Many comments that mirror my own have been made here about Hughes' work, his place in African American history and poetry, and on the language he used (deliberate or not). So in an attempt not to repeat, I want to look at one other element that has not been discussed – aesthetics.
As I listened to him share The Weary Blues I found it interesting that he paused in different places that were not indicated by line breaks or commas or any other signifier that we have come to equate with a pause for the reading voice. I realize that I am placing an aesthetic that was not of concern in his time onto this historically brilliant work, but that is my point – why do we trouble ourselves with aesthetics now? Have we decided that traditional aesthetics can no longer serve some arbitrary importance that we (modern/contemporary/aspiring poets) have placed on how our poetry looks on the page? Do we really think that how we place text on the page will somehow guide the reader to read it the way we want them to read it? How DO we want them to read our poetry? Does it matter? Is it content/context that matters more or is it the performance of the poetry – the actual reading it out loud?
Obviously, these rhetorical questions are simply me searching my own purpose for “doing what I do” on the page. This first assignment has moved me to reflect on my choices to write some poems that rely on the aesthetics to move the piece forward and some pieces that seem to beg me to stick with more traditional forms. I have no answers to these questions and don’t expect anyone else to define the importance for me, but I am ridiculously hopeful that we can discuss and my eyes/mind/poetic heart can open and learn and question and create.
I also found it interesting that I’ve read Hughes’ work many, many, many times and never experienced it quite the way I did this time. I love that!!
peacelovelight
Kiala
