Omar Souleyman's Poem

Society judges those who are different both physically and mentally and those that don’t fit in with the social norm but it is up to the individuals to look past that and rise against their judgement. Shane Koyczan’s ‘To This Day’, is a poem about those who have been bullied throughout their lives and its long term impact it leaves. The poem tells multiple stories of the victims of bullying due to their physical appearance or their mental state. The poem begins with a personal adecdote talking about how he earned his first nickname. The anecdote is used to allow the readers of the poem to relate as it doesn’t rely on the abstract logic as the anecdote provides proof. He tells his story about how he used to love pork chops, and didn’t know the difference between pork chops and karate chops, until he was called pork

In the poem “‘Race’ Politics” by Luis J. Rodriguez, connotation, imagery, and syntax was used to enhance the writing by helping us visualize and feel what the main character went through while dealing with racism in a neighborhood among whites and Mexicans.

Welton Smith’s poem “The Nigga Section” is a very interesting read. According to Ford’s analysis from their book, Smith’s poem expresses his anger and frustration towards the black people who killed Malcolm X. Smith also attacks the white man who enforced these oppressions to black people because we have been brainwashed to do things that the white man does. This means that black people would kill other black people. To also include that Smith is purely angry, Ford mentions that Smith’s choices of words to make it aware that he is using rhetorical devices and negative connotations that hurt and most likely to emasculate the black men who helped assassinate Malcolm X (Ford).

The poem “Seniors” by Alberto Ríos tells of one man’s experiences with imaginary girls. During high school students are go through puberty and are experiencing bodily changes and changes in feelings as well. But what change this poem mostly goes in depth with is the increase of sexual feelings towards the other gender in the perspective of a male. The narrator talks about his classmates, he provides us with a glimpse of what it means for males to develop sexual feelings. However, once the narrator starts talking about himself is when the poem begins to unfold. You understand that the poem is mostly about masturbation, Ríos argues that an imaginary girl is as good as if not better than having sex with a real girl.

In this essay, I will be examining the musical genre of Afrobeat which was created by Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Afrobeat first came to be in the late 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement in America. Fela Kuti a Nigerian, was able to create a genre that has change the way we view music today. Afrobeat is made up of two different words, “Afro” and “Beat”. “Afro” correlates with “African organized sound while beat is a rhythmic counting pattern in relation to such music” (Oikelome, 2013). Therefore, the meaning of Afrobeat is the unique African rhythmic patterns of such music. The coming of this genre is very interesting since the man behind it has quite a story.

W.E.B. Du Bois has contributed greatly to contemporary sociological thinking because he began a conversation of what it means to be “other” in this American Society. In his conversation of what it means to be other he constructed and included three major concepts that continue to resonate till this day. His concepts include “the color-line”, “the veil”, and the “double consciousness” (Appelrouth and Edles, 269). Together, these concepts not only described past experiences of blacks in American society (e.g., slavery) but also continue to remind us that the relation of whites and people of color remains complex. In Du Bois’s own words, “the Nation has not yet found peace from its sins” (273).

The short but inspirational poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes addresses what happens to aspirations that are postponed or lost. The brief, mind provoking questions posed throughout the poem allow the readers to reflect--on the effects of delaying our dreams. In addition, the questions give indications about Hughes' views on deferred dreams.

I'm reading Ransom. This is a book about two people who have been friends since they were young. They did everything together. Their names are Daltrey and Daisy. Daltrey has three older brothers. Which include; Lennon, Cash, and Reed. Daisy is an only child. It's just her and her father. Daltrey's family is something like that. It's just him, his three brothers and their father. Daisy's mother died and Daltrey's mother left.

Frost further points out that the stretch of woods being viewed is very rural. This is made possible by the reference to the location between the woods and frozen lake. In closing the final sentence of the second stanza Frost reiterates the fact that this occurs on “the darkest evening of the year” stating the darkness of the mood.

In the poem, “Backwards,” by Warsan Shire the poem dramatizes the conflict between the long for the past and the hatred of the present. This poem highlights the rough situation that the speaker is in as well as a need for what life was like before. One can easily see that the speaker in this poem is a child in the family, because of the context of line 3, “that’s how we bring Dad back.” This is referring to the longing for their dad before they were in the situation they currently are in. Although, there is not line to line rhyme scheme the poem is written backwards at the beginning of the second stanza. This is likely showing the reader the need for the past and emphasizing the importance of the current situation. The overall theme of this poem is showing what life was once like and what it is now.

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

1.Giovanni, Nikki. “Langston Hughes -Dinner Guest: Me.” Shimmy Shimmy Shimmy like My Sister Kate: Looking at the Harlem Renaissance through Poems. Giovanni, Nikki and Langston Hughes. New York: H. Holt, 1996,

Richard Blanco is the son of two immigrants from Cuba: he grew up in a Cuban cohort in Miami, Florida. It was instilled in him at a young age that his ancestry and America were one in the same. They were both magical. His foreign home was talked about often, never condemned, while America was their physical home and their place to earn a better life than their previous one could afford them. Blanco’s poem, “One Today,” exhibits his cultural pride, optimism, and gratitude for life and his country: The United States.

The purpose of this paper is to simply explore the world music aspects of the song “Jai-Ho” a piece that combines music styles from around the world containing Western and non-Western musical aspects. The reason I chose this song as my topic is because it is a popular song in America although it does contain many different cultural influences. Growing up I have been exposed to Rap, R&B, and Pop music, sometimes even a combination of all three. This music is what I prefer the most out of the vast majority of labels given to describe songs’ musical aspects. About seven years ago, I remember hearing the song “Jai-Ho” coming from the speakers of my television as my dad watched the movie “Slum Dog Millionaire” I remember the fast pace rhythm, the

To begin, the particular videos that we will be discussing are Paul Simon’s diamonds on the sole of her shoe, Kinobe’s kora performance, and Youssou N’Dour’s song daan featuring American singer/ rapper Akon. These three particular videos relate to the west African musical culture because they all involve singing, instrumental music, and dancing which are all characteristics of this particular music. Most of their music consist of a beat that you can dance to and that is usually how you can tell whether it is or is not this type of music. Rhythm and melody are two key factors of west African music and all three of the videos consist of both characteristics. The songs above were very unique to me. It may have been the beat that makes me want to dance, the calmness of it, or it may have even been uplifting to me. They all presented something different that drew my attention to them.