A poem by Gloria Anzaldua
In Which I Fangirl Out Over Natalie Diaz
Read this and watch the videos before you read the essays, is my advice. I’m not forcing a comment on this one — though commenting makes class more fun for everyone! — but I think you will get more out of the essays if you do this part.
Natalie Diaz. What’s not to love?
She’s a poet. She’s a warrior for language preservation. She’s a basketball star. She has the coolest insta, full of pictures of Mojave land and cool cocktails and thoughts about poetry I don’t see other places. Like this one, for instance:
…which I can’t get to embed properly. Here’s a link:
A post shared by Natalie Diaz (@ndinn)
This week, we are looking at two short essays of hers about language. But boy howdy, is her poetry also worth your time. I’m a particular fan of:
“As A Consequence of My Brother Stealing All The Lightbulbs”
“They Don’t Love You Like I Love You”
…I could go on. You don’t have to read any of those poems. But you should! She’s spectacular, and she is also still alive and writing! Get your life.
Here are a couple of videos to watch before class.
This video was made by the MacArthur Foundation, after Diaz won the award popularly known as the Genius Grant.
…And here’s me carrying on about her:
Now go read those essays!
Losing Farther, Losing Faster.
Click here to read Natalie Diaz’s essay “Losing Farther, Losing Faster.”
Please also read the Elizabeth Bishop poem she is writing back to, “One Art”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47536/one-art
After you read this essay, post a reply using the “terms and ideas” model. Watch the Terms and Ideas” video and read more about that model here.
A reminder on the form:
- Read the article (or essay or poem) first. Take note of things you need to look up. Look them up. Check that you are using a definition that makes sense.
- Mark sections of the text that introduce interesting ideas. This is much easier to do if you are reading on paper! If you are reading on-screen, write notes in a notebook. I know, it’s easier not to, but you will really, really wish you had done this when it is time to write a paper on this topic. Plus it makes you smarter.
- In you reply, list at least 3 terms you looked up. This can mean just looking a word up in the dictionary — such as “tabernacle,” in the James Baldwin — or looking up a broader concept — such as “Congo Square” in wikipedia or similar. (Yes, wikipedia is fine for this purpose.)
- PROVIDE A SOURCE FOR YOUR DEFINITION. If you copy it word for word — which is fine for this assignment — PUT IT IN QUOTATION MARKS. You don’t need to use full MLA format for this assignment, though you are welcome to. A URL in parentheses or a link is fine. But get in the habit of giving credit to your sources.
- Next, write 1-3 paragraphs about an idea in the text you think is worth further examination.
- After making your reply, return to the post and comment on 2-3 of your classmates’ replies. You may learn something! There are a lot of smart people around here.
Fire
Fire
What makes a fire burn
is space between the logs,
a breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
too many logs
packed in too tight
can douse the flames
almost as surely
as a pail of water would.
So building fires
requires attention
to the spaces in between,
as much as to the wood.
When we are able to build
open spaces
in the same way
we have learned
to pile on the logs,
then we can come to see how
it is fuel, and absence of the fuel
together, that make fire possible
We only need to lay a log
lightly from time to time.
A fire
grows
simply because the space is there,
with openings
in which the flame
that knows just how it wants to burn
can find its way.
Night Spider’s Advice
by Joyce Sidman, from her book of night poems, Dark Emperor
Build a frame
and stick to it,
I always say.
Life’s a circle.
Just keep going around.
Do your work, then
sit back and see
what falls in your lap.
Eat your triumphs,
eat your mistakes:
that way your belly
will always be full.
Use what you have.
Rest when you need to.
Dawn will come soon enough.
Someone has to remake
the world each night.
It might as well be you.
As we discussed in class:
Please post a comment explaining your favorite part of the poem and what you like about it. Read your classmates’ posts and comment on at least 2-3 of them before class next Thursday.
