The Blown Punk Poem Analysis

Nikky Finney's book Head Off and Split is a work of art in every sense. It combines both historical elements and personal elements. She shines the light on our countries habit of oppressing and enslaving African Americans. She masterfully weaves together the history of the time and her own memories in an unabashed way that lays bare the wrongdoings of our country. Forcing the reader to see part of our history that is often glossed and skimmed over in conventional textbooks. The poems in Head of nd Split are both political, and erotic, nd person as well as narrative driven. She is the conductor of the written word. Each word she uses is s music is the next weaving together a work of lyrical perfection. The book is mainly work of poetry with snippets of prose. With the beginning poem “Resurrection of the Errand Girl: An Introduction” being a prose poem. It hs also won the National book award in 2011.

“Why have hope?”, is the question raised in the poem “Drifters” by Bruce Dawe. Bruce Dawe’s poem explores how change can damage a family 's relationship and cause them to drift apart. This poem has underlying and straight forward themes depicted about change. Straight forward depiction is the physical movement of the family from place to place and not everyone is in favour of this change. The very first line of the poem, “One day soon he’ll tell her it’s time to start packing”, supports the inevitable change that no one else has a say in except the man. This highlights the power imbalance in a patriarchal house hold. The underlying depiction is the fact that the family is drifting apart because of this change. This is conveyed through the mother choosing to ignore the children and packing aimlessly almost as if she’s following a routine. This idea is reinforced by the repetition of ‘and’ as well as the listing effect which creates a sense of routine.

The 1970s were a rough year for African-Americans, still fighting for social and political rights in the United States. Consequently, women still did not receive equal rights. However, in 1972, “Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution, which reads: ‘Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex’ (History.com Staff).” Out of the thirty-eight necessary states only twenty-two ratified it right away, it was relieving for the moment because the feminist advocates had been trying to be ratified since 1923. The First African-American woman elected into Congress was Shirley Chisholm. This moment opened doors for African-American women that they thought would never have a chance. Nevertheless, the poem Ego Tripping written by Nikki Giovanni dated back to 1972 where she expresses her power throughout the poem with the support of feminist statements. Giovanni reminds the audience of historical moments that lead up to the current conditions of the United States. Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why) was published with a bundle of poetry which is entitled My House, the book of poems had a common underlying idea that Giovanni is free to do what she pleases and live by her own set of rules (Masterpieces of American Literature Ed. Steven G. Kellman.)

In the poem “Ego-Tripping” by Nikki Giovanni, she normalizes her worth by continuing to royalist herself as a black woman who is essential to mankind. Giovanni creates a vision throughout the poem, which leaves a thought in mind of how woman should look at themselves with much confidence as Giovanni does. “Ego Tripping” was written by Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni, Jr. who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 7, 1943. G9iovanni is a writer, poet, activist, and educator whose work was influenced during the Black Power Movements and the Civil Rights Movement. The poem was released in 2002. Her work provided a strong, militant yet African-American feel that was manifested through her writing. Giovanni work includes variety of topics ranging from race and social issues to children literature. She is considered one of the world well-known poets, within the African-American community.

Everyone has a journey of childhood some with more self-discovery and some with more self-doubt. The poem “Queries of Unrest” by Clint Smith is about a black author dealing with self-doubt and seeing joy in darkness. Furthermore the poem “Making a Fist” by Naomi Shihab Nye is about a whining child asking his mother about death. “Queries of Unrest” by Clint Smith and “Making a Fist” by Naomi Shihab Nye the poem that was more effective was “Queries of Unrest,” due to it having a more meaningful message of the relationship between self-doubt and trying to discover himself, and a more impactful tone of darkness. In light of this “Queries of Unrest” becomes the more impactful and effective poem.

The poem fully develops the idea of the limited of privileges that some might have according to the their races and the racial division. The “borderlands” is the division of a place, but in the eyes of Gloria she makes the character grow up in a place where there is a racial division. The character is in the middle of how of her race is important as her cultural ways get in the way of trying to practice each one of them. The poet writes in both english and spanish to explain how she speaks to the different races she carries. As you read the poem you can feel how the tone changes as the author is speaking of the different events that she goes through in her life. The poet uses visual imagery to illustrate to the reader how tough it is for a young person to pursue a specific tradition or religion without upsetting someone of their family.

‘For What It’s Worth’ by Buffalo Springfield has a logical message because it is referring to the Sunset Strip Riots that took place in Hollywood during the 1960’s. People protested when they lost their civil rights due to a curfew law that was put into place. The song says, “Stop, children, what’s that sound. Everybody look- what’s going down?” Community members were angry at the young people going to clubs at night because they were “loud” and “disruptive”. The curfew law was put into place after the complaints and the youth became outraged. They believed their civil right were being taken away. There were riots along the sunset strip, where all these clubs were located, to protest the law. Police were at these riots and many people were handcuffed and hauled off to jail. They are referring to children because these protests were from the younger generation. Even though the overall message is logical, the support within this song is not as strong. ‘For What It’s Worth’ is often mistaken as an anti-war song since it was released during the Vietnam War era. When most people hear this song that is what they think of. The song can be heard in several war related movies. Some even believe it is about the Kent State Shootings although the song was released years before that event occurred. Even though there is not strong evidence to back up this song's true meaning, it

How would you feel if someone could control what you were thinking? In “The Feed” written by M.T Anderson, everyone living in the community had a feed in their brain that was controlled by one large organization. Violet, the main character, suffers through a malfunction in her feed that changes the way she sees her society. Most people’s opinions can be changed when they have experienced the benefits and the disadvantages of something. Since Violet is aware of how life is with and without the feed, she becomes hesitant to believing that her community is being run efficiently. She realizes how her feed affects everything she does and how without it, she would be incapable. Based on her experiences, thoughts, and actions, I can infer that Violet

In “Subculture: the Unnatural Break” (the sixth chapter from his book Subculture: the Meaning of Style), Dick Hebdige claims that subcultures represent a rupture between the processes that lead from reality to media representation, challenging therefore the codes of language and discourse and losing their disruptive power once they get assimilated. The reaction to the punk subculture in Great Britain in the seventies is used to prove Hebdige’s thesis.

The poem A Step Away From Them by Frank O’Hara has five stanzas written in a free verse format with no distinguishable rhyme scheme or meter. The poem uses the following asymmetrical line structure “14-10-9-13-3” while using poetic devices such as enjambment, imagery, and allusion to create each stanza.

When an individual experiences prejudice or a lack of connection to place it can diminish ones sense of identity, leading to social isolation and a loss of cultural practices and traditions.

Conflict is a big theme and many poems and texts have been written on this topic, but two of the most well done and most expressive poems about this topics are “Out of the Blue” and “The Charge of the Light Brigade”. Even though the topic is the same the two authors, Simon Armitage and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, present the theme with different approaches, one about the innocent, one about the ones that chose to get involved In the conflict.

How would you like it if you had to fit in? The poet Erin Hanson, who goes by E.H., wrote the poem “Welcome to Society”. The poem is summarized by the third and fourth lines, which state, “And please feel free to be yourself/ As long as it’s in the right way.” Hanson expresses the theme of social acceptance through his/her use of conflict, word choice, and idioms throughout the poem.

Joy Harjo’s poem “Perhaps the World Ends Here” implants an impression of the world as a kitchen table: “The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.” (1). As I interpreted the poem, I perceived it as a brief analysis of life. Harjo elaborates life as one protracted feast, and our life ends when we eat the concluding bite of our meal: “Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.” (11). What is the point of life? This question wandered about in my head demanding an answer as I read the poem. Is life as simple as a short meal at a kitchen table? After reading “Perhaps the World Ends Here,” I am made aware of the answer to this very question. We design