Kelly Kraft
Understanding Literature
Blog 10.22
For my event analysis I listened to the author Leah Hager Cohen read from her works. During her reading Cohen decided not to read from one of her many books but read a couple of passages from her blog. Cohen’s blog reflected how relationships with her mother has changed and shaped her perspectives. Langston Huges’ “Theme for English B”, Lucille Clifton’s “this morning (for the girls of eastern high school), Julia Alvarez’s “Queens, 1963” , and Jeffrey Harrison’s “Fork” also reflect on how relationships shape the way the people develop and see life. Cohen’s works and all the poems have adverse and difficult life experiences and relationships that are shown in the writing.
The 3 blog entries that Cohen decided to read all had to deal in some way with her mother. The first reading talked about when her mother was offered to have an affair but turned it down. The second about existing in a state of blur, something her mom was feeling because of her sickness. The third blog entry dealt with a pear receipe but ultimately ended with the writing reflecting yet again on her mother. It was easy to see, just from the few entries the author shared with us that her mother had had a strong impact on her. By her description, Cohen’s mother had shaped her into the type of writer and person she was today.
Langston Huges’ “Theme for English B” and Julia Alvarez’s “Queens, 1963” poems have experience that are more negative than Cohen’s experiences and relationships. The speaker in Huges’ poem is writing a poem for his English class; he writes about his day. Then he writes that sometimes his instructor does not want to be him but they are both connected because they are American and can learn from each other. The speaker does point out because he is black, he feels less free then his white professor. The speaker in Alvarez’s poem also struggles with freedom and discrimination having moved to Queens from a foreign country. The speaker has trouble finding her own self when no one feels she belongs.
Jeffery Harrison’s “Fork” and Lucille Clifton’s “this morning (for the morning girls of the eastern high school) both share the idea of finding ones self. In Harrison’s poem, the speaker finds himself no thanks he feels, to his writing professor. The speaker hangs on to the criticism that drives him to be a good writer. In the poem this criticism takes the form as a fork he steals from his professor. The speaker carries around this fork until he finally does not need it to drive him anymore. In Clifton’s poem, the speaker finally realizes she is one morning. By the title of the poem, it is apparent that the speaker is telling this realization to the girls at her high school; the girls she is around all day. The tone of the speaker during the poem reveals that she is happy about finding her true self and is comfortable with being her.
Langston Huges’ “Theme for English B”, Lucille Clifton’s “this morning (for the girls of eastern high school), Julia Alvarez’s “Queens, 1963”, Jeffrey Harrison’s “Fork” , and Leah Hager Cohen’s Blog all deal with struggles and connections good or bad with others. Langston Huges’ “Theme for English B” and Julia Alvarez’s “Queens, 1963” have discriminative under tones and have to do with cooping with the truth of having a relationship with people in America who are not the same race around you. ”, Lucille Clifton’s “this morning (for the girls of eastern high school), Jeffrey Harrison’s “Fork”, and Leah Hager Cohen’s Blog triumph because of their relationship either with a person or in deviance of that person.