As I began to look over the reading that we did together in class on Friday, there were several parts I found myself drawn to that either related to something else we have done thus far in the course or in my own personal life and experiences. The first quote that I really paid attention to was, “the last thing American theatre needs is another lame play” (Parks, 7). Reading this made me think back to my high school English classes and the emphasis that they put on plays and theatre. I remember reading an array of “outside the norm” novels throughout, but when it came to the theater portion, we did the stereotypical thing and read a Shakespeare play for every year of high school.
The quote from Parks also made me think about the course epigraph, “Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form.”–Toni Morrison, from a 1989 interview with Bonnie Angelo. Just as Morrison sees that black literature is (possibly) just another chapter that the sociology professors feel they have to get through, that is how theater felt for me throughout high school. Shakespeare was just another unit that we had to get through so that we could take the standardized test and move on with our lives. So personally, I think that the very thing American theatre needs is more lame plays. Maybe it will stop teachers from teaching the same play year after year and will bring some enthusiasm back into the classroom.
Another section of the text that stood out to me this week was on page fifteen of Suzan-Lori Park’s book, “dance If you’re one who writes sitting down, once before you die try dancing around as you write. It’s the old world way of getting to the deep shit” (Parks, 15). As I was writing a research paper for a class I am taking with Professor Gillin, I had this running through the back of my mind. I was not tempted to get up and start dancing around the floor lounge or my dorm room, but I did find that when I hit a “wall” that when I moved to a different part of the floor that I was more focused and I suddenly was able to write.
The last piece that stood out to me was again from page fifteen, “laughter is very powerful– it’s not a way of escaping anything but a way of arriving on the scene” (Parks, 15). There were many things that happened in my life this week, where I felt as though the only response (other than crying) was to just bust out laughing. I found that when I did this it kind of was like “oh my God this is really happening”. It made me realize that maybe the people that are laughing all the time are not always happy but are indeed masking the pain, such as smiling while running as Sean pointed out in class.
On Dance
Dear past me,
The way I imagine you right now, it’s your sophomore or junior year of high school. You’re probably at musical rehearsal doing homework or trying to catch up on sleep between scenes, dreading having to go up on stage. After all, participating in your school musicals was more of a social thing for you — you aren’t a great singer (though you love to sing) and you’re a terrible dancer, which isn’t great considering that your school loves to do tap-based musicals. Continue reading “On Dance”
Read with yr whole experience
I’ve recently become very aware of context. Specifically, how easily something can be taken out of context. A few semesters ago, I took a class on Northern Irish Poetry. It was–and remains–one of my favorite classes that I have taken here at Geneseo. Because I was so in love and absorbed with the content of the class, the themes began to carry themselves into other areas of my life. I started to see myself making connections with the course everywhere that I went. In this case, it wasn’t a negative thing! I stayed thinkING throughout the semester.
A close RE-reading of “You and I Are Disappearing –Bjorn Hakannson”
After writing my previous blog post, “A Close Read of “You and I Are Disappearing””( https://morrison.sunygeneseoenglish.org/2019/03/24/a-close-reading-of-you-and-i-are-disappearing/ ), it was brought to my attention that I misinterpreted the author of the poem. The title of the poem is followed by “Bjorn Hakannson”, however, he is not the author of the poem. As Professor McCoy pointed out to me, the actual author is the same author as the poem “Facing It”, Vietnam War veteran Yusef Komunyakaa. After finding out this information, I re-read the poem with the correct knowledge of the author and interpreted it in a much different way than I had originally. Continue reading “A close RE-reading of “You and I Are Disappearing –Bjorn Hakannson””
Making Connections (And a Bracelet)
While watching A Raisin in the Sun on Monday, I had multiple moments in which a lightbulb went on over my head and I was jotting things down because it had reminded me of something we’ve already read or watched this semester. Connecting the film to course material from earlier in the semester had reminded me of the first day of class when Dr. McCoy had given each of us three beads and string to form a bracelet. I saw the three similarities I found between the different course material and the film as being representative of the beads and A Raisin in the Sun as being the string or thru line, tying each of the course materials together into one piece. Continue reading “Making Connections (And a Bracelet)”
In Darkness of Recent Events
Like most lazy Sundays I spent time on my phone scrolling through Snapchat. To my surprise, the content was different from what I tend to see on a regular day basis which consists of selfies and video recordings of friends. There was a snapshot of where a girl by the name “Maddie” posts a picture of her or someone else wearing a face mask saying “Black face and sunsets with my bae” then followed by a “jk they’re face masks.” This picture re-appeared in over twenty snapchats followed by people’s disappointment over the snaps saying the post was insensitive and racist. That Thursday, the President’s Committee for Diversity and Equity held some drop in hours in which students could come by and discuss their feelings on the incident. During the drop in hours multiple students opened up about how they felt about this incident in front of many faculty members. A student shares that many people believe that they are allowed to do and or say things that are exclusive to a community because one single person of that community says they can or that they are not offended. However, it is important to understand that community members will not all react in the same way. These forms of complex friendships reminded me of Pat Parker’s poem, “For the white person who wants to know how be my friend.” Parker who was an African-American lesbian feminist poet and activist, has the speaker juxtapose many situations showing how complex these relationships may be.
The Regime of the Visual
This morning I was listening to an episode about Scientology from the Mile Higher podcast. This podcast opened up with a question from a listener about aliens and the idea of a different form of life. The people in the podcast were discussing the way they think humanity on Earth would react if another species came to Earth. The woman in the podcast discussed the way that she believed people’s reactions would be solely based off of what the aliens looked like. She brought the conspiracy of there being aliens that look like large praying mantis’. She believed if aliens took this form the human race Continue reading “The Regime of the Visual”
What Role do Symbols and References Play in Literature?
Symbolism has always been a complex thing for me to grasp. My freshman year of college for one of my education classes I had to listen to a podcast that discussed standardized testing. Please note that I was unable to relocate this podcast online, so I will be discussing from my own memory. From what I can remember about this podcast it told the story of how a poem was published within a Texas State standardized test. When the poet of the particular poem saw the questions that were asked in relation to her poem she could not even answer some of the questions. For example, one of the questions regarding symbolism asked, “What does the color red of the door symbolize?” In the podcast the poet explained that picking red as the color of the door meant nothing, it was just the first color to pop into her head. In Jennifer Galvao’s blog post “What I Mean to Say Is…” she explores an idea that I believe this particular poet was probably feeling when she came across the standardized test questions. Jen writes, “every time I choose a word in my writing, I am unknowingly trying to find that symbiosis between content and form- a way to express what I mean. At the same time, going back to the ‘plugged in’ idea, the word I choose sometimes bears a meaning that I did not intend.” Connecting Jen’s astute thought to the story told in the podcast, it seems to me that the creators of the standardized test selected a meaning behind the red door that the poet did not even intend. Continue reading “What Role do Symbols and References Play in Literature?”
Bam! Distracted!
As I approach the end of the semester, I feel myself becoming overwhelmed with all the things we have due. As the sun comes out and the warmth surrounds us, it is so difficult to stay focused and push through. Today in McCoy’s class, we briefly discussed all the outside forces that can distract us and cause us to procrastinate. I thought this was interesting because distractions and disturbances surrounded us throughout the class, and I was paying careful attention to them. Continue reading “Bam! Distracted!”
Review on Steve Prince’s “Urban Nativity”
Steve Prince is known for depicting many themes in his work; Christianity and the lives of Black Americans are two big ones.
As many of Prince’s pieces are more symbolic, this one, “Urban Nativity” is a more blunt take on these topics. Take note that Prince’s usual characteristics are still present-the block shaped pants and shoes suggest that the horsemen of the apocalypse are standing over the dead body. Symbolically, the horsemen may represent the men who’ve killed the victim. They may also represent passerby’s, who are unfeeling to the tragedy in front of them, as bystanders, they are are also responsible for this boy’s death. The dead body is only covered by a cloth, which forms Prince’s trademark dove. This dove suggest that the boy who died was innocent and peaceful, his death was a great tragedy and wrongdoing. The dove is also lying on the ground, meant to mean that peace is dead too. Lastly, a price tag hangs from the victim’s foot. This can be taken to mean many things, but I think the simple message it is supposed to bring to those viewing Urban Nativity is that a price was put on this person’s life and that the world didn’t slow down to mourn, it was desensitized to his death.