The assignment of "to whom" these voices belong seems less relevant to me than "to what" they belong. Each of the voices from this weeks reading ascribed and belonged to an undeniable sense of urgency. There was no side-stepping or apologizing, but rather a bold, brash and unashamed purging of emotion. Through each piece it seemed as though the narrator simultaneously informed his/her readers while also undergoing a form of catharsis. Being able to observe such a raw release of feeling was shocking. The different usages of language and structure all seemed to ultimately achieve a similar effect. Whether the piece employs a structured rhyme scheme, pre-meditated line breaks, "slang" (oi, that awful term), repetition, etc., each literary technique was manipulated in a way that effectively portaryed the driving force of each writer: urgency. Urgency to speak & urgency to be heard.

In Aloud, Paul Beatty does an exceptional job of pointing out the complacent and hypocritical mindsets in New York's East Village in the piece At Ease. This area is commonly thought of as a progressive, open-minded community, probably parallel with what is thought of San Francisco. The narrator, however, portrays a disillusioning climate. He writes:

i joined this people's army
to seek the quintessential beat freedom
that only white boys seem to achieve
...

so i force a discourse
wid corporal gregory corso
his pissed on disciples fix bayonets
point their self righteous rifles at my writing

don't get upset but
why dont you [blacks and other oppressed etc]
write more universally
does that mean write more white
drink tea in the morning
write about flowers n lust and poeticize the dust in the light rays
...

doin the hollywood shuffle
here in alphabet city
where the contradictions are so deeep
you got
white supremacists
datin black chicks

Okay, so I'm going a little quotation crazy here, but it's kind of difficult to select only a few. Suffice it to say I like this poem a little bit, even though it takes some deep digs at a few of my favorite beat poets. Perhaps its that precise penchant for beatniks that makes me appreciate this poem. Beatty points out the unmistakable reality of the East Village. A place that was founded and created with the most respectable of goals, but the same place that has sadly fallen short. Under the banner of good intentions many of these short-comings have gone unnoticed, but not by Beatty. Beatty calls out to these people, to us, to recognize that even in the most "progressive" places, stereotyping and racism can thrive. His use of stream of consciousness style, references to pop culture fads (tai chi, tye dye, tofu, etc.), and interesting line breaks culminate to create the strong, urgent tone that reverberates throughout the entire piece. God, it's good. I need to expand on just one more quote...

what you learn in school today

bout how columbus
landed in cuba stuck a flag in the ground
how neil armstrong landed on the moon and stuck a flag in the ground
how rick rubin landed in rap and stuck a flag in the sound

hey you all look what i found

the east village
a human garden a botanical class menagerie
with its own avant-garde beatnik color guard

that when asked to present the colors of their flag
they go
white and ummm
bob kaufman aaaand lets see uhhhh
oh yeah the angry guy


I am currently struggling to articulate the precise ways that this quotation affects me. I like it. It stirs something in me. I'm just not yet able to put my finger on it. So I'll let it marinate, and possibly (hopefully) come back to it later. Any thoughts?

-e. gutilla