Langston Hughes, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"

Emily Hughes

September 30, 2014

I absolutely loved this poem. Every word, phrase, and image is elegant and musical. Langston Hughes is able to create a rhythm with his specific, almost minimalist vocabulary choices. He uses short phrases and careful syntax so that each image resonates individually. To emphasize his use of language, Hughes creates a frame with the poem's structural symmetry; this frame gives the reader a distinctive lens through which they can imagine each carefully worded phrase in the center stanza.

In particular, I found the personification of nature especially powerful.  Phrases like "the singing of the Mississippi" and "the Congo [...] lulled me to sleep" incite a uniquely vivid image of nature and landscape. These images allow the reader to share the narrator's intimacy with the rivers. They go beyond description, and assert a much deeper relationship between poet and landscape.

Dybek's Bottle Caps

I really admired Bottle Caps among this week's readings. I loved how Dybek used the senses, specifically smell, sight, and touch when describing the thrill the protagonist got from collecting bottle caps in an alley. In terms of smell, I loved the "metallic, fermenting malt" part, which for me evoked that rusty smell in my own nose. I also loved the brand-naming, like Pabst Blue Ribbon, as well as the way Dybek has his protagonist describe the touch and feel of the caps, "some were lined with plastic, some were lined with foil... Meister Brau Bock, my favorite, each cap a ram's head medallion."
I also love the pace and how the tone shifts in this piece. The mundane hobby of collecting bottle caps turns into an obsession by the end, particularly through Dybek's word choice. His tone goes from relaxed and almost tranquil, and gradually shifts to anger and frustration, as the main character has almost too many caps to save. For example, I love the image of the main character choking his brother at the end; "I had him by the T-shirt, which I worked up around his throat, slowly twisting into a knot at his windpipe." I love this rather violent turn; it really spiced the piece up and also added complexity to the character and his relationship to his bottle caps. Dybek's diction even makes one ask if by the end of the piece the protagonist continued to get joy from his bottle caps, or whether or not he empathized with his brother using them for his dead bugs. I even think the subject of an "insect graveyard" adds complexity, not to the protagonist, but to the two brothers as a whole. I think in this piece, Dybek shows how rich just one page of single-spaced narrative can achieve, and that we should strive for this sort of brevity.

Minor Miracle - A strong apology

This was a really cool interaction. Someone who did something terribly wrong came back to apologize. The young white guy was in a truck in what seemed to be a rural area. He probably would have never seen these bikers again, but there was some urge in him to turn back. I really liked how he apologized; he just yelled in a way that was not sheepish, it was a strong apology. I wonder if the words slipped out from anger, when his driving was commented on. I know I hate it when people comment on my driving, or get in my way when I'm driving. It could have been similar experience but his anger got way out of hand.

Bottle Caps

I collect Snapple bottle caps. I'm sure that it's because I want to learn all of the really cool facts and be able to read them over and over again until I can recall them like my own phone number. The narrator is collecting various kinds of bottle caps and considers them to be treasures. When the brother is found taking some, I thought that he thought that they were cool and was going to just have them around. When it was revealed that he would be using them as tombstones, it got to me. It was unexpected. I wanted there to be more. I looked for another page to read and when I found none, I had to imagine the narrator's reactions. The younger brother isn't described much. But I feel like I know him a lot more than I do the narrator.

Minor Miracle Afterthought

The reading of the week that stuck out to me the most was Minor Miracle by Marilyn Nelson. The writer builds a scene that has the reader reacting within just a few lines. She first describes the truck driver not by obvious diction like “the white man” or the “the redneck truck driver” but descriptive words like “stringy blonde hair a long fringe under his brand-name beer cap”. I think this is important because she draws out an image of the truck driver prior to his crass dialogue, which then allows the reader to properly form his or her own opinion towards the truck driver. I also really liked how after the truck driver shouts out “You fucking niggers!” the narrator and her friend don’t react the way the reader might have expected. Instead their reaction is so blasé that it makes it seem like the encounter with the truck driver will only be brief; therefore the ending, while simple, is surprising. I didn’t expect the truck driver to make a reoccurrence and I definitely didn’t expect him to apologize, especially when he comes out of his truck shouting, “What did you say back there?” I assumed it would be another confrontation where his ignorance prevails, but instead he apologizes. Like I said previously, it's so simple yet so surprising. I think the ending is effective because of the unpredictability. Sometimes people, even those we least expect, can surprise us and that's what I think Nelson illustrates perfectly. 

Bottle Caps

Dybek and I seem to have shared a similar way of interpreting our world as children, which I enjoyed revisiting in this piece. I liked that he didn't try to impose the perspective of his older self on the observations he had made as a child. In that mindset, it made sense to hoard bottle caps and judge them like halloween candy. The ending of this piece made me smile. The contrast in the way that Dybek and his younger brother viewed the bottle caps highlighted to me the way that imagination can make completely new meanings out of ordinary items life. It was refreshing how he was able to appreciate that moment in his life for what it brought him.

"Minor Miracle" by Marilyn Nelson

Minor Miracle was my favorite piece this week because of the surprise at the end. I like when the reader thinks a story is going one direction and it ends up going in the complete opposite direction. I think I connected to this piece because of the strong imagery. Nelson really knows how to paint a clear picture. I can imagine the Marine Corps guy perfectly; the “footlockerful of martial arts techniques” gives the reader a feeling of danger. The best part of this piece is the moment of tension that comes when the narrator and her friend don’t know how the guy is going to react and then he reacts the completely different way from how they were thinking. My favorite part about the last stanza is how the guy’s actions exemplify his regretfulness. He shoves his hands into his pockets and pushes the dirt around with his foot. It reminds me of a child who’s been forced to apologize. The strong imagery creates a story that shows you that people can still be surprising. They know how to admit when they’re wrong. This piece turns a situation that could have been very bad into a situation that gives the reader something to think about.

400-Meter Freestyle by Maxine Kumin

   I would like to preface this post by stating that I am a varsity swimmer, so it's generally hard for me to appreciate books, poems, or shows about swimming, as they are generally riddled with misconceptions. As a distance freestyler, I could recognize my own race in this piece, not just in the physical arrangement of the writing, which flows the path of a 400M, but in the way it describes movement through the water. Due to the length constraints of using this form, the author was forced to be very thrifty with her words, but that only served to enhance the breathless, fast-paced quality of the race. The downwards lines were a forced pause, slowing the otherwise rapid quality, perfectly capturing the feeling of a flip-turn. For so many of the descriptions, I could actively see what was taking place, both as the one racing and as a spectator looking on. Some examples include "[throwing] scoop after scoop cunningly moving water back to move him forward," and "his mobile mouth that siphons in the air." By the end of the poem, I was feeling as breathless as the racer, pounding down the lines towards the final word, mentally read by the metallic, echoing announcer's voice: "TIME: 4:25.9." While I don't know men's times, especially in meters, it sounds like his hard work and practice have paid off, a feeling I wish I knew better. Overall, this piece is a fantastic use of shape poetry that actually uses the shape to convey a feeling, not just to make apparent what is being described. I can honestly say I have a favorite swimming-related poem now-- my coach will be thrilled.

Blessed

"A Blessing" Wright

I could really resonate with Wrights “A Blessing” because of his desire to connect with nature and animals. While I was reading this, it conjured up a picture of home. It brought on memories of pine trees, unpaved roads, wild animals and crisp mountain air. Wright paints a serene portrait of his surrounding, similar to my own.  He speaks of the ponies with a tenderness that only one that has connected with animals knows of. His writing expresses how I see animals- like one of us- affectionate and in need of love and care. He considers himself blessed to be able to interact with nature and animals, and so do I.     

"Home"

Bottle Caps_ Stuart Dybek

I was unclear whether or not this piece was completed by the abrupt ending. Regardless of its length or completion, I really liked this particular piece. I felt as though Dybek was able to paint a picture of the alleys in which he strolled; a lost misfit in a foreign land. The discarded caps tossed down without a second thought, he saw as small treasures, which are given even more of a symbolic meaning when his brother takes them to honor the fallen insect of the earth. The words Dybek painted were rich in texture and color, the words felt vivid and subtly loud. I enjoyed the power he bestowed upon discarded metal scraps not even worth the time of the bums in the alleys. This piece was very enjoyable to read because of how clear the images were in my head as I was reading. 

Bottle caps