Friday, April 25, 2008

Luci Tapahonso -- Monday

A very good Luci Tapahonso poem and biography The poet explains:
"Many of these poems and stories have a song that accompanies the work. Because these songs are in Navajo, a written version is not possible. When I read these in public, the song is also a part of the reading. This is very much a consideration as I am translating and writing--the fact that the written version must stand on its own..."
Amy McNally of the University of Minnesota, who edited the page, offers this assessment:
In the birth poems, in the humorous stories, and in the chants and prayers within Tapahonso's works, a voice emerges that both appreciates and respects traditional Navajo stories and humor. At the same time speaks a writer who will use the narratives she has heard throughout her life as a foundation for the creation of new prayers, stories, and poems that recognize the vitality of present day Navajo culture.


In class we'll read some poems linked to her page at http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A116 ...

Blog: Compare and contrast the two poems about drinking/drunks we read in class today with "It Has Always Been This Way." Consider the three questions. You know what they are by now, right? Post your answers as comments to this blog.



Here's a link to directory of Dine (Navajo) literature.

http://www.indigenouspeople.net/navajo.htm

20 comments:

Chaddillac said...

The two about drinking compared to the other one is like night and day. Really the only similarity between the two is the author who wrote them.

Devan said...

I didn't really find many similarites in the poems along the lines of the stories. The way she writes is very similar, though. She uses a lot of emotion in all three of the poems. Not only in the words she uses, but in the way she writes it. When your them to yourself, you sense what she is feeling, or rather, wants you to feel. My favorite was "It Has Always Been This Way". I really liked the way she described history and used emotions. "Better to Avoid Her" was somewhat confusing to me, but I really liked how she wrote it so that when you read it you would feel her emotions.

adam morris said...

I believe that the poems differ on the topic of new vs. old. I don't believe alcohol was so much of a problem in the tribes before the Native Americans were forced to live on reservations. Alcohol is a way they can forget their trials and hardships for at least one night. Then another night. And the next night. It becomes addicting to drink alcohol because it makes the Native Americans forget all of the adversity they have faced. The births and raising of children has always been the same way, whether or not it was on the open plains, or on a reservation. It is a tradition that was there since the beginning, and will always be there. Alcohol is not a tradition, it is a temporary anesthetic.

kurtdudley said...

they are not very simliar, except for the fact they talk about alcohol. She kind of shows her emotions towards alcohol in two different ways. One way is the way she represents the other girl in the bar as being sad and she shouldn't be upset for her. But with her family, it seems as though it is in more of a relaxed manner.

Joe said...

When I compare the poems that we read today in class I found that they were very similar to each other. For Example, I found that in the first two poems the things that stand out in my mind would be that in Better to Avoid Her, and A Discreet Conversation by Luci Tapahonso I found that everyday you see on the news that some people get drunk in town and end up driving off the side of the road and severely injuring themselves, its just like they say You Drink, You Drive You Lose.

Jared16 said...

I believe alcoholism in the Native American culture is a very serious problem. I think she is trying to be serious about it and joke about. She says how he flipped his car twice, and how funny he was. In the poem it has always been this way, i believe hse is trying to say exactly what the poems title is. Alcoholism has always been around in the Native American culture

jade said...

One definant difference between the two poems is that he poem about drunks is set up a different way than the other poem. The words in the drunk poem are kind of all over teh place as if the person was drunk writing it.

I take the drunken poem as if she is talking about her mother and how she just tried to avoid here when she had been drinking. The other poem is more from a babies point of view.

They are similar poems because both talk about a point in her life that is very important to her.

Tony said...

I agree with "chaddillic" the poems are totally different. I dont think that the Native American had a problem with drinking until the white man came around. They had to drink their problems away, a way to get rid of the pain and suffering that the white man has done to them.

rachelg said...

Between the three poems the two drinking ones are similar because they relate to drinking, and how people cope. While the other one is talking about a person coming into the world and growing up..so the last one does not have a connection with first two, however the first two do have a connection.

jeefrs23 said...

Alcoholism is definately a problem in Native American society. Most of this is do to the abundance of it distributed during the olden times. Back when the nation was still developing. It's sad that it has come to this. I know the alcoholism rate in that population is at a staggering number. Something like 30% or something like that. Not a good thing. We need to help out.

Andrea said...

What similarities? The same author is the only thing i can think of as similar. One is about drinking and the other is about the gift of a child.

joel1 said...

Compare and contrast the two poems about drinking/drunks we read in class today with "It Has Always Been This Way." Consider the three questions. You know what they are by now, right? Post your answers as comments to this blog.

Its seems that Native Americans take their struggles with alcohol abuse seriously. In the first two poems about drunk/driving she has a sort of negative tone throughout the poems. During the second poem "It has always been this way" she seems full of excitment for the newborn. I have had some experiences with people around me getting in trouble for drunken driving and other related offenses and I can say they never turn out well. I can certainly understand why Tapahonso speaks so negatively during these poems.

brad bauman said...

The two peoms about drunks talk about how people pretty much throw their life down the drain when they get drunk and sometimes they even irritate or hurt people. The peom "It's always been that way" talks about how people protect their babies when they are pregnant so that their child will be born a healthy baby. I think the two peoms about drunks relates to how people are damaging their bodies and the one about the birth of a child talks about protecting and preserving the young children in their community.

deibert said...

the two about drinking and boozing is not quiet as serious as the last one, "It Has Always been This Way." This one talks about how they were raised and shows how close the Navajos are with each other.

Lucas said...

I do not think the poems were very similar. Both seemed to be about two totally different topics. The emotions of the two poems were also very different. My favorite poem was it has always been this way. I liked the way she used her words to describe her emotions. It really makes you feel for the poem.

Joel Washko said...

I would say they are both very different. "Better to Avoid her" is done in a more serious tone as opposed to "A Discreet Conversation." They are both about the same subjects, but they definitely are written for different reasons. One to show the seriousness and the other to show a more less-serious side.

Brian S. said...

Both of these peoms are about drinking and about what people do when they're under the influence. I believe many of the things said in these poems are fairly true. People drink and drive which is definatly not a smart thing to do but they do it. When under the influence your vision is impaired and accidents do happen such as rolling your car several times like in the poem. Although these poems are pretty simialar there are some differnces such as how serious A discreet conversation and how real life it is and most likely true.

Brooke said...

The first two poems were simiarity because they were both about drinking. However i really don't think the last related to the first ones because it's was about having a baby.

Anonymous said...

I do not feel that all of these poems really have that much in common. I do think that the ones about drinking have something in common obviously. But the last one i do not really think shares any similarities with the other two.

@leya said...

It was obvious that the native americans used alcohol to solve their problems! They were going through a lot and it was easy to come by! There wasn't much similarities between the two authors except the fact that they were both native american and they were talented in expressing themselves through writing!!