Submitted by: Submitted by Allyson
Views: 10
Words: 376
Pages: 2
Category: Literature
Date Submitted: 02/26/2016 10:58 AM
Place
Place is a physical, specific point or position in space, or a mental state. Place can be a memory or point of view. However, while a place can be described as the gender, class, or races that inhabit it, it does not always have to be so. Interpretation of a place is subjective and capable of shifting from physical to mental. The biases one has towards a place, or gender, can alter the opinion one has towards them.
The Dogs at Live Oak Beach, Santa Cruz by Alicia Ostriker, describes a “world of absolute innocence.” This world could be physical or mental, however, it is described without gender, class or race. The genders of the dogs in this poem are not mentioned and the color of the dogs, black or tan, do not affect their “glorious muscle” or joy. These biases towards race or gender can infect innocence in the world. For instance, when people become aware of the differences they have with others, this affects the way they perceive place. Yet, the dogs in this poem, while they are physically different, exist together in a place uninfected by prejudices.
People who construct the biases towards race, gender, and class, though, inhabit many places. In some poems, gender is a staple. For example, in Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest, by B. H. Fairchild, many words, such as “drill pipe,” “black flies,” and “father’s Ford,” are masculine, most likely to enforce the idea of the father and son. Fairchild makes a point with this word choice and wants the readers to think of the son, specifically, while reading. He also uses specific word choice to describe place as psychological. Words like “mysterium,” and the repetitive use of “time” enforce this idea.
Regardless of place, however, everyone has a home. The poem, To One Coming North, by Claude McKay implements this idea of place. He uses seasons and precipitation to describe a place in which no gender, class or race is shown. Anyone can experience these surroundings from many places around the...