Jun 12, 2014 yusef komunyakaa reads his poem facing it about seeing the vietnam veterans memorial wall in washington, d. Finish your response by explaining how these images and their metaphorical meaning helps your understanding of the theme of the poem. Analysis of facing it by yusef komunyakaa cruel and terrible events forever leave a mark on our memory. A vietnam veteran turned poet, yusef komunyakaa, writes about such an instance in his poem facing it. Warhorses is the haunting, electric work of a pulitzer prizewinning poet who never ceases to challenge and delight his readers this powerful collection of yusef komunyakaas poetry delves, with his characteristic allusiveness, intelligence, and intensity, into an age of war and conflict, both global and internal, racial and sexual. It explores the war experience of komunyakaa, which reflects on the poem that he has written in retrospect on the vietnam war. This piece by yusef komunyakaa was published originally in magic city in 1992.
Yusef komunyakaas poetry, discovering these redemptive aspects in. Nostalgic memories in yusef komunyakaas facing it essay. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it takes advantage of a unique. Feb 19, 2015 in the poem facing it by yursef komunyakaa talks a lot about people facing war and guilt and sorrow. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa deals with the themes of memory, war and survival. Yusef komunyakaas libretto, testimony, and the humanity of charlie parker select bibliography memories and the vietnam war experience in yusef komunyakaas dien cai dau biography about facing it the poetry of yusef komunyakaa. Especially, when these events are directly related to person, the memory reproduces every second of what happened. Both of these styles of writing utilize enjambment. Yusef komunyakaa, original name in full james william brown, jr. Yusef komunyakaas poetry, discovering these redemptive aspects in komunyakaas own quest. The son of a carpenter, komunyakaa has said that he was first alerted to the power of language through his grandparents, who were church people. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa reveals another several sides of. An essay or paper on use of narration in the poem, facing it. In 1984, komunyakaa began to reflect on his experiencesalthough his decision to write about vietnam wasnt entirely deliberate.
Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 kingsley tufts poetry award, for neon vernacular and the 1994 pulitzer prize for poetry. A summary and analysis of yusef komunyakaas facing it this post brings to you a summary and analysis of the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa. Yusef komunyakaas tu do street and camouflaging the chimera essay pages. My black face fadeshiding inside the black granite. The speaker of the poem, whom the reader can assume is komunyakaa himself, faces the vietnam veterans memorial wall with all of these feelings. Poems from komunyakaas earlier books show that while his style has evolved from a soulbare blues to an intellectually syncopated jazz, his core obsessions remain. A summary and analysis of yusef komunyakaas facing it. Start studying facing it, yusef komunyakaa, 101810, intro to lit.
Martin luther king cannot be probably considered a literary writer like the other writers in the present selection. Vietnam memorial research paper at the essay pages. It serves as a nod to black baseball as well as a depiction of. Phrases such as my black face fades line 1 take a longer time to read, and therefore, one has more time to let words sink in. Facing it by yusef komunyaka by danilsa ynfante on prezi. Analysis of facing it by yusef komunyakaa essay example. Yusef komunyakaa s poem facing it is not broken into stanzas. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it is not broken into stanzas. Yusef komunyakaa reads his poem facing it about seeing the vietnam veterans memorial wall in washington, d. Analyzing theme in facing it by yusef komunyakka essay. This poem, one of komunyakaa s most famous, depicts a veterans encounter with the vietnam war memorial in washington, d. There are no numbers because the devices seemed to interconnect in my mind. In facing it, only the second poem hed written in retrospect about vietnam, komunyakaa s response to his war experience is deeply shaped by his visit, a year earlier, to lins memorial. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it is the concluding poem of his 1988 book dien cai dau which means both crazy and american soldier in vietnamese, a book of poems that deals with komunyakaas experience as a black soldier during the vietnam war.
Komunyakaa s use of alliteration has helped to slow down time, in a way. A vietnam veteran, he did not write about the war until more than a decade after returning to the united states. The title of the poem is facing it, which is,he is facing a black wall with the names of other veterans of the vietnam war, but the deeper meaning is a man who is facing his past or memories of the war and what it has. Which harry potter hogwarts house do you belong to quiz. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa free essays studymode.
My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey, the profile of night slanted against morning. Apr 05, 20 analysis of facing it by yusef komunyakaa cruel and terrible events forever leave a mark on our memory. Despite his resistance, the speaker becomes emotional at the stone wall, which is polished to a mirror. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa is a 31 line poem that does not adhere to any particular rhyme scheme or strictly metered pattern. Free imagery and symbols in facing it by yusef komunyakaa essay. In addition to 12 moving new poems, neon vernacular winner of the 1994 pulitzer prize for poetry samples broadly from yusef komunyakaas acclaimed collections dien cai dau, copacetic, and i apologize for the eyes in my head.
The article offers poetry criticism of the poem facing it, by yusef komunyakaa. In the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa, it centers on an african american man who served in one of the most trying wars of all time, the vietnam war, and is visiting the vietnam veterans memorial wall. Yusef komunyakaa lesson plans and teaching resources. Facing it by yusef komunyaa is a poem about vietnam. Fourteen years after the vietnam war, veteran and contemporary poet yusef komunyakaa wrote about facing the vietnam veterans memorial wall and the memories and images the wall evoked. Yusef komunyakaa, born in 1947, wrote both february in sydney and facing it. Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 kingsley tufts poetry award, for neon vernacular and the 1994 pulitzer. Imagery and symbols in facing it by yusef komunyakaa. Komunyakaa has composed this poem by alternating between short choppy lines and longer, drawn out phrases. These poems were written as a way of talking around an idea or question, this idea question being that of growing up during the civil rights movement. Stephen dunn, charlotte bronte in leeds point 1280. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it takes advantage of a. Yusef komunyakaa lesson plans and teaching resources yusef komunyakaa at the academy of american poets biography, links to a few poems and other sites.
First, the title is a clear summary of yusef komunyakaas poem. The author is wanting us to be ready for his fear or problem. The author relates that the poem allows the poet to see his own mortality clearly in the tombstonelike face of the vietnam veterans. The poem is inspired from the experiences of the poet during the vietnam war, where he worked as a correspondent and managing editor of a military newspaper. In addition to 12 moving new poems, neon vernacular winner of the 1994 pulitzer prize for poetry samples broadly from yusef komunyakaas acclaimed. Yusef komunyakaa at the academy of american poets biography, links to a few poems and other sites. My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. What makes great poetry a brief analysis of yusef komunyakaas blackberries. The poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa is about a man who came back from war and is now dealing with the negative side of it. A deeper understanding of the theme of temporality and permanence in ozymandias and an ode to a grecian urn essay pages. Analysis of facing it by yusef komunyakaa essay 675 words. Fonts facing it by yusef komunyakaa analysis biography. Jun 09, 2017 what makes great poetry a brief analysis of yusef komunyakaas blackberries.
In the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa, the author uses first person narration, metaphor, simile, images of light and darkness, personification, allusion and word connotation in order to convey to his detached audience the intimate. The poem is inspired from the experiences of the poet during the vietnam war, where he worked as a correspondent and managing editor of a. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it takes advantage of a unique setting the from english 2 at lone star college system. The exsoldier finds himself staring his past in the face. Thus, they return home with the cumbersome burden of the nostalgic horrors that they have endured. Author visual imagery metaphors flashbacks allusion vernacular symbol facing it 1947present born in louisiana.
Yusef komunyakaa speaks in a gravelly southern baritone, tinged with a cajun flavor that reflects his childhood years in louisiana. Yusef komunyakaa links to poems, biography, bibliography, and commentary. Facing it, yusef komunyakaa, 101810, intro to lit flashcards. Jun 30, 2009 i met my wife in a bookstore and read her my poetry before our first conversation was over. The author wants us to think about what we are about to face. Komunyakaa was born in the conservative rural south on the cusp of the civil rights movement. A summary and analysis of yusef komunyakaa s facing it this post brings to you a summary and analysis of the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa. Facing it, discusses his visit to the vietnam memorial in washington d. Warhorses is the haunting, electric work of a pulitzer prizewinning poet who never ceases to challenge and delight his readers this powerful collection of yusef komunyakaa s poetry delves, with his characteristic allusiveness, intelligence, and intensity, into an age of war and conflict, both global and internal, racial and sexual. Here is a video of yusef komunyakaa reciting his poem, facing it, which is about the vietnam memorial. Discovering african american culture through african. Several years following the vietnam war, yusef komunyakaa, being a vietnam survivor himself, writes the poem, facing it, allowing his emotions to resurface while he views the vietnam memorial. The lines cut off in unexpected places and one must move quickly from line to line to follow the narrative. It was 14 years after the war that he finally wrote the poem.
The speaker of the poem is at the vietnam veterans memorial in. He is a man who chooses his words carefully, splicing his speech with long silences, until his conversation resembles something close to a jazz riff very fitting for this acclaimed poet who says oral language is our first music, and the body is an amplifier. Yusef komunyakaa yusef komunyakaa biography poem hunter. Books by yusef komunyakaa author of neon vernacular. Analysis of facing it by yusef komunyakaa 1007 words 5 pages. This is a 10 question quiz on yusef komunyakaa s facing it. In its dizzying sequence of images that juxtapose violence and beauty, the. Yusef komunyakaa, facing it page 4 from dien cai dau in pleasure. In yusef komunyakaa s poem, facing it, the poet uses conflicting images and symbols to express these conflicting feelings. A poem from a poet worth checking out, if you havent done so already, yusef komunyakaas blackberries speaks. The ever so controversial vietnam conflict, also known as the vietnam war.
Yusef wrote the poem after returning home from vietnam. The poem provides few answers to the complex questions the war has raised in the united states, but it approaches the subject in ways that can help heal the. I turn that wayim inside the vietnam veterans memorial again, depending on the light to make a. Facing it allows us to think that he is facing a problem. Stay connected to your students with prezi video, now in microsoft teams. Yusef komunyakaa has 65 books on goodreads with 517 ratings. Unfortunately, humanity fully cognized the term of war. In addition to 12 moving new poems, neon vernacular winner of the 1994 pulitzer prize for poetry samples broadly from yusef komunyakaa s acclaimed collections dien cai dau, copacetic, and i apologize for the eyes in my head. This one i have explicated differently than the previous posts.
Facing it by yusef komunyakaa that english teacher. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa what lies within the text. He has published nine books of poetry and teaches at princeton university. I met my wife in a bookstore and read her my poetry before our first conversation was over. Yusef komunyakaas most popular book is neon vernacular. In yusef komunyakaas poem, facing it, the poet uses conflicting images and symbols to express these conflicting feelings. In memoriam this lesson uses facing it to explore poems written for a specific occasion.
I turn this waythe stone lets me go i turn that wayim inside speaker vs. This is a 10 question quiz on yusef komunyakaas facing it. Poems from komunyakaa s earlier books show that while his style has evolved from a soulbare blues to an intellectually. Saying that the characters face is fading not only represents emotion through word choice and diction but it allows certain words to be read. A list of poems by yusef komunyakaa poet yusef komunyakaa first received wide recognition following the 1984 publication of copacetic, a collection of poems built from colloquial speech which demonstrated his incorporation of jazz influences. What is the theme of the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa. This poem was very well written, and i respect all that was said in the context of the poem. Born in bogalusa, louisiana in 1947, yusef komunyakaa was the first black man to win a pulitzer prize for poetry 1994. Facing it, by yusef komunyakaa talks about a war which most, if not all americans are familiar with. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa the creators conscience. The norton anthology of american literature, 8th edition, vol.
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