Everyone,

During this anxious time it has been terrific to read your posts and hear your voices again (albeit in writing). Props to Garnet for kicking it off, and all of you for chiming in with your individual experience, insight, and wisdom.

Let’s pause for a second and consider the title of Chin’s collection (and the title of one her poems which many of you appreciated): Crossfire. What does it mean to be in the crossfire? Why does she use this title?

You probably noticed the shoutout in “Passing” to City Tech’s neighborhood– “it’s Jay Street- Borough Hall/ and my friend is in trouble/ someone takes the time to notice/ that the young boy is really a girl” (lines 19-22). Chin uses the act of walking in Downtown Brooklyn to talk about how we navigate public space and how some can “pass” or appear more normative (hetero/ cisgender ) .

To offer some more context about this: “Passing” is a concept that dates back several centuries. In the United States,  enslaved people were raped by whites, which meant that children were of mixed heritage. Today we would say biracial; in the 19th century, how white someone appeared could determine their fate as an enslaved or free person. “Passing” meant that someone lightskinned enough could pass as white. Today, thanks to DNA testing, greater awareness of the sins of our country, and programs like Henry Louis Gates’s  “Finding Your Roots” (has anyone seen this? check it out if you can), we know that all of us have very mixed heritage and people’s backgrounds are rarely as simple as we might think they are.

As a group we’ve pointed to many important themes in Chin’s poetry:

• Navigating identity and defying categorization; intersectionality
• Courage in being oneself
• Confronting and speaking out about sexual assault (several of you mentioned identifying with this important issue, or knowing people who do)
• Who is safe and who is endangered in our society
• Oppression and stereotypes
• Confronting marginalization and silencing of people of color, survivors of sexual abuse, women, LGBTQIA folks, queerness of any kind
• Xenophobia and racism–  (especially relevant in today’s world as we have a U.S. President calling the virus “Chinese”– perpetuating an us vs. them mentality instead of the absolute truth that we are all in this together)
• Familial love and loss–  (“Know When to Fold “)
• Sexuality
• Motherhood (“Zuri” is her daughter)– both literal and figurative. Chin is also interested in literary mothers as some of you observed. Audre Lorde, a New York poet who actually taught at City College in the 1960s, is a major influence.

I’m going to close here with Kenny Rogers’s “The Gambler,” the song Chin references in “Know When to Fold ‘Em.”  Rogers passed away this past Friday. RIP.

**Tuesday morning I’ll post on Freeman’s “A New England Nun”  and ask for our next round of posts. If you didn’t post yet on Chin, or want to respond to my wrap-up here, feel free to jump in.**

BE SAFE EVERYONE. I AM HERE FOR YOU. MISS YOU ALL!