“I know I matter Its only right I do The only privilege I proudly hold It’s my education that inspires me to break out the mold I am wind that disperses seeds I am in your laws rooted deep I, like cracks in concrete floors, still provide you stability Like light waves, I sometimes am invisible But can never be destroyed I matter I matter We matter When times get rough we pass the torch And when we speak our voices are hard to ignore Like collective work to engage communities, we strive Resilient like our youth, we flourish We matter It isn’t something we need to remind ourselves It’s something we need to remind you” Sabrina Abdalla is a poet and spoken word activist. Her start with poetry began in her sophomore year of high school where …show more content…
Celebration week. Knowing her powerful storytelling abilities, the Office for Equity and Diversity (OED) asked her to write a poem for the “Your Voice Moves Us Forward” campaign. A campaign spurred out of the town hall held on November 20, 2015, addressing the racial campus climate. The “Your Voice Moves Us Forward” campaign serves as a check-in point on progress and for the university to hold themselves accountable to the promises made at the town …show more content…
“This poem isn't to be used as a representation of what the University thinks is diversity, rather to be seen as a chance to stand up for the marginalized communities. This poem is not the solution to racial climate, this represents the ongoing dialogue to come,” states Sabrina. In addressing racial tensions and inequality, Sabrina hopes moving forward the university takes an, “educational approach such as engaging in educational conversations, panel discussions, and creating events with an end goal in mind.” Sabrina graduated from the University of Utah this past spring semester in biology. She is currently living in New York pursuing a biology teaching career to high school students in underserved communities. She credits her passion for teaching high school students to outreach programs from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and the Village Program at the University of Utah; both programs encouraging students to embrace themselves fully and pursue higher education. While in New York, Sabrina plans to perform her poems and do more spoken word to get her name out. In the future, she would like to complete a book compiling all her
Kim Addonizio’s “First Poem for You” portrays a speaker who contemplates the state of their romantic relationship though reflections of their partner’s tattoos. Addressing their partner, the speaker ambivalence towards the merits of the relationship, the speaker unhappily remains with their partner. Through the usage of contrasting visual and kinesthetic imagery, the speaker revels the reasons of their inability to embrace the relationship and showcases the extent of their paralysis. Exploring this theme, the poem discusses how inner conflicts can be powerful paralyzers.
This darkly satiric poem is about cultural imperialism. Dawe uses an extended metaphor: the mother is America and the child represents a younger, developing nation, which is slowly being imbued with American value systems. The figure of a mother becomes synonymous with the United States. Even this most basic of human relationships has been perverted by the consumer culture. The poem begins with the seemingly positive statement of fact 'She loves him ...’. The punctuation however creates a feeling of unease, that all is not as it seems, that there is a subtext that qualifies this apparently natural emotional attachment. From the outset it is established that the child has no real choice, that he must accept the 'beneficence of that motherhood', that the nature of relationships will always be one where the more powerful figure exerts control over the less developed, weaker being. The verb 'beamed' suggests powerful sunlight, the emotional power of the dominant person: the mother. The stanza concludes with a rhetorical question, as if undeniably the child must accept the mother's gift of love. Dawe then moves on to examine the nature of that form of maternal love. The second stanza deals with the way that the mother comforts the child, 'Shoosh ... shoosh ... whenever a vague passing spasm of loss troubles him'. The alliterative description of her 'fat friendly features' suggests comfort and warmth. In this world pain is repressed, real emotion pacified, in order to maintain the illusion that the world is perfect. One must not question the wisdom of the omnipotent mother figure. The phrase 'She loves him...' is repeated. This action of loving is seen as protecting, insulating the child. In much the same way our consumer cultur...
In an expressive voice, Ms. Angelou paints a memorable picture of a small black community anticipating graduation day fifty-five years ago. She describes the children as trembling "visibly with anticipation" and the teachers being "respectful of the now quiet and aging seniors." Although it is autobiographical, an omniscient voice in the first six paragraphs describes how "they" - the black children in Stamps - felt and acted before the omniscient voice changes to a limited omniscient narration in the seventh paragraph. Her eloquent voice skillfully builds the tension as she demonstrates bigotry destroying innocence.
Yolanda Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni: Poet, Virginia Tech University Professor. 2003. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of Web. The Web. The Web. 8 Apr. 2011. The.
During the essay the author lost her innocence but graduated to a deeper appreciation and clarity of who she is and who she could become. In her school with no visible fences keeping the children within the schoolyard, there were the invisible fences of racism that tried to limit them from reaching their full potential. The author concludes, "I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death" (841).
This poem is written from the perspective of an African-American from a foreign country, who has come to America for the promise of equality, only to find out that at this time equality for blacks does not exist. It is written for fellow black men, in an effort to make them understand that the American dream is not something to abandon hope in, but something to fight for. The struggle of putting up with the racist mistreatment is evident even in the first four lines:
Based on the poem “Look Beneath the Surface”, I would ensure every student that comes
Sitting on the bed. Legs crossed. Trance-like state. Staring at the wallet. Spreading them out. Organizing them. Staring at them. Staring at them. Staring at them. Ears ringing. Moving without knowing it. Hands shaking. Picking one up. Staring. Can’t look. Closing my eyes. Taking it. Sipping water. Swallowing. Opening my eyes. Repeat. One by one. Can’t think about it. Keep going. One by one. Keep going. None left. None left. Finishing final notes. Sending her my goodbye. Finally telling her I love her. Already hazy. Nothing is real. My eyes close. Nothing is real. I’m sorry. Goodbye
The evolution of the African American voice takes many turns through history while maintaining the same basic principles. The works of influential African American’s shape a movement that traverses centuries. Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write” displays a respectful and curious voice. James Baldwin’s “Stranger in the Village” demonstrates a powerful urgency. Doctor Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech shows similar power and urgency. Lastly, Maya Angelou’s “Graduation” explains a feeling of respectful demand.
In the poem “We Real Cool” written by, the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer for Poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks discusses how when she came across a group of young men at a pool hall, what she thought they were feeling. I chose this poem because I felt that Brooks does a great job of discussing issues during that time period, which mainly African Americans faced. She did so in a clear and concise way, so when reading the poem it flowed easily, and it was catchy, almost like music.
Dealing With the Issue of Separation in Poetry Introduction In recent weeks in English we studied 3 poems of varying origin and of various types of poetry. We studied Havisham, by Carol Ann Duffy, Stop all the clocks by W.H. Auden and Valediction: Forbidden mourning by John Donne. All of which are about the loss of loved ones, but in a different way. In 'Havisham', the bride (Miss Havisham) was left at the altar by her to-be-husband; she has sat in her dressing room in her wedding dress for year after year since that day.
There are many written genres associated with academia that sometimes students get very confused when it comes to distinguish each one of them. A person or a student can spend one entire day thinking at different types of genres related to academia that he or she would come up with a thousand different examples by the end of the day. It is very difficult to give an exact definition to the word genre: there are many points of view regarding this argument that every person develops his/her own definition. To fully understand poetry is important to also focus on the many subgenres it holds in order to have a greater knowledge of this type of literary work.
The powerful words of this poem ring as true in the current day as they did when initially published in 1978. Society has made great strides in the topics of inequality and equal opportunity; however, we still experience racial differences in social and political arenas.
Born on September 25, 1967, American poet Erin Belieu has been writing memorable poems for years. Belieu has written four books of poetry and her poems have been published in several well known magazines. Belieu was also a former managing editor and took the role of a poetry editor in other well known magazines. Belieu has had a remarkable education, regarding poetry and earning several degrees from three universities, as well. Belieu has also exceeded in teaching. She has taught at Washington University, Boston University, Kenyon College, and Ohio University. In addition to that, Belieu is one of the directors of the creative writing program at Florida State University, and an artistic director of the Port Townsend Writers' Conference. She also co founded and co directs an organization that supports women’s creativity in literary arts, along with Cate Marvin, who is also an American poet. Erin Belieu is one of the best and most successful American poets.
Discrimination has always been a major problem in the world. Many people say that the world has changed and has gotten better, but the truth is that the problems are not always over. “Still I Rise”, by Maya Angelou encourages her readers to change the behavior and ignore others negativity to overcome people's biases. With being an African American in 1978 in the era of segregation, Maya Angelou bases her work to speak out about her experiences. In the first stanza, Angelou begins her poem with “You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies” (Angelou, 1-2).