Rita Dove: A Living Legend

Born in Akron, Ohio, Rita Dove was destine for success. It was embedded in her genes, seeing as though her father was the first African American chemist to work in the the United States and her mother achieving high honors in high school for literature. In 1970, Dove graduated from Buchtel High School as a Presidential Scholar, making her one of the 100 top American high school graduates that year. the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1977. Rita Dove was appointed poet Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1993, the first African American to be appointed, and received a second special appointment in 1999.Dove is the second African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Dove is not specific to any specific genre or era of literature. Her wide-range of topics and precise poetic language makes her not easy to categorize. Her most famous work to date is Thomas and Beulah, loosely based on the lives of her maternal grandparents, for which she received the Pulitzer Award for in 1987. But besides the Pulitzer Award, Dove received numerous other awards including 22 honorary doctorates, the 1996 National Humanities Medal, the 3rd Annual Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities in 1997, and most recently, the 2006 Commonwealth Award of Distinguished Service in Literature, and many many more. From 1994-2000 she was a senator of the national academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. Rita Dove has accomplished a lot in her lifetime. Although many don't know her, her legacy has already been created, even as she is living today. She is the true meaning of a Living Legend.

America's MOST visible Female

Family the single most important word in everyones life. This past weekend was a busy one for all and it was an important one as many parents came up to visit their children, along with taking the time out to conference with teachers. Below is a poem that I created myself as today gave me the time to finally sit back and think about the true meaning of the word above:

Family

Family is something that cannot be replaced

In some instances it may have to be chased

Family is something that is hard to face

Especially when you need your space.

Family is something that is unique

And there may be times in which you may seek

Family is something that is not always complete

It is something that many of us wish was concrete.

Family is something that requires a whole bunch of love

It is something created by him from up above.

Maya Angelou a poet that I feel that I can relate to without a doubt. Her birth name is Marguerite Ann Johnson and she was born on April 4, 1928. She is known as "America's most visible black female autobiographer" and has written several autobiographies on her childhood and early adult experiences. Her first autobiography about the first 17years of her life named " I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings" She received international recognition and was nominated for the National Book Award . She has been awarded over 30 honorary and was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1971 volume of poetry "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie".

Angelou was a member of Harlem Writers Guild in the late 1950's and was an active member of the Civil Rights Movement and served as a "Northern Coordinator of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference". She was a a teacher that taught at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Caroline where she holds the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship Studies. She has made around 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit. Without a question she was well known and she recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration She was the firs poet to make an inaugural recitation Robert Frost at John. F Kennedy's inauguration 1961. Along with all these accomplishments she was recognized for having the longest-running record on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller List.

Angelou had a long and extensive career which also included poetry, plays, screenplays for television and film, directing acting, and public speaking. As one can see she is one talented person and was able to do so much to contribute. She was also a successful as a playwright and actress. She appeared in a supporting role in a mini television series Roots. Overall she was very successful person with being able to take part in so many things.

I felt that it was important to chose Maya Angelou because one of the most important themes in her autobiographies are "kinship concerns" from the character-defining experience of her parents' abandonment to her relationships with her son, husbands, and lovers throughout all of her books. She reminds me of my mother because she struggled as a single parent but however was very successful.

Being able to learn more about Maya Angelou has helped me a lot. I am able to see her type of writing and how the theme of "family" played an important role in all of her works. I enjoyed reading some of her poems and it has in turn inspired me to write one of my own. She is a great poet and at 82 has done so much to contribute to society, and to help students like me explore the deeper meaning of family. Like family was something important to Maya Angelou it is something that without a doubt important to me and to me my mom is like America's most visible female. She does everything and anything for me and no matter what happens I know she will always love me.

Influenced during the 1960's

Bob Dylan born on May 24th, 1941 is an American singer as well as a song writer who plays an important role in the music industry. His music was directed related to the things that occurred in the Civil Rights movement and one could see that most of the issues that affected him came across through his music . To name a few of the songs that were important, there was Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changing. Before getting into the influences into what made Bob Dylan write these songs its important to note the importance of the Civil Rights movement and how it had a major impact on the people of that time.

The American Civil Rights Movement was the movement in which many people in the United States tried to outlaw racial discrimination against many of the African Americans. During this time period many issues arose. To begin with racial segregation was a problem because public facilities as well as government services like education were separate by color. Those who were colored of course were underfunded and inferior to white people at this time. Another issue was disfranchisement in which many of the white male democrats gained power and made voter registration more inaccessible to blacks. Many blacks were forced off the voting rolls and the number of African American voters dropped dramatically.Exploitation caused increased economic oppression for blacks, latinos and more. With this it denied economic opportunities and lead to a widespread in employment discrimination. Last by not least the violence that occurred was huge. Due to the advantages that whites had over blacks many found this unfair and took the violate way out.

The Times They are a-Changin' wrote this song as a deliberate attempt to create a change for the movement. The song was directly related to the Civil Rights movements and "it was a song with a purporse". He wanted to give the people "what they wanted to hear" and writing a song that would help the Civil Rights Movement was something done that is definitely remarkable. It was also known as the "protest song" because he aimed to ride upon the unvoiced sentiment of a mass public. This song was used to give the people a sort of "outlet". Blowin' in the wind was related to the first song trying to complete the same objective. He was trying to capture the frustration and aspirations of black people powerfully. His songs were without a question a question "moving" because they touched the lives of many blacks during the Civil Rights Movement and got many people to relate to the situation they were put in during this time period. The songs till remain famous because many people can look back at the history of their ancestors and dwell on what occurred through these songs because the

songs are directed related to what happened.

Doing the in depth research of this singer made me think about the song that we did a reflection on in class called "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll." I feel that this is important to be talked about because this was a situation when a black woman was working hard. A white man had killed her with his cane and was simply placed in jail for 6-months. Shortly after, everyone would forget what he did and it would not matter what he did because he was a white male. Even though Hattie Caroll was a good person, William Zantzinger was drunk and killed her in a matter of an instant.

Without a question Bob Dylan was an important figure during the Civil Rights Movement. He was able to touch the hearts of many blacks and have songs that relate to the way people were being treated during that time period. His songs had a lasting effect and continue to do so because of the deep meaning behind them. Bob Dylan is a great singer overall and highly favored by many people.

Prior to meeting my grandfather, I had only knew both my grandmothers. In fact, the presense of manly figures in my life was not always evident which in reality could have skewed my image of what i man should be but was luckily not thanks to the powerful influence of women in my life. But a grandparent for most individuals are the ones who enstill the core values that builds the foundation for your overall life. So, in poetry class on grandparents day at Wyoming Seminary I couldn't help but think about just how much of an influence grandparents have on young people today and what not having them in your life would effect a person.

Grandparents, in general, play the role of wisdom in a family. One could often expect words of wisdom from a grandparent. The memories of a person's grandparents should make a person feel good. From the warm cookies to the money they snuck you while their mother wasn't looking. "The reason grandchildren and grandparents get along so well is that they have a common enemy. " This quote comes from Sam Levenson, an American humorist, televisions host, and journalist. The bond between children and grandparents according to Levenson is evident. They are one of a child's first friends. A child needs a grandparent, anybody's grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world. A grandparent helps an individual from birth in their adapting to life.

So, As I sat their in a sea of love in my poetry class, I thought of what my grandparents meant to me. i never knew either of my grandfathers. I met one but he didn't know who is was. (he was already senile). But i did learn a lot from my grandmothers. one of the many lessons they taought me was to never compromise my core values for anything or anybody. And that is one that sticks in my mind and will has made me who I am today.

What Would We Do Without Grandparents?

So...this Thursday, on Grandparent's Day, I realized the importance of grandparents. My grandparents live in Spring Hill, Florida, so it isn't very often that I see them. When I was growing up, I lived with my grandparents and there wasn't much to do so I became very close with them. Although I only visit them now, it used to be very, very different. It is so weird that distance has made us so much closer. Now, when I visit them, I realize how much I missed them and how much they mean to me. They helped raise me and if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be alive right now.

While we were in poetry with grandparents, I started wondering; which poets have been influenced significantly by their grandparents? As I did some research, I found a famous Poet Laureate; Rita Dove. Born in 1952 in Akron, Ohio, she has written 6 poetry collections that have been published. Among these 6 is Thomas and Beulah, which was given the Pulitzer Prize in 1987.

Thomas and Beulah was written based upon the lives of a married black couple born in the early 1900s; her grandparents. Although semi-fictionalized, it is a chronological story of her grandparents' lives during the Great Migration. Although her grandfather's name was Thomas, as it was in the book, her grandmother's name was actually Georgianna. Through a series of poems, Thomas and Beulah speak of their love for each other although they cannot be together all the time. The poems are told from two different perspectives and include issues of love, marriage, their lives together (or not) and sadly, death. The poems are to be read as a narrative and are meant to show the reader the struggles that her grandparents went through.

I think it is amazing how Rita Dove's grandparents were held together no matter what because their love for each other was so strong. Without them, Rita Dove would have never even been alive to write about them. Looking back, I continue to think; where would I be if it weren't for my grandparents? Between my grandparents and my parents, they have struggled through equality issues and have gained many civil rights, making a much better world for me to live in. For that I am thankful, as everyone should be, for my grandparents.

Will the mix of chocolate and vanilla satisfy everyone? Will it satisfy the chocolate fans even though it isn't full chocolate but they can still relate to it. Or will it satisfy the vanilla fans who aren't use to that extra chocolate mixed in but will accept it due to the resemblance to their usual vanilla? In the early 1900's, the mentality of people were as so, between the controversial issue of race in America. Black and White America in the early 1900's were very much different from each other, bot culturally and economically. So one could imagine that the mixing of the two was a heated debate between the two parties. It was seen as almost insulting to people both black and white if a person was of mixed race. They were often looked down upon. In the late 1800's, around 1850 and on to 1890, there was a huge increase in the number of mulatto people in the USA. "The distribution of the mulatto race, at all times for which the facts are known has been in general accord with the ratio of the races." The reason for their discrimination against them was the fact that white people in this time tended to accent on the fact that they were still black and black people accented that they were not "real black" people. They were often referred to as mulatto, a word used to denote someone with a white parent and a black parent. As time progressed, the entertainment business was becoming more and more prominent in the early 1900's, many African Americans become the driving forces in the industry. However, white audiences has strong feeling about why their children shouldn't be listening to "these black people sing. In 1959, one of the most impacting historical monuments were built and housed the studios that many of our legendary icons today. It was Barry Gordy's, Hitzville USA better known as Motown records. This music took a while to earn its respect but eventually became one of the most historical events musically.

The chocolate and vanilla swirl in the entertainment industry may have been some people's only way of accepting African American music. It seemed as though the white audiences accepted people black people who were of a lighter complexion or resembled closely to them. So these lighter skinned black people and even the "Mulatto" people were better accepted in the music industry. It was the reason for some African American a

rtists' success. For example of this was the American born, singer, dancer, and actress Josephine Baker. Josephine's light skin played a major part in her success in this time. There was still a struggle for Black equality in this time period so a black woman being in a motion picture was a major accomplishment. Being coined with the names "Creole Goddess" and even the "Black pearl" and being referred to as beautiful at this time by a white audience was very rare and one could credit that to her resemblance to them with her lighter complexion. This is not to shadow Josephine Baker's talent at all. All of her acco

mplishments were very influential to many artists today such as Estelle and Beyonce.

The evolution of African American in the entertainment industry has grown significantly over the years. The success of Black entertainment is on a rise and has yet to reach its peak. Even the deviation from the whole light skinned vs dark skinned idea has waned. The time period his changed completely and it is a whole new splurge of thinking and ways to create music and brand new ways of thinking. I believe i will call it a new renaissance for music. Making music a piece of cake!!

Rivers that lead to Happiness

James Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902. Overall he had a very simple life and began to write his poetry in Lincoln Illinois. He did attend Columbia University in Mexico and than took on a few odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, and a busboy, and than traveled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. Reading his biography i noticed that Hughes claimed Paul Laurence, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman as his primary influences. He is particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. I felt that is important to realize that all of the poets named above influenced his writing. Each one of this individuals had an important impact on the way that Hughes wrote and i felt that it was important for one to understand how each one of the poets influenced Hughes in their own way.

Paul Laurence was one of the first African Americans to gain national recognition. During his day he freed slaves from Kentucky. Both of his parents separated shortly after his birth, however Laurence would talk about the stories of plantation life throughout all of his works. Even though Laurence was a fine student he was unable to attend college because of his finical situation so he took a job as a elevator operator. He went on to make a self published collection called Oak and Ivy and sold copies in his elevator for a dollar for the people that rode his elevator. With that being said he had an overall successful carrer but i feel influenced Hughes because of his writing about life on the plantation. In Hughes poem The Negro Speaks of River he talks about many rivers and how life was during the time period in which he lived in. This poem was talking about how dangerous the rivers were during this period because slavery was very popular. One could be sold down the Mississippi River and be working for the rest of their lives. I feel like Hughes had a direct affect on Hughes poetry because of him describing the slavery life, like Laurence talked about in his poems of the days on the planation.

Carl Sandburg was a poet that had a different life. His life was a rough one and he had emigrated from Sweden. His family was very poor and Carl left school at the age of 13 to take on odd jobs from laying bricks to dishwashing to try to support his family. He traveled to Kansas as a hobo, than served in the Spanish American War. He attended Lombard for four years and was able to become known as a poet. Over time his work became known by others and he was starting to write in the free verse like Whitman had cultivated in college. I feel like Carl Sandburg contributed to the way that he wrote because of his free verse poetry. There was no one structure to the way that everything was said. It was all freely put into a poem and had a lot of meaning that was built deep inside of the words.

Last but not least Walt Whitman was the last influence that Hughes had. He had a family with 9 sisters and brothers. At the age of 12 he began to learn the printers trade and fell in love with the written word. He was a man that taught himself most of the things that he learned and he read a lot becoming familiar with the works of Homer, Dante, Shakespeare along with the Bible. He founded a newspapers called the Long Islander and edited a large group of Brooklyn and New York papers. There is not a doubt in my mind that this man could not have had any affect of Hughes. He worked hard all of his life and did everything himself. He did not go to others for help and basically self taught himself everything he was able to accomplish. He was very successful writing in many places and becoming well known. I feel that because of his reliance on nobody it helped Hughes to write poetry that way and to not have to rely on anyone to get the things he wanted done.

E.E. Cummings Cake: Sexy and Scrumptious

         E.E. Cummings is to poetry as red velvet or chocolate is to cake, the sexy version. Edward Estlin Cummings, born on October 14, 1894, is mostly known for his radical experimentation “with form, punctuation, spelling and syntax, abandoning traditional techniques and structures.” He also attained great popularity for the playful mode of his poetry and his attention to subjects such as war and, of course, SEX. In cake terms, Cummings' poem "may i feel said he" is reminiscent of perhaps a sweet German triple-chocolate cake with a fudge icing and strawberries abound. Needless to say, this poem is sexy and scandalous. It has bad written all over it, just like chocolate cake. The poem describes the actual process of adultery being acted. His message is that one action leads to another and everything comes down to choice. Will you choose to be unfaithful? Will you choose to eat yet another piece of that sinfully scrumptious cake? It's all about the choices we make, good or bad.
        Many of the poems written by Cummings are of sexual and romantic love that delight and provoke. A collection of his such poetry was published, fittingly entitled Erotic Poems. This collection includes several poems with illustrations (by him) that are sure to get your pulse racing. Cummings' highly provocative poetry won over his young readers who were able to relate to the informality and naivete found within his poems. However, he was popular among older readers as well. A highly celebrated poet of all ages, Cummings was awarded several honors and awards including the Academy of American Poets Fellowship in 1950, two Guggenheim Fellowships in 1933, and the Bollingen Prize in Poetry in 1957. Having created a new, highly idiosyncratic means of poetic expression, E.E. Cummings was one of the most widely-read poets of his generation. He died on September 3, 1962. However, his wonderfully exotic and boundary-pushing poems will live on forever. Suffice it to say, the red velvet/chocolate cakes his poems are compared to, in all their lavishness, will not.

Passion, Pleasure, Pain.

You weaken my cries for stability

You clear my soul

You overthrow any insecurity

You make me whole

You crush me slowly

You puncture my heart

leaving it lifeless

remaining in parts

But...

You love so beautifully

You claim my existing

Without You, Pain's unceasing

Lifeline decreasing

You're killing me softly

with with all of me that you gain

Don't know where i would be

without you Passion

Your Pleasure,

Your Pain.

The balance of passion, pleasure, and pain in a relationship is absolutely vital in my opinion. I feel as though these three power houses word cohesively to maintain a strong relationship between two people. If there is no pain, then your passion isn't strong enough. The thought of even sharing your mate with someone else should cause you pain to some degree. If your have no pleasure, then your passion isn't strong enough. I have learned from personal experiences that if you aren't excited to see the one you are with, if it doesn't pleasure you to be around that person, then there is no passion there. Therefore, one should reconsider the reasons why they are with that person. The title of this post was inspired by the contemporary singer Trey Songz. His songs are basically about the strengths, weaknesses and the intensity of love in relationships. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPd4Qp-Pdew&ob=av2e. I believe that loving someone is one of the hardest things someone can do. Maintaining that love is even harder. Maybe considering reasons for being in love would make the whole process a piece of cake!

Its a Hard Knock Life

Its a hard knock life and was a tough one for one of my favorite poets Dorothy Paker. She started writing many poems at a young age and did not even get to finish school, being a high-school dropout at age 14. However this did not stop her one bit from becoming a successful poet, hence the fact that her childhood was a very unhappy one. Her mother and step-mother died when she was young; her uncle, Martin Rothschild went down on the Titanic in 1912; and her father had died the following year. In the year of 1914 she sold her first poem to Vanity fair and took an editorial position at Vogue. Even though she had such a harsh life following all the deaths she lived a successful life but did suffer from depression and alcoholism and attempted suicide.

Parker is one of my favorite poets without a doubt. She uses Parallelismus Membrorum in which she evokes many different emotions by the different words and phrases that she uses. An example of this would be the poem "Resume". This is a direct connection of her life, she uses deep imagery by using these powerful words to allow to reader to feel a certain way. This is a very strong poem especially because she is talking about suicide, and the various ways that one can take their life through this poem. When she states "razors pain you... gas smells awful: you might as well live". She is telling her readers that she has been through a very tough life. She describes the pain that she's been through with the razors and says that even though even though her life has been a huge downfall she lived through it and was successful. Her poems give me the chills because of how she writes. I feel like i am viewing her life through her eyes because of how vivd she makes her poems.

Another example would be "The Lady's Reward" because of the rhyme scheme that she sets up. She does such a great job with this because she is able to give the reader a snapshot of her life within this poem. I feel that i can relate to this poem because of a specific line within the poem which was to "never speak of the tears that burn your cheek". This shows me that no matter how much something is bothering you, don't be yourself around other people. It just makes me feel like i can relate because sometimes one doesn't want to express themselves about what is going on in their life because it is just to painful to tell to other people. However i feel that there is hope to let certain people know about what is going on so it just doesn't build up inside and become worse. She makes me feel this way because i don't want to have the same thoughts about leaving this earth before my time.

I have to say that Parkers is a very powerful poet in general because of what she is able to express through her poems. She evokes several feelings and even though she had a "hard knock life" she was able to be successful. Everyone has rough times in life and nothing is ever perfect. However it all gets better in time.