poem which reflects the credibility of the poet.

Poetry is artistically rendered words to evoke strong emotions.

For example, the concept of poetry according to poets:
Wordsworth: "...poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings..."
Keats: "...if poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree, it had better not come at all..."

Drama
Drama is a story which is to be performed in front of an audience. The story unfolds itself in the form of dialogues and short narration to show the setting and the background, crucial and enables the audience to follow with the story line.

Marilyn Chin's "Turtle Soup" Exercises

from Portable Legacies (page419)

Explorations of the Text

1. Notice the author's choice of word for "cauldron" in line 4. What images or connections does this word evoke? Why might the author have chosen "cauldron" rather than "pot"?

Often instantly related to witches and their brew, "cauldron" is chosen probably because the persona thought a 'Turtle Soup' is something of the sort, a superstitious brew. A turtle's shell could be used in Chinese medicine for strength, health and longevity of life. Since this poem is speaking on the cultural differences of Chinese Americans and the Chinese cultured (the mother), we can analyse the built of the "cauldron", especially a Chinese one. A "cauldron" is usually made of heavy metal or material, of a steady and stable built. This could be related to the emotions of the persona's mother, who broke into tears, "sobbing...inconsolable", at their 'discussion' of their culture in China and in America. 

2. Chin refers to "the Wei", "the Yellow," and "the Yangtze." Why does she reference these rivers in China? Why not include the Nile, the Amazon or the Mississippi?

"the Wei", "the Yellow," and "the Yangtze." are the great rivers of China where civilization started (their source of water and food). These rivers shows her roots and her feeling towards it. Although the persona is now in "Pasadena", America, yet her roots are still Chinese. Other rivers like the Nile, the Amazon or the Mississippi would not have relevance to the message she's trying to show which is the sacrifice of an immigrant. 

3. What is the tone of this poem?

This poem hints tones of regret and poignancy where the persona probably feels regretful having to forget the rich cultures of China to adapt and be accepted in the free state of America. China has one of the longest histories and richest cultures while America is a relatively newer and younger nation. 

Ideas for Writing

1. "Sometimes you're the life, sometimes the sacrifice." Write about this quote within the context of an immigrant family. What might a family gain or lose by moving to a new land?

This quote could be referring to a few things. Firstly, culture. As an ancient civilization, the Chinese have lots of traditions and cultures passed down. Some that stayed intact, some that morphed with time, to not to be forgotten by the younger generations. A community lives because of culture. Culture is what makes people alive, and unique. So, with regards to above, the quote is showing how culture is what makes the Chinese people Chinese. In the Turtle Soup, the persona, as a migrant, is made alive because of her Chinese culture, yet being an immigrant in America, she couldn’t possibly keep all the cultures. For example, a turtle is a near extinct and exotic animal. To use it as food or medicine couldn’t possibly be well accepted among the Americans. Making a dish out of a reptile would only be in their nightmares. Also, the “liver” isn’t a common and well accepted food outside of Asia. The Chinese eats lots of things because of their long history and culture but for the Americans, the only “liver” they take would be Foie gras.

Next, the quote could be referring to her mother, who was “sobbing” at their probable discussion of dropping the Chinese cultures. Her mother was the one who gave her “life”, bringing her up and caring for her, yet, now the family has moved to America, the persona probably reprimanded her mother to drop the Chinese cultures and habits. The line “(who knows what else is in that cauldron).” shows the persona’s skepticism and cynicism towards her mother’s old fashioned ways. Her mother’s effort of “Twelve hours” being “hunched” boiling the soup wasn’t appreciated. Not only that, the mother was criticized for being ancient cultured suggested in the lines of stanza two where the persona used references of the great rivers of China and how the turtle might have lived for “four thousand years”, witnessed and lived through the “Bronze age” to the “High Tang”. The persona’s exaggeration also shows how much she disapproves of her mother’s old way of thinking and cultures.

"Sometimes you're the life, sometimes the sacrifice." The quote is mostly exploring how immigrants always have to leave their cultures no matter how interesting or rich it is. The immigrants have to blend in, in the ways of their speaking, walking and living to be accepted in a foreign country. With the distinctive differences in physical features, immigrants shouldn’t and couldn’t afford to attract any more attention to themselves in fear of racial conflicts and issues, especially in their early years of change.

Members:

Lim Jia Hui

Agnes Lee

Khairil

Atikah

Aida Juliana

Amiri Baraka's "Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note" Exercise

Explorations of the Text
from Portable Legacies (page405)

1. What is the mood of the speaker in the opening lines? What images suggest his feelings?

The opening lines suggests melancholy and depression of the persona. "Lately," shows how the persona reflect on his days, and how he became "accustomed", suggesting how life became mundane and boring to him and how "The ground opens up and envelopes me", suggests how he's thinking of death, "The ground", in relations to a grave.

2. What is the significance of the daughter's gesture of peeking into "her own clasped hands"?
His daughter's gesture, "on her knees" and peeking into "her own clasped hands" depicts a form for prayer. Her gesture probably shines some hope on her father as prayers are often related to wants, thanksgiving, or praise and worship. We normally have our night prayers with a appreciative heart and full of thanksgiving. The daughter's gesture might cause the father to re-ponder on the meaning of life, the cause of his depression and the reason of his suicidal thoughts.

3. What does this title mean? How does it explain the closing line?
A preface comes before the story starts (if in the case of a novel), yet a "Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note" shows that probably, there is something that caused him to postpone again and again (the "Twenty Volumes), and keeping back the act of suicide. The closing line, "Her own clasped hands." shows a very pure image where a young girl (presumably), kneeling to prayer, hands "clasped", in conversation with God. Such image often caused people to reevaluate themselves, their connection with God.

4. Why does Baraka have three short lines, separated as stanzas? How do they convey the message of         the poem?
The first two short lines shows the persona's feeling towards life-meaningless and pathetic. His lines "Things have come to that." suggests how he had become so bored with living, how nothing gives him joy anymore. "Nobody sings anymore" suggests how people had become so clockwork, busy in their lives, "sings" is often related to happiness, or emotions. Yet, the last short line, "Her own clasped hands." after all the negativity he felt alone, the presence of his daughter, in such a pure form, probably ignite the fire of hope and belief that there's still something worth waiting and living for in this world.

5. Why does Baraka begin stanzas with "Lately," "And now," and "And then"? What do these transition       words accomplish?

6. How does the speaker feel about his daughter? What does she represent to him?

The daughter symbolizes hope and the reason he is still alive. Her faith in God might have him to reconsider his suicidal thoughts as taking ones life (even own) is against the commandments of God in many religion (I believe). His obligation towards her as a father, to raise her up, is probably another factor, although less beautiful (to live on for an obligation), he needs to provide her with the basic needs of human living. His love towards her as a father is also a considerable reason.

Countee Cullen's "Incident" Exercises

from Portable Legacies (page143)

Explorations of the Test:

1. What is the nature of the interaction between the two boys?

A two way interaction, starting with the speaker's smile, friendly and happy from the lines "Heart-filled, head filled with glee" but met with the antagonistic Baltimorean who "Keep looking straight at me" and "...poked out/His tongue and called me, "Nigger"". The Baltimorean who was "no whit bigger" than the speaker used the term "nigger" which brought forth a negative connotation of probably skin-color differences.

2. Why does the speaker remember nothing more than the incident, even though he stayed in Baltimore from "May until December"?

The speaker, young and innocent, depicted by "...I was eight and very small" must had been scarred deeply by the act of prejudice put forth by the Baltimorean. The lack of emotion and neatness of the poem, showed the speaker's detachment towards the poem and probably the incident-as if he didn't really want to go in-depth and speak on it but he had to get it out. "...the whole of Baltimore" and "...all that I remember" shows how that incident was all that he remembered throughout the trip/his travels in Baltimore. The speaker's pain and shock overshadows the other memories of his summer till fall in Baltimore and probably increased his awareness of his skin-color or social standing in the society, and would have taint his experience with other Baltimoreans. "

Ideas for Writing

1. What do its form and rhyme add to this poem?

The poet, Countee Cullen used the neatness of the poem's structure to bring out his feeling of detachment. The rigidness of the poem suggests how he probably wish to distance himself from the incident. The three four-lined stanzas and abab rhyme scheme gives a strict feeling to the reader and by conforming himself to poetry writing rules, he probably intend to show how serious the issue of racism is.

2. What is the power of language? What are the effects of the use of the term nigger?

More often than not, language or words, hurt others. It could give comfort, but it is time that heals; and sometimes; it doesn't heal completely, leaving a scar. The term nigger generally gives a negative meaning although it might have evolved over time. Back in the days of slavery if America, the term nigger often refers to a black person, or those who are dark-skinned. Also, it a reference for slaves. 

The poet used the term nigger and his reaction after, "That's all that I remember" shows how a word can give such a huge impact on a person. It was instantly highlighted to the speaker of his social standing and skin-color and how much society likes/view of them.

Response Poem

Task:'...your own poem in response to pr inspired by Naomi Shibhab Nye's "All Things Not Considered"'

This poem, was difficult to write. Partly because I've never experience war, partly, the emotional strain it had on me. I tend to forget quickly things that I dislike-so that I can have a new start everyday. The intensive background research I had on NSN's "All Things Not Considered" the past weekend shook me and I was more than ready to forget it. As I settle down to muse on what I was gonna write, images or "footage" (if I can call it that way) of war movies I've seen adds on to the imaginations of my own. All these negativity, I didn't want to feel it, or else, I'll have to postpone my work again.

This is what I managed to squeeze out:


Untitled

We were living our lives,
Till an engine drone on over us.

A high-pitched wail,
Followed by a loud Ka-BOOM!

The ground shook, and
Suddenly it's raining stones.

Mommy looked worried,
And gathered us around.

Ka-BOOM! It's nearer.
"Run to that shelter!"

Another wail sounded and
Azad stopped to watch.

Everything around me flew
Then I saw Azad's shirt in red.

Something was in my throat,
Couldn't scream for mommy.

When the hot fog cleared,
Far ahead, mommy's dress.

Azad and mommy lay,
On the floor, as if sleeping.

I run to her but,
I couldn't stand.

Then I saw a man in black,
With an odd looking stick.

His funny looking face scares me,
Papa's Death have come to me.



First person perspective, of a child. I intended the structure to be choppy and messy-like what's running through my head, the chaos of war. Others are open for interpretation, if any...

Naomi Shihab Nye's "All Things Not Considered" - First Exploratory Draft and Notes

In Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, "All Things Not Considered", the poet uses vivid images of the death of children in a war started by religion dispute. By using images, imagery, repetition and diction, the poet makes a statement on the brutality of war, a war of religious cause and the death of innocent children and youths.

The poem starts with uses of negation "cannot stitch the breath/back into this boy.", unlike a bad cut, once life is out, we "cannot" do anything to fix it. The verb "stitch" hints desperation and movements or attempts to bring "this boy" back to life. These images continued to the end of the first stanza where the last two lines shows how cruel the war had been to the people there and the heartache of a parent having to bury their child.

Questions put forth in italics, "In what language/is this holy?" and "If this is holy,/could we have some new religions please?". The poet seems to be recording her own thoughts in the midst of depicting reality. Fury and lost of faith in humanity and religion, the poet lashes out her thoughts, where in the world would these killings of innocent, especially the young ones, for a cause of religion be "holy" and that "if" these are considered "holy", she would like a change of belief.

She uses real names to add to the reality and the serious, somber tone of the poem: the death of Asel Asleh and Mohammad al-Durra.

In stanza two, her view shifts to people "from a distance" and what they say, like to "take our children" escape the was and live a life of a refuge, which is normally easier said then done. As outsiders, the poet says "we can say "whatever we want", showing the simplicity of just throwing words at people without actually experiencing the horrors of war subjectively.

In the third stanza, her choice of double negatives "No one was right./Everyone was wrong." does not bring in positive and the lines have similar meanings. "the flawed narrator wins." showing how she is certain of her feelings and claims, a war caused by religion, a sacrifice nobody would agree.

Like many other wars that happened, the same mortal mistake, causing hurt to people, those with power or "holy" are allowed to use guns but some used "stones". The contrasting imagery of "guns" and "stones" show how the one with "guns" started the war for their own benefits while the people stuck in the situation, using "stones" and "turnip roots or olive pits" are, in desperation, defending, protecting themselves, probably wishing they were far, far away from the scene.

The imagery of "people... studying history,/going to school" to the people in the lines before, those who have "picked up turnip roots or olive pits" shows a situation where children and youths are in a peaceful situation, learning history(probably with scorn) while the other shows people in the chaos of war, desperately using anything in defense of their attacker., writing "history".

The last stanza depicts calm, peaceful and beautiful images, probably what the poet wishes for, calm and peace.

Naomi Shihab Nye's "All Things Not Considered" - Thesis and Mini Outline

The brutality of war to the innocence of children in war.

Outline/Notes:
Part 1: contrasting imagery: pictures of innocence and happiness to pictures of gory death due to war.
Death of youth/children depicted: "Asel Asleh" (17yr old), "Mohammad al-Durra", and "an Arab father burying his 4 month girl": real life incidents supported with names.

Part 2: talks about what people "from a distance" say, to live life as a refugee with their children. Easier said than done.

Part 3: (people[kids] at war, [kids] at school?)-global view, war torn countries-defending(making history?); peaceful countries, :going to school"(studying history?)

Part 4: images of beauty, peace, calmness...hope (of the narrator?)


Thesis: Images, imagery, repetition, diction, the poet portrays the brutality of war caused by religious disputes and contrasts it to the innocence of children on war.
-war isn't suppose to cause so much death, religion is love, peace...

Poem divided into 4 (parts?) using asterisks.

Take note of the lines in italics inserted between the stanzas: are they interjections of the narrator?
Why are they there? What purpose do they serve?



Repetition: "holy"
Tone changes from death/doom/dread to perspectives from a "distance" to global view(?) to peaceful/hope of the narrator

Women in Poetry

Woman, a pleasing but short lived flower,

Too soft for business and too weak for power.

A wife in bondage, or neglected maid;

Despised if ugly; of she's fair, betrayed. 

(II. 1-4) An Essay on Women, Mary Leapor.

Women through the ages oppressed and suppressed, under the dominance of men; equally capable, although not in might but, in intelligence, kept yoked to marriages and family duties. The emergence of women in the field of writing was like a breath of fresh air, from Aphra Behn to Mary Wollstonecraft to present writers. We are used to having men writing about our curves; how our hair fall past the roundness of our shoulders, how sensuous these images are. Now, our bodies are the subject of our own tales; the arch of our back to the ups and downs of our lives.

The more conservative the society is, the more difficult it is for the women there to write, yet the produce is more hauntingly beautiful. Here is an article on "Why Afghan Women Risk Death to Write Poetry", by Eliza Griswold.

In the article "Why Afghan Women Risk Death to Write Poetry", Griswold wrote on the struggles of Afghan women or poets against their families and society, to be heard. The members of Mirman Baheer Association, a women's literary society in Kabul, reach out to young poets via radio then be connected through secret meetings or discrete phone calls. The poets will then speak their mind or poems and it will be transcribed by the members of Mirman Baheer.

Zarmina, pen-named Rahila, was a poet-martyr. However, to the members of Mirman Baheer, she was only the most-recent. "There are hundreds like her" said Ogai Amail, the member of the society who did the interview with Griswold.

Zarmina set herself on fire in protest to her brothers after they found her writing poetry and brutally attacked her. To Zarmina, her writing love poems was her comfort to her broken engagement.

To the women in Afghan, Pashtun poetry has long been a form of rebellion, contradicting the notion of them being submissive or defeated. Landai, meaning a 'short, poisonous snake' in Pashto, refers to the two-lined folk poems that can be just as deadly. Deriving their powers from ominous layers of stress and tension of the poet's inner and outer world, landais explores rage, conflict, irony, sarcasm, loss and desire.

"A poem is a sword" said Saheera Sharif, founder of Mirman Baheer, not a poet but a Parliament member from the province of Khost. Renowned Pashtun poet and former parliamentarian, Safia Siddiq said "In Afghanistan, poetry is the women's movement from the inside."