Feb 15, 2008 yusef komunyakaa is known as a jazz poet, a southern writer and a soldier poet. Komunyakaa uses his childhood experiences to inform many of his works. Facing it my black face fades, poet yusef komunyakaa first received wide recognition following the 1984 publication of copacetic, a collection of poems built from colloquial speech which demonstrated his incorporation of jazz influences. I turn that wayim inside 10 the vietnam veterans memorial again, depending on the light to make a difference. In this video segment from poetry everywhere, komunyakaa reads his poem, facing it at the dodge poetry festival. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa that english teacher. In the poem nude interrogation by yusef komunyakaa, portrays a woman named angelica who nudes herself in front of a war veteran man. The whole night trembles, the oldest sobs caught in their throats, a new skin of sweat.
He served in the united states army from 1969 to 1970 as a correspondent, and as managing editor of the southern cross during the vietnam war, earning him a bronze star. In the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa, the author uses first person narration, metaphor, simile, images of light and darkness, personification, allusion and word connotation in order to convey to his detached audience the intimate. The ever so controversial vietnam conflict, also known as the vietnam war. Stay connected to your students with prezi video, now in microsoft teams. A summary and analysis of yusef komunyakaa s facing it this post brings to you a summary and analysis of the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa. Yusef komunyakaa links to poems, biography, bibliography, and commentary. The poem is inspired from the experiences of the poet during the vietnam war, where he worked as a correspondent and managing editor of a.
My black face fadeshiding inside the black granite. The poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa is about a man who came back from war and is now dealing with the negative side of it. The author wants us to think about what we are about to face. Author of nine books and winner of a pulitzer prize for poetry, komunyakaa sets a provocative stage by rejecting. My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey, the profile of night slanted against morning. Several years following the vietnam war, yusef komunyakaa, being a vietnam survivor himself, writes the poem, facing it, allowing his emotions to resurface while he views the vietnam memorial. He is a recipient of the 1994 kingsley tufts poetry award, for neon vernacular and the 1994 pulitzer prize for poetry. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. Yusef komunyakaa was born in 1947 in the quiet mill town of bogalusa, louisiana. In facing it, only the second poem hed written in retrospect about vietnam, komunyakaa s response to his war experience is deeply shaped by his visit, a year earlier, to lins memorial. The lines cut off in unexpected places and one must move quickly from line to line to follow the narrative. Analysis of facing it by yusef komanuyakaa yusef komanuyakaas poem facing it is a cold example of the affects that war leaves upon men.
Yusef komunyakaa was born on 29 april 1947 in bogalusa, louisiana. Yusef komunyakaa s libretto, testimony, and the humanity of charlie parker select bibliography memories and the vietnam war experience in yusef komunyakaa s dien cai dau biography about facing it the poetry of yusef komunyakaa. The article offers poetry criticism of the poem facing it, by yusef komunyakaa. Author of nine books and winner of a pulitzer prize for poetry, komunyakaa sets a.
Yusef komunyakaa bio, facts, family famous birthdays. The author is wanting us to be ready for his fear or problem. Dien cai dau, which won the dark room poetry prize. Thieves of paradise, which was a finalist for the national book critics award. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it takes advantage of a unique. In facing it, only the second poem hed written in retrospect about vietnam, komunyakaas response to his war experience is deeply shaped by his visit, a year earlier, to lins memorial. Yusef komunyakaa at the academy of american poets biography, links to a few poems and other sites. Yusef komunyakaa, the author of the poem facing it, was born in bogalusa, louisiana on april 29, 1947. Yusef komunyakaas numerous books of poems include pleasure dome. This poem was very well written, and i respect all that was said in the context of the poem. A list of poems by yusef komunyakaa poet yusef komunyakaa first received wide recognition following the 1984 publication of copacetic, a collection of poems built from colloquial speech which demonstrated his incorporation of jazz influences. Fourteen years after the vietnam war, veteran and contemporary poet yusef komunyakaa wrote about facing the vietnam veterans memorial wall and the memories and images the wall evoked.
Facing it by yusef komunyaka by danilsa ynfante on prezi. Despite his resistance, the speaker becomes emotional at the stone wall, which is polished to a mirror. An essay or paper on use of narration in the poem, facing it. Connell 8 october 20 komunyakaas poems of sorrow and guilt yusef komunyakaa was born in 1947, in bogalusa, louisiana. He is a man who chooses his words carefully, splicing his speech with long silences, until his conversation resembles something close to a jazz riff very fitting for this acclaimed poet who says oral language is our first music, and the body is an amplifier. The first line of the poem, my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. Youthcultureisrichwithpoetry,fromsonglyricsthatteensread. Yusef komunyakaa is known as a jazz poet, a southern writer and a soldier poet.
Inspired by the monument, komunyakaa confronts his conflicted feelings about vietnam, its legacy, and, even more broadly, the part race plays in. When reading the poem one can assume that komanuyakaa drew upon his own experiences in vietnam, expressing his hardship over a. Yusef komunyakaa lesson plans and teaching resources. These poems were written as a way of talking around an idea or question, this idea question being that of growing up during the civil rights movement. April is national poetry month and new york is the birthplace of the american voice, according to our new york state poet laureate. A summary and analysis of yusef komunyakaas facing it. Sixth grade and what the living do yusef komunyakaa. Connell 8 october 20 komunyakaa s poems of sorrow and guilt yusef komunyakaa was born in 1947, in bogalusa, louisiana. May 25, 2014 yusef komunyakaa, the author of the poem facing it, was born in bogalusa, louisiana on april 29, 1947. In the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa the author uses great imagery that has both literal and figurative meaning behind them. My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. Komunyakaa began writing in 1973, after achieving his bachelors degree university of colorado springs.
The seven oclock whistlemade the morning air fulvouswith a metallic syncopation. I turn this wayim inside the vietnam veterans memorial again, depending on the light to make a difference. Author visual imagery metaphors flashbacks allusion vernacular symbol facing it 1947present born in louisiana. Yusef komunyakaa s numerous books of poems include pleasure dome. The poem is inspired from the experiences of the poet during the vietnam war, where he worked as a correspondent and managing editor of a military newspaper. Oct 14, 2012 facing it by yusef komunyakaa my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. Facing ita poem by yusef komunyakaa in honor of american. Facing it, by yusef komunyakaa talks about a war which most, if not all americans are familiar with. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa the creators conscience. A vietnam veteran, he did not write about the war until more than a decade after returning to the united states. One of komunyakaas most frequently anthologized poems, facing it was first published in his collection dien cai dau, 1988. Louis jenkins, yusef komunyakaa, and liyoung lee yusef komunyakaa. Facing it allows us to think that he is facing a problem.
His grandparents were church people and he has said in interview the old testament informed the cadences of their speech. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa is a 31 line poem that does not adhere to any particular rhyme scheme or strictly metered pattern. My clouded reflection eyes melike a bird of prey, the profile of nightslanted against morning. Fonts facing it by yusef komunyakaa analysis biography.
What does the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa mean. Komunyakaa received the 2007 louisiana writer award for his enduring contribution to the poetry world. A summary and analysis of yusef komunyakaas facing it this post brings to you a summary and analysis of the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa. Komunyakaa has composed this poem by alternating between short choppy lines and longer, drawn out phrases. Yusef komunyakaa s poem facing it is not broken into stanzas. Yusef komunyakaa speaks in a gravelly southern baritone, tinged with a cajun flavor that reflects his childhood years in louisiana. The new yorker may earn a portion of sales from products and services that are purchased through links on our site as part of our affiliate partnerships with retailers. Analysis of facing it by yusef komunyakaa essay example.
What is the theme of the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa. Yusef komunyakaa born april 29, 1941 is an american poet who teaches at new york university and is a member of the fellowship of southern writers. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa deals with the themes of memory, war and survival. Read these lines from the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa. Michaels dream and charlie howards descent marie howe. Yusef komunyakaa, born in 1947, wrote both february in sydney and facing it. The title of the poem is facing it, which is,he is facing a black wall with the names of other veterans of the vietnam war, but the deeper meaning is a man who is facing his past or memories of the war and what it has. Son of a carpenter he was raised in a house of few books at the beginning of the civil rights movement. Yusef komunyakaa is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, including dien cai dau 1988, which won the dark room poetry prize, thieves of paradise 1998, which was a finalist for the national book critics circle award, and neon vernacular. Youthcultureisrichwithpoetry,fromsonglyricsthatteensread,listento,andwrite,to. The author relates that the poem allows the poet to see his own mortality clearly in the tombstonelike face of the vietnam veterans. In memoriam this lesson uses facing it to explore poems written for a specific occasion.
Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 kingsley tufts poetry award, for neon vernacular and the 1994 pulitzer prize for poetry. Yusef komunyakaas libretto, testimony, and the humanity of charlie parker select bibliography memories and the vietnam war experience in yusef komunyakaas dien cai dau biography about facing it the poetry of yusef komunyakaa. An analysis of the poem nude interrogation by yusef komunyakaa. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it is not broken into stanzas. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it takes advantage of a unique setting the from english 2 at lone star college system. With the point of view being the war veterans, the woman is a representation of revealing his truths as her uncovering herself is the symbolization because. Here is a video of yusef komunyakaa reciting his poem, facing it, which is about the vietnam memorial. I turn this wayim insidethe vietnam veterans memorial again, depending on the lightto make a difference. Both of these styles of writing utilize enjambment. I turn this waythe stone lets me go i turn that wayim inside speaker vs. Analysis of facing it by yusef komunyakaa 1007 words 5 pages.
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