When I was young, I used to

Watch behind the curtains

As men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.

Young men sharp as mustard.

See them. Men are always

Going somewhere.

They knew I was there. Fifteen

Years old and starving for them.

Under my window, they would pauses,

Their shoulders high like the

Breasts of a young girl,

Jacket tails slapping over

Those behinds,

Men.

One day they hold you in the

Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you

Were the last raw egg in the world. Then

They tighten up. Just a little. The

First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.

Soft into your defenselessness. A little

More. The hurt begins. Wrench out a

Smile that slides around the fear. When the

Air disappears,

Your mind pops, exploding fiercely, briefly,

Like the head of a kitchen match. Shattered.

It is your juice

That runs down their legs. Staining their shoes.

When the earth rights itself again,

And taste tries to return to the tongue,

Your body has slammed shut. Forever.

No keys exist.

Then the window draws full upon

Your mind. There, just beyond

The sway of curtains, men walk.

Knowing something.

Going someplace.

But this time, I will simply

Stand and watch.

Maybe.



CUTE, WOULDN'T YOU EXPECT A POET TO DO THIS.... MAYBE I'LL CHANGE MINES ONE DAY TOO, SOMETHING LIKE PEACE OR HAPPY RAIN. LOL HMMM

Ai was born in Albany, Texas but grew up in Tucson, Arizona. Her ancestry is part Japanese, Choctaw-Chickasaw, Black, Irish, Southern Cheyenne, and Comanche.----> KNOW YOUR WONDERING HOW DOES THIS MAKE HER A BLACK FEMALE POET?!

----------------------------------

Nikki Giovanni is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Over the past thirty years, her outspokenness, in her writing and in lectures, has brought the eyes of the world upon her. One of the most widely-read American poets, she prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." Giovanni remains as determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality. Always insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it, she has maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black community. Her focus is on the individual, specifically, on the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others.

NOW THE REAL QUESTION IS??

OR THE ONE THATS GONNA HELP ME PASS HONORS ENGLISH 275 IF I ANSWER...

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING WORLD LITERATURE IN THE US TODAY?

The typical response from the average student would be… well there is no importance to studying world literature because for one, other places in the world are drastically different from the United States, and two, most of the novels, plays, and poems read throughout high school and college have not been applied to the “real world”…..


HOWEVER….

TAKE THE TIME TO REMEMBER YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD STORY….. OK THAT’S ENOUGH TIME..

MINES WAS IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFKzriYtEt8

THAT STORY TAUGHT ME THAT PEOPLE ARE INHERENTLY NEEDY, GREEDY, AND ALSO CHILDREN WILL DRIVE YOU UP A WALL. WE AS HUMANS CAN NEVER GET ENOUGH.

LITERATURE TEACHES.

Literature is like a universal language. Everybody is connected through some form of literature, which we have already established stem from everywhere. More importantly, literature around the world show that we are all common in custom, cultures, and principles. No idea is original. Don’t believe me?

GOOGLE

THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH------- NOAHS ARK

THE STORY OF JULIUS CEASAR------- JUDAS ISCARIOT

HEART OF DARKNESS ---------- H

OEDIPUS ----- SAMPSON

Through literature, we acknowledge that places all over the world were conquered and in turn there are two different cultures present in society’s world wide. These two cultures consist of the native and the ruling. Literature helps us see the benefit of this, multilingual writing. Mahsweta Devi author of “The Breast-Giver” writes in Bengali, which is the language of the state of West Bengal in eastern India. When a work is translated into English for us, the author tend to get international recognition making us aware of the dilemmas and social problems a country is encountering. Literature also shows that the caste system is not subjected to one area of the world. Literature when it crosses borders, it mixes culture.

Literature such as “The Diary of a Madman” by Lu Zun and Franz Kafka’s, “The metamorphosis”, show us the power that society has on an individual. Zun shows us that the individual becomes what society sees him as but there is still the possibility for change. Kafka on the other hand, by turning his main character Gregor into a cockroach show us how society makes people suffer. Early literature use to present the individual as having to maintain order in society, one there was no more gods and oracles in writing. Then around Don Quixote’s release the individual was depicted as not being afraid to challenge society.

Themes like this make Literature universal so that everyone around the world can relate. Don’t you feel better knowing that the lady in China making the majority of your possessions have some of the same world views you do?