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Sherman Alexie’s “Basketball” is a poem about a person who is identified by their sport. This person seems to be very good at this game and whenever they go out, in this case they went out for a few beers, they are asked to go one-on-one. It seems this person is aware of the constant routine and relishes in any type of remembrance of what they used to be. Lorna Dee Cervantes’ poem title is quite breathtaking in my opinion. I like how she gives a large amount of backstory or rather insight before she even starts the poem. Her poem is quite serious and serves as a form of inner monologue or one-sided conversation. She talks about her desire for change and her fear in the color of her own skin. Elaine Equi’s “A Quiet Poem” is a contradiction in itself. It calls itself quiet, however throughout the entire poem you can hear the screams all around you. What I got from this poem is that screaming has become so normalized because of how used to it we are. Joy Harjo’s “Santa Fe” was very perplexing for me. I feel like this is supposed to be someone wanting adventure, but feeling tethered in some way. D. Nurske’s “Left Field” seemed childish which I liked. I think it was a little girl who is in a baseball league who doesn’t really fit in anywhere and has to learn on their own and eventually finds comfort in it.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Campos
After reading "Basketball" I did some research online to have a better understanding of the poem. This person is being seen in the same way and no matter how hard he tries everyone will see him as that. He seems to have enough of being asked to play basketball, but doesn't argue with the people. He has a Crazy horse dream which I learned was a Native American war leader, yet I don't understand what the skeleton and skin mean at the end of the poem. I enjoyed the second poem, because she was trying to discuss the matter of war between races without being so specific. I think that it was very clever of her to add how her intelligence couldn't make this go away, and I think that some people do think that if they have good enough reasons to justify all of it can be taken away. She isn't personally attacked but indirectly because of those reminders that she has every day of her life, and knows that her country will never be satisfied which is why there is war. The third poem was very ironic the title talking about being quiet, but yet included a whole poem about screaming. Using words such as melodious to describe someones scream. I didn't understand the correlation of the title to the poem. I also thought about how silence is the loudest scream and maybe that is what they were trying to portray here but I wasn't sure. "Sante Fe" to me meant that this girl was seeing everyone elses faults around her, and chose too make some of her own she notices a woman that has a vice of her own. This girl is making her own vice as well as her own faults by experiencing life the way she wants, but the story hasn't been invented yet. The last poem "Left Field" by Nurske, I did not understand at all. I reread it and could not decipher what it meant and didn't have my own interpretation of it either.
ReplyDeleteLianna Andrade
Sherman Alexie’s poem “Basketball” seems to be a statement about resistance to opponents, in its references to Crazy Horse (who died resisting imprisonment). Alexie’s dream “without a skeleton or skin” left me wondering, “With what, then?” This poem did contain images and symbols, but also mystery. Lorna Dee Cervantes’ poem contained elements I liked, such as the almost anthem-sounding line of “There is no hunger, no” (73), and her use of bullets as a symbol of slow-releasing germs of racism to her children. She also chooses to identify herself as a poet (bottom of 73) instead of a citizen of a country, or a race. This was transcendent. Elaine Equi’s poem about screaming (despite its name) seems ultimately to be about relationships and scarring incidents. The final two stanzas show a broken relationship due to “screaming” and make me wonder if this is what Equi had in mind for each depiction of “screaming” things – that these were people or objects she associated with broken relationships in her own life (answering the phone, an ambulance, the mournful connotation of the willow tree). Joy Harjo’s lilac flowers in her poem confused me. I’m not sure what she is using them to symbolize and it would be cool to talk about this in class. D. Nurske’s “Left Field” might be giving hints within itself as to why Nurske feels alone (told he throws like a girl; is in the outfield vs. in) but I felt left to speculate on why he stands “alone in darkness.” I liked the simplistic structure of this poem.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Roeglin
In "Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe in the War between Races" by Lorna Dee Cervantes, Cervantes is writing in her point of view and is very straightforward in this poem. I always thought poems would be more... poetic. I thought they would be hard to understand like poems of Edgar Allan Poe or Emily Dickinson. I've recently read a book of poems by Rupi Kaur and her poems are just as straightforward as Cervantes. Kaur's is directed at a man as well for the most part. It was a really interesting poem.
ReplyDeleteSidney Carranco
In "Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe in the War between Races" by Lorna Dee Cervantes, Cervantes is writing in her point of view and is very straightforward in this poem. I always thought poems would be more... poetic. I thought they would be hard to understand like poems of Edgar Allan Poe or Emily Dickinson. I've recently read a book of poems by Rupi Kaur and her poems are just as straightforward as Cervantes. Kaur's is directed at a man as well for the most part. It was a really interesting poem. "A Quiet Poem" by Elaine Equi was a a poem that caught my attention because of how it doesn't say anything of the quiet at all. This poem actually talks about screaming and how screaming turns into speech. I didn't completely understand the poem, like the meaning of it really, but I'm looking forward to talking about it during class.
ReplyDeleteSidney Carranco
When reading "Basketball", I found it kind of hard to understand, but what I picked up from it is how he always seen as the leader like "Crazy Horse", the indian leader. I also looked up Lester FallsApart, who was a character known as a drunk with self esteem issues. Maybe, in his world everyone expects for him to always be the top guy/leader around while all of them are kind of just his viewers on the sidelines, but that's all they see him as, as stated in the end "another Crazy Horse dream without a skeleton or skin". They see him in this leader form like Crazy Horse without acknowledging fact he isn't him, he is his own person. In Cervantes' poem, we are taken through a visual narrative. She is living in a time where oppression is seen to "have been torn down long ago", but it truly is not because she is still living with the battle every day because outside there are still people who will dislike her because of the color of her skin. My understanding of the lines "...this is not my land and this is my land" is how politically they may tell her this is your land, this is your home, there will be others, racists, who will tell her otherwise, and have her believing this isn't her land to call home. I really like the irony of Equi's poem of the title "A Quiet Poem" and the text being of scream related things. I thought of the screams throughout most of it as normal everyday scream-like things, but it wasn't until I got to the end, I had a different eye for the text. It got a lot darker and had me thinking differently. Perhaps this is about the life of someone who is an abusive relationship, who is constantly told to be quiet and obey. They never really have any release until the The Beatles paragraph and saying how they didn't want to scream, maybe because they were never allowed to, so when they got the chance it was like a sweet release. In Harjo's poem, I want to understand the meaning of the lilac's and their purpose. I feel like the wind signifies the story coming together and falling apart at the beginning and the end of poem. It kind of reminded of the bridge of a song from an artist named Halsey "You were red, and you liked me 'cause I was blue. You touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky, and then you decided purple just wasn't for you." Maybe the fox breaking through the lilacs was a significance to her maybe not wanting to write this story anymore and just letting it go. Nurske's poem reminded me of an ad campaign called "like a girl" where little girls had shown empowerment to the phrase where older people acted more frail and girly. I think this shows how they didn't let that comment affect them internally, but make them stronger, in fact proud. Even though they felt alone in that time, they are still proud of the phrase "like a girl" and use it to their empowerment.
ReplyDelete- Faith Ortiz
Sherman Alexie’s, “Basketball,” is the sad tale of someone failing to be more than who everyone else has already set him out to be. Day in and day out he strives to move on from the young, talented basketball player he once was; “the Reservation point guard with the Crazy Horse jump shot,” but falls victim to going home after a night out and having “another Crazy Horse dream without a skeleton or skin,” because all of the bar patrons got rowdy and pressure him into a game of one-on-one. The poem is short, but it holds a lot of emotion and explanation into how one man can feel dispirited by the glory days.
ReplyDelete“Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe in the War between Races” by Lorna Dee Cervantes is a beautifully laid out poem that follows her feelings regarding race, and what her skin color means not only to her, but to those around her as well. I love how the first two stanzas start off with “in my land” and how at the very end of the poem she says, “every day I am deluged with reminders that this is not my land and this is my land.” It is very difficult living in a nation that views skin color in terms of bias, and I believe that Dee Cervantes presents this conflict extremely well by laying out all of her thoughts in an explanation of question and heartbreak.
Probably my favorite poem of the bunch is Elaine Equi’s, “A Quiet Poem,” because it created a stunning visual for the audience. There were so many personal and popular culture references that gave each line a distinct meaning that contradicted the quiet and pressured the scream. I really enjoyed what Equi’s wrote, and I find her rhythmic approach of words to be very special.
I wasn’t sure what to make of Joy Harjo’s, “Santa Fe,” but I did enjoy that it was presented in a prose format. As for D. Nurske’s, “Left Field,” I think it gave off the feeling of what it is like for someone to feel left out. His skills are just below the others, yet he is till told to play outfield, but that doesn’t hinder him from finding pride in holding his tongue and pushing beyond other’s opinions of him.
Kimberlee Salas
Before I read “Basketball” I literally thought it was going to be about basketball, and it is but it seems to have its own sort of character to it. Talking about the Reservation he was from and how he had a “Crazy Horse” jump shot which I presume might be a good thing to have. I know that there’s deeper meaning to it but I can’t seem to find it.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Dee Cervantes poem because it reminded me of what’s going on now. Not in America of course but in Mexico. How our government is putting up a border to keep people out of the country. It seems like there’s no war going on but to those refugees it must seem like a war and I don’t know why but it just reminded me of what’s happening now. Obviously I know the poem is explaining something that was happening in another country (I think)
I liked how ironic the title “A Quiet Poem” is when the poem is clearly explaining things that have to do with some type of noise. I also really like how in every stanza, the word “scream” is mentioned.
I like the sense of imagery used in “Left Field” I can picture everything as I was reading. It reminded me of times when I was younger and I would go see my cousin play softball when we were in high school and she would be in the outfield by herself in the dark. I pictured it like that.
Ilene Guevara
After reading basketball by Alexie, I found it interesting how it was structured for it being a poem. I enjoy the repetition of "someone" because maybe that's what makes it a poem? it had absolutely nothing to do with basketball. in the poem by Dee Cervantes I found it quite interesting because the "war between races" is a serious controversial issue till this day. I enjoyed how dee expressed her thoughts into a poem as if that was the best way to explain herself. I found it ironic how the poem by Equi was called a quiet peom when its all only discussing "scream" or "screaming", there is at least one scream in each stanza. Sants fe by Harjo seems to be the most interesting to have read because of the powerful descriptions and comparisons. how she talks about herself and a lover, and a man she'll never remember. the poem left field by nurske might have been s little personal for me to understand or anyone, after reading it more and more I just confused myself more so maybe in class discussion we can break down the poems or at least this one.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Ruiz
I liked how Basketball shows Native American cultures during a trivial activity. I personally liked Poem for the Young White Man due to how the poet justifies why she believes in war and revolution. I believe that this poem is good due to how it justifies a persons beliefs when it comes to war. I liked the irony in how a poem titled A Quiet Poem gives examples of people or things that make loud noises. I liked how Santa Fe makes the readers assume its one story only to jump to another. I liked how Left Field shows a man reprimanding himself for his past actions. I don't like how Basketball doesn't provide the readers with information on what crazy horse is and give more examples of Native American culture. I don't like how a quiet poem mainly uses examples in the poem it makes it lack depth.
ReplyDeleteKatia Garcia
The poems for this discussion range over several different types of ideas/concepts. For the poem Basketball, the author's use of the word "someone" as an anchor to the poem I thought was really interesting. I don’t really understand the reference to "Crazy Horse stream without a skeleton or skin." Maybe we can discuss in class. For Dee Cervantes, the political nature of the poem seems present but is not the main focus. It is not politics that the poet is aiming for but rather the humanistic perception of war between cultures and ideas. The focus on discrimination is also present, subhuman treatment of individuals for the color of their skin and that goes on between ideologies. In a Quiet Poem, I had a really hard time trying to understand what the author meant. I don’t know if they’re trying to relay a trauma, such as you know emotional and mental abuse, Or simply relying how screams can be interpreted differently. In Santa Fe I found that the reference to Saint Francis of Assisi as interesting seeing as he’s a saint for nature and nature is often referenced in this poem. Left Field... for the life of me has me going through for a loop.
ReplyDelete- Jose Montoya
The poem “Basketball” by Sherman Alexie was funny to me because it seems like he is very confident. He expresses how he is good at basketball and takes his opponents jerseys off their backs. The structure of the poem was not like a poem and only had one long stanza. The poem called “Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Rounded Person, Could Believe in the War between Races” by Lorna Dee Cervantes had a lot of imagery and metaphors that depict the way political racism is all around us at every time. This poem had several stanzas, but I didn’t recognize any rhyme. The poem called “A Quiet Poem” by Elaine Equi was about the opposite of the title. She describes the way different things, like ambulances and roller coasters, make loud noises. It flowed better than the first two and was easier to read and understand. I didn’t really understand the poem “Santa Fe” by Joy Harjo. I did see that she used the fox to mirror her, and how she wants to break free from her shyness. The last poem called “Left Field” by D. Nurske was a poem describing the lonely feeling of playing in the outfield in baseball. It was short with only a couple of stanzas but got to the point. All in all, I was surprised by all the different ways to write poems.
ReplyDeleteFrancisco Rosales
When I saw the poem Sherman Alexie ‘s “Basketball” I thought it was going to be a poem about basketball, which sounded strange. Yet the poem was something different it was about native culture and a crazy style of game. When I reread the poem it was sad because people only saw him as a person who is basketball player and he wants to be something more than that.
ReplyDeleteLorna Dee Cervantes poem “Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe in the War between Races” was a beautiful poem about racism in her eyes and how she feels by what is happening after reading the poem aloud I loved how she ended with “I do not believe in the war between races. But in this country there is war” I do not know why I liked it but it was enjoyable to finish with that is was a strong ending to this poem.
Elaine Equis’s poem was a good to read I liked that I kept to mainly couplets along with single stanza and some tricets. It made this easy to read for me. I loved how she used bands with screaming but I did not fully understand this poem it left me wondering what was really going on.
My favorite was D. Nurkse’s “Left Field” it was simple to read which I enjoyed out of them all
Andi Rubalcava
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe in the War between Races" written by Lorna Dee Cervantes, is a poem about race, and what her color of her skin means to her and the society she lives in. I really enjoyed the style of Cervantes’ poem, and how she presented her words in such a poetic way. I agree with Kimberlee that I too liked how she starts off with “in my land” and how at the very end of the poem she says, “every day I am deluged with reminders that this is not my land and this is my land.” I thought this was great insight to her true emotions and allows others to relate to this poem in a greater sense. While reading “Basketball” I found it interesting how it had nothing to do with the actual sport at all, or maybe it did and I didn’t pick up on it? I understood it to be talking about the trials of being something that everyone else wants or expects you to be. It discusses Native American culture, and so I wondered how the two could be correlated.
ReplyDeleteValerie Jackson
My appreciation goes out to several of these poems, as I try to draw a thematic message from the selection of these poems - I find none with all five as a whole. That might be for the best. I think about all these poems and I try my best to find a common calling despite. Out of the selection, “A Quiet Poem” and “Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe in the War between Races” resonate most with me. (That last one is a real worder.) Both talk about perception and reaction, and how the distinction between the two is an important one to make; I say this because I can draw an interpretation from both to better lend perspective when reading over each.
ReplyDeleteThe former “A Quiet Poem” starts out by giving examples of how screams are used, before then delving into how screams are used literally, figuratively, and what names screams go by from childhood to adulthood. Scream is a peculiar word, because the word by itself could range from excitement, to sorrow, and to even agony; scream is a peculiar word, because a scream calls forth a gigantic tidal wave of human emotion, and how it’s used is the deal in itself. It is as the poem points at that, “Just as crawling precedes walking, so screaming precedes speech…” A scream screams out one’s innate emotions, a scream can be screamed in several different forms, but to the receiver of the scream...the scream may perhaps only be interpreted as one form only. As the poem points out naturally, the scream may so much as harass the listener that they react violently without immediate cause to the scream’s existence; the scream in this case discovers a shred of evidence into the listener’s history. What past trauma causes the listener to react so violently? How much have they heard a scream from their times behind? What scream do they hear? We may ask ourselves these questions, but the scream reveals from the listener a scream of their own: It is a scream riddled with illogical precision; it will pour out such emotion without much thought for its own existence. It is not something to be understood, though it may strive to be understood.
“Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe in the War between Races.” The author immediately declares in his poem “In my land there are no distinctions,” and this is a rather important point, as it’s an immediate answer to the question contained in the poem’s title. What land does the author refer to? Literally? Figuratively? I believe it to be figurative, one coinciding with one’s beliefs. I believe this land to be ideal to them, and the poem sets out to establish how this ideal confronts reality. Another line to muddle over: “These bullets bury deeper than logic. Racism is not intellectual. I can not reason these scars away.” This particular line is well-established on its own, but it also conflicts with a previous line: “In my land people write poems about love, full of nothing but contented childlike syllables.” Both lines suggest a simplicity buried underneath complexity, as compared with how “bullets bury deeper than logic.” Despite having an abhorrence for such simplicity of mind, the author expresses an ideal land where the complexity of prejudice is nonexistent, one that the author holds dear and true and wishes to confide to for his own safety. And yet, the author understands this ideal realistically, because the author understands that to live such a simple life without conflict is to go about without living complexly; it is a dismissal to one’s voice and past, and it is a falsehood propped for one to hide behind.
- Gary Tolar