What is this thing called poetry?
Lecture Three: The political poem
On March 21 1960, the Sharpeville
massacre occurred during a peaceful
protest by black South Africans who
were burning the pass books which
restricted their lives and their
movement. The South African police
opened fire on the black civilians,
killing 69 people and wounding 178.
Ian Berry, who was based in South
Africa recording daily life under the
apartheid regime, was the only
photographer at the scene and his
photographs were used in the trial to
prove the victims' innocence.
THE CHILD WHO WAS SHOT DEAD BY SOLDIERS AT NYANGA
The child is not dead
the child raises his fists against his mother
who screams Africa shouts the scent
of freedom and the veld
in the location of the cordoned heart
The child lifts his fists against his father
in the march of the generations
who are shouting Africa shout the scent
of righteousness and blood
in the streets of his warrior pride
The child is not dead
not at Langa not at Nyanga
not at Orlando not at Sharpeville
not at the police station in Philippi
where he lies with a bullet through his brain
The child is the shadow of the soldiers
on guard with rifles saracens and batons
the child is present at all gatherings and law-giving
the child peers through house windows and into the hearts
of mothers
the child who just wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga is
everywhere
the child grown to a man treks through all of Africa
the child grown to a giant travels through the whole world
Without a pass
Ingrid Jonker wrote this poem in
Afrikaans, in the aftermath of the
Sharpeville massacre. Nelson
Mandela read an English translation
at the opening of the first
democratic Parliament on 24 May
1994. http://youtu.be/A0pmjGj8BFE
“The child is not Dead” (PT page 180)
• Use of a Biblical echo: Gospel of Mark 38-43
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38 When
they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a
commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to
them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but
asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.
• After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the
disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her
by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to
you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she
was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave
strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her
something to eat.
• Use of anaphora: the deliberate repetition of the first part of the
sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect known as anaphora ( a
latin term).
• This varied use of repetition evokes a sense of spiritual incantation,
raising from the dead, a wish for a different present and future , one of
freedom, possibility, movement and growth.
• The simple, single sentence, stanza that ends the poem adds emphasis
and additional socio-historical context: “Without a pass”.
“What We Lost”
Michael Ondaatje
The interior love poem
the deeper levels of the self
landscapes of daily life
dates when the abandonment
of certain principles occurred.
The rule of courtesy — how to enter
a temple or forest, how to touch
a master’s feet before lesson or performance.
The art of the drum. The art of eye-painting.
How to cut an arrow. Gestures between lovers.
The pattern of her teeth marks on his skin
drawn by a monk from memory.
The limits of betrayal. The five ways
a lover could mock an ex-lover.
Nine finger and eye gestures
to signal key emotions.
The small boats of solitude.
Lyrics that rose
from love
back into the air
naked with guile
and praise.
Our works and days.
We knew how monsoons
(south-west, north-east)
would govern behaviour
and when to discover
the knowledge of the dead
hidden in clouds,
in rivers, in unbroken rock.
All this we burned or traded for power and wealth –
from the eight compass points of vengeance
from the two levels of envy
One of the world’s most highly acclaimed transnational
writers. Born in Sri Lanka in 1943, he lived in England as a
teenager, and immigrated to Canada at age eighteen.
He writes both poetry and novels. Ondaatje’s fame as a
novelist skyrocketed after the movie adaptation of his
best-selling novel The English Patient (1992).
This poem presents a mysterious evocative list of what
was lost. By whom? Does it matter (or add to the effect of
the poem) that the reader cannot know the meaning of all
the things mentioned in the poem as “lost”?
“What We Lost” read on YouTube
http://youtu.be/cnFbfR9iyc0
The importance of the dictionary:
metaphor and multiple meanings
Lost
adjective
1.
no longer possessed or retained:
lost friends.
2.
no longer to be found:
lost articles.
3.
having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place, direction, etc.:
lost children.
4.
not used to good purpose, as opportunities, time or labour; wasted:
a lost advantage.
5.
being something that someone has failed to win:
a lost prize.
6.
ending in or attended with defeat:
a lost battle.
7.
destroyed or ruined:
lost ships.
Nikky Finney “Left”
Nikky Finney was born in South
Carolina, USA. A child of activists, she
came of age during the Civil Rights and
Black Arts Movements. Finney's fourth
book of poetry, Head Off & Split, in
which “Left” appears, was awarded the
2011 National Book Award for poetry.
For more poetry and info:
http://www.nikkyfinney.net/
Nikki Finney reads “Left”
http://youtu.be/Ty6z9QMFKNw
Self education starts now: some homework questions
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Look up or find out about everything not clear to you in the poem
What is the effect of the inclusion of the Rudyard Kipling’s “A Counting-Out Song” in the epigraph and then
quoting from it in the poem itself? What word is the poet asking the reader to silently add to the poem? With
what effect?
EeneeMeneeMainee Mo!
Catch a—
Why are several places from South East Asia mentioned
in reference to where the helicopter pilot has also flown?
“Bong Son, Dong Ha, Pleiku, Chu Lai” – what
historical context does this add to the poem?
Who is “Mr. Every-Child-Left-Behind”?
What are bullwhips? Who is Bull Connor? How does their
inclusion in the poem add further historical context to the
situation described? Watch Nikki Finney’s
National Book Award acceptance speech.
http://youtu.be/BFSiKx-hzks
Find out for yourself what happened to the people of New
Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Questions
http://www.history.com/topics/hurricane-katrina
•
Why is New Orleans an important American and global city
– what has New Orleans given to the world?
• Why were the grandmothers and Kanye West finally right?
• What is the design of the poem? Why do you think Finney
begins as she does? Where do we end off? Why delay giving
us all the information till the end?
What effect does this have on your experience as a reader?