What Voice did You Hear?

Last semester in Teaching Multicultural Literature I was exposed to Cuban literature by reading Nancy Alonso’s Disconnect/Desencuentro. This series of short stories (written in Spanish and English) was published by Cubanabooks which was founded by CSU Chico professor Sara Cooper. The collection of stories from the book and from Sara Cooper herself (who worked closely with Alonso in publishing this book) sparked in me a curious interest in Cuban literature (especially written by females).

To continue this curiosity I chose to read Margarita Engle’s collection of poems Enchanted Air. This collection of poems is a memoir that carefully follows Margarita’s journey of growing up. The poems explore Margarita’s family, her passion of words, her own exploration of many places, her fascination with horses, and most importantly, her two cultures/wings—Cuba and Euro-America. Through the narrative of Margarita’s own experiences and feelings, the history of Cuba and America are traced.

I really appreciated this collection of poems. It is beautiful and inspiring how Engle carefully explores history and the struggle between two cultures. These poems and the way in which they work would be highly beneficial for students who are themselves struggling with two cultures—two identities. The poems follow this struggle of Margarita not knowing how the two distinct halves of herself work together to make her a complete person. Following this struggle and ending the collection of poems in a place of understanding, peace, and hope will help students to come their own place of acceptance. Students need narratives that reflect themselves and their feelings and I believe a diverse curriculum should be a priority.

I think these poems would also be great in acting as supplemental support for history classes/lessons as a way to explore a narrative about Cuban history, the Cold War, and even the Civil Rights Movement. Giving students alternative voices and perspectives of history is highly important and Enchanted Air would be a great resource for doing just that. Usually only one voice is applied the history—a white Eurocentric voice—and it is often misguiding. It is necessary for students to be exposed to different voices in order for them to become kind, supportive citizens who are well educated.

While I myself struggle with my own liking of poetry, I was able to recognize the necessity of using poems for these particular topics. The use of poetry instead of prose allowed for the history to shine through without being boring. If prose was used to relay the historical elements found in these poems, there would be a lack of effectiveness and curiosity. By getting chunks of history through poetry, a natural curiosity is evoked and then reader are able to go explore that history on their own to better understand the poetry (but does not completely turn on audience off if they are not aware of the history in the poems). The use of poetry also makes the poems and stories within universal. Different readers are able to intake different meaning and elements to create a different emotional connection to the poems (which is great for students).

Overall, this collection of poems has great potential to do wonderful things in the classroom (and at different levels).

*****

I am determined to write a cento from this collection of poems, but I am in need of more time and patience to be able to do so.

Tired Pine (Inspired by William Carlos Williams)

so much depends

upon

 

a tired pine

tree

 

rattled with wild

wind

 

beside the sleeping

house