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Poet: Audre Lorde
Poem: Coal
Poem of the Day:
Jan 8 2007
Comment 4 of 4, added on March 4th, 2008 at 9:29 PM.
why is it that white people can't write about anything that isn't about white people? I'm Samoan, for me, this poem is fundamentally about being black, centrally in terms of race, but pivotally, about every other living thing. You just need to be able to read beyond yourself to see it.
Selina from New Zealand
Comment 3 of 4, added on April 15th, 2006 at 12:44 AM.
It wasn't that racist or immature. It just sounds more like a question a pre-schooler would ask (along the lines of why is the sky blue? Why are people mean). It's not even extremely offensive unless you are really going out of your way to be offended. Ignorant though, yea sure.
Anyways I was just thinking about the opening line, it keeps running across my mind. Such a dark opening line, if kept seperate from the rest can be interpreted as gothic, but when associated with a cultural heritage gains a whole new meaning. I liked that.
Jon S. from Canada
Comment 2 of 4, added on November 10th, 2005 at 8:56 AM.
Gottlieb, your comment is not only blatantly ignorant and immature, it's extremely offensive and rude. Clearly you are uneducated and know nothing about Audre Lorde, her works, or civil rights for that matter. Yes, she writes about being African American, and the hardships she's faced, because thses experiences are an integral part of her life and we as outsiders can learn greatly from them. She also writes about being a mother, a daughter, a lover, a second-class citizen, a poet, an American, and a lesbian (I'm sure you also love that one). Please keep your idiocy to your self from now on. This forum is for comments and questions that benefit learning and growing, not racist, sweeping generalizations that bring us back to circa 1950.
Jenn from United States
Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Coal, has received 4 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Audre Lorde with others on the American Poems poetry forum!
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Comments
why is it that white people can't write about anything that isn't about white people? I'm Samoan, for me, this poem is fundamentally about being black, centrally in terms of race, but pivotally, about every other living thing. You just need to be able to read beyond yourself to see it.
Selina from New Zealand