After an abandoning childhood, Jean Toomer rises as a twentieth-century poet, becoming active politically in the Socialist movement. During his childhood, Toomer faced the challenge of having two racial identities—white and black. He struggled with the complexity of not knowing to write from a white perspective or a black one. He came to the consensus that “I have lived equally amid the two race groups. Now white, now colored. From my point of view I am naturally and inevitably an American.” From this day forward, he didn’t just self-identify as an interracial male anymore, but a public writer and influencer. Toomer published multiple award-winning pieces in his time, mainly focusing on philosophical treaties. He was truly a prominate idol in the early and middle 1900’s.
“Portrait in Georgia” Hair—braided chestnut, coiled like a lyncher’s rope, Eyes—fagots, Lips—old scars, or the first red blisters, Breath—the last sweet scent of cane, And her slim body, white as the ash of black flesh after flame The poem, “Portrait in Georgia“ clearly catches the eye of an imagist. In this brief poem, it mingles a beautiful white woman with his affection he has toward her. This poem was written during the time of the Jim Crow Laws. This meant that not only were interracial couples banned, but it even went as far as to say that if an African American male looked at a white female inappropriately, they could easily end up lynched or murdered, said discretely in the third stanza. This poem uses defamiliarization to appall readers to the violence that was paired with a sexual desire. I believe that when Toomer says “Hair—braided chestnut” he is admiring the physical features of the woman, but then continuing to write out the consequence that would come shortly after if publicized openly. He imagines the rope around his neck when pursuing that desire. When he is depicting her eyes and lips, he is intuitively noticing the details, and noticing the sexual, intimate features on her face. Toomer then goes into the poem writing that her breath is sweet, like the last sweet scent of cane. Cane is a collection of poems that gives a picture of African-American life during the Jim Crow laws, so he may be deliberately describing the sweet taste of expressing the struggles he had to endure day by day. When he is describing her body, which he says is slim, I analyze it in a somewhat-promiscuous way, but then returning back to himself at the end of the poem, saying, “of black flesh after flame,” implying the severe punishment he would be brought into. In the day, I believe this poem almost seems like a false fantasy for Toomer tied in with a depressing longing for a woman he loves.
1 Comment
Rachel Moorman
9/22/2019 07:32:19 pm
I love how you noticed a sexual element in this poem that we hadn't discussed in class. I think in class we talked about how this poem is distinctly non-sexual. I didn't even notice the sexual context of the facial features, but I enjoy how you bring them to light in this writing.
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