Martin Espada

Poetry is frequently utilized to form an opinion about how individuals behave in society. Based on the interpretation they get from the story, any reader can also form an opinion about it. However, it should be emphasized that not every person will translate a poem in the same way. The story’s theme is continually brought up in the readers’ thoughts as different perspectives are shared by different characters. Additionally, it enables the reader to see the world through the author’s eyes. Publication by Abu-Lughod (78), states that poetry is considered as an instructional tool and an essential part of a study to any individual irrespective of their age. It is also considered as a way to understand how symbols and language work as it helps in the process of expressing feelings, emotions, aesthetics, and a sense of what is beautiful about the world. Poets often provide a link to their home country as they publish their articles. The majority of their stories reflect their communities and the mode of life that people have experienced in these locations. For example, Pushkin is a Russian poet by reference of form per excellence as stated by (Lednicki 2). His poems have often been used in the aspect of revealing reality, expressing beauty, and depicting the historical event. It is, however, a significant achievement realized from the poems published by various individuals.

Themes by Martín Espada

Martín Espada is an American poet with a Latin origin who has made poetry his career publishing poems for an estimated four decades. He is currently a professor of poetry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with Puerto Rico the frequently featured theme in his poems. Similarly, social justice is often discussed demonstrating the level of hardship that the publics undergo in these Latin regions. He is also known for his interest in publishing the struggle for power that the masses suffered to reclaim their land and recognition. It is, however translated to the historical record of the ancient times in Latin America. Nevertheless, the poet was involved in the practices of reporting the skirmishes of Puerto Ricans and Chicanos as they adapt to new life in the United States. Similarly, he also published some of his poems chronicling the scuffles Central, and South American Latinos have staged against their authoritarian regimes. Espada has put “distinctiveness,” ineffectiveness, and scarceness, into poetry that has often grabbed the attention of the public and creating an intricately imagistic culture.

Espada may be described as an individual that hates acts of violence which then leads him to publish some stories that demonstrate the level of injustice that the public is facing. Similarly, an individual may conclude that these publications were to sensitize the community about the importance of peace and equity in society. The aspects of discrimination in society will affect the services that are being offered in the region. For example, the documented fights amongst the Latinos shows the level of greed that the leadership class had in that era. To the current population, these stories offer advice on the evil in discriminatory acts and the need to have a better living environment. In the long run, the region is likely to experience development when there is the practice of collaboration among the public.

Poems by Martín Espada

The Republic of Poetry, 1957

The book contains an estimated 26 poems published in three sections presented in the form of arguments. The poems can inspire the reader with political consequences such as the need to attain power. The urge for achieving power lead to the instances of assuming control over the public. The reader may also wish to initiate change in society compared to the ideologies that they are attaining from the poems. The poem also relates to the cause of immigration with people seeking to attain a better place to live. According to (Nafisi 17), a character in the poem energetically offers a response to those who state that fiction has nonentity to teach to the public today.

Serious poems will always follow the serious subject. The poem demonstrates the aspect of power in the society and the respect that is offered to the people in the highest offices. Similarly, the public was being offered little opportunity to interact with the people in higher positions as they often met with people of a similar class. In the poem, the baboons are considered to be the audience that is seeking to receive entertainment from the main character. Similarly, it also demonstrated the instances where the majority of the public in Latin America had to pay attention to the figures in power. The leadership in the country was considered as the privileged, leaving the majority to abide by the statements that were being issued. For example, the poem shows a guard, assuming control of the airport. Furthermore, an individual could not be granted passage at the airport until they declaim a poem for her. These instances have often demonstrated the difference in class and the impact of social justice in society.

Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100, 1957

The poem demonstrates the injustices that the estimated 43 hotel employees faced during the World Trade Centre attack. The majority of the people in the area lost their lives and asset with limited chances of compensation from the government. The unfair treatments to the employees’ displays the least level of commitment to offer security to the hotel employees leaving them prone to any violent attacks.

These masses lived by slogans with a series of writing on their back acting as a sign of morale to fellow workers about their significance in public. According to a publication by (Schiefelbein 76), unfair treatment of an employee will create a series of problems to the workforce and the people that are facing it. The migrant employees are more likely to report unfair treatment at the workstation compared to the resident employees. In the poem, the worker could only attain their joy when in the kitchen as some enjoyed the privilege of getting into flights. In the poem, the theme of happiness is witnessed by Alabanza. At the time the war began, from Manhattan to Kabul two constellations of burn rose and wandered to each other, blending in icy air, and one made a pronouncement with an Afghan tongue: Teach me to party. A reply in a Spanish tongue stated that ”we have no music here.” However, a consoling was made saying ”I will teach you. Music is all we have”. It further indicates that the discriminated group (employees in the kitchen) had the urge to show unity and joy even during the hard times. There was a need to find consoling power for the people that were finding hardships while at the workstation or when frightened.

Vivas To Those Who Have Failed: The Paterson Silk Strike, 1913

The poem demonstrates an aspect of sorrow to the people that lost their lives in the sea during the war. Different nationals participated in the battle thus a sign of support to their colleagues. The sign of different nationalities is witnessed as a helper from Naples rose as if from the steam of his labor announcing the presence of the red flag. On the contrary, no immediate act of appreciation was offered to the individual. The scene can also be used in the interpretation of discrimination among people during that era. Alternatively, it may have been that the individual from Naples had no authority to raise or make any pronunciations about the presence of the red flag that left him with no applause or positive recognition.

After the war, people were still subjected to hardships with some seen on the streets chanting songs of harsh treatment. They could not handle the reduced pay that they received before the wars as the community was experiencing a change in the mode of life. The high standards of living could hardly be supported by the payment of a few dollars in an hour. The move of staging demos was seen as an appropriate measure that would raise awareness to the employers about their grievances. However, social injustices can be witnessed when the sons of Italy were subjected to torture. It is also remembered that the brain was being thrown against the wall of the skull with no chance of leniency from the executors. In the long run, people had to assume different roles in the society as some resorted to prophecy, being a doctor, a poet, and those that failed became the river. Therefore, the new era led to the existence of new breeds of people in society.

Contemporary Poetry

The concept of contemporary poetry refers to poetry that was written since the appearance of the free verse (unrhymed lines). It offered difficulty to a reader interpreting the theme of the story or identifying the main character in the scene. According to a presentation by Runcie (3), such type of poetry readings has led to the emergence of poetry that is easily understood, straightforward rhythms, emotions, and syntax. The majority of these writers prefers the contexts of now and then giving a reader the chance to interpret the different sides of the story. Some of the stories include; Rain (2009), Smaller than the Radius of the Planet (1969), Wedding (1996), Project for a Fainting (1999), and Speaking in Tongues (2007). There were published by Don Paterson, JH Prynne, Alice Oswald, Brenda Shaughnessy, and Kei Miller respectively. The readers could make a series of interpretation of the origin of the story analyzing the series of changes that the public has witnessed.

The history of contemporary poetry appeared in the criterion in the summer of 1925 and notable for including the pseudo-statement term describing the emotive language (Constable xvii). Additionally, the majority of these poems are brief making it easy for the reader to associate with the language. The application of these models may force an unoriginal genius to produce uncreative writings (Sheppard 136). Generally speaking, there is no need to differentiate poets using such terminologies, but the application of contemporary-style and modernist poets may be appropriate for any individual. The context of the subject matter is considered to be more important than the ideal definition of the term (Herz 115). It acts as a guideline to the reader in the most appropriate way that they can conclude a particular story.

Conclusion

In conclusion, poetry is often used as a source of entertainment to the public, providing various ideologies about the previous and current ways of life. Similarly, their terminologies may be used as a polite way of describing certain scenes of an incident or a character’s role in the play. However, poets will have different interpretations of an ear, thus making a series of publications about the activities that have been executed. For example, Martin Espada concentrated on social justice as a theme with the intentions of publishing the wrong behaviors of the ancient leaders. The various activities in Latin America offered an opportunity to the poet to talk about the mode of life in Latin America. Nevertheless, Espada may be described as an individual that hates acts of violence which then leads him to publish some stories that demonstrate the level of injustice that the public is facing. The unfair treatment of people in society leads to the creation of clusters to demand recognition from the people in power. Alternatively, the current population is using these stories to interpret the outcome that they are likely to face when acts of injustices are being executed.

Works Cited

Abu-Lughod, Lila. Veiled sentiments: honor and poetry in a Bedouin society. Oakland: University Of California Press, 2016. Print.

Constable, John. I A Richards & His Critics. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.

Herz, Judith Scherer. John Donne and contemporary poetry: essays and poems. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. Print.

Lednicki, Wacław. Bits of table talk on Pushkin, Mickiewicz, Goethe, Turgenev, and Sienkiewicz. The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 2012. Print.

Nafisi, Azar. Republic of imagination. London: Cornerstone Digital, 2014. Print.

Runcie, Charlotte. ”Five contemporary poets worth reading on World Poetry Day.” The Telegraph (2015): 1-6. Print.

Schiefelbein, Jill. Dynamic Communication. Irvine: Entrepreneur Press, 2017. Print.

Sheppard, Robert. The meaning of form in innovative contemporary poetry. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. Print.