Yusef Komunyakaa has spent decades fighting. With a life spanning the Harlem Renaissance‚ the Civil Rights Movement‚ and the Vietnam War‚ he is no stranger to turmoil. Growing up in a small‚ segregated Louisiana town dominated by the Klu Klux Clan‚ many of Komunyakaa’s poems express a need for escape. However‚ his poems also share a theme of perseverance. The poems “Slam Dunk & Hook”‚ “Ode to a Drum” and “Venus Flytrap”‚ show not only Komunyakaa’s unique style of writing‚ but his encompassing theme
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the loss of a family member or friend.This loss impacts everyone differently. All of us have or will experience the loss of someone close. Some individuals experience intense grief‚ whereas others are able to move on easily. The poem “English” by Yusef Komunyakaa explores the perspective of a boy who befriends a girl who is later shot to death by soldiers. “English” explores events that occur before the girl’s death. The poem “While I Slept” by Robert Francis explores the narrator’s experience of
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Akeem Barnes Professor Fairey Personal Criticism 5-12-13 Facing it I stood nervously in front of my eighth grade English class praying that nobody would laugh at the poem I was about to read aloud. My peers were used to reading Langston Hughes‚ Edgar Allen Poe‚ or Maya Angelou‚ and I did not want to disappoint them by trying something new. The assignment given to our class was for everybody to choose a poem‚ read it aloud‚ and explain why it relates to them. How was I going
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a Pulitzer prize‚ and 8 other various prizes and awards from prestigious foundations. He was compared to poets such as T.S. Eliot‚ William Carlos Williams‚ and Langston Hughes. You may ask‚ who am I talking about. Yusef Komunyakaa. Born on April 29‚ 1947‚ in Bogalusa‚ Louisiana‚ Yusef Komunyakaa is the oldest of 5 children. Komunyakaa is a very culture oriented poet. He is known by his short lines‚ simple diction‚ jazzy rhythm and feel‚ and his rootedness in past experiences of growing up in the
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The Reflections of War In the poem‚ “Facing It‚” Komunyakaa uses his personal experience while visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial after surviving the Vietnam War and the mental affect of the reality that death has left. In the poem the author uses imagery to illustrate to the reader the feelings he experiences while dealing with the loss of his fellow comrades. “I go down the 58‚022 names‚ half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke.”(14-16) While at the memorial he is reminded of
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Yusef Komunyakaa is a Black American poet who currently teaches at New York University. Yusef rose from being the son of a carpenter to becoming one of the most extraordinary poets writing today. In 1947‚ the eldest of five children James William Brown was born in a small town of Bogalusa‚ Louisiana. He would later grow up and reclaim the name Komunyakaa his grandfather had once lost as a stowaway in a ship from Trinidad. He was raised during the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. He served
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Having what you want and what you need is difficult to balance‚ especially when you want more and forget about needs‚ and then there becomes a problem. We always want things in life that we cannot have and need things in life that we often forget about. Life is not always fair‚ and you get what life dishes out for you. Some receive more out of life‚ while others do not get as much and this is when people forget what is really needed. The decision of what you want versus need is very hard‚ because
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Wojahan starts off his review by praising Yusef Komunyakaa as one of our period’s most significant and individual voices. He goes on to note that along with the realese of Pleasure Dome: New and Collected Poems Komunyakaa was also able to publish a book-length sequence entitled Talking Dirty to the Gods and how this simultaneous release is a true testament to how well respected Komunyakaas’ work is. Wojahan obviously holds Komunyakaas’ work in high regard himself stating that “In reading almost
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Facing It Outline Jackson G In the poem “Facing It”‚ the author Yusef Komunyakaa makes use of imagery‚ symbolism‚ and allusion to demonstrate the difficulty that veterans have dealing with the lingering emotional pain caused by war and how this causes them to have trouble facing reality. In the beginning of the poem‚ the author uses imagery coupled with allusion and symbolism to illustrate how the speaker is conflicted by and reflecting on the memory of the war. “My black face fades‚ hiding
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Caught in the middle of innocence and guilt‚ a young boy is ambivalent between hope and reality after merely picking berries. The poem "Blackberries" by Yusef Komunyakaa‚ published in 1992‚ illustrates the author’s childhood experience in a candid yet heartbreaking image. Komunyakaa frankly describes his struggle growing up; additionally during a specific day picking blackberries to raise money in hopes of a better future Komunyakaa is painfully reminded of his less fortunate beginnings. Through
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