SHAPE POEM BY: Attina Zhao
ARTIST STATEMENT: I created this poem for an English class assignment. I have been a lifelong Harry Potter fan, but over the years the magic has faded, and it has not aged well, unfortunately.
ABOUT THIS POEM
Introduction by Prof. Dan Ryan
Shape poems are brutal. They're immensely difficult to construct, but it's harder still to make them feel urgent. You remember making them in elementary school: poems in the shape of the sun, poems in the shape of soccer balls, baseballs, basketballs (anything round; there was only one girl in my second grade class who could write a poem in the shape of a star, and we all loathed her for it). All that effort, for a circle. They can feel ... childish? Simple?
In my Introduction to Creative Writing class, we examine a brilliant shape poem, Montana Ray's "Customs, motherfuckers)." And while my students always vibe with this poem's political and social critique, its sense of dread and menace ... still, they seldom attempt one on their own.
Enter Attina, whose shape poem conveys the rage and pain of an entire generation of Potterheads in the wake of JK Rowling's virulent transphobia. Attina's ruthless poetic voice, concision, and ultimate vulnerability remind us that shape poems can be politically urgent, even vital; the shape she chose is itself a callback to a childhood memory that will break your heart. (I was the only person in the class who did not immediately clock that the poem was shaped like a lightening bolt; I have, it seems, "aged out.")
Here's to shape poems, and the student writers with the patience—and courage-to make them say something.
It hurt to hear that, age
Being “such a sensitive topic,
To women especially,” a
Definite stab to the heart
To hear that
Every year I grow
Older, every year that
Passes, JKR becomes
More and more hateful, with
Every bit of memorabilia ruined,
The fantastic world she created,
Characters who
Fought against the
Injustice their
Creator
Spews
