Hammad Poetry Is One of the Most

Hammad

Poetry is one of the most ancient of all the literary genres known to humanity, yet contemporary poems can still speak to occasions which grip the human consciousness in the here and now. I agree that this is manifested in Suheir Hammad's poem, in which she speaks directly to the reader about her experiences as an Arab-American in a post-9/11 world. Hammad's poetry is in the vernacular in the sense that it mimics human speech with its raw, angry quality, but poetic techniques are evident in the way that it uses repetition and colorful language.

"One more person ask me if I knew the hijackers.

One more motherfucker ask me what Navy my brother is in.

One more person assume no Arabs or Muslims were killed"

Poetry can rhyme and follow a strict format, such as a ballad or a villanelle, or it can pour out in uncontrolled free verse as in the case of Walt Whitman's poems. Some poets such as Langston Hughes take more of a middle ground, using rhyme and meter to give some sense of structure to their works, but easily breaking that structure when it serves the larger purpose of poetic meaning. Regardless, a poem's form must suit its content but there is no one 'correct' way to write a poem. I do not think that more modern poetry is 'better' than older poetry, or even necessarily enjoy it more. I do think that the art form must shift and change constantly if it is to reveal its ultimate aim, which is to speak truth and to use language economically and effectively. Regardless of the length of the poem, what distinguishes poetry from prose is that every word counts. In prose, words are occasionally used to simply get the reader from Point A to Point B, as in a prosaic description of a room. In poetry, there is always a particular significance given to the examples and images crafted by the poet that transcends surface meanings.