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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212 NOTES<br />
7. Victor Hernández Cruz argues that consumer society does not value<br />
<strong>poetry</strong> because it lacks extr<strong>in</strong>sic sale-value: “In <strong>the</strong> United States,<br />
people see poets as just play<strong>in</strong>g word games, unimportant to <strong>the</strong> real<br />
operation of a materialistic society. In capitalism, <strong>the</strong>re isn’t a place for<br />
<strong>poetry</strong>. ‘The books don’t sell,’ <strong>the</strong>y would say. This doesn’t change<br />
<strong>the</strong> function of <strong>the</strong> wordsmith <strong>in</strong> society. The poet makes awareness<br />
available to <strong>the</strong> masses” (Dick 62).<br />
8. See The Virg<strong>in</strong>ia Quarterly Review (Spr<strong>in</strong>g 2005): 34–47. This issue<br />
celebrates Whitman and <strong>the</strong> one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of<br />
<strong>the</strong> publication of Leaves of Grass.<br />
9. “Commercial rap is Republican” is a contentious but legitimate claim.<br />
The dom<strong>in</strong>ant tropes of commercial hip-hop <strong>in</strong>clude: <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />
wealth as key to happ<strong>in</strong>ess, upward social mobility, and power; you<br />
can achieve your (material) dreams if you work and hustle hard<br />
enough (that is, noth<strong>in</strong>g can stop you from gett<strong>in</strong>g rich if you want it<br />
enough); <strong>the</strong>re are clearly del<strong>in</strong>eated traditional gender relations with<br />
men hav<strong>in</strong>g more power than women; negotiation and compromise<br />
are for <strong>the</strong> weak; and militant action can solve problems. These are<br />
caricatures, but <strong>the</strong>y hold as generalizations. For example, 50 Cent’s<br />
multi-plat<strong>in</strong>um debut album is titled Get Rich or Die Try<strong>in</strong>. On<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r note, Slam, starr<strong>in</strong>g Saul Williams as a poet/drug dealer<br />
liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Wash<strong>in</strong>gton, D.C. hous<strong>in</strong>g projects, won <strong>the</strong> 1998<br />
Sundance Film Festival grand prize. It is an apt <strong>in</strong>troduction to <strong>the</strong><br />
energy, creativity, and multiculturalism of spoken-word <strong>poetry</strong>.<br />
10. “Black Steel <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Hour of Chaos” appears on It Takes a Nation of<br />
Millions to Hold Us Back (New York: Columbia Records, 1988).<br />
“Fight <strong>the</strong> Power,” Fear of a Black Planet (New York: Columbia<br />
Records, 1989), which orig<strong>in</strong>ally appeared <strong>in</strong> Spike Lee’s Do <strong>the</strong> Right<br />
Th<strong>in</strong>g, is ano<strong>the</strong>r of Public Enemy’s powerful an<strong>the</strong>ms.