#a.basu

1. Martin Espada’s “Who Burns for the Perfection Paper” is a window into the mobility of laborer to a law student. I found it interesting how he would put the description of the paper in its own line. You can go through the poem and read every other line and the poem has a new meaning. The poem offers very vivid visuals on what his work was like. At first I was a bit confused by the titled, the work “Perfection Paper” threw me off. Then adding “Who Burns” I believe he chose the word burns for its duality in the title. Burns both describes the physical feeling he had in his hands, and the fact that paper burns very easily, I took this into a metaphoric meaning of the American Dream also burning up quickly when someone realizes how this country is constructed. Reading down the poem further the phrase “I knew that every legal pad- was glued with the sting of hidden cuts” was the one that resonated the most with me.  With this phrase Espada is communicating that he never forgot his struggle. He had moved up in the world, but not only did the physical cuts from his labor stay with him but the mental “cuts” of being so young and working right after school stayed with him. The poem is also a bit ironic in the fact that out of all the jobs in the world he used to make legal pads. The first portion of the poem builds up the irony, focusing on the paper itself and adding in his perception of it. When the reader moves to the second portion, it brings the whole poem full circle and answers the basic question of “why is this poet writing about paper” but you then see what the paper represents to him.  

For the “Angel Island” readings, I was struck by the consistent feeling of hopelessness. Each of these poems through their own way conveyed a message of almost warning to those coming after them.

Of the poems, the first line that really struck me was “It is only because of empty pockets I can do nothing else.” This particular line resonated with me because it made me think of the recent Emmy acceptance speech given by Viola Davis where she stated “the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there." These two statements speak to the basic logic that access, particularly for people of color, is the one of the most prominent differentials in society. The line from the Angel Island poems was during a very different time, yet here we are in 2015 still talking about a lack of access. I feel that that particular line was in fact speaking on economic access but that is still true in Viola Davis’s statement. Most women of color are also economically oppressed for one, being a person of color and two, for being a woman. The line from the Angel Island poem is also similar to two lines from Walt Whitman’s Song for Occupations. The line goes “Is it you that thought the President greater than you? Or the rich better off than you? Or the educated wiser than you?” For people without access it is very common to feel less than people with access. We are constantly shown how great it is to be famous and rich, and that being famous and rich automatically makes you better than everyone else. Because of the constant rhetoric that if you work hard you can become rich and famous we are duped into ignoring the fact that certain people have less hoops to jump through, so when we see these people enjoying their luxuries lifestyles we assume they are greater, better, and wiser than us.