Fish out of water: Migration and other fun stuff in Olive Senior’s poetry.

First post for the new term guys. Welcome back!

Today we spoke about certain thematic concerns that we see emerging in Olive Senior’s work. Choose any ONE that we spoke about (or that you may have noticed and that we didn’t deal with) and BRIEFLY show how it is dealt with in any THREE poems.

Don’t make this any longer than you have to guys. I’m not looking for an essay here. Just state the concern (explain it a bit too) and say how it relates to each of the three poems, with maybe one specific example from each.

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The Truth About Bamboo

"Bamboo prides itself on knowing/the art of living long..."

The discourse of gardens and gardening has, historically, entwined the Garden of Eden as ideal and metaphor with everyday gardens as places to (re)enact cultural myths and identity practices.

Jordan Stouck

In Plants, Olive Senior’s persona says that “[t]he world is full of shoots bent on conquest” (line 13). In Bamboo (in Five Variations), Bamboo tells Stone that “… from my roots young shoots spring, routinely” (lines 29 – 30).

How are the generalizations in Plants made more specific in Bamboo (in Five Variations)? In other words, what aspects of plant life, as described in the former poem, are focused on, and expanded in the latter?

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Forever and ever, Amen.

"The Power and the Glory"

Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory chronicles the journey – both physical and spiritual/metaphysical – of a “whiskey” priest. At the novel’s close, the priest is executed for, in essence, being a priest.

Do you think the priest’s death served any purpose in the grand scheme of things? Refer to our discussion on Thursday about Part 4 of the novel, and the presentation of the priest’s death through the eyes of other, minor characters.

Attack of the Killer Foliage

In Nature Studies - the next section of her collection of poetry – Gardening in the Tropics – Olive Senior personifies various plants, presenting them in what could be considered an unsavoury light. This is perhaps unusual, since the stereotypical presentation of plants and flowers is one of romanticized beauty and perfection.

This week’s assignment is not particularly serious or earnest. Write a descriptive paragraph or poem personifying either the plant kingdom or a specific plant. Use the poems in Nature Studies as inspiration or a sort of guide.

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Grand Independence Assignment (& Sale)

As we discussed in class, Olive Senior’s Hurricane Story, 1988 appears to be the last in a series of four poems, in which she explores certain sociological phenomena in Jamaica at different points in time.

Explain the function of any ONE (1) of the following concepts/motifs/literary choices in these four poems. Your explanation should include some examination of how the motif/choice evolves or changes as the poems progress from 1903, through 1944 and 1951, to 1988:

1. the hurricanes themselves
2. Jamaican Creole
3. the personae (ie, point-of-view/perspective)
4. the landscape/setting

Remember that we have Monday & Tuesday of next week off for Independence/mid-term, so this assignment reflects the amount of time you have in which to complete it (2 weeks). As such, the word limit of this one is between 300 – 400 words. PLEASE stick to the limit. Re-read your work, and if you find that you’ve gone over the limit, remove anything that is redundant or that is unrelated to the discussion at hand. Also, this is an intense assignment, requiring thought, reflection and study. Do not leave it until the last minute.

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Of Men, Women & Hurricanes

Several (if not all) of the groups today mentioned an interesting difference between gender roles as alluded to in Olive Senior’s Hurricane Story, 1903 and Hurricane Story, 1944.

In a lecture/reading at the University of Miami in 1993, Senior herself notes that her series of “hurricane” poems are not really about the hurricanes at all, but rather, are about how the hurricanes impacted the lives of people. She draws specific reference to the sociological changes that took place in Jamaican society between each hurricane.

What changes in gender roles can you see taking place in the time periods between these two poems? Do you have any ideas as to why these changes may have taken place?

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Caliban the Dispossessed

Caliban?

This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which thou takest from me. When thou cam’st first,
Thou strok’st me, and made much of me; wouldst give me
Water with berries in’t; and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night: and then I loved thee,
And showed thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle,
The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile:
Cursed be I that did so! All the charms
Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you!
For I am all the subjects that you have,
Which first was mine own King; and here you sty me
In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me
The rest o’ th’ island.

Caliban | Act I, sc ii | lines 335 – 348

Are there any reasons for us to sympathize with Caliban, or should we demonize him as Prospero seems to want us to?

Don’t forget, guys, this post is not mandatory, but REMEMBER TO COMMENT ON THE POETRY POST FROM MONDAY, AS THAT ONE IS!

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One Stormy Blog Assignment

The final stanza of Olive Senior’s Hurricane Story, 1903 was something of an enigma for us today in class.

And as we put our lives back together
I too young to be schooled yet on disaster
spent my time watching that sensay fowl that
strutting leghorn rooster, dying to be
the first to see the strange bird fated
to be born out of that great storm.

What on earth are the last three (3) lines of that stanza saying? Remember to refer to the poem as a whole when necessary. [word limit: 350]

NOTE: I’m not expecting a thesis here, guys. Don’t stress yourselves over this to the point where it makes you resent the assignment. Think about it, do some research, then make a decision. Back all this up with contextual evidence and you should be okay.

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Happy Twogether: Meditating on both Yellow & Red

Olive Senior’s poem, Meditation on Red, reflects the ambivalence felt by it’s speaker about white creole author, Jean Rhys. That she is a woman, the speaker acknowledges and celebrates; so too the fact that she (along with her experiences) paved the way for women writers from the Caribbean (of all creeds/ethnicities). However, the speaker also makes it obvious that, despite her connections with Rhys, there are also several points where they disconnect, especially along racial/historical lines.

Right now
I’m as divided
as you were
by that sea.

But I’ll
be able to
find my way
home again

for that craft
you launched
is so seaworthy
tighter
than you’d ever been
dark voyagers
like me
can feel free
to sail.

(lines 51-2)

This poem differs significantly from another poem in the collection, with which it shares part of a title: Meditation on Yellow. The two poems differ thematically, have a markedly different scope of experience (one is more universal, while the other is more personal) and differ structurally in some ways (look at line length, for example). However, the similarity of their titles begs us to explore these two poems together (both meditations on colour – coincidence? Probably not).

In your opinion, what do we gain by studying these two poems together, either comparatively or as companion pieces?

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Prospero’s alter egos?

Now on the island of The Tempest Prospero is master of his lonely magic. He has been there for twelve years. Two creatures serve him: Ariel, the ‘airy nothing’ of poetry; and the snarling Caliban, half-beast, half-man; the embodiment of the hate-theme. These two creatures are yoked in the employ of Prospero, like Plato’s two steeds of the soul, the noble and the hideous, two potentialities of the human spirit.

from Prospero’s Lonely Magic by G. Wilson Knight

In light of the above quote, and bearing in mind our discussions in class re: the characters of Caliban and Ariel, do you think that an argument can be made for Caliban and Ariel being Prospero’s symbolic alter egos? Could these two ‘steeds of the soul’ actually represent aspects of Prospero’s own character? (Also remember the incident in Act I, sc ii where Prospero puts Miranda to sleep and summons Ariel.)

Since this is quite a long question (and it’s not for grades – yet), you’re allowed to exceed the word limit (within reason).

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