INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT:
Heidegger says that most art at its core stems from poetry and language. Therefore, language and crying out against social injustices can start a revolution. As The Beatles once sang, "You wanna start a revolution." Poetry is certainly telling because the written word conveys strife and pain that is essentially unsayable. It transcends what we can even comprehend at times. We have often described art as a form of catharsis in class, and I believe art as activism can often be the same. It is a way to describe and name deep-seated pain while championing a cause and speaking out against social sins. We feel through art and this inspires others to feel. Art sparks social change or paints the backdrop for it. Read below for my first poetic exploration into cultural activism and art. "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou: Link: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/still-i-rise In the Poetry Foundation's exploration of literary activism, the author says that poetry is often dedicated to the "private self," which often makes poetry as a form of activism a tough task. Poetry is reserved to human introspection and often more private language. However, this private nature could deem poetry as an ineffective way to start a mass political or social movement, and the author states this in a different manner. They also describe accountability (ethical representation of one's aims) and positionality (definite, thought-out politics), which are often praised by activists. However, she says that most poetry is about "generic suffering," and that this can often deem poetry irrelevant to many who call themselves political or social activists. However, I would beg to differ. This portrait of suffering makes the art universal to many different people throughout many populations who are suffering — minorities, women, the disabled, etc. The author also poses a question: Is it possible to be a political poet without advancing the work's role beyond a literary work to be read? My answer: I think that one can be a political poet and an activist without protesting in the streets or advancing their political agenda through lobbying. A literary work can spur social or legal change, as we discussed in class. Though poetry is surely a form of cultural activism at the most and probably would not be deemed "political activism," it could give others pause to look at issues, challenge the legal system, join protests or support others. I think many of Maya Angelous's poems, particularly "Still I Rise," are great examples of my above points. Here are some things that I picked out about Angelou's poem in particular: Angelou uses an introspective and personal tone in her writing. She uses the word "my" in her poetry consistently, especially when she asks questions: "Does my sassiness upset you?", "Do you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes?", "Does my sexiness upset you?", and "You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies," to name a few examples. She utilizes what the author called a "private language" in the poem. However, this poem presents the concept of universal enjoyment in art that Kant described as a characteristic of the beautiful and, thus, higher art. Though she uses a personal tone and draws from experience, Angelou highlights the experiences of various peoples and paints the portrait of "generic suffering" as a result. She explains the plight of women when she talks about how her sassiness, haughtiness and sexiness are upsetting; though she personalizes the situation in her use of language, these situations could be related to women in general, and could bring attention to issues of misogyny and sexism present throughout society. She also brings up issues of race, especially issues related to black women, in this poem, but, "still, like dust, she'll rise." This brings up the plight of a people and their history since the times of oppression in slavery, and paints a portrait of this in current times. Though poetry is not direct activism per se, it is an art form that could inspire activism, which I think is enough. Heidegger believes that the poet's task is to present a "true world" to us, or, as we've discussed in class, reveal what was once concealed. Angelou's poetry in particular definitely raises issue that are often swept under the rug, especially those related to women. I think Heidegger would say that Angelou is revealing a truth that we may have tried to ignore through language. In the portion of Heidegger's work titled "The Thinker as Poet" in our book, he writes that "being's poem, just begun, is man." Thus existing, or being, as a human is poetry and an art in and of itself in a way. I think that Angelou's poem points that out in an interesting way. Though she is trampled and kicked down, she rises like dust or the ash of a phoenix. It's almost as if what Heidegger may call "dwelling" is an art form, and this is especially evident in language or poetry. Heidegger also writes that we "do not come to thoughts; thoughts, rather come to us" (this is a loose paraphrasing). Personally, I think he may have meant that our experiences and and the world around us, or the strife between the world and earth, are responsible for the artist's or poet's thoughts. Thus, the pain we feel and the struggles we face within the world are the reason we write poetry and the reason we use words for the sake of cultural activism. Heidegger writes that "the voice of thought must be poetic because poetry is the saying of truth, the unconcealedness of all beings." Angelou's poems about the struggle of womanhood and racism are the most true "saying of truth" and the most unconcealed way to bear her heart and the thoughts that dwell within. Her works are revealing what was once concealed in line with what I would assume Heidegger would define as true art. Link to the Poetry Foundation article: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2015/08/what-is-literary-activism/
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