I’ve spent the last couple of days going through my father’s files (and throwing most of them away). I feel like Heracles cleaning out the Augean stables, as described by Seamus Heaney.
Tag Archives: Lucille Clifton
A Herculean Task: Purging Old Files
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "at last we killed the roaches", Augean stables, Herzog, Saul Bellow, Scott Bates, Seamus Heaney Comments closed
Black Women as Saviors? Clifton Objects
Some are sanctifying black women voters for saving America from itself after Democratic victories in Virginia and Alabama. Lucille Clifton points out that sanctification isn’t much better than demonization.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "note to self", Alabama senate race, black women Comments closed
Rightwing Evangelicals Bind with Briars
Studies show that college does not turn young people away from religion. In fact, literature and humanities courses can strengthen faith.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Garden of Love", "poem in praise of menstruation", Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Purple Hibiscus, rightwing Christianity, rightwing evangelicals, William Blake Comments closed
Three Poems for Surviving Trump
Hope is needed in the face to emotional exhaustion over Trumpism. Here are three poems about finding hope in dark times.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Hope is the thing with feathers", David Whyte, Donald Trump, Emily Dickson, hope Comments closed
Lucille Clifton’s Cancer Poems
In her 1980s cancer poems, Lucille Clifton captures a range of feelings, ranging from confusion to anger to acceptance.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alice in Wonderland, cancer, cancer poems, hospitals, Lewis Carroll, Medicine Comments closed
Women Who Refuse To Be Broken
There are certain poets who appear indomitable and, in their confident affirmations of life, inspire the rest of us. Lucille Clifton was one of these poets.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "won't you celebrate with me", Adversity, cancer, Rachel Kranz, sickness Comments closed
Clifton Poems Make Connection Possible
In a recent event honoring the memory of Lucille Clifton, poet Toi Derricotte read a poem about how Clifton’s poetry opened up a relationship with the mother of a sick child. Here I share Derricotte’s poem as well as the poems she read to the mother and examine why they had the effect they did.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "I was born with twelve fingers", "in the inner city", cancer, Illness, Toi Derricotte Comments closed
