http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/what-i-wrote-to-an-african-american-friend-today-about-race-and-art/ Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:40:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/what-i-wrote-to-an-african-american-friend-today-about-race-and-art/#comment-59 Curtis Mon, 21 May 2007 03:51:53 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=42#comment-59 Steve, What exactly "carries their medium usually?" I think this is important to define and plays heavily to the academy and how they address the canon of American writing, when America is supposed to be this great big salad bowl. And why are you "signaled" that a "person is on some mission" rather than just to gain knowledge of self, of a culture, of craft, of an aesthetic they may not have had access to in traditional, and in some cases, contemporary American educational structures? There are many variations to black culture, and many within the culture have differences and greviences amongst themselves just like Langston did with Baldwin, Ellison, and Wright. Just as Poe had with Thoreau. And I am asking because that word that you use at the end of your post "balance" infers so much. Curtis Steve,
What exactly “carries their medium usually?” I think this is important to define and plays heavily to the academy and how they address the canon of American writing, when America is supposed to be this great big salad bowl.
And why are you “signaled” that a “person is on some mission” rather than just to gain knowledge of self, of a culture, of craft, of an aesthetic they may not have had access to in traditional, and in some cases, contemporary American educational structures? There are many variations to black culture, and many within the culture have differences and greviences amongst themselves just like Langston did with Baldwin, Ellison, and Wright.
Just as Poe had with Thoreau.
And I am asking because that word that you use at the end of your post “balance” infers so much.
Curtis
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]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/what-i-wrote-to-an-african-american-friend-today-about-race-and-art/#comment-58 steve Thu, 17 May 2007 22:50:57 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=42#comment-58 Yours as a black, an african american, or whatever is the going word now, is a unique situation. It may have been different for hughes in that time as race was a bigger problem especially for blacks then as not only were blacks vying for freedom of civil rights but of freedom in the media. What i am saying is that there is somewhat of a universality of communication to be attained in my opinion and yes, there are allusions to ethnicism by whites referring to tradition but that is not what carries their medium usually. Thus, when i see an african american "in my face" so to speak with the medium of whatever, book, music, public personna, its not only righteous and obnoxious but phony and dismissive. It signals to me that this person is on some mission rather than getting past some wall. Yes, i understand there are prejudices to address but get beyond victim carding and self parody and find the real stuff. This is not to say neither to ignor the issues you speak of but just balance it. I hope i am helping. Steve Yours as a black, an african american, or whatever is the going word now, is a unique situation. It may have been different for hughes in that time as race was a bigger problem especially for blacks then as not only were blacks vying for freedom of civil rights but of freedom in the media. What i am saying is that there is somewhat of a universality of communication to be attained in my opinion and yes, there are allusions to ethnicism by whites referring to tradition but that is not what carries their medium usually. Thus, when i see an african american “in my face” so to speak with the medium of whatever, book, music, public personna, its not only righteous and obnoxious but phony and dismissive. It signals to me that this person is on some mission rather than getting past some wall. Yes, i understand there are prejudices to address but get beyond victim carding and self parody and find the real stuff. This is not to say neither to ignor the issues you speak of but just balance it. I hope i am helping. Steve
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