Herrera continues in his book to describe the lives of latinos coming to America. After describing the exiles of the Chicanos he moves on into his next section, focused on smaller aspects of everday life. He mentions how he just decided to walk around town and write things down, taking in everything around him. He talks about a necklace he once wore walking down the street and they way people reacted. He said, "I carry a dark necklace around my neck. It's painted on. No one has taken notice" (43). He then goes on and explains how it was once his grandmother's and wearing keeps her voice with him. He brings out how what is insignificant to one person is a jewel to the next. His next section seems much more melancholy and dark. It seems to focus on the unpleasant yet true details of life. He writes, "...honking horns that smear shade over a madhouse of hummingbirds and you're lost in thesters of tangled legs your stokcings running branches of spit and smoke in the bellies of black ballerines" (59). He seems to capture emotions that we all experience but are unable to explain. His dark tones almost create a scared and hectic feeling. Several poems in this section are written in both english and spanish which gives way to the idea that everyone is feeling it, not just the latinos in exile.
I think this relates to what we are studying right now because of the hardship everyone faces. I think Herrera does really good job of showing how no one group of people is alone in their troubles. We all relate is some of the trails we face everyday. In the King Lear characters are faced with many difficult situations. King Lear goes mad, Cordelia has to deal with her sisters and father, supporters of the king don't know what to do, eyes get gouged out, and people get stabbed. Life isn't easy for anyone and it's amazing how Herrera can describe life in such beautiful ways in one section and then is such scurrying, crazy ways soon after.I think that he is an incredible author and his poems do what he intends them to.
Herrera, Jaun Felipe. All of the World in Light. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press, 2008.
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2 comments:
It sounds like a well-written group of poems. The author seems to do a good job creating an image in the readers mind. I like how you related it to King Lear because Shakespeare does the same thing your author is doing.
Its awesome that you can tie this into King Lear...I guess the same problems have potential to happen to anyone. Anyways, I think that how the author switches between the two languages. And your explination of it helped me understand its significance. Nice work
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