Komunyakaa has composed this poem by alternating between short choppy lines and longer, drawn out phrases. A poem from a poet worth checking out, if you havent done so already, yusef komunyakaas blackberries speaks. A summary and analysis of yusef komunyakaas facing it. The author relates that the poem allows the poet to see his own mortality clearly in the tombstonelike face of the vietnam veterans. He served a tour of duty in vietnam, where he was also a writer and the managing editor for the military. 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. Use of imagery and figurative language in facing it by yusef komunyakaa in his poem, facing it, yusef komunyakaa describes his ambivalent emotions towards the vietnam war of which he was a veteran. The poet, who received the bronze star and edited the southern cross, dedicates this book to his brother glenn, who saw the nam before komunyakaa did. I go down the 58,022 names58,022 names the number of names of dead soldiers etched on the wall at the time of komunyakaas composing of this poem. In yusef komunyakaas poem facing it, a quality the narrator demonstrates is, hauntingly, traumatization due to his experience in the vietnam war.
Thus, they return home with the cumbersome burden of the nostalgic horrors that they have endured. Dec, 2011 detailed in his poem facing it, yusef komunyakaa recounts his experiences from the war along with the emotions running through his mind as he gazes at the vietnam veterans memorial in washington d. Audio recordings of classic and contemporary poems read by poets and actors, delivered every day. Yusef komunyakaa, original name in full james william brown, jr.
Use of imagery and figurative language in facing it by. The article offers poetry criticism of the poem facing it, by yusef komunyakaa. Yusef komunyakaa has 64 books on goodreads with 167 ratings. Mar 30, 2009 yusef komunyakaa reads his poem facing it. Clip 1m 30s yusef komunyakaa writes movingly about his vietnam war experience in his poem facing it. He identifies himself in the first lines of the poem saying my black faces fades, hiding inside the black granite pg. Produced by david grubin productions and wgbh boston, in association with the poetry. Yusef komunyakaas most popular book is neon vernacular. 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. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa favorite poem project video.
He is the oldest among five siblings and bore the name, james william brown until he reclaimed the name, komunyakaa. From 1969 to 1970, komunyakaa served in vietnam as a correspondent and managing editor for the military newspaper southern cross, work that earned him a bronze star. Yusef komunyakaas poem facing it is the concluding poem of his 1988 book dien cai dau which means both crazy and american soldier in vietnamese, a book of poems that deals with komunyakaas experience as a black soldier during the vietnam war. One of komunyakaas most frequently anthologized poems, facing it was first published in his collection dien cai dau, 1988. This poem was very well written, and i respect all that was said in the context of the poem. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa that english teacher. Pdf the land of counterpane and other poems favorite poems read. It is a reflection on komunyakaas first visit to the vietnam veterans memorial. A vietnam veteran, yusef komunyakaa faces his past whilst visiting the vietnam war memorial in washington dc. Yusef komunyakaa writes movingly about his vietnam war experience in his poem facing it. 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. The son of a carpenter, komunyakaa has said that he was first alerted to the power of language through his grandparents, who were church people. Yusef komunyakaas facing it free essays, term papers.
Son of a carpenter he was raised in a house of few books at the beginning of the civil rights movement. My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. Komunyakaa uses his childhood experiences to inform many of his works. An essay or paper on use of narration in the poem, facing it.
Facing it by yusef komunyakaa speaks of one mans reaction to seeing the vietnam veterans memorial in washington, d. New and selected poems wesleyan poetry series komunyakaa, yusef on. 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. Fellowship to work on novel in progress, where the spirit meets. Komunyakaa was born in the conservative rural south on the cusp of the civil rights movement. The poem begins with the speaker facing the black granite wall of the memorial. Jun 12, 2014 yusef komunyakaa reads his poem facing it about seeing the vietnam veterans memorial wall in washington, d. The speaker of the poem is at the vietnam veterans memorial in. His grandparents were church people and he has said in interview the old testament informed the cadences of their speech. Yusef komunyakaa was born in bogalusa, louisiana in april of 1941. Yusef komunyakaa was born in 1947 in the quiet mill town of bogalusa, louisiana. Because yusef komunyakaas poetry is so rich in imagery, allusion, metaphor, musical rhythms, and ironic twists, it possesses a freshness and a bittersweet bite whether the subject is the raw. Part of the poetry everywhere project airing on public television.
Watch video of yusef komunyakaa reading his poem facing it at the geraldine r. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa is a poem about an african american that was a part of the vietnam war. 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. Yusef komunyakaa born april 29, 1947 is an american poet who teaches at new york university and is a member of the fellowship of southern writers. Pleasure dome gathers over twentyfive years of work, including early uncollected poems and a rich selection of new poems. Reflecting on his experiences, yusef expresses his conflicting feelings about the vietnam. Nostalgic memories in yusef komunyakaas facing it essay. Facing it in 360 degrees of text in this activities, students focus on the emotional shifts within the poem. In its dizzying sequence of images that juxtapose violence and beauty, the.
One of komunyakaa s most frequently anthologized poems, facing it was first published in his collection dien cai dau, 1988. It explores the war experience of komunyakaa, which reflects on the poem that he has written in retrospect on the vietnam war. Yusef komunyakaa speaks in a gravelly southern baritone, tinged with a cajun flavor that reflects his childhood years in louisiana. In the poem it states i go down the 58,022 names, halfexpecting to find my own in letters like smoke. The ever so controversial vietnam conflict, also known as the vietnam war. Born in bogalusa, louisiana in 1947, yusef komunyakaa was the first. Facing it by yusef komunyaka by danilsa ynfante on prezi. How to be productive at home from a remote work veteran.
Facing it by yusef komunyakaa produced for k12 educators, teach this poem features one poem a week from our online poetry. Feb 19, 2015 in the poem facing it by yursef komunyakaa talks a lot about people facing war and guilt and sorrow. Yusef komunyakaa was born on 29 april 1947 in bogalusa, louisiana. 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. One of the first connections yusef makes with the memorial is that it is black, as he associates that with his own race. Yusef komunyakaa bio, facts, family famous birthdays. Facing it by yusef komunyakaa is a 31 line poem that does not adhere to any particular rhyme scheme or strictly metered pattern. Fourteen years after the vietnam war, veteran and contemporary poet yusef komunyakaa wrote about facing the vietnam veterans memorial wall and the. Facing it facing it by yusef komunyakaa is a poem about an. Books by yusef komunyakaa author of neon vernacular. Both of these styles of writing utilize enjambment. Regardless of how hard war veterans tried to set aside the experiences of vietnam and acclimate back into their normal lives, the trauma of the vietnam conflict insistently returns in visceral. Komunyakaa 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 a video of the poet reading his poem, analysis, and teaching tips.
A vietnam veteran turned poet, yusef komunyakaa, writes about such an instance in his poem facing it. Yusef komunyakaa s poem facing it is not broken into stanzas. Yusef komunyakkas poem, facing it epitomizes the struggles of vietnam war veterans back at home. Yusef komunyakaa on how writing and art has changed him duration. Facing it, by yusef komunyakaa talks about a war which most, if not all americans are familiar with. Biography of yusef komunyakaa military career, education. Yusef komunyakaa yusef komunyakaa biography poem hunter.
Facing it by yusef komunyakaa poems academy of american poets. A surname belonging to his grandfather who had been a stowaway on a ship. Yusef komunyakaas dien cai dau is another collection of vietnam war poetry. Learn the important quotes in facing it and the chapters theyre from, including why theyre important and what they. Carla du pree executive director citylit project inc. Feb 19, 2015 in the poem facing it by yusef komunyakaa has lot of descriptive imagery stanzas that make you feel as if you are really there. Virginia center for the creative arts fellow virginia center for the creative arts. Yusef komunyakaa grew up in the deep south during the dawn of the civil rights movement.
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