NEW
Library Project
Volume 3, Number 1 - Fall 2004
POETIC MOMENTS
IN FOUR LOCATIONS
"Never
at a Loss for Words"
by Margaret Van Kirk
La Casa de Don Pedro’s façade stands out in the middle of the block. Inside, immaculate floors and a businesslike setting give the Hispanic Women’s Center a sense of purpose.
Heidi is busy answering the phones. “You need to apply by filling out this document clearly…and you must be on time!” Maria discusses resume-building in a full classroom. Posters of African American and Hispanic women organizers, doctors, judges, labor leaders, politicians, teachers and scientists line the halls.
The room is lively; there are fourteen women and one man, first or second generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Peru and Puerto Rico. Some parents of young children, some grandparents. All are developing skills to complete a GED, enter a vocational or technical program or seek work.
I read “Two Words” by Isabel Allende, a story about the power of language. In it, Belisa rises from poverty by learning to sell words and stories. The most feared and coarse man in the country eventually commands her to write a speech to make him a viable candidate for president. She in turn makes him fall in love with her by whispering two secret words in his ear.
There was a round of approval for the story. Lourdes joked about what the two words may have been, and we speculated about them in the original Spanish and in the English translation. “In Spanish they may be ‘te amo,’ but in English it would be three words, ‘I love you,’ and therefore wouldn’t work,” Elba said. We discussed vocabulary and the meaning of similar yet different words in English and Spanish.
I asked whether the colonel, an illiterate man hardened by war, could ever change. Was he able to become president and rule? We talked about whether people change through education or life experience. Brenda was not convinced. “It’s very difficult for people to change.” Not all agreed. “Sure,” said Norma. “We are here because we want to make changes.”
In “Two Words,” news and letters are carried by travelers. We discussed the use of words today in mass communication and politics. Juan Carlos said, ‘It’s up to us to teach our children to figure out what is happening behind the words.”
As I left, Lourdes was still talking enthusiastically. Aileen smiled and said, “Now there’s someone who is never at a loss for words.”
Sharing
a Moment of 'Sanity'
by Lesley Fredericks
Kirkbride Center is a multi-service inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in West Philadelphia. During a session, one of the participants asked if we could read something by O. Henry. I brought “The Cop and the Anthem,” the story of a homeless man with a drinking problem, a not-uncommon scenario for many Kirkbride residents.
At the end of the story, Soapy, the main character, has an epiphany while standing outside a church in the city. He hears an organ anthem that “he had known well in the days when his life contained such things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars.”
Participants clamored to get their say about this moment and what it brought up for Soapy. Hearing the anthem was Soapy’s “moment of sanity,” an experience many addicts have that leads them to recovery or treatment.
Several people shared their stories about their decision to stop using drugs, and Frank’s was at once representative and poetic: “I was on the beach, which was the safest place for me because the cops had a warrant for my arrest, and they weren’t looking for me there. I was walking, walking, walking, and looking at the ocean, and from the water I got the knowledge that I just had to stop drinking. And I did, because, like Soapy, I got sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
On
Posturing and Prejudice
by Alma Concepción
At the Centro de Ayuda para Hispanos in Trenton, I read “Relaciones Públicas” by Antonio Skármeta. The poetics of this story are found in a nuanced dialogue between two teenaged street boys: one Chilean, the other Argentinian.
The structure of the story, its many details, the use of repetition—for example, when Miguel asks, “Are you the Chilean?” and the answer is, “Yes, I am the Chilean, and Miguel knows I am the Chilean and I know he is Miguel”—are the points of reference for many themes.
Participants expressed solidarity with the Chilean as we discussed class prejudice and racial stereotypes. In the story, “Miguel bent his elbow shaking his forearm obscenely—This is what I do with you…chileno.” One participant said, “The Chilean doesn’t even have a name. It doesn’t seem to matter who he is. This happens in our countries because there are those who feel superior.”
A young woman added, “Immigrants face it here. In the factory where I work, if you don’t have papers you are made to work longer hours for less money. We don’t have a choice.”
Miguel provokes the Chilean to fight about a past incident. I pointed out that the Chilean repeatedly states, “I cannot fight now because I am not angry.” Why, then, must they fight? Participants said we fight because we are provoked or humiliated, but mostly because we are expected to solve our differences “like men.” Their final comments were: In this story there is a lot of posturing…Teenagers now fight for drugs and power…Sometimes we fight for sport.
“The title, though,” said a young man, “is ‘Public Relations.’ If you can find a way of ending a fight, then everyone wins.”
Handing
on Lessons of Love
by Scott Feifer
A
recent discussion of Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” at a transitional
housing facility for women in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was filled with
lively conversation about the lists and lessons we’ve all been given
from our mothers. The women
began by thinking “Girl” was a story about a mother bullying her
daughter into a submissive adulthood.
Then the reading evolved: perhaps this was a mother offering her
instructions as an act of love.
The
women interpreted some lines as coded messages encouraging independence,
pride and self-reliance. I enjoyed the bold responses I got to the
question, “How would this story be different if it were a father talking
to a son?” Their voices
overlapped as they suggested a story of conquests and confidences.
Near
the close of our discussion, I asked the women what they would want on the
list of lessons that they gave to their children. Genie tearfully said she
wants her daughter to know that she was not responsible for anything bad
that happened to their family. And she wants her son to be the kind of man
who grows up to respect women.
Kelly
said she wants her daughter to know she is always supported and
unconditionally loved. Shelby said she doesn’t want her daughter to make
the same mistakes that she, herself, has lived and learned. The closing
offerings seemed to stretch and soften the women’s hearts as well as
their voices. The boisterous banter hushed to wishes that felt like
prayers and blessings.