tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post6745205619768303578..comments2023-06-17T01:01:28.659-07:00Comments on Public Undress: Toubab DancerKara Imlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17707745209200490329noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post-79194702537665469332012-05-19T16:56:14.035-07:002012-05-19T16:56:14.035-07:00We lived a good life, didn't we? ;) Rough as...We lived a good life, didn't we? ;) Rough as hell, but good. Wouldn't trade it, not for anything.Kara Imlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17707745209200490329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post-2024098384012785592012-05-18T23:32:45.936-07:002012-05-18T23:32:45.936-07:00Reading this brings me back to 2000.I still hear t...Reading this brings me back to 2000.I still hear the Djembe, smell the fires, taste the cassava and feel both the pain and exhilaration surrounding me. Merci, blue eyes!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post-73547153803653871222012-05-18T02:18:18.917-07:002012-05-18T02:18:18.917-07:00Aha! So glad this one is getting some play. "...Aha! So glad this one is getting some play. "Toubab" is slang for white person in the part of West Africa where I lived for six months (Guinea and surrounding countries). A djembe is a drum made of goatskin and hardwood, in this case used to call people together for a wedding celebration, which can go on for a week. This is a true story. I did rudely go uninvited to a wedding one night--couldn't help it. The sound of the drums is mesmerizing, absolutely irresistible. A friend went with me. We were graciously received, after some disturbance. I did dance all night. My feet did bleed for days. The experience did bridge some cultural barriers, and not others--I will always be white, but the attempt was made, and in the end everybody was human regardless of culture and color. I'm glad the poem communicates this. It's important to realize that no matter how large the cultural and economic gap between ourselves and others, it is vital to reach across it. It will be awkward and strange at times. There will be misunderstandings. Your heart may split in two. But the purpose of poetry and music is to bind the wound. Maybe even make it beautiful. Thank you for reading!Kara Imlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17707745209200490329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post-46046967542526900702012-05-18T02:16:18.638-07:002012-05-18T02:16:18.638-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kara Imlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17707745209200490329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post-35377089869095447152012-05-17T10:29:04.766-07:002012-05-17T10:29:04.766-07:00That is a pretty stunning poem. It blends the two...That is a pretty stunning poem. It blends the two overarching themes that you seem to focus on: solitary individuals inhabiting harsh landscapes (Vaquero Dust); and your interior experience (It Took Everything, Icarus, a lot of your prose). Your use of 2nd person narrative is very effective--invites us to walk over the bridge you've constructed between your observations about the external world of the ceremony and your internal experience of the ceremony. The imagery is fantastic. And any poem that refers to feet as "rebellious things" is going to succeed, at least a little bit. Toubab Dancer succeeds, for me, a whole bunch more than a little bit.Pittnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post-23556266146596384462012-05-16T10:05:57.572-07:002012-05-16T10:05:57.572-07:00Jesus . . .Jesus . . .Pittnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post-11273614100354442172012-05-10T15:31:55.978-07:002012-05-10T15:31:55.978-07:00passion...you are so fierce, and beautifully so......passion...you are so fierce, and beautifully so...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018466054130988370.post-20995208255859259382012-05-10T03:23:44.209-07:002012-05-10T03:23:44.209-07:00beautiful.beautiful.deirdrenoreply@blogger.com