“Breathin’ My Name with a Sigh”

Fred Wah’s Poetry and Poetics

• When was the last time you read a poem? • What can you remember about your

encounters with poetry?

• What is the difference between poetry and prose?• What reasons might an author choose to

write a poem vs. a piece of prose?

What is a poem?• “A structure of lines and rhythmic energy and repetitive sound”• “A blending of statement and form, which is intentional and meant to

be clarifying” (Oliver 15)

What makes poetry different than prose?• “Every poem contains within itself an essential difference from ordinary

language, no matter how similar to conversational language it may seem at first to be. Call it formality, compression, originality, imagination – whatever it is, it is essential. . .” (Oliver 16)• Awareness of the PHYSICAL dimension of words• Appearance of the poem on a page• Extreme example: concrete poetry (poetry in which meaning or effect is

communicated at least in party by patterns of words or letters on the page)

• Greater awareness of the AURAL dimension, to what is heard• Contribution of SOUND and RHYTHMS to the meaning of a poem

Ways of analyzing a poem• Historical criticism• Seeks direct connections between historical events and the poetry in

question• Considers how military, social, cultural, economic, scientific,

intellectual, literary helps us understand the author and the work• Attempt to “see [the poem] through the lens of the author’s time”• But. . . History is always related by others and thus isn’t available in any

‘objective’ form, so we have to be careful not to assume we have access to the author’s experience. (“New Historicism”)

Ways of Analyzing a Poem• Textual Criticism• Began with “New Criticism” in the 1930s• Claims that the real concern of the literary critic is THE TEXT • Sees the poem as self-contained world of its own. The poem is an

independent verbal object. • Textual criticism is not interested in the poem’s context or effects. • Main method: “Close reading” • Analyses the interrelations and multiple meanings of the different

elements of a text• Pays attention to IMAGES, SYMBOLS, REPETITINOS,

CONTRADICTIONS, CONTRASTS and other literary devices.

Historical Criticism: Who is Fred Wah?

• Born 1938 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan• Grew up mostly in West Kootenay region of

BC (Nelson). • An Unusual heritage:

• Wah’s Father: Canadian-born Chinese-Scots-Irishman raised in China

• Wah’s Mother: a Swedish-born Canadian from Swift Current

• A marriage between Chinese and non-Chinese residents of Canada was extremely rare at that time.

• “passing” for white in a racist Canada• UBC, FORMAL innovation, TISH, Robert

Creeley, Charles Olsen, Nelson, U of C• “formal innovation . . . Identity innovation”

Breathin’ My Name with a Sighmy father hurt-ing at the tablesitting hurtingat suppertimedeep inside veryfar down insidebecause I can’t stand the gingerin the beef and greenshe cooked for us tonightand years later tonightthat look on his faceappears now on minemy childrenmy foodtheir foodmy fathertheir fatherme minethe fathervery farvery very farinside

Bird’s Eye View:• What does the title evoke?

Describe its relationship to the poem

• What is the point of view? E.g. first-, second-, or third-person

• What is the effect of this point of view? E.g. is it personal? Emotive? Distant?

my father hurt-ing at the tablesitting hurtingat suppertimedeep inside veryfar down insidebecause I can’t stand the gingerin the beef and greenshe cooked for us tonightand years later tonightthat look on his faceappears now on minemy childrenmy foodtheir foodmy fathertheir fatherme minethe fathervery farvery very farinside

Breathin’ My Name with a Sigh

Language• Tone: what is the general

attitude of the speaker to what is being said? • How would you describe the

poet’s diction (word choice and usage)? • Is the language formal or

informal of a high or low register? What is the effect of this language?

my father hurt-ing at the tablesitting hurtingat suppertimedeep inside veryfar down insidebecause I can’t stand the gingerin the beef and greenshe cooked for us tonightand years later tonightthat look on his faceappears now on minemy childrenmy foodtheir foodmy fathertheir fatherme minethe fathervery farvery very farinside

Breathin’ My Name with a Sigh

Form• How is the poem organized? • Does the poem’s lineation

(organization of the poem into lines) have any unique features? • Are there patterns of sound in

the poem (rhyme, clusters of similar sound)?• On what note does the poem

end?

my father hurt-ing at the tablesitting hurtingat suppertimedeep inside veryfar down insidebecause I can’t stand the gingerin the beef and greenshe cooked for us tonightand years later tonightthat look on his faceappears now on minemy childrenmy foodtheir foodmy fathertheir fatherme minethe fathervery farvery very farinside

Breathin’ My Name with a Sigh

Imagery• Are metaphors, similes, or

personification used?• What patterns of ‘mental pictures’

are presented? • What about symbols?

• A symbol is related to imagery. It is something which is itself yet stands for or means something else.

• What does food symbolize in this poem?

my father hurt-ing at the tablesitting hurtingat suppertimedeep inside veryfar down insidebecause I can’t stand the gingerin the beef and greenshe cooked for us tonightand years later tonightthat look on his faceappears now on minemy childrenmy foodtheir foodmy fathertheir fatherme minethe fathervery farvery very farinside

Breathin’ My Name with a Sigh

• What is the purpose of this poem? • How do language, style, and

formal elements help fulfill the purpose of the poem? • What does the poem have to

say about identity? • What is your response to this

poem?

Works CitedOliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook: A Prose Guide to Understanding and Writing Poetry. New York: Harcourt, Inc. 1994. Print.