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The Worlds of Ntozake ShangeAND DIGITAL STORYTELLING

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What it takes to heal, Ntozake Shange, and Spoken Word Poetry

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Ntozake, Healing, and Spoken Word Poetry

“somebody/ anybody sing a black girl’s song bring her out to know herself to know you but sing her rhythms carin/ struggle/ hard times sing her song of life she’s been dead so long closed in silence so long she doesn’t know the sound of her own voice her infinite beauty she’s half-notes scattered without rhythm/ no tune sing her sighs sing the song of her possibilities sing a righteous gospel let her be born let her be born & handled warmly.”

The silence that Ntozake Shange speaks about in this post is one that I believe for so many people is combated by dance, movement and/or spoken word poetry.

The idea that action paired with words builds a door that it’s ok to walk through. This is also something that music is capable of providing for people. This door is the portal to the allowance of healing. There are several videos online of Shange reading poems out loud. But, also if you look at certain styles of writing/grammar techniques there are ways to differentiate “spoken word” for “page poetry”… What do you consider your or Shange’s way of telling the audience if the work requires a voice or only eyes to access it full potential.

 

Michelle Wallace, the Black Superwoman, and Storm

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By: Gabrielle Smith

 

This weeks readings put Michelle Wallace’s Black Macho and the Myth of the Black Superwoman and Larry Neale’s The Black Arts Movement  in contact with each other. Some of the quotes I found the most interesting from Black Macho were:

“Ever since then it has really baffled me to hear black men say that black women have no time for feminism because being black comes first.” pg. 20

“But what he really wants was to be a man.” pg. 30

“Some black women are beginning to be honest with  themselves about seeing themselves as victims rather than superwomen.” pg. 174

One theme that Michelle Wallace and Larry Neal carried throughout both works relates to race relations. Detailing the impact that white/black women had on white/black men and vice versa. In showing Amiri Baraka’s The Dutchman in class I aimed to highlight the interaction between Clay and Lola. Brining into the conversation about black and white America that Neal reminds us exist. Thinking about race relations allows us to connect the dots as to why black women have acquired this identity for being the “superwomen.”

Storm_inline_

Speaking of black superwomen Storm is one of the most famous. This character was created by Marvel Comics in 1975. Storm first appeared in Giant-Size X-man #1. Storm has the ability to control the weather and she can fly. She eventually got married to her fellow superhero Black Panther. I can’t help but wonder if the Black Arts Movement has any influence of Storm’s characterization. O yeah, also, she was raised Harlem.

 

 

 

Lady in Rainbow

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I think what makes for colored girls so remarkable is the fusion of music, language, and movement that Ntozake Shange mixes together to create this choreopoem. Purposely assigning each lady a color instead of a name creates an extended metaphor. Similar to formation of a rainbow the experiences the the Lady in Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, Red, Yellow and so forth come together to paint a clearer picture of the experience women of color endure. Shange doesn’t go through the choreopoem without including historical references. She’s purposely gives us something new to learn with each of her works. For example, Lady in Blue expresses her love for Latin music and references the salsa singer Hector Lavoe. I couldn’t continue reading without finding out more about this artist, without Youtubeing Bomba. Even without this urge the incorporation of music and dance layered throughout the poem forces you to engage most your senses.

I’m not surprised that Shange’s for colored girls comes with so much criticism. It’s been labeled by some as “man bashing” (so to speak). I think by even taking up this argument we’re failing to address the contribution that for colored girls adds to the so few narratives out there highlighing the stories of women of color. The details regarding men in this work are difficult to read and at some points gut wrenching to come to terms with, but none the less it is a woman’s story worth telling, it’s someone’s truth.