Rachel Smith's Poem Hallelujah The Saviors Are Here

After watching “The Language You Cry In” in class, I found myself reflecting on how music has impacted my life and with whom I have shared it with. It’s truly incredible how a simple, 5 line chorus ultimately allowed this woman to discover her history as it traveled from Sierra Leone all the way to the Gullah society in Georgia. The really displays the power that music can have over not only individual societies, but over the globe. No matter what political movements were occurring and throughout the immense inequality and slavery that was being faced, music has always remained reliable. This song brought people together and allowed them to embrace their heritage even in the worst of times, and I believe that this is still true today.

After reading Malcom X’s Literacy Behind Bars and Daniel Felsenfeld’s Rebel Music, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between their story and my own when I came to the realization my talent. Growing up everyone around me was trying to be like the music videos, freestyling, trying to emulate the dances, or act. I would participate in freestyling, but the way I put words together had more depth than the other kids…from me wanting to be different than the people I associated myself with; I became a self-proclaimed poet.

Protest poems and songs are, and have been throughout history, an effective medium of expressing their composer’s concerns or protests to a wide audience. The main themes behind each of these creative media are influenced heavily by the context in which they were created and focus on the composer’s opinions about controversial issues of that time. Poet Bruce Dawe, through his poem ‘homecoming’ and singer-songwriter Barry Maguire, through his song ‘Eve of destruction’ were able to explore and express their similar concerns about the harsh and dehumanising aspects of war and the effects on society, with Maguire focussing on the ignorance of society toward the detrimental effects of war and Dawe reflecting on emotional trauma experienced by those who lost love ones to the brutality of war.

After reading our pages for this week, and reflecting on my own songwriting and reading about other songwriters it helped me see again why I love this so much! I ended up really relating to a lot of what was stated in these first 50 pages. Where I am from which is called Bloomfield Hills, everyone their seems to be living in their own bubble. Everyone calls it The Bloomfield Bubble. Not joking its a real thing. I’m sure you have heard about my area that I is a very wealthy area snd everyone is materialistic and rude. That is true for those selected few but, other than the few exceptions the rest of us are just like everyone else. One of the big things that is a “normal” situation that happens after you graduate from high school is that you

In the past decades, when referring to American Indians, people often associate racism. Native American culture is linked to the culture’s history of racial discrimination. Diane Burns, a Native American, who was born in Kansas and grew up in the U.S. Her poems usually revolves around Native American stereotypes. The poem “Sure You Can Ask Me A Personal Question" is one of her typical works. The title suggests that there are many questions and answers in this poem. The poem is built up as a monologue, even though it is a dialogue between an American Indian and a louder voice in the American society. With a unique narrative, the author divides the poem into three sections, each of which gives the viewer many views about the main character

Reading the works of Phillis Wheatley are more so confused on the high praise that she bestows upon the Europeans that we know have taken her from her homeland due to the enslavement of the African people. Her passion to write about the importance of the Christian religion is reflected in her work including her poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America.” In this poem, she explains her appreciation for the white race. Being of the enslaved people during this time, is puzzling to read such things but intrigues one to comprehensively understand why she feels this way. She touches on different themes such as race, religion, and self-identity. Wheatley makes a bold statement to express how being introduced to Christianity has modified her

The title of Natasha Trethewey’s poem, “Amateur Fighter”, is what made me curious to read it. An amateur fighter is an odd subject choice. It is more common to read poems or even stories about great fighters or champions. The title also sets the tone of the poem. Obviously, the poem will not be about a hero, but instead, it will be about a fighter. It is also interesting that the poem is titled “Amateur Fighter”, yet the poem says that the fighter won a prize. It makes me think the word ‘fighter’ could mean a boxer or someone who is fighting for life or their place in it.

A mother is the first touch, voice and sight a baby has when he or she is born. They rely on their mother to provide them with a safe environment, food and comfort. Being a mother comes with great responsibility and a life long job that the work gets harder every day. Although I myself am not a mother, I have seen this job played out from my own mother who provides her children with a great life. Some mothers are not ready for this job, yet selfishly still choose to keep their children because they are too proud to allow someone else provide their baby with the life they deserve. Child abandonment is a ever rising epidemic not only in The United States, but all around the world. Child abandonment affects the mother, but more importantly,

Successfully maintaining an extensive class schedule at Georgia State University has enabled her to feel confident in a strenuous collegiate environment. Her consistent involvement on the Booker T. Washington High School’s marching/concert band, swim team and dance team has given her the opportunity to acknowledge her talents beyond the world of academia. Not to mention, Troytoria is a well written and spoken poet, she has been a past participant in the Omega Psi Phi Talent hunt competition and has recently paired with Spelman College, Clark-Atlanta University, and Morehouse College’s Next Great American Poet Scholarship (NGAP). Through these organizations, she has been able to constantly develop her leadership skills and her ability to work independently as well as with a team.

As a growing number of teens use technology on a daily basis, teenagers are reading less poetry. Accordingly, they are listening to more and more music. Numerous examples of poetic merit can be found in music at their fingertips. Thus, it is safe to argue that song lyrics are today’s main form of poetry. “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver and Mike Taylor is an excellent example of this, for it includes figurative language, imagery, and a thematic statement. All of which are elements of poetic merit.

Yusef Komunyakaa is an alum of Colorado State University, as well as a writer with a 43 year long career, and a poet with a widespread reach throughout the poetic community. At his poetry reading on April 21st, he read a wide variety of poems, ranging from some of his experiences during the Vietnam war to girl “consumed” by fire. It is interesting to observe traits of his poetry -- like who his audience is, imagery, rhythm, and agency of the speaker in the poem -- and how those relate to the contents of his poetry.

Is there a future to look forward to beyond life itself? This is a thought that is often posed in, famous poet, Tracy K Smith’s poems as well. She has been named the U.S. Poet Laureate and has written several successful, meaningful poems in her career. No one knows what is after life, but could one at least have hope for what is to come to be pleasant or look forward to whatever the future holds. Smith, in several of her poems such “The Universe as a Primal Scream” and “Flores Woman,” displays a hope for better events to come, despite the pains and hardships she faced during the course of her lifetime.

RunDSM is a program that has brought many people together through movement 515 that consist of workshops such as poetry, graffiti, and dancing. My introduction to this program was through a class called urban leadership. Throughout my high school career my involvement with RunDSM has expanded which lead to my love for poetry. I was just amazed by how unique combination of words could be so impactful. As I proceed to learn different poetic technique my writing and performance has enhance. Taking my poetry from the note pads to the stages I was able to present work and obtain a leadership role within the community. I believe that poetry is a gateway away from reality, a way of expression, and a tool for overcoming any obstacles that you face

In this poem, “Under the Feet of Jesus” the development of Estrella’s character consisted of many conditions. She went through several stages as in anger, curiosity, realization, and happiness. Estrella is going through all these different mood changes because she notices different events in her life. Her character’s literary element is tone. Here are some reasoning’s on why this theory is said.

The second type of the pastoral is literature that "describes the country with an implicit or explicit contrast to the urban."[3]