Author Archives: Kara Freeman

Material: https://poetryarchive.org/poet/john-berryman/

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/151109/an-introduction-to-confessional-poetry

Anne Sexton

Introduction: There is an uncanny resemblance between John Berry’s and Anne Sexton’s lives. They both experienced extreme trauma in their most developmental years. Tragically, both of their lives started in similar ways and ended in the same way.

Throughout their writing growth, they began to use their success as a coping mechanism to the pain inside. It’s ironic that they used the success they received from their writings that are so raw, honest, and dark to sustain their illusion that their success/writing in general would fix their pain. This seems to work fine for both of them until something catastrophic stops them from continuing on in their illusion. Anne Sexton got a divorce and this triggered her deppression and reliance on drugs, leading her to turn her car on with the garage door closed. John Berryman relied on alcohol and became to a slave to depression, eventually leading him to jump off of a bridge.

In the introduction to confessional poetry, it is described as writing where the “mask is taken off”. Although both of these writers do write about very honest details of their lives in a way that is unprecedented in history, the way they release it into the world is with a mask on.

Consider Anne Sextons’ raspy seductive voice she uses as her disguise as she speaks her soul out. John Berryman detached from his words by using unnatural shifts in tone. On top of this, both of them refused to identify with their characters, writing in third person for the majority of the time. They also both did not like being identified as confessional writers.

Question:

After taking a closer look at Anne Sexton and John Berryman,

Does vulnerability make a person stronger, weaker, or is it ineffective in an individual’s healing? Why? Do you think they are still technically being vulnerable if they do not identify publicly with their vulnerable words?

-Techniques used to analyze texts, which include the ability to synthesize and evaluate information and ideas from multiple perspectives, including characters, authors, and audiences whose roles and assumptions are different from their own.

• —-This is a concept that I believe I have grown immensely in. In the pieces of literature that is selected, it is almost forced upon the reader to understand many different perspectives, within each individual text as well as texts from the same time period that we have compared to eachother. We are given multiple perspectives for each context we are given and it is our job as the reader to dissect that, and I have never done that to this degree before.

• Proper usage, and appropriate style, language, strategies and resources to formulate coherent, well-supported arguments that demonstrate effective critical reading, discussion, and analysis of American literature; write about literature, culture, and texts in cogent, compelling prose.
• —- I believe I did this is something I am still growing in and always will be but I believe I did this well in “A streetcar named Desire”.
• Concepts and knowledge gained from the study of American literature to discover connections between the disciplines and real-life applications; demonstrate their awareness of multiple perspectives when exploring issues, interpreting texts, and studying conflicts in literature.
• — When studying the Harlem Renaissance and writers of the South, it definitely picked at my brain to read different works from people with the same struggle but who all have chosen different reasons and different ways to create their work.
• The historical and cultural context which produces American literature as well as the political, economic, and ethical implications of the texts studied and their aesthetic qualities.
• — It has been very interesting to me to learn about different cultures and time periods such as the Harlem Renaissance and Naturalism etc. I have come to appreciate the history that has produced the work we’ve read.
• Standards of interpretation and contextual information necessary to the study of literature and to incorporate these standards into writing, using primary and secondary sources responsibly, legally, and ethically.
• — This is something I never understood the importance of until this class. I think I would not be able to distinguish from the poetry and other works that we were reading if not for a research on every writer, what their background was, and an in depth research of the time period. When I do come to find a standard I trust, I do use it as my right hand tool for reading the work.
• Discuss and explain some of the major literary figures, trends, and issues of American literature from 1900 to the present.
• — I definitely feel like I have an understanding for writers of big names such as Faulkner and Langston Hughes that I have heard for a long time but did not know about.

When I read through Yusef’s poems, I felt as though there was a realist and pessimistic voice narrating it. His words seem to not be scared of the harsh realities of life and what life truly is. It was not until afterwards that I read that he was in the Vietnam War. I made the connection pretty quickly after that and understand where his words were coming from. I am quite familiar with the Vietnam War, or rather how people who were apart of it were molded by it. With an experience like that, it changes a person forever and changes their world around them entirely. My grandfather was in the Vietnam war and also went to college with the GI bill. His experience at Vietnam and all that he had seen had made him become nothing but a realist about life. After experiencing and participating in matters he never thought he would be, it changed him forever and cut out all “fluff” in life. Everything became cut to the chase for him from that point on. He cusses like a sailor, says the truth, and does not take crap from anyone. I am grateful to have someone in my life who can show me the way that an experience as such shapes a human being and because of that I have a deep understanding of Yusef’s words and why he chooses to write the way he does.

The content assigned to us.definitely broadened my ideas of every type of genre. For instance, “Cane” was very interesting to me because I suppose it would be considered a novel but it was very different in the way that it was structured. I think the dynamics of it adds so much value.. It gave opportunity to hear from different perspectives all in first person which gives the opportunity to intimately connect with every character.

This poetry selection thus far has also expanded my mind about what poetry can be and what it should be. I truly don’t think I understood poetry at all before this semester. I now understand the way that it is intended to be read, instead of reading it like a novel and wandering why I can’t get anything out of it. Not only do I have a deeper understanding for the original design of poetry, but with that information I am also able to appreciate all the stretches of poetry that we have read.

I expect short stories to be very simple and to have the goal of only conveying one basic idea but this definitely was not the case with some of the short stories we have read. For instance, “The Swimmer” by John Cheever definitely stretches the misconception that short stories theme’s are just simplistic in nature. This short story is hectic and has so much going on, while all at the same time effectively conveying the haunting concept of escapism in all of its’ fullness, depth and complexity.

Reading “A streetcar Named Desire” has given me a mix of many different thoughts and emotions. For one thing, the character Blanche is a textbook narcicisst. She does things like not giving people an opportunity to talk and then getting upset that the other person hasn’t been engaging and asking her questions. She also has very toxic traits like projecting, and not being able to understand anyone else’s perspective. Everything is egocentric for her. Observing her character has triggered many of my own deepseated emotions because she reminds me of my father and grandmother. That might be too much information but that was my honest response.

I am also very interested in the culture of New Orleans during that time period. I think it is heart warming that Stella broke away from her victorian lifestyle and made a new life for herself that is entirely different from everything she has ever known.

I definitely gather that he is committed to accurately depicting southern lango. It is a huge element of the character of the whole novel. I feel as though I can hear their voices speaking to me.

I can tell that Faulkner was not scared to reveal a deeper look at life in the South and that he was willing to write about aspects that others were not such as what happened with Dewell’s abortion etc. I think it is incredibly special that he himself grew up in a town in Mississippi and that was the foundation he built his writing upon for “As I Lay Dying”.

There is a sense of melancholy throughout the whole writing. It is dark and it feels somewhat hopeless, but it feels very real. On this basis, I can gather that his hard past must also incorporate into his writing specifically with his baby that died at a week old.

I think it is so interesting the way that Hugh rhymes and creates rhythm. and the fact that his poems could be put to music. What I truly appreciate about Langston Hughes is that he chose to be completely authentic and not just choose one particular image of African Americans he wanted the world to see but rather he just came to his pen as his complete authentic self. I also think it’s interesting he read his poems out loud to audiences more so than any other poet in American history. That tells me a lot about his poetry and I read it differently, understanding that.

I love his honesty about having parents who are two different races and that he writes his honest thoughts about both of them in “Cross” in that he feels sorry for mistreating them regardless of the color of their skin. He then gets deeper in that poem and explains that he fears he does not identify with either race. This makes me understand his other poems better because it makes me understand the internal place he is writing from. In his poem “Daybreak in Alabama”, he writes that if the opportunity arises that he becomes a composer, he will write music about people of all colors joining hands. I think that is so special because he gives a message of hope, instead of a message of fustration. Another thing that makes him special is that he uses humor and language that comes from his culture. A good example of that is in his poem “Hard Luck”. He also writes poems that have nothing to do with being African American with topics such as God being lonely, and the importance of having dreams and what it’s like to be lonely. I also understand and see through his writing that he did not have political views, just moral views. The way he writes is that he makes every party responsible for the caos and does not just make one side the victim; he makes every side just as responsible as the other.

Claude Mckay is different in that he takes pride in his race and his experiences of racism is what triggered his start to poetry. He is very open about his feelings of being victimized. He refers to himself as a man machine and a slave. I am sure that his background of being a slave in Jamaica as well as New York have a lot to do with his upfrontedness about his pain that he experienced in his writing.

I have been watching the netflix series “Riverdale” for some time now and I believe a primary cultural aspect that particular sticks out in that show is Social Class. The marginalized are continually victimized and manipulated. The wealthy and powerful continually take advantage of their power.

There is a lot that goes on with the politics of this small town. Those who had wealth and worked their way up the social ladder had complete power over everything and even had the power to take away the land that belonged to the gangs. There is shady business that goes on in the dark and none of the authorities are who they truly say they are, but they still manage to monopolize Riverdale due to their fortunate hand dealt to them in life as well as their cunningness and ease of manipulating.

All of the characters are in highschool in a very small town and two of the main characters Jughead and Betty Cooper fall in love but of course, are from “opposite sides of the track”. Jughead’s dad is in a gang and Betty comes from a wealthy family. Jughead was always the kid that was mysterious and off the beaten path. Shortly after him and Betty start dating, he decides to join the gang of his dad because he felt he needed that sense of belonging as well as the protection that comes from the pact that’s made once joining. Betty wants to join the gang as well, but Jughead will not allow her. With her fierce determination, she joins the gang without his knowing because of her passion about it. She found that the nature of the gang was far more authentic and true than the dark realities of her own culture and parenthood that she had known her whole life. They have no influence in society anymore, but continue to dig at the mysteries of Riverdale and solve all of the dark mysteries on their own. They earn the right to be heard on their own.

I am having a very mixed first reaction to the material, as each poet took very different approaches to the problems at hand. What I really love is the aesthetic at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance that is portraid in different ways with each poet. I feel like I am being cultured as I read and a lot of their work feels musical and I think that is so unique. It feels musical whether it is because of the interesting wording, the rhythm or just the contemplative feeling that radiates from the words.

A lot of the poetry in this unit also hit me pretty hard in a few different ways. It warmed my heart but also felt melancholy to read the poetry that had the approach of not being very assertive about their struggles and mistreatment even though they completely had the right to. I found the poems that just related to life in general and had nothing to do with what they personally endured to be so authentic and enlightening.

The harlem renaissance is a time period I am fascinated by and i am very interested in the different approaches to writing during this time period. Alot of powerful art came out of it. Reading some of the poems gave me more hardhitting reactions than others. Some writers were very passive and spoke nothing of the mistreatment at all, while others were very very assertive.