After a lot of thought, I decided to change the poem I would be writing the final paper on. Instead of Hafiz’ “All the Hemispheres” I choosing to write on Eileen Myles’ “New York” (1981).
What attracted me to the poem was its abstractness and that to understand the poem one must completely think outside the box and read between the lines.
To me, Myles takes and uses the words black and fat and dark, words usually synonymous with ugly, unattractive images, and makes them desirable and beautiful. I believe she was challenging society’s norms and making a statement that “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” Would you rather pick up the fat baby or the “cute” smaller child? In American media, who is considered more beautiful? The thin, fair-skinned woman or the dark-skinned plus size model?
I believe that the author personally believes that these people are beautiful (fat and/or dark people) but the symbolism of the “artificial” black rose represents a fantasy world. By her adding the black rose to the end of the poem tells the reader that in reality these things are not and maybe never will be considered to be beautiful in their own rite.
So in my paper I will analyze the different images and word play that Myles uses to challenge the reader and convince them that fat people and dark people are also beautiful. Again, by using the black rose, “so artificial”, she emphasizes that things aren’t and perhaps will never be seen this way in our world.
