1. Sanchez Pages 1305-1312 and 514-518

The Background of Sonia Sanchez

Sonia Sanchez, who was originally Wilsonia Benita Driver, was born on September 9^th, 1934, in Birmingham, Alabama. Sanchez mother died when she was still an infant. At the age of nine, she moved to New York to live with her father who was a musician. Sancez pursued her education at Hunter’s college and graduated in 1955. She later gained an interest in politics at worked for a number of political groups including The Congress for Racial Equity (CORE). In 1968, Sanchez participated in the formation of the nation’s first department of the African-American studies, at San Francisco State University. Sanchez started writing poems and she is known as the most moving and in-demand poets; her works including “We a BaddDDD People (1970), “I’ve Been a Woman” (1978) and “Under a Soprano Sky” (1987) (Gilyard and Wardi 515).

Amongst her works that has been listed in Gilyard, Keith and Anissa Wardi book, “African American literature. 1st ed” includes “a/contrane/poem”.

a/contrane/poem

Sanchez, “a/contrane/poem”, is a form of a radical departure from the conventional formats of writing poems. The poem is unique on its own due to the multiple uses of a capital letters and small letters in the same words and the spacing of words across the entire lines of the pages. The inclusion of the mixture of small letters and capital letters and spacing of words cross the pages gives the poem exuberance and perhaps, rebelliousness which, makes it to be different from universal ways of poetry. Sanchez copies John Contrane’s signature wails and screeches on saxophone. At one point, she says:

“screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeCHHHHHHHHHHH
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHHHHH
screeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EECCCCHHHHHHH” (Gilyard and Wardi 516).

The Thesis of the Poem

Throughout the poem, it can be seen that Sanchez presents her poem in the form of shouting and screaming. Her message is contained in the way she expresses her feeling though the multiple use of the small and capital letters. As a result, we can learn that she in the mood of being disdainful. Sanchez as a political activist, decided to complain to the capitalists during the 1970s, capitalists who were creating income inequalities and causing poverty to the people. In her complaints, she identified capitalists to be the millionaires and bankers who; had killed and would continue to the poor people with capitalism, including Sanchez. Sanchez main agenda was rejection of capitalism, so that people would not continue to lavish in poverty.

Conclusion

In her shouting screaming that is evident throughout the poem one of the most emotional aspect of this poem is her fierce anger and cursing words towards the capitalists. One can almost develop the mood of hatred due to her intense condemnation and protest against people who were rich during that time. The intensity of persona’s disdain against the capitalist makes the Sanchez’s poems to be radical and which might be difficult to forget.

 

 

“Listenen to Big Black at S.F state”

Sanchez has also written a poem entitled, “Listenen to Big Black at S.F state”. The poem also follows the John Contrane’s signature wails and screeches on saxophone and is an expression injustice that was being done on the black people who were living in San Francisco. According to the speaker of the poem, the black community was being replaced by the white community and San Francisco was no longer a state for them. Sanchez used again the fierce of screaming words to rebel against the white inhabitants who were settling in the state. The poem represents black arts movement that aims to expose the injustices that were being done on the black community by the white people. We can see that the author’s main thesis was to advocate equality between the white and the black communities by ensuring equal access to work, land, unity and the community to love one another.

The most emotional point in the poem is where she describes that the black people were being replaced by the white people and there was nothing they could do-they were silenced from talking, “no mo meeting… where u talk bout whitey…who done you wrong” (Gilyard and Wardi 1305).

“This Is Not a Small Voice”

In this poem, Sanchez fights for the freedom of expression and expressing that writing can be a small voice, but it can also be necessity that can make someone to live at high volumes, that is, fight against the discrimination of the white people against the African-Americans. In her writing, Sanchez rises up and claims that she has to express the “love the Black genius”. In other words, Sanchez decided to speak out the lost lives of the black people which have perished under the oppression of the white community. In her thesis, Sanchez asserts for the black people to be recognized and that no more shall any life be lost because of the discrimination of the white community and they fail to be held accountable for it. The most emotional aspect of the poem is her expression of the nature of the discrimination of the white people. She explains that the white people “suck the bone of the alphabet and spit out closed vowels”, meaning that they exploit the black people and leave them with nothing to feed on (Gilyard and Wardi 1306).

“Remembering and Honoring Tony Cade Bambara”

In this poem, Sanchez is praising Tony Cade Bambara for being the “god” of the black revolution. Sanchez is increasingly frustrated that Bambara was not properly honored and that is why she decides to give an account of praises for igniting the black revolution. Her main thesis is that heroes of the black revolution should not be forgotten.

Conclusion

The striking aspect in this poem is how Sanchez descriptively gives praises and honors to Bambara. She expresses her praise, her love and even refers Bambara as “God” of the black revolution.

Jayne Cortez

Background of the Author

Jayne Cortez was a poem and a performance. She was born on 10^th, May, 1936 in Arizona. After spending six year with her husband, Ornette Coleman, she decided to start writing poems and performing drama. Cortez is known for many poems that she wrote including “Into This Time” for Charles Mingus (Gilyard and Wardi 318).

“Into This Time”

The poem represent the great works of Cortez in which, she successfully integrates poetry and jazz music. The poem seeks to explain that despite the suffering and pain that was endured by the black community when they were slaves; they still suffer from exploitation by the white communities the present time (Gilyard and Wardi 518).

Conclusion

The most striking part of the poem is the author’s use of metaphors to express that while the white community dwells in riches, the black community continues to lavish in poverty because exploitation by the white community has not stopped.

Margaret Walker

In the Sanchez’s poem, “From a Black Feminist Conference Reflections on Margaret: Poet”, it reveals the ancestral space filled with the analysis of walkers multifaceted contributions for writing the American and the African-American letters. The poem shows Walker’s intent was to bequeath the rebellious spirit to those who would become writers during her time and also from those that would follow.

Conclusion

One of her striking points is how she stands ups up for the female gender, in fight for the black feminism.

Gil Scot-Heron

Born on 1^st April, 1941, Heron became one of the most heard musicians in 1970s. Heron started writing and singing while she was a student at Lincoln University. He collaborated with other musicians such as Jackson Brian and, also produced several albums including “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (Gilyard and Wardi 312).

 

 

 

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”

The above song’s aim was to express the power structure that existed during the 1970s. Heron wanted to suggest that the popular culture during that time was controlled by corporations which were owned by the white community (Gilyard and Wardi 1312)

Conclusion

The most striking point is where Heron used the words “white tornado” and “white lightening”. Hero referred these words to the white corporations and their tendency of the white people to force the black people to indulge in consuming their products. Hero was advocating the fight for social change

Works Cited

Gilyard, Keith and Anissa Wardi. African American literature. 1st ed. New York: Penguin Academics 2004. Print.