The Black Arts Era

Audre Lorde (1934-1992) was a literary figure during the Black Arts Era as a poet, essayist, and feminist theorist. She was born Audrey Geraldine Lorde but changed her name because she didn’t like the y hanging down and would always forget to add it. I found that I could relate to her writings more than other writers during this time period because she brings in the feminist aspect. She was a victim of breast cancer and this also influenced her views of cultural norms of physical beauty. “A Litany for Survival” was a poem about a mother’s responsibility to her next generation claiming that she “cannot indulge the passing dreams of choice.” The last line of the poem, “…it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive” sends a message of courage and triumph to the reader.

Lorde’s essay entitled “Poetry Is Not a Luxury” was one of my favorites. I felt that I could relate to the women she described. While there were a few references to the “white fathers” that I did not agree with, the overall effect of the essay was a positive one. The line “For within living structures defined by profit, by linear power, by institutional dehumanization, our feelings were not meant to survive.” portrays how I feel in my line of work. I am employed by a very large worldwide corporation that specializes in engineering power plants. Growing up with a very strong arts and expression influence, it is such a drag to go to work in a cube processing meaningless documents day in and day out. There is no room for feelings in the corporate world (except for ambition – or any other feeling that benefits the company). I can’t help but wonder if this dehumanized, programmed way of life is what was intended for us. I believe that’s what Lorde means when she writes about poetry being a luxury – it is a means of self expression that takes a woman’s thoughts and puts them on paper as a foundation for change.

Realism, Naturalism, Modernism

After reading works from Margaret Walker, Ralph Ellison, and Ann Petry, one short story stuck out in my mind. The Street by Ann Petry was a short story about a young girl living in Harlem looking for an apartment. The glamour and the creative ingenuity that we previously studied about Harlem were not present in this young girl’s life. This time period from 1940-1960 known as Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism was a very different style then the Harlem Renaissance. This literature did not have the “call” to African Americans to rise up and claim its cultural identity. This literature was more… “real” with stories of the continued hardships. The Street portrayed images that were dirty, grimy, and unkept. The main character in the short story described her home life – with her father’s many abusive girlfriends and numerous roommates. This girl was so desperate to leave and move out on her own, that she was willing to live in a dilapidated, small dirty apartment with (I assumed) her brother. Our character said she would rather live in a place of that, than to continue in a loveless environment.

I really enjoyed the Reflecting Circle group’s presentation of this time period. The different elements of the power point, videos, and actually hearing the voices of these authors helped to bring this presentation to life. I did not know about the Black Panther, Islam, or Communists groups that found refuge and flourished in Harlem. I found the biographical information of the authors interesting because different influences always led them to express themselves through literature. Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun which was one of the longest plays to remain on Broadway. There was also a poem We Real Cool, which Gwendolyn Brooks wrote one day walking by a pool hall. She saw a group of kids playing pool instead of being in school, and instead of asking the question why, she wondered what the teenagers actually thought of themselves. Her last line in the poem is “We die soon”. Her message is clear to the younger generation – don’t settle and push yourselves to receive an education.

Langston Hughes

I am responding to Hope Towner’s blog question from Reflecting Circle #3 (Harlem Renaissance). She asked us to describe a piece of literature and write about the author’s emotions and how it relates to Harlem.

The Harlem Renaissance was a time in our country’s history where freedom of expression through any avenue in the art world was accepted and embraced. An opportunity like this is very rare even in today’s society. After the Great Migration when thousands of blacks migrated up north to escape oppression, an enclave of creative ideas was founded.

After finishing the assigned reading for this period, the writings of Langston Hughes stuck out in my memory. Hughes went to Columbia University in New York for a year, but never really connected with that environment. Once entering Harlem, he knew that he had found his home for creative expression. Hughes was not afraid to write about the lower-class black culture as he saw it. The poem “Mother to Son” is one of my favorites. Hughes wrote about how life has not been a “crystal stair” and that there are hard ships on every step. This literary work is an endearing mother showing her son that through her example, making it through life and surviving is possible, no matter the hardships. Hughes also wrote “The Weary Blues” which made the reader picture the lazy sway of the man on the piano. “Harlem” is yet another example of his blunt depiction of what happens to a dream deferred. Hughes questions if the dream will dry up, or run… sugar over, or sag? I think that this poem can relate to Hughes life. He always had the intelligence to do whatever he wanted, but his dream never became a reality until he took residence in Harlem. Hughes work stood the test of time, outlasting the end of the movement.

Harlem

Stop, fool!

There was a time in the short story “The City of Refuge” by Rudolph Fisher when the main character was so self destructive that I wanted to tell him to just stop! King Solomon Gillis moved to Harlem from North Carolina to begin a new life in a place where blacks (according to his depiction) were considered white. He had $100 to get to New York and once there, was preyed upon by an advantage seeking dealer. I enjoyed Fisher’s descriptions of how Gillis saw Harlem for the first time. He commented on the girl in green stockings and the whites driving around, intimidated. More importantly, Gillis commented on the black policemen. “…Even got cullud policemans,” he said.

Gillis only wanted two things once in Harlem – to be a policeman and to have a girl like the one in green socks. For such a simple man, he certainly got into a heap of trouble. Uggam convinced Gillis to distribute dope out of the store where he was employed. At this point in the story I wanted Gillis to use his brain! I find it hard to believe that someone of his age, capable of traveling alone and seeing the world could be taken advantage of so easily. Gillis honestly had no idea that what he was doing was illegal. When the two white policemen approached Gillis, he was so dumbfounded by Uggam’s complete denial that his only instinct was to fight back. He fought the white policemen until he was confronted by a black policeman. This ending made me enjoy and appreciate the story. Gillis was raised and accustomed to only whites having the power to rule and govern. The last line “… the grin that came over his features had something exultant about it” shows how simple and unassuming Gillis’s character really was.

Novel vs. Movie

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple has been depicted in two literary forms – a movie and book. The movie is surprisingly true to the book. There are a few differences that I believe take away from the integrity of the novel. In the novel, Celie finds Nettie’s letters that Mr. hid from her in his chest. In the movie the letters were kept underneath a floorboard, underneath the locked chest. I believe that although subtle, this difference is significant. In the novel, Mr. just tucking away the letters in the chest portrayed how Mr. thought of Celie. He knew that she would never go against his wishes and open the chest, so he did not take any extreme measures to conceal the letters. Also, a few of the characters (like Sophie’s children) had more of a presence in the movie than the book. I was glad that the story of Sophie remained the same. It was important for the viewer to see the scenario that unfolded on Christmas with her family and to observe the unjust life that she was forced to lead.

One of the main things that I missed in the movie was the close interaction with Celie (the writer of the letters). The narrator in the movie reads some of her letters at certain intervals, but the innocent, almost child-like voice that I heard in the book was not apparent. I think that the reader doesn’t connect with the main character as much in the movie. Also the story of Nettie in Africa remained the same. Not as much time was spent on her letters (so far in the movie) unlike the book, which I was glad for as I found them rather dull and repetitive. I did enjoy being able to put a face with all of the different characters in the book though. Mr. is not how I pictured him nor was Shug. But Celie was the most similar to what I had envisioned. All and all, I think that the common phrase “the book is always better” remained true for this story.

"The Color Purple"

The Color Purple by Alice Walker was a very powerful and moving piece of literature and I am so glad that we were required to read it. This novel has received nationwide recognition and won many awards. I wanted to respond to a review by The New York Times entitled “Some Letters Went to God.” Mel Watkins, the author, describes the major theme as the “estrangement and violence that mark the relationships between Miss Walker’s black men and women.” I agree with this and can give numerous examples throughout the novel. We are introduced to Celie very abruptly in her first letter to God where she is being raped by her step father. As the book progresses she recounts numerous occasions of beatings and sexual encounters with her stepfather and arranged husband (Mr.). Celie’s letters show a sign of acceptance and resignation at the beginning of the book that this is how life is going to be, and there is nothing she can do about it. As the book progresses and her letters become more defined, Celie gains the strength needed to break away from her oppressive life. It struck me about halfway through the novel that African Americans have been fighting for their freedom for as long as they have had a presence in America. Since this is the case, how could they treat some of their own (women especially) as slaves? This just goes to show that the cycle of hatred and supremacy has effects that last beyond the originator’s lifetime.

Watkins also commented on the authenticity of the novel’s folk voice. I enjoyed reading Celie’s letters and comparing them to Nettie’s. Nettie received an education which reflected in her writing skill. Even though Celie was never formally educated, she possessed an ability to ponder and question things that were well beyond Nettie’s realm. I was much more interested in Celie’s letters and of her lifetime struggle against male dominance.

The New York Times review can be found at the following website: http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/04/specials/walker-color.html

The Reconstruction to the New Negro Renaissance

The literature of “The Reconstruction to the New Negro Renaissance” is very different than our previous reading assignments. My group presented last week on the literature of slavery and freedom which had a completely different approach. The works in the period from 1746-1865 strived to make blacks seen as not a different species, but as part of the whole human race. Different authors such as David Walker and Frederick Douglass stressed the need for a rebellion and to take a stance against white oppression. The literature from 1865-1919 had a completely different feel for me. In a way it seemed utterly hopeless. “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay seemed to accept the fact that lynching’s could occur to anyone at anytime… the only request was for dignity in death.

Another reading that really brought about some strong emotions for me was “The Haunted Oak” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. This work drew an interesting perspective of a lynching from an outside viewpoint (the tree itself). Dunbar wrote of the “the judge, he wore a mask of black, and the doctor one of white, and the minister, with his oldest son, was curiously bedight.” What a horrible line to reference – but it shows how the violent murders of blacks were considered an acceptable event. The judge is one that is supposed to interpret and uphold the law. The doctor takes an oath to care for those in discomfort and pain. Last but not least, the minister took an oath to God and is brutally murdering His children. These 3 occupations are perhaps the most prestigious and respectable positions in society. They call for a lifetime commitment to society to better it – and that is not what this poem shows. I have read multiple nonfiction books about the south back in those days, but nothing can quite evoke the same emotions as a poem like “The Haunted Oak.”