So far in the semester we have covered a lot of enjoyable material that has really got my writing creativity moving. I now carry with me a little journal instead of using my cell phone to write down little notes or fragments of thoughts. I much prefer this to my phone, because there's something deeply organic about writing in a notebook; pages can be felt, pen motions heard. It feels so much better to me. I don't write just poetry either. I have begun to really expand what I write and not care about if the next thing I write is going to be a masterpiece at all. This is better for me because I am an inherent perfectionist always trying to get out of that shell so that I can stop the vicious cycle of anxiety that almost always follows. I really like where this class is taking me, so I hope I can only improve from here on out.
This week in class we focused on the Harlem poet Langston Hughes, who happens to be one of my favorite poets. His poem Harlem is one of my all time favorite poems. I remember reading it in high school and really loving all the images it gave off in my head. I remember thinking that it really applies to me, because I almost always feel like I am deferring my dreams. I also really like his poem titled Children's Rhymes. This poem really gets to the heart of some of the racial issues that he had to deal with growing up. The passage that I believe really illustrates this is "What don't bug them white kids sure bugs me: We knows everybody ain't free!"
This speaks to the fact that the white race has gone about their daily lives without really thinking about the inequalities and lack of opportunity that people of color on all fronts of the world have to deal with. To me, he's saying that white people feel comfort in society because they are the dominant race with the most opportunity and freedom, so nothing really bugs them like it does for marginalized people. Langston Hughes' poetry is really simple and speaks to a wider population because of its simplicity. He writes with a lot of thought fragments and pays little worry to developing a "masterpiece". This is what makes his poetry so great; it really shows that anyone can write and be great at it. Simplicity is just as great as complexity. The simplicity in his words also brings about a bigger more complex meaning. I love the dichotomy of the two brought together.
We also began reading Tocqueville by Khaled Mattawa. His poetry speaks to the Islam and the Islamic people as a whole. There are lots of conflicting themes and symbols throughout the entire book. I really like it so far. I chose to write about one of the poems in the book that gave me a little more trouble when it comes to finding his meaning. "Bread & Butter" on page 6 is a beautiful poem. I am honestly not 100% sure what kind of meaning I find in it. I like the language that he uses, and the types of emotions that he evokes. His imagery in this poem, as well as most of them in the book are really strong and evocative. One symbol in particular that caught my attention was in the line: "There is no escaping the white rose". I see the white rose as his spirituality. Even though he may want to escape some of the deeper hallmarks of his spirituality, you often cannot escape what is already there. The rest of the paragraph really speaks to this. We often question our reality, but at the same time, some of us don't question it. I believe this is what he is getting at in this part of the passage. The next part of the passage talks about how the baker is deprived of all things besides bread. It brings me to think about what is the baker a symbol of to him? Who is this baker that must save us when we are drowning? Why does he wish the baker would save him? These are some of the questions I asked myself reading this poem. Because the poem is kind of centered around a deeper spiritual meaning, maybe the baker is a higher being of some kind. Maybe he is also an ideal higher being. It is so hard to decipher this poem. I have looked at it every day in hopes of coming to some kind of conclusion. Maybe our discussions in class will really bring me some clarity I hope.
In conclusion, I am really excited to dive deep into Tocqueville and really find some meaning in what he writes about. I am excited to write some more poetry also. I feel like I have a lot of inspiration right now with all the poetry we have been looking at.
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