Spill The Beans Poetry Reading

On Tuesday, I attended the Poetry Reading of the Advance Poetry Workshop Class. Each reader is a student in this class, and read a poem from their "master poet," as well as their original poetry. The first reader, and my personal favorite, was Calli Berry. Her master pet was Terrance Hayes, and she read his poem "Voice Driven." She chose him as her master poet because of the voice he uses in his poetry. The first original poem she read was "The Avocado." This poem was about the abolition of slavery and the following revolution. Included in this poem were certain staples of abolitionism, such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Martin Luther King Jr.. One of the phrases she used in the poem that I found very enticing was "drunk on the sweet juice of revolution," speaking of the jubilation that these pioneers in the abolition of slavery felt. She also referred to the avocado as "the alligator pear," which is a nod to the title, "the avocado." The next poem she read was "cyber optimism." This was the story of her hardworking father who lives his life to support her and her absent, shopaholic, materialistic mother. She asks her mother "if he knows," to which she responds "no he doesn't," which is interpreted as the mother having an affair. Although we see her distaste for her mother, she admits that she would rather be like her mother than live a miserable life, much like her father. The next poet was Micah Van Strien, whose master poet is Jennifer Godst. He read "The Umbrella" by Godst. The one poem he read was about his friend becoming a father, and his internal struggle to step up into the role of a father and to maintain his childish ways with his friends. Next up was Adam Smith, who read "Miami in September" by his master poet, Carrie St. George Comer. The poem he read was of a Holocaust survivor who is dying of cancer. I felt that it was very ironic that this woman could survive the Holocaust, and then die to a ruthless killer, cancer. He also compared Hitler to the cancer. Suzi Asom was up next, who read "French Toast," by her master pet Susan Wise. Her own poem was entitled "What I Know About Wanda," which is about a very outspoken girl who she refers to as a run-on sentence, mainly because she doesn't know "when to stop" or "use a period." Next was a very vibrant poet, Lukaste Fuller. He chose a master poet much like himself, Jeffery McDaniel, who speaks with a sharp tongue, and hilarious juxtaposition. His own poem that he read was "The Old People Say Mysterious Things," which was full of hilarious tidbits about the elderly. The last poet was Justin Holliday, who chose his master poet, Josh Belle, because of his usage of sex and violence to integrate life. His own poem that he read was "The South Will Rise Again." This poem was instigated by one of his northern friends seeing a bumper sticker which included the title of the poem. Within this poem, they spoke of eating grits at a diner, and even mentioned Tennessee Williams (I saw this as a nod to our English 215 class). I really enjoyed my first poetry reading, and would like to attend another one soon!

"Baptizing The Gun" by Uwem Akpan

This short story is a very thrilling one, and grabs the reader right from the "get-go." The beginning starts as a woman on a bus has her earring pulled out by a thief. The thief is caught, ringed with tires, doused in oil and set on fire. I was very appalled that this was the punishment because of how harsh it was, and the fact that it happened right then and there. The people watching even cheered as the thief's body burned in the night. On line 32, the narrator says that "no matter how scarce fuel is, there is always enough for the thief." I thought that this was interesting, because this situation would not occur in America, as it does in the story, which occurs in Lagos. The narrator lives in the Niger Delta, which has endured a huge oil fire that has killed a lot of people, and he has come to Lagos to ask wealthy parishes for aid. While he is driving back to his brother's place his car breaks down, and because he knows nothing about cars, he pushes it out of the way. Randomly, a man in a suit shows up offering to help him. I thought this situation was strange. The priest thinks that the man is going to harm him- I don't blame him for his paranoia at all, given the opening scene of this short story. His paranoia is only heightened as he sees that the man has a gun by his side. After the car is fixed, the man in the suit asks to ride with the priest. If I had been in this situation, I would have most definitely said no, but the priest has no choice. At this point, I am starting to think that this man in the suit ulterior motives. As they are driving, they are stopped by police and soldiers who are checking cars. We are told that the police and soldiers in Lagos are not good people, and that they are the second worse right behind Kenya. At the "Operation Sweep" stops the police were drinking and playing cards, much unlike our "donut-eating" police here in America. After they make it through the stop, the priest begins to make small-talk with the man in the suit in order to make him more comfortable. The priest had lied to the man about having on a Rolex watch, and he figured he should try to make the man in the suit warm up to him in order to prevent harm to his own life. When they arrive at their destination, the priest is very concerned, however the man tells him that he is only "escorting" him because of the violence in Lagos. During their journey, the car breaks down multiple times. The last time the car breaks down, they pay a mechanic standing on the side of the road to fix it for them. The mechanic says that a coil in the car is just overheated, and needs to place it in water to cool it down. The man in the suit reaches in his pocket, and the priest is certain that he is reaching for the gun, and that his fate is sealed. Instead, the priest realizes that the "gun" was certainly not a gun, but just a bulge created by a poorly folded handkerchief. The priest instantly felt guilty for judging the man. The two had been together for an entire day, with the priest judging the harmless man the entire time. As a reader, I even found myself judging the man in the suit along with the priest. This goes to show that you definitely cannot "judge a book by its cover." I found this short story very entertaining because of the intensity and action, which ended up being nothing after all. With many of the stories that we have read recently, this short story gives the reader an insight into a different country and culture, and one that is certainly not like our own. As for the title of the story, I looked up the actual definition of "baptism," and found that it means to ritually clean something. I believe that the title is drawn from the gun actually not being a gun, and therefore the imaginary gun was "baptized" or cleansed, as was the judgment of the man in the suit.

Nam Le's "Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice"

Nam Le's short story with a not-so-short title, "Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice," is one of my favorites that we have read, thus far. First of all, I found the title very striking because of its enormous length. I "googled" the title, and found that Le named this short story after a Nobel Prize acceptance speech by William Faulkner in 1950. In his speech, Faulkner speaks of the virtues that men entail, including perseverance. Faulkner also says that it is important to write of these virtues, to keep a record for man and to remind them of their past to "lift their hearts." This particular story is written of a man named Nam, who was born in Vietnam, but raised in Melbourne, Australia. While living in Australia and working as a lawyer, he quits his job because he hated that he was so good at it. This action confused me, the fact that he was so good that he quit doesn't make sense to me. His father was particularly disgusted with him, and he moved to Illinois to become a writer. He is writing this story as a deadline for his final story is upcoming, but he is dealing with writer's block. Because his father, who he hasn't seen in three years, has come to visit, he decides to write about his father's past in a story which he titles "Ethnic Story." The relationship between Nam and his father is a strained one, which can be seen through the tension in their interactions. Nam's father was particularly tough on him while he was growing up. For example, he was required to study ten hours a day during the summer. While talking to his girlfriend Linda, Nam says that his father abused him as a child. Linda responds by saying that she thinks Nam is trying to make excuses for his father (Pg. 18). We also learn that Nam ran away from home when he was sixteen, indulging in a life filled with sex and drugs before his return a year later. While he was gone, his mother supported him, which is father didn't like. Because of this disagreement, his parents ended up separating; However, when Nam returned home, his mother did as well. Nam doesn't know much of his father's past, except for the fact that he was involved in the My Lai Massacre. In this event, his father and the rest of his village was lined up and shot at. Nam's father survives because his mother covers his body to shield the bullets. He walks away as one of only a few survivors. Nam writes about this within his story, but his father notes that there are many mistakes in the story, and they both agree to sit down and revise the story the next day. During the night, his father wakes up and picks up the story to take to read on a walk. He is gone for a while, and after Nam wakes up and sees that he is missing, he goes to find him. He finds his father with a homeless man down by the river next to a burning trash can, in which Nam's story was burning. Because Nam had written the story on a typewriter and there were no other copies, he said some very harsh things to his father. I think that Nam's father is giving him a dose of tough love, which I think everyone could use.

The Lazarus Project, Pg. 241-292

At the beginning of this section of the novel, Olga is reminiscing upon the details of what she and Lazarus have been through. After much foreshadowing, we are finally told the story that has been mentioned throughout the entire novel. While Taube is trying to comfort Olga, the memory surfaces, and we are made aware of the completely opposite experiences that the two have been through. Olga has been abused and exploited throughout her time as an immigrant, while Taube is a lawyer who has experienced nothing but success and triumph throughout his life, much unlike Olga. Olga is once again used by Taube in order to further his goals. Taube is often rude to Olga in the things he says and the way he acts towards her, and I can't help but sympathize with her. I especially feel sorry for her whenever Isador is transported to Canada without being able to see Olga first. However, Olga is in a very tough position. If she doesn't help Taube, her brother will not receive a funeral and Isador will most likely be discovered and suffer the penalties. Miller also exploits Olga, by putting words in her mouth and influencing her every action. On page 273, Olga says "Please stop talking. You make me Sick. Please be silent." This especially makes me feel bad for her because you can really imagine the whirlwind of emotions that she must be experiencing in that moment. When Iuliana is talking about her feelings toward the pogrom, I can't help but think of the experiences that Olga and Lazarus were forced to go through. After 100 years, the tragedy is still "stamped upon our national consciousness" (page 250). The fact that this is so much associated with the nation shows the severity of the events that unfolded. Brik is such a defensive character, and the thought that he so wanted to harm people for their actions was very strange to me. Another strange event is when he refuses to ask his cab driver to slow down, when he is obviously in danger of losing his life. When he later confronts the cab driver in a bathroom stall, we see Brik's more aggressive side and the thought of him intentionally harming several people is more comprehensible. During this section of the novel, Brik becomes more of a dynamic character by the fact that his feelings toward Mary are changing and he also feels at home in Eastern Europe. Brik shows his disgust for America's democracy, especially by the fact that many people are judged by their success. Rora's untimely and unnecessary death is another example of just how fragile life his, and how it can be taken away in an instant. Rora dies in a similar way to Lazarus, through the mishandling of a gun. On page 291, the quote "I find that hard to believe... Things happen for a reason" is very interesting to me. It almost seems that they are trying to find meaning in Rora's death, but come to the conclusion that sometimes things just happen uncontrollably.

Response to Writer's Harvest

Last night, I attended the extra credit event and listened to many interesting stories from four acclaimed authors. First up, was a young and spunky John Pursely III. He told us that he had become very interested in old western films, and had become watching them. He read three poems, which he credited his wife, Sarah, for co-writing. He also mentioned his young daughter, Helen, and hoped that someday he would help him write as well. The first poem he read was "No One Reckoned the Snake," followed by "Like Quail in the Brush," and he finished with "The Tall Man Destined to come to a Mysterious End." I felt like he was very hard to follow, because he stuttered a lot and spoke very fast. I am a visual learner, so I better understand literature when I have it in front of my face to analyze, and cannot follow along solely with my ears. From what I could gather, there was no rhyme or organization to his poem (or this could just be the faultiness of my ears). He also spoke of how his poems were inspired by the "Apache Kid." Next up was my favorite reader, Lindsey Jones. She read a non-fiction, short-story, titled "Fall in Love with Ludny," that she had written a year ago. The story was written about her experience with fostering a young girl from Haiti, named Ludny (Not sure exactly how to spell the name, but we'll just go with that.) The story started out as a light-hearted story about the little girl, and her childish mind. However, the further that the story progressed, more challenges arose. For example, we learned that the little girl was there to fix her two clubbed feet. Jones spoke of how she had two pink casts on both of her legs which flared out toward the ankle, hiding screws that were exposed, superficial to the skin. She also spoke of how one cast was bent and the other straight, because the bones of her left leg had fused together. At this point, I felt completely hopeless for this poor little girl. The biggest problem of the story is their inability to communicate, because of the English-Creole language barrier. Ludny knew few words in English, and Jones knew few words in Creole. Because of this, the two primarily communicated through hand gestures and motions, and Jones felt that she was playing charades at all times. Yet again, another impending problem for Jones was the fact that Ludny was not actually her daughter. In a short few months, Ludny would have to return to her home in Haiti, and because of "childhood amnesia," she would soon forget all of her experiences with Jones in America, and hopefully she would even forget the horrid pink casts, and pain that the she once suffered. I sympathized with Jones for having to eventually leave Ludny, and for the pain that the helpless little girl suffered. I feel that I found her story the most interesting because it was non-fiction, and I could imagine the scenes playing out in my mind. Considering she only read a portion of her story, I would be interested in reading it in its entirety. Following Lindsey Jones was an eccentric Steve Katz. He started off by saying something about his hat and baloney, but I didn't quite catch exactly what he said. He read a few poems entitled "My Niece's Mind," "Z-Mail," "Me In Water," "Cab Driver Dreams," and "Avatars of Love." Of all of these, my favorite was "Z-Mail." This poem was written around the theme of technology, which I enjoy reading and analyzing. In this poem, "Z-Mail" is a type of electronic mail that takes thoughts from your mind and sends them out to others, with no physical effort involved. The main line in this poem, "Even when I sleep, never out of touch," was repeated several times. I thought this was very interesting, and maybe even a bit creepy, that even while he slept he was still communicating with the world. I found this quite interesting because many technologies have been invented to make our lives easier, and to help us to perform tasks without putting in much effort, much like "Z-Mail." Who knows, we could be using Z-Mail one day! While reading his poems, Katz seemed very unprepared and scatter-brained, but maybe that's just his personality. The last reader that I listened to, and probably the most entertaining, was Keith Lee Morris. He prefaced his story about his fiction writing class, and how his students are usually surprised by how hard it can actually be. He also noticed that many of their fiction stories were centered on their lives in college. He decided to write his own piece, entitled "My Roommate Kevin is Awesome." The story was wild and encompassed everything from fake ID's, acrobatics, sex, drugs, and the ghost of Ray Charles. The story begins with Keith and Kevin's search to cure their boredom. They want to be "cool" and obtain fake ID's, just for them to be taken when they try to get into a bar. Next, Kevin discovers his ability to perform acrobatics, and he performs for everyone in his dorm which makes him popular among them. Once they become popular, they begin to have parties, which included drugs and alcohol. During one of their intoxicated states, the ghost of Ray Charles appears. The apparition signs autographs, drinks with the boys, and even purchases them alcohol. During one of their parties, the food and alcohol turn into an apparition-like state, reappearing after they were eaten or drank. The story was filled with obscenities, which was expected in a story about college boys. At one point, the "right hand man of God" appears to speak to Keith and Kevin about their bad judgments. Keith and Kevin shrug the interaction of their shoulders, and continue to indulge in their bad ways. To be honest, the story was so scattered that it was hard to follow and interpret. Honestly, this story reminded me a lot of "The Crying of Lot 49," mainly because of the discrepancy of what really happened and what was imagined. I had to leave at the intermission due to an interview at 8:30, but I would have loved to stay and listen to the remaining readers because of how much I enjoyed the first four readers. I would love to attend this next year, and feel great that I donated to a great cause!

"After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town"

At first glance, I thought that this short story would be a fictional, silly story due to the title. However, the theme of the short story is a lot like that of other short stories that we have been reading recently -- stories of the intersection of cultures and relationships. The cultures portrayed in this story are both American and Chinese, and both are portrayed in a humorous light, that makes the short story more enjoyable and keeps the reader interested. One quote that I found particularly interesting was when the man muttered "American dogs," (p. 185) referring to the Chinese workers who had prepared his meal. I feel that this comment was unnecessary and particularly hurtful. As the story develops, we come to understand that the main character, Mr. Shapiro, who has all Chinese workers. The quote on pages 189-190, "At first Mr. Shapiro worked hard, often staying around until we closed at ten-thirty. Bu as the business was flourishing, he hung back more and stayed in his office hours on end," is particularly interesting. This shows that the more successful he is and the more income he is generating, the more able he is to hire others to do work for him so that he can solely reap the benefits with no cost to him. To me, this is becoming the American lifestyle, which is distasteful. Also, this introduces a huge culture difference between American and Chinese people -- in Chinese culture, they are taught that hard work is for a lifetime. As the story progresses, we learn that Mr. Shapiro wants to turn his restaurant into a buffet, or as he calls it, a "skinflint" (p. 193). A "skinflint" is someone who tries to spend as little money as possible. Another interesting fact is that the workers are not given a discount on their food, which is very rare in the food business, it seems. This fact adds to the unlikely qualities of Mr. Shapiro. A humorous part in the short story is when a patron calls, wanting to have his wedding feast at the restaurant. He says that he wants something exotic for their dinner, so he chooses the "Cowboy Chicken" (p. 199), which, to me, sounds anything but exotic. A recurring issue in the short story is the boss wanting to take his younger, female workers on dates. I feel that this is another cultural difference between America and China, because the Chinese girls go through with this in order to not displease their boss, but the American workers would report him, without fear of punishment. Reading about the culture differences between our countries is very interesting, and gives me a new perspective on everyday things.

"A Wife's Story" and "American Dreamers" by Bharati Mukherjee

For Monday's class, we were assigned to read two pieces of literature written by Bharti Mukherjee, "A Wife's Story and "American Dreamer." "A Wife's Story" is the story of American stereotypes toward foreigners. The story begins in a theater, during a scene in which the are talking about the "Patel" family, which is preconceived to be an Indian family. As she arrives home from the theater, after walking with her friend, Imre, she has a talk with her roommate about her husband, who then interrupts when he calls from India. We learn that he lives in India, as he speaks of visiting her for a "honeymoon," because he misses her very much. I thought that it was very strange that the husband and wife live apart, but non-traditional marriages are being seen more frequently in today's society. Ultimately, he comes to visit and they do many things together such as shopping and take tours of the city. She speaks with him about the differences between America and India, and that they have much more privacy and ability to do the things that they like in America. She becomes blatantly honest with him as she says that she does not love him because their marriage was an arranged marriage, which is one huge cultural difference between America and India. During their time in the city, the husband says to his wife, "Quick, take a picture of me! Before the Twin Towers Disappear." I though that this was particularly strange, because this was written before the Twin Towers fell in 2001. Upon his departure from America, her husband asks her to return with him to India because he is concerned about all of the freedoms she has in America, and what it is doing to their marriage. She refuses, and stays in America.

The next piece of literature, "American Dreamers," is about written about Bharati Mukherjee, the author of the story, who moved from Indiana to Iowa to study writing for two years. Upon her supposed moving back to India to return to her husband of an arranged marriage, she instead marries a man who she meets in her classes. She speaks of her social status and life growing up in India, which is very defined by the family's last name, heritage, and location that they live in, very unlike America. Throughout the story, she compares and contrasts the three countries that she has lived in - India, Canada, and America. She uses the struggle for individualism in India for her reasoning as why she wants to become an American citizen. She speaks of Canada as a hard place to live because of their inability to accept people from other cultures. She speaks of her love for "America," and values her citizenship greatly. She says that although America is better than India, she still thinks of improvements that can be made by immigrants and natural born citizens alike.

Both of these stories of an Indian-American lifestyle are very true, from what I have heard and experienced. Many of my professors have been of Indian descent, and speak of the cultural differences between America and India. One very distinct difference is the Indian's hard work ethic in everything, but especially in school. They are very hard workers, unlike many Americans who think that they can get by with doing the bare minimum, and their hard work pays off with them excelling in many areas. Going back to the idea of "stereotypes," many Americans think of Indian-Americans for being "nerds," for studying hard and excelling in school. However, they will have the last laugh when their hard work pays off.