Hi Everyone,
So here is our kickoff post– asking for responses to Staceyann Chin’s work. Aim to post by 3/22. Remember that you are welcome to respond to my questions, or the response of a classmate, or both! Write whatever you feel–try to support your ideas with quotes and references to particular poems and lines. A post can be a paragraph; it doesn’t have to be super long. Feel free to link relevant articles/multimedia.
When we last gathered, we viewed Staceyann Chin’s performance of “If Only Out of Vanity.” Those who didn’t get to speak last class, we are most interested in your thoughts about her delivery and the poem itself! Please share.
I also invite everyone’s feedback regarding the poems I asked for us all to read.
- What are some themes that she explores? Where (in which poem(s) )Â do you find them?
- What was your favorite poem? Why? Are there particular lines you appreciate? Let us know about those.
- Does her work resonate with something you or someone you know has experienced, or perhaps the issues she speaks to are related to a film, television show, or text with which you are familiar?
StaceyAnn Chin explores themes regarding identity in the context of gender, sexuality, race, the inequalities, and pains that come with it. She also continuously speaks out in a very revolutionary tone, unafraid and unashamed to blatantly call out groups such as straight or white and their role in the inequalities she and others have faces. Her themes on LGBTQ struggle and identity can be found in “Crossfire” and “Passing”. Subjects about race and how they play such a big part in perspective can be found in both of them as well but especially in poems like “Raise the Roof” and even in “Know When to Fold” when her poems take a more personal tone by highlighting the relationship she has with her brother. Gender and race are at the forefront of “Tsunami Rising”.
I liked lots of bits and pieces like “Tsunami Rising” and “Passing”. The line, âChrist was a Middle Eastern Rastaman | who ate grapes in the company of prostitutes | and drank wine more than he drank water | born in the spirit the disciples also loved him in the flesh,â from “Crossfire” was definitely on that resonated with me and my personal beliefs. However, a lot of her poems were very very political and as mentioned in class, there is an anger and a spitefulness about her work that, while I do understand its source, results in a failure to fully resonate with her work. I am not a very spiteful person. Even when wronged and even if I do become, it’s extremely difficult for me to hold a grudge. Maybe that’s why. Her poem “Know When to Fold” was an exception. The story of two young children being very very close and then ripped apart due to circumstances, brought together for a small period of time in which that love was almost rekindled, and then delivered a final blow as both people became adults with their own identities, convictions, and traumas and chose to go their separate ways. I related to the relationship I had with a family member who was like a brother to me. I related to the fears of telling someone who you trust and adore something about yourself and knowing that there’s a possibility you could lose them for speaking up. I think I liked this poem the best because it was mostly just a story. A story that could touch the heart without having a call to action or throwing words and accusations. As much as I respect Chin’s revolutionary spirit to stand up and fight, it was nice to be able to read something that was just a story.
I humbly agree with Garnet’s statements and breakdown of the author because there are a lot of strong points to come across. Like how she is limited to who she can be in love with and gender roles that segregate the women from the men. She is not afraid to speak her mind and be passionate about who she is. I took heavy inspiration from her.
Staceyann Chin remarkable poems focuses mainly on Love, gender identity, or identity as a whole. She deliberately talks about her identity -lesbian- , how she came out , how it has affected her life , and she also brings out facts about how blacks were mistreated back in the day. In the poems “Know when to fold them” she was nervous to tell her brother she was gay. “…the only boy whos opinion ever mattered to me”. She talks about her fellow black people in “Tsunami Rising” and also in “Passing”. I love her poem “Tsunami Rising” she says some powerful things like how ” For centuries , black women have endured the culture of rape and racism combined..” she talks about how black women were always overshadow by white people. She sees that things haven’t changed much and her repetitive word “centuries” brings out this wakening view of reality in a black person point of view. She wants to rise with her fellow black women and stop this. I love her passion when she’s reading that poem.
Her poem “Know when to Fold ” is relatable. Having this unconditional love for someone who has been there with you through your darkest times. I know its a cliche but I can really connect and feel the love she has for her brother. Of course mine was more deep than that.
Hi there,
Staceyann Chin is a wonderful writer, she is addressing issues in our community that unfortunately happened many years ago and are still happening now in 2020. One of the most recalled themes is gender, In the poem âTsunami Risingâ she writes âIn the balance of human biology all bodies are created equalâ. People continuously need to find a category for everything including gender. People try to recognize what group you belong to, and if you are behaving correctly depending on that group, because every group has its own rules. âIn Those Yearsâ Chin writes, âin this word where classification is key I want to erase the straight lines so I can be meâ, is referring to the importance to find an identity no matter if what you find does not match with the standards, she encourages people to be what they want to be. Chin is criticizing the double moral of white women, #MeToo movement started because a white woman decided to retweet a black woman. Also, in âKnow When to Foldâ and âZuriâ she repeatedly mentioned that her mother abandons her, which is another issue in our community, and I think it is something that she perhaps still struggles with.
Itâs difficult for me to say that I have a favorite poem, but personally I love âTsunami Riseâ, I find it with a strong message for women, we are the owner of our bodies, we decide when, how and who, âyour whole body belongs to no one but you and if ever you feel even a tiny bit unsafe you open your mouth and scream for helpâ
“Tsunami Rising” was an awesome message for women and that quote specifically was very important. She talks about how “rape was a word Black mothers | never spoke out loud | but every daughter knew what it meant | lie still/it will pass/ keep quiet | ignore the girl who screams too loudly” and it was extremely depressing and scary to hear that. However, her determination to make sure she did not continue with the same chain was inspiring and empowering.
Crossfire poem thoughts: The themes in this poem are heavy in labeling, stereotyping and race. On page 10, the lines “Most people are surprised my father is Chinese -like there’s some kinda of pre-conditioned look for the half Chinese/lesbian/poet who used to be Catholic but now believes in dreams” is very similar (in my opinion) to the whole theme of the poem Citizen (illegal) by Jose Olivarez because both address the societal problem of racial stereotyping based on physical looks and ideas of go a certain kinda of race or culture should look and the confusion people ensue when it doesn’t always match up to reality.
Also on page 10, the lines ” The state needs us to be left or right, those in the middle get caught in the cross/fire away at the other side” addresses how people like you to be labeled one thing or the other, anything else will be put down and attacked by society.
The poem ” know when to fold” contains themes of broken family and sibling codependency and while I don’t have any siblings I can still relate to the poems idea as an only child to the dependency on other family members who understand my struggles of having a missing parent figure and needing them to get through it and having life tear those people away through growing apart or different lifestyles. The specific lines on page 41 ” In an instant/we were again children forced to make beauty out of tragedy” I found particularly relatable because when faced with conflict it’s how I feel, I go back to feeling like a innocent scared vulnerable little child and also how as humans we must all learn to turn our pain into something valuable and let it push us into something better that helps us evolve and not crumble.
On page 40, the phrase ” My Jamaican boy/raised on a stout diet of violent homophobia said/ I was his sister/ so it didn’t matter/ and I didn’t quite know how to show him how lucky I felt to be his sister.” I find it to be a very interesting analogy the way she kinda describes homophobia as a diet and it being fEd into the men in her culture really makes it more powerful and the whole line is beautiful to me because it shows this sweet innocent love she has for her brother and his love for her.
The poem “Passing” conveys themes of gender, what makes someone straight?/lesbian/ labeling in general. In this poem she addresses how since she presents herself in a feminine way and not a butch way she is seen as acceptable walking down the street unlike her “butch” friends. Pg 54 demonstrates this through the words, ” See I’m a real femme a real lipstick lesbian so I can pass…its Jay street- Borough Hall and my friend is in trouble someone takes the time to notice that the young boy is really a young girl and the red, white and blue Jacket is not enough”. basically because her friend fits the label of “dyke” more then she does, her friend takes a beating for something they both fit into. On page 55,it says “we need to let them know we do not wish to pass as semi- white or almost straight or nearly normal…”.It really is similar to the idea Chief Sitting Bull tried to express in his prison interview , saying how his Native people also didn’t want to have and behave the “white mans” acceptable lifestyle and he doesn’t know why anyone thinks they would.
The poem “Passing” conveys themes of gender, what makes someone straight?/lesbian/ labeling in general. In this poem she addresses how since she presents herself in a feminine way and not a butch way she is seen as acceptable walking down the street unlike her “butch” friends. Pg 54 demonstrates this through the words, ” See I’m a real femme a real lipstick lesbian so I can pass…its Jay street- Borough Hall and my friend is in trouble someone takes the time to notice that the young boy is really a young girl and the red, white and blue Jacket is not enough”. basically because her friend fits the label of “dyke” more then she does, her friend takes a beating for something they both fit into. On page 55,it says “we need to let them know we do not wish to pass as semi- white or almost straight or nearly normal…”.It really is similar to the idea Chief Sitting Bull tried to express in his prison interview , saying how his Native people also didn’t want to have and behave the “white mans” acceptable lifestyle and he doesn’t know why anyone thinks they would.
Tsunami rising poem has heavy themes of race and historical discrimination issues and gender discrimination issues. The themes of equality can be seen in the whole first stanza on page 63 and it shows how we all are human and the same no matter what. Pg 65 addresses an interesting incident of how when a white woman took a black women’s hashtag of #metoo it became viral only after the white woman said it which is something I didn’t know know about that famous movement and how despite who started the whole conversation, black women are still missing representation on sexual harassment issues.
Lastly, the poem “Speech delivered in Chicago …” Has in interesting connection to Martin Luther King when it states on page 96, “Now! Before you open the door to find they have finally come for you” because both MLK and Stacey are expressing the sense of urgency of how an injustice against one of us is an injustice against us all and if we don’t stop it early we will all get turned on, disrespected , and discriminated against and how the “white moderate thinking” is dangerous for us all.
Staceyann Chin tackles a multitude of concepts in her poem “Crossfire” including political concepts like feminism and sexuality and the problems/actions that occur in people who are not a heterosexual. Within that poem she also goes over religion, race, and even the struggles of a rape victim. I don’t have any poem of hers that I would call my favorite but I do understand that she really wants to make a point albeit harshly. I don’t feel any positive resonance or relation to any of her poems. I don’t have any of the struggles she has nor have I personally had to deal with them. I can imagine someone like one of my females cousins who had a girlfriend might be able to relate to her but I’m not entirely sure myself. I also know another girl who may be able to relate to or understand her but only as a matter of agreeing with at least a few her views but not in terms of relating personally to the struggles that Staceyann has faced
Strangely enough, it was the preface of the book that mesmerized me more than her poems themselves. Of course, all her poems stem from her personal experience, but poems feel like more of an artwork that is meant to be shown. They are polished to best deliver the message she had intended. Her poems are not entirely her own as there is an audience. The preface, however, felt more genuine: her journey into publishing this book, a little bit of regrets on waiting too late to build confidence to publish them, finding her identity as a poet. I appreciated that Chin decided to share more of her personal, vulnerable side on top of her artistic persona. Or maybe it is just my personal preference for memoirs than poetry.Â
If I had to choose a poem that resonated with me the most though, it would be either “on becoming thirty” or “Bernice Perry: the details.” Perhaps I gravitated towards them, because they felt more like the preface she had written, as both of them deal with time. In “On Becoming Thirty,” she is reflective of her past and recognizes the time that has passed, both in her life and the lives of the generations that came before her. There were so many beautiful lines in the poem; especially the way she describes the passed time as “our footprints depress the earth in different time zones/the collective visible only in fragmentsâpeople and places/ no one knows anymore.â
“Women who are quick to tell me/time has always been longer than rope/these women/teach me to play my own part of this endless song” reminded me of the love that exists within these generations in the name of family. No matter how much of a different view they may share and different conflicts that may come between them, in the end, parents wish nothing but the best for their children and want to pass on their knowledge and experience so their children can be better off than themselves. And perhaps that is why family conflicts are the hardest. As Martin Luther King. Jr said, deep disappointment can come only from deep love.
I very much agreed with Chin’s view on the experience that comes with time (âI felt I had to wait until I was at least thirty. Thirty sounded more appropriate, more weighted, more like someone who had lived enough to write about itâsomeone who could handle the task of metaphors and similes and meter and rhyme with depth and pathos.â), which only to be denied later in the passage as “itâs ageist to think that only older people have valuable thoughts to add to the canon of writing about the human condition.â But there *is* certain comfort in hearing words from those who has simply spent more time being alive. And I felt that in “Bernice Perry: the details.” Reading about her routines that have lasted many decades made me feel that, despite all the struggles and problems to be fought in the world, life goes on. Maybe that can also be perceived as being jaded and cynical (compared to Chin’s energy to fight against the world to make it a better place for all), but still, that doesn’t change the fact that she has managed to survive this long amongst all the craziness and injustice!
What are some themes that she explores? Where (in which poem(s) ) do you find them?
– she explores a lot of femininity and sexuality and being different, being someone is like nobody else. In her poem â if only out of vanityâ itâs very apparent the role she takes in with exploring feminism, for instance In this poem Stacey was saying how rebellious of a woman she was. She doesn’t want to be categorized as just a black lesbian. She doesn’t to be what everybody expects her to be. She wants to have people like “wow” and shocked.
What was your favorite poem? Why? Are there particular lines you appreciate? Let us know about those.
My favorite poem was definitely â if only out of vanityâ because her imagery and diction throughout the entire poem was great . My favorite line would probably be , âI want to go down in history in a chapter marked, âMiscellaneous,â because the writers could find, no other way to categorize me, in a world where classification is key.â I think this poem is a brilliant statement about non-conformity, and it is something we can all relate to.
Does her work resonate with something you or someone you know has experienced, or perhaps the issues she speaks to are related to a film, television show, or text with which you are familiar?
I think her work can be resonate with a lot of feminist work throughout history. There is the legendary feminine mystique. Itâs the first that pops into my head.
Hello sorry for joining late
but regarding the poem that Staceyann Chin Wrote âCrossfireâ some of the themes that she explores would be more issues surrounding the thoughts in gender, mostly feminine people,and some of religious beliefs where she explains how different some people view them in. So in that poem shown many examples such as how people would react towards an issue when involving a girl who was either rape nor attack but seem to believe she actually deserve that due to the clothing sheâs wearing.
My favorite poem so far would probably be âloveâ since some lines stated there are sharing facts that are relatable in times like now.Some lines I appreciate is this line â the idiots who look like they might still be in love have only been together for three weeks and those lucky enough to have lasted more than a year are rapidly shifting gears towards chopping the shared now dysfunctional cat in two equal parts so they can cart the rest of their shit to the new apartment they cannot afford by themselves.â.Like this line literally share an whole entire story i canât really break down whatâs happening because she does a good job sharing a whole example that you can imagine the whole thing.
Her work resonate with many feminists around and some simple problems that may be important to those relating to there rights so some people that come up would be mostly my friends problems with relationships and normal problems involving the rights toward women around.