Response To Tim O'Brien Story

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Well my video is very interesting and sorry for the lighting and the squeaky while moving the laptop....but i hope you all enjoy it!

Responding To A Poem

The Two Poems
After reading the poems in the Poetry of Witness tab I found that the two poems that were very moving are, “The Woman Hanging From The Thirteenth Floor Window,” by Joy Harjo and “Immigrants in Our Own Land,” by Jim my Santiago Baca. The reason that I found Joy Harjo’s poem to be moving is because throughout the poem the woman hanging from the thirteenth floor seems to feel lost. Maybe not having full control over her life, the want to speak but she never does. Which is where I can relate to her character because, sometimes I do feel lost and everything that I want is out of reach. Some of it being out of reach because I didn’t speak up for myself. Which Harjo seems to try to explain throughout her poem. It was the woman’s fault that she was hanging from the thirteenth floor, because she never spoke up for herself.

Now the poem by Baca, “Immigrants in Our Own Land,” was different. I liked this particular poem because immigrants come to a new world all the time. Most of them hoping that they are going to have a fresh start in this new world. The poems title though “immigrants in our own land,” tells me that they are the immigrants, but as the new ones arrive. They now become the regular people and now have immigrants in their own “new” land. So instead of being this new world it sort of becomes the old one again. I kind of relate to this poem because I have family that are immigrants, and the U.S. is their new world. Although the poems ending has a message that I can’t relate to, I really can relate to the feelings and emotions that the characters have.

Photo #1 & #2 from Google images
This Link is on Joy Harjo, Short Bio. and List of poetry books http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=2929

This link is on Baca also short Bio. and list of poetry http://www.jimmysantiagobaca.com/biography.html

"The Necessity to Speak"

The reading, “The Necessity to Speak” by Sam Hamill presents ideas of how important it is to speak up for yourself. Also presenting the ideas and feelings about poetry; he states that poetry can be embarrassing because it tells the truth. That we are ashamed or afraid because we as readers don’t know what to say or think towards the content. The necessity to speak is not just speaking up for you, but writing about the experience through poetry. Hamill also says that we think poetry is all about emotions, which isn’t true. He clearly states that if you were to take away the rhythm; the words and story would still be there. Hamill at the end of the story says that we can end violence by stopping the lying and silence. In other words that if we speak up for ourselves that we can end the violence. It’s the necessity to speak; when looking at all the poems in the poems of witness tab. They were all poems about witness and having to hold the emotions they felt inside. In order to stop the violence we have to break the silence, in order to break the silence we must write. Write through a story or through poetry. Like Hamill said, “Writing is a form of human communication expressing ideas regarding the human condition.” When I read the poems and Hamill’s story I agree that poetry is full of emotion on a personal level. Also that some do find it embarrassing. When reading poetry that we can relate to it can be embarrassing to admit the fact that we have been through it. Although if we had spoken up before the second time came around there wouldn’t be a continuous story behind it. Then again if there was no story behind it then there wouldn’t be inspiration to do the same.
A Little Bit About Sam Hamill: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/733