On September 5, 2014, NPR ran an by critic Juan Vidal titled, “Where Have All the Poets Gone?” which questioned whether American poets still produce political work, and suggested that “literary [political] provocation in America is . . . at a low.” Because I find this assessment of contemporary American letters to be very incomplete, I wanted to take the opportunity to create a dialogue on the subject by curating a series of compelling political poems from contemporary American poets. I christened this series “Political Punch” as an affectionate reflection on the cocktail of poets who decided to honor me with their participation in my little Infoxicated Corner; it was intended to celebrate the glorious mix of poetics, voices, and life experiences all being shaken and stirred into a sense of community and conversation, being distilled into burning gulps of experience for the reader. Leaving aside all the boozed-up metaphors, it was also intended to celebrate my experience of American letters, in all their willingness and ability to pack a political punch.
This poem, “Blue Libation,” by Ekere Tallie, reminds us of the dignity involved in admitting pain and sadness, including with regards to issues that are frequently considered political. I think the impulse to use rage as a vehicle for expressing agency is coded into human DNA, and it isn’t difficult to see why political poems are so filled with righteous, necessary anger. But my own opinion is that even the most transformative sense of fury is not, by itself, enough. Political issues are born of human experience. The strength and grace that would allow a person to be vulnerable and open while talking about a horrifying history (one that continues to resonate through a frequently dissatisfying present) are surely also unifying forces that bring human beings together across political divides.
Blue Libation
I lit the candle of poem
in Mississippi & in the silence
of a blue morning, libation
rolled down my cheeks.
It was the cotton sheets.
I wondered my great-great grandparents’
hands & lives
bent over small, tough
clouds. I slept
in the softness of my hotel
room, wrapped in a whisper
of my history.
‘s first book of poetry Karma’s Footsteps was published in 2011 (flipped eye publishing). She is the poetry editor of the literary magazine African Voices. Her work and creative life the subject of the short film I Leave My Colors Everywhere. Tallie has read her work and lectured at universities and colleges across the US. She is widely published in anthologies and journals, including North American Review, WSQ, Specter Magazine, Mosaic, Bomb, Crab Orchard Review, Drumvoices Revue, and Role Call. Tallie earned an MFA from Mills College and has taught at Medgar Evers College and York College in New York City. She is one half of the recording duo The Quiet Onez.
