Ink on [Their] Hands Like Bomb Residue:”

UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SANTA CATARINA PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM LETRAS/INGLÊS E LITERATURA CORRESPONDENTE “INK ON [THEIR] HANDS LIKE BOMB RESIDUE:” POETICS OF WAR IN THE WRITINGS OF DIONNE BRAND AND JUNE JORDAN GABRIELA ELTZ BRUM Tese submetida à Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina em cumprimento parcial dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de DOUTORA EM LETRAS FLORIANÓPOLIS Setembro 2013 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank a number of institutions and people who supported me during the last four years of my life. * First and foremost my dear husband Julio, who told me I could do it and believed in my potential to accomplish this goal. * CAPES, for giving me the financial support needed in order to dedicate myself entirely to my doctoral course and research. * UFSC, for giving me the opportunity to learn from inspirational professors like José Roberto O’shea. * My dear advisor Maria Lúcia Milléo Martins, for her generosity and kindness in sharing her knowledge and passion for poetry with me. * Canadian poet and professor George Elliot Clarke, for always finding time to answer my e-mails and to help me with his wise critical views. * Caribbean-Canadian poet Dionne Brand, for receiving me in Toronto with her open smile and for her help to clarify some doubts about my work. * University of Toronto, for granting me a free pass to use their wonderful library for a whole month. * My dear reviewer Alexander Gross, for reading my work and giving me great suggestions for improvements. * And last but not least, my son Aitor, who made me smile even during the most difficult and challenging times. iv ABSTRACT “INK ON [THEIR] HANDS LIKE BOMB RESIDUE:” POETICS OF WAR IN THE WRITINGS OF DIONNE BRAND AND JUNE JORDAN GABRIELA ELTZ BRUM UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SANTA CATARINA 2013 Supervising Professor: Dr. Maria Lúcia Milléo Martins This investigation deals with the discussion of contemporary conflicts, mainly armed, but also silent ones like racism, in the contemporary poetry of two black women writers: Caribbean- Canadian Dionne Brand and African-American June Jordan. These poets of resistance write poetry in order to criticize the establishment, warfare and its rationale, and American imperialism, among other issues. My research shows how these poets’ testimonials of contemporary socialist revolutions and armed conflicts in the Caribbean island of Grenada and in Nicaragua respectively have influenced their work in poetry and prose. Armed conflicts in places such as Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Somalia are also approached in their poetry. The comparative analysis focuses on the devices employed by Brand and Jordan in their poetics of war, the ways that their poems dialogue with the discourse of critics and theorists such as Susan Sontag, Virgina Woolf, Charles Simic, and Judith Butler, and how their poetry depicts their life experiences as witnesses of conflict. This dissertation aims to contribute as an observation of contemporary war poetry through the gaze of black women poets, who show their concern in registering not only historical events but also the history of what Charles Simic calls “unimportant events.” Number of pages: 142 Number of words: 47.770 v RESUMO “INK ON [THEIR] HANDS LIKE BOMB RESIDUE:” POETICS OF WAR IN THE WRITINGS OF DIONNE BRAND AND JUNE JORDAN GABRIELA ELTZ BRUM UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SANTA CATARINA 2013 Professora Orientadora: Dra. Maria Lúcia Milléo Martins Essa investigação trata de uma discussão sobre conflitos contemporâneos, principalmente armados, mas também silenciosos como o racismo, na poesia contemporânea de duas poetisas negras: A Caribenha-Canadense Dionne Brand e a Afro-Americana June Jordan. Estas poetisas de resistência escrevem poesia com a finalidade de criticar o sistema, a guerra e sua lógica e o imperialismo americano, entre outros assuntos. Minha pesquisa mostra como o testemunho dessas escritoras das revoluções socialistas na ilha caribenha de Grenada e em Nicarágua respectivamente influenciaram seus trabalhos em poesia e prosa. Conflitos armados em lugares como Iraque, Líbano, Palestina, Israel, Bósnia, Rwanda e Somália também são abordados em seus poemas. A análise comparativa é focada nas ferramentas utilizadas por Brand e Jordan em suas poéticas de guerra, na maneira que seus poemas dialogam com o discurso de críticos e teóricos como Susan Sontag, Virginia Woolf, Charles Simic e Judith Butler e na forma que seus poemas refletem suas experiências como testemunhas de conflitos. Essa tese tem como objetivo contribuir como uma observação sobre poesia de guerra contemporânea através do olhar de poetisas negras, que demonstram sua preocupação em registrar não somente eventos históricos, mas também a história do que Charles Simic nomeia “eventos sem importância.” Número de páginas: 142 Número de palavras: 47.770 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 – Introduction……………………………………………. p.1 Chapter 2 – Poetics of War by American and Canadian Black Women Writers – a trajectory …………………………………………............ 13 2.1– Gwendolyn Brooks’s “Negro Hero” and its war within the war.. 16 2.2– Audre Lorde’s “Equal Opportunity” and its criticism of the American invasion of Grenada in 1983………………………………. 19 2.3– Sonia Sanchez’s visionary “Poem for July 4, 1994”…………. 24 2.4– Alice Walker’s pacifist poem “We pay a visit to those who play at being dead”………………………………………………………….... 29 2.5– Claire Harris’s long polyphonic poem “Sister (Y)our Manchild at the Close of the Twentieth Century”………………………………. 33 Chapter 3 – Dionne Brand’s Poetics of War………………………… 37 3.1 – Dionne Brand’s testimonial of the Grenadian revolution and subsequent American military intervention…………………………... 38 3.2 – War against racism in “Eurocentric”…………………………... 54 3.3 – Poetizing History in the poem “III,” from Inventory………….. 57 3.4 – War Series by painter Jacob Lawrence inspire Brand’s ekphrastic “ossuary XI”………………………………………………………….. 65 Chapter 4 – June Jordan’s Poetics of War…………………………... 74 4.1 – June Jordan’s testimonial of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua…………………………………………………………....... 75 4.2 – War resistance poetry about conflicts elsewhere…………….. 82 4.3 – Writing about life in “War and Memory”…………………….. 93 4.4 – Who Look at Me, Jordan’s ekphrastic first published work….. 102 Chapter 5 – A comparative analysis between Dionne Brand’s and June Jordan’s Poetics of War……………………………………………... 110 5.1 – Brand’s and Jordan’s applied poetics of resistance…………... 110 vii 5.2 – Brand’s and Jordan’s poems in dialogue with Simic, Woolf, Butler, and Sontag…………………………………………………... 118 5.3 – Testimonial poems by Brand and Jordan…………………….. 123 Chapter 6 – Conclusion…………………………………………….. 127 References – ……………………………………………………….. 137 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1- Jacob Lawrence, Victory (1947). ………………………… p. 67 2- Jacob Lawrence, Shipping Out (1947)……………………… 69 3- Jacob Lawrence, Another Patrol (1946)……………………. 70 4- Jacob Lawrence, Beachhead (1947)………………………... 71 5- Jacob Lawrence, Going Home (1946)………………………. 72 6- Jacob Lawrence, Reported Missing (1947)…………………. 73 7- Ben Shann, Willis Avenue Bridge (1940)………………….. 103 8- Painter unknown, The Slave Market (1850-1860)……….. 104 9- Nathaniel Jocelyn, Portrait of Cinqué (1839)…………….. 106 10- Romare Bearden, Mysteries (1964)………………………... 108 1 Chapter 1 – Introduction The issue of war has always generated a wide range of feelings and responses in various forms of art such as painting, music, and poetry. One of the first literary evidences of a poem written in the English language which deals with war as subject matter is the long poem Beowulf. This poem is essentially a warrior’s story and it was not written down until the end of the ninth century, being recited primarily in oral form. At first, war poetry was written solely by men, preferably warriors or soldiers, who wrote with the experience of the war front. It was not until World War II that women poets like Marianne Moore and Gwendolyn Brooks produced war poetry that tackled different issues such as racism and pacifism. This investigation deals with situations of conflict – mainly wars, but also urban tensions and other conflicts – portrayed in the contemporary poetry and critical writings by Caribbean-Canadian poet Dionne Brand and African-American poet June Jordan. These issues are subject matter for interrogations about social and power imbalances that lead a group to oppress and subjugate another group. Both writers use their literary skills to raise global awareness about serious and controversial issues, such as American imperialism, racism, the oppression of women, and war. Brand and Jordan share common interests and backgrounds as African descendants, political activists, and feminists. Jordan joined the civil rights movement in the United States in her youth, as well as the gay and lesbian rights movement, and she declared herself bisexual. Brand moved from the Caribbean island of Trinidad to Canada in 1970 and there she joined the civil rights, feminist and socialist movements. Brand’s experience of distinct geographical realities made her face different kinds of displacement: as a black woman with the legacy of diaspora, and as an immigrant in Canada. In addition, her homosexuality is yet another reason for feelings of displacement. Since the beginning of their careers, Brand’s and Jordan’s literary works have been a result of their political engagements as well as their life experiences as women, blacks, and homosexuals. The title of this dissertation is an appropriation of the last line of the short poem “Autobiography (II),” published

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