Poetry as Sound and Object

Introduction

“And don't blame me, I was given this world I didn’t make it”-Tupac

After ten years of teaching, I have found myself in a position where none of my students look like me or share my culture, race, or heritage. I teach in the community I grew up in, where I graduated from. I am a product of this community, so giving back is more than just teaching to me. For me, it is personal, very personal. I want to see my students win in school and life. I don’t make the rules of life, but as their teacher, I can give them the metaphorical game to succeed in whatever endeavor they choose. Even after noticing the apparent difference, we appreciate hip-hop music, specifically a particular hip-hop artist, Tupac Shakur. When I realized this, the one question I asked myself was, how is it that my Honduran student doesn’t speak any English at all but knows about Tupac? The second question I asked myself is, how can I capitalize on this and use it to my advantage when teaching? The curriculum unit I intend to write will answer both questions. I cannot ignore the fact that my students are embarrassed to speak in their native language or feel less than others because of it. After speaking with Feisal, he surmised that the shame could stem from their native language, which could be interpreted as the language of the poor. Tupac was poor and often rapped about his financial constraints. If he could take his circumstances and use his words to identify himself as a rapper, poet, and lyricist, why can my students not do the same?

The Spanish language is an integral part of the identities of my students, and poetry can be used as a safe means of expression and a springboard to catapult their insecurities into beautiful spoken and written words. According to Darius Dziewanski, “For marginalised people living in Cape Town, South Africa, rapper Tupac Shakur represents a globalised oppositional repertoire that people draw on for strength and esteem.”¹ What resonates most with me about that quote is that it speaks to the demographic of students I teach at Hearne High School. It is also important to note that Tupac was well-spoken and well-traveled, which are my aspirations for my students. Many students attending school in Hearne do not have generational wealth like those in neighboring districts not even thirty miles away. The article contends that even twenty years after the death of Tupac Shakur, his music still lives on as the soundtrack in many of the Cape Town, South Africa townships. Dziewanski further states, “It resonates for what it is sonically, as for what it represents symbolically: the defiant desire to overcome people’s lived experiences with poverty, racism, and other forms of persecution.”² Students have stated that they use music to escape their reality. I want this unit to show students that poetry can be used for the same purpose. Dziewanski goes on to say, “It is difficult to pinpoint precisely why Tupac has such international influence within rap canon, and why he has ‘survived’ subsequent generations of emcees and successive incarnations of the genre.”³

Poetry units in high school can be exciting, inviting, and welcomed by students if I can find another way to teach them. Instead of changing how students learn, I want to change how I teach. This curriculum unit has enhanced my knowledge of poetry in a meaningful, purposeful, and relevant way for my students. Naomi Popple compares the writings of The Blacker the Berry and The Bluest Eye in that they both have color in their titles and “rap music is a predominantly African American art form that has no white predecessor.”⁴ Here, Popple says, “In light of this, rap’s absence from literary criticism is especially curious as it is more akin to poetry than any other musical genre (in that it is spoken not sung).”⁵ If rap music can and has been used as“ a vehicle of (economic) emancipation,”⁶ I want my students to know that poetry and English Language Arts can also be a vehicle for such relief. I want poetry to be another way for my students to express themselves through written or spoken language, as Tupac often did with his rap lyrics. I want them to be well-read, knowledgeable about various texts, and intellectually sound students. I always tell them they reflect on me, and as their teacher, I insist they make me proud. They can repeatedly prove the naysayers wrong using their voice and pen. They can be a positive influence or reflection of their school and their community.

“I’m a reflection of the community.”-Tupac Shakur