Poet of the Day: Martín Espada

[primeideal]

Martín Espada's Poetry Foundation biography notes that he "has worked as an attorney, salesman, clerk, telephone solicitor, gas station attendant, bouncer, bartender, and printing plant bindery worker; University of Massachusetts, Amherst, professor of English." Espada was born in Brooklyn in 1957, and his first book of poetry included photographs taken by his father. I enjoy his careful use of lineation to surprise readers, as in "For the Jim Crow Mexican Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts where my cousin Esteban was forbidden to wait tables because he wears dreadlocks" (yes, all of that is the title).

"Rules for Captain Ahab’s Provincetown Poetry Workshop" is available on the Poetry Foundation website.
1. Ye shall be free to write a poem on any subject, as long as it’s the White Whale.
2. A gold doubloon shall be granted to the first among ye who in a poem sights the White Whale.
3. The Call Me Ishmael Award shall be given to the best poem about the White Whale, with publication in The White Whale Review.
4. The Herman Melville Memorial Picnic and Softball Game shall be open to whosoever of ye writes a poem about following thy Captain into the maw of hell to kill the White Whale.
5. There shall be a free floating coffin for any workshop participant who falls overboard whilst writing a poem about the White Whale.
6. There shall be a free leg, carved from the jawbone of a whale, for any workshop participant who is dismasted whilst writing a poem about the White Whale.
7. There shall be a free funeral at sea, complete with a chorus of stout hearties singing sea chanteys about the White Whale, for any workshop participant who is decapitated whilst writing a poem about the White Whale.
8. Ye who seek not the White Whale in thy poems shall be harpooned.

Comments

[bookblather]

*cackles* This is great! Number 8 is my favorite, I think.

[primeideal]

Isn't it! I knew he was excellent but just discovered this one today.

Just realized I copied and pasted and lost formatting, off to edit this a smidge.

[lnhammer]

Hee~.

[primeideal]

:)

[alee_grrl]

The title alone told me I'd love it. I'm rather fond of number 4 as it made me try to imagine various members of Ahab's crew at a picnic/softball game.

[primeideal]

I'm sorry to say I've never actually read Moby Dick so I can't join your imagination but I hope it's fun. :D

[alee_grrl]

I had to read it twice in college. The first prof didn't help us get into it much at all and I hated it. It was hard to read and very, very dense. The first 23 page is just quotes on whaling. The second prof taught it in a multimedia and literature class and really dug into it with us. Made it an amazing read. If I had just tried to read it for fun I likely would have put it down quickly, but it you have an opportunity to read it with a book group then it might be well worth it. Of course if you are a big fan of nineteenth century language, dense reads, and quotes on whaling then you might really enjoy it as a fun read. :)

[primeideal]

My previous experience with Melville (Benito Cereno) was not enjoyable. Partly the teacher's style, I'm sure, but nothing I'm going to seek out for myself any time soon.

[alee_grrl]

::nods:: Prior to having the one amazing prof (who could make the worst book imaginable interesting, man has a gift for teaching) the only thing I ever enjoyed of Melville's was his short story, "Bartleby, the Scrivener." I only really enjoyed that one because I'd already done a lot of secretarial work and I loved the idea of being able to walk around saying "I'd prefer not to" when asked to do things.

[lnhammer]

That's okay -- I'm convinced that it is, like Tarzan though for somewhat different reasons, best read at age 12. If you haven't by your mid-teens, you can probably give it a miss.

---L.