On Election Day
In the first stanza the imagery is thick with descriptions of working class people and communities, there is a lot of despair in these images. The interesting thing about them for me is that this neighborhood is universal. This neighborhood could be Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Belgrade, Tehran, or any other working-class neighborhood.
This feeling of commonality evoked through the images Bernstein uses continues throughout the poem, which is not to say that it is not a good poem. What I am saying is exactly the opposite of that. Bernstein’s poem allows for everyone to believe that he is talking to and about their personal experiences on a daily basis, because for many people “election day” is just another day.
Tribes of Dr. Lacan
Bernstein’s reading of this poem, which I listened to him read from the links provided for us, was interesting to me for two different reasons. After listening to the audio portion of this poem, I jumped from the critical perspective of the words on the page to the poetic perspective of knowing, that as a poet your lines never stay the same, they are always moving, changing, and evolving. I felt this evolution in hearing Charles Bernstein read.
The other interesting aspect of listening to the audio before I read the piece is the knowledge of the space in which it was taking place. I was literally listening to it on my laptop with my headphones on, but as I closed my eyes I was in that space, I could hear the audience fidgeting in their chairs, papers rustling, and could even smell the coffee brewing.
Against National Poetry Month
The essay “Against National Poetry Month” was something I knew I had to read, not just as a poet, but also as someone who tries and has yet to be successful at fully participating in the ideas and festivities of it. I was curios if or when my own thoughts and ideas would align or intersect with Bernstein’s. For me it was also a must read because it is National Poetry Month (and no I didn’t even try this year to participate).
I was very excited to read this essay and find out that I am not alone in the 4 week struggle of National Poetry Month, hopefully one day when I’m retired I will actually survive the challenge, but for now there are papers to be written, bills to be paid, and exams to study for.