An Analysis Of Mari Evans's Spectrum

“Spectrum” by Mari Evans

Mari Evans has always written unabashedly about and for African-Americans, yet in “Spectrum”, readers from all cultural backgrounds find useful insight into the human experience. The poem of written with the flourish of interesting and fancy language, full of her humor, brilliance, and musical expression. I did not only get her perspective and ideological thinking while reading the poem, but also enjoyed brilliant musical expression that was portrayed in the reading.

“What Happens” by June Jordan

In “What Happen”, June Jordan consistently called my attention to the lines that tend to divide us, such as racial segregation, through the poetry. She used a language that is beyond conventional or stereotypical usage by merging free verse with black vernacular, linearly organized sentences with dialogic style, parallelism, fractured lines, repeated phrases, parenthetical annotations, deliberate and free choice of a diagonal slashes or marks or saturation to keep ideas together.

"A Ballad of Remembrance" and "The Ballad of Nat Turner" by Robert Hayden

Robert Hayden wrote a poetry that balanced an elaborate exploration of the issue of race with technical mastery that could not be quibbled with no one, qualified or praised as a typical example of “Black Literature.”

I enjoyed reading A Ballad of Remembrance as well as the Ballad of Nat Turner. The poems provide a demonstration of the compelling character development and narrative ease that has always been employed by Hayden.
"Hail, Dionysus" and "Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall
In Ballad of Birmingham, Dudley Randall invokes one of the most vicious and vivid chapters from the civil rights movement, that is, the bombing of a church in the year 1963 that led to the death of four girls and injury of 21.

The poem begins with an organized dialogue between daughter and mother during which the mother prohibits the daughter to march for her freedom, with fears that there would be an eruption of street violence. Instead, the mother gives her daughter the permission to sing in the kids’ choir at their church. How could she know that the streets might have offered some relatively enhanced safety? Together, Randall’s body of work evokes and chronicles, emotes and

informs.
"I Know I'm Not Sufficiently Obscure" and "Award" by Ray Durem
In Award, Durem speaks directly to his FBI tail that lasted for 25 years, offering him a watch made of gold for his service, he draws the attention of the agent to how foolish his endeavor has been. The work provides some real insolence, but it is also intermingled with a weariness that undercuts pretense to glamour.
"I Sing of Shine" by Etheridge Knight
I Sing of Shine starts by earning credibility with the audience. In the poetry, Etheridge expresses himself in a very relaxed conversational tone, addressing us with a sense of familiarity. As a reader, the author gave me an early glimpse of how much he understands about the situation explaining in a parenthesis about the nature of Molly Brown’s actions on the Titanic. The use of parenthesis made it seem as if the author was giving us insider information that we are secluded from only because we are interacting with Etheridge. He then proceeded to inform us that it is Shine who will be his primary focus, even though the white individuals never mentioned him and gave all their attention and focus to Molly Brown.
"Badman of the guest professor" by Ishmael Reed
Reading Badman of the guest professor was a special experience. In the writing, Reed happened to be a great improviser, an expert of collage with an incredible ability to syncretize divergent and disparate materials into coherent edutainments. Reed uses humor as a tool for exposing human absurdities and excesses, and at the same time using it to remind us of the risks of taking our cherished opinions and ourselves too seriously.