american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
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MIGRATORY AGENCY 143<br />
that “communicate(s) a subject’s or subjects’ lived experiences”<br />
(Rosman 129–130). A testimonio, though, is not memoir or autobiography;<br />
it chronicles una lucha, a fight on behalf of la gente aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
<strong>in</strong>justice. As Beverley writes, “The situation of narration <strong>in</strong> testimonio<br />
has to <strong>in</strong>volve an urgency to communicate, a problem of repression,<br />
poverty, subalternity, imprisonment, [or] struggle for survival” (26).<br />
In Lat<strong>in</strong> America, it has traditionally been expected that poets enter<br />
<strong>the</strong>se battles on behalf of la gente if <strong>the</strong>y can avoid appropriat<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
romanticiz<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir struggles. Testimonio, though, has, if not obviated,<br />
<strong>the</strong>n called <strong>in</strong>to question <strong>the</strong> poet’s role as people’s representative<br />
because <strong>the</strong> oppressed poor now have a speak<strong>in</strong>g voice.<br />
“Mi Tío Baca el Poeta de Socorro,” though not a testimonio, is a<br />
variation on it and an implicit commentary on its cultural function.<br />
The speaker does not actively attempt to speak for <strong>the</strong> la gente like a<br />
poem of authoritative agency does, but <strong>in</strong> hold<strong>in</strong>g up his uncle as an<br />
effective poet of <strong>the</strong> people, he upholds <strong>the</strong> tradition of representation<br />
he denies for himself. Baca’s speaker implies that his role is not to<br />
speak for <strong>the</strong> oppressed voiceless nor to found <strong>the</strong>ir community. Is this<br />
an orthodox North American view of <strong>poetry</strong> as private, <strong>in</strong>effective? Or<br />
does <strong>the</strong> speaker suggest that when you fight for la gente and <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>al<br />
poem you write is “scrawled across <strong>the</strong> page, / ‘¡Aquí vienen! ¡Aquí<br />
vienen! / Here <strong>the</strong>y come!’ ” as an angry mob comes to “ ’Shoot <strong>the</strong><br />
Mexican!,” that <strong>in</strong> some sense <strong>poetry</strong> always fails as a <strong>political</strong> tool? Or<br />
does <strong>the</strong> uncle’s murder v<strong>in</strong>dicate <strong>poetry</strong>’s <strong>political</strong> power?<br />
If Baca is concerned about <strong>the</strong> poet’s role <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> community, it<br />
relates <strong>in</strong>timately to what George Yúdice po<strong>in</strong>ts out about testimonio—<br />
that it “has contributed to <strong>the</strong> demise of <strong>the</strong> traditional role of <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectual/artist as spokesperson for <strong>the</strong> ‘voiceless.’ ” Now, he<br />
shows, <strong>the</strong> “oppressed feel more enabled to speak for <strong>the</strong>mselves <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> wake of <strong>the</strong> new social movements, Liberation Theology, and<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r consciousness-rais<strong>in</strong>g grassroots movements.” Consequently,<br />
“<strong>the</strong>re is less of a social and cultural imperative for concerned writers<br />
to heroically assume <strong>the</strong> grievances and demands of <strong>the</strong> oppressed”<br />
(42). The issue that concluded chapter 1—<strong>the</strong> problems of representation<br />
when poets assume an embattled first-person “I” <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir witness<br />
to extremity—is thus even more thorny now that outlets such as<br />
<strong>the</strong> ones Yúdice mentions have empowered <strong>the</strong> oppressed. Yet this<br />
assumes that poets speak only for <strong>the</strong> oppressed, not for <strong>the</strong>mselves as<br />
well. Baca’s speaker suggests this division—he speaks for himself and<br />
no o<strong>the</strong>r because he believes himself unworthy of his uncle’s public<br />
role. Baca’s speaker, unlike Baca’s uncle, whose poems “roused la<br />
gente” to fight for <strong>the</strong>ir rights, implicitly moves away from <strong>the</strong> role of