Reader:  Kristy Cox

Respondent:  Andrea Perkins

Recorder: Annie Ramirez

Poetry Presentation:  “Hanging Fire” written by Audre Lorde, Page 297

Background information:

            In 1934, Audre Lorde was born to West Indian parents.  Throughout her life, she lived in Harlem.  When Audre was 12, she began to write poetry.  When she was 15, she submitted one of her first poems to the teen magazine, Seventeen.  Before Audre lost her battle with cancer in 1992, she co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.  Her poetry and writing consisted of perplex issues such as racism, sexism, love and lesbians.

Read Poem

Interpretation of Poem:

            The poem consists of short choppy thoughts of a teenager who is concerned about her body, future and her family.  The poem illustrates the thoughts of a young girl who not only has to deal with adolescence but also deal with the cruelty of racism and sexism.  Her thoughts bat back and forth between the issues of wanting to be like a normal fourteen-year-old girl and the issues that revolve around racism and sexism.  Her assimilation or wanting to belong can be seen when she states that she likes a boy who still sucks his thumb, when she wants to learn how to dance, and when she has nothing to wear tomorrow.   The following statements reveal the racism and sexism aspect:

-         my skin has betrayed me

-         how come my knees are so ashy

-         nobody even stops to think about my side of it

-         my marks were better than his

The issue of death is evident in each stanza.  Perhaps her fixation on death is a normal though process explored by young individuals.  I don’t believe that her poem carries the death or dying issue.  It seems to add to her youth rather than address the issue seriously.  I believe that the issues that weigh the poem are racism, sexism and innocence.

Allison Amaya, presented “Hanging Fire” in 2001.  In her presentation, she made an interesting point.  She stated that the statement, “There is nothing I want to do and too much that has to be done” relates to objective 1b, voiceless and choiceless. 

Throughout the poem, the author seems to struggle with objective 4, assimilation or resistance, do you join or do you fight.

Questions:

Why do you think Audre Lorde titled her poem “Hanging Fire”? 

Why does the poem continually refer to the mother being in the bedroom with the door closed? 

Dr. White- meant delayed gunfire- or in conversation when you are ready to say something but think better of it.

S1- thought it meant…about to explode

S2- Hang fire in regards to puberty

Reader- mentions sexism and racism

S3- someone doing it all on their own would like assistance, but doesn’t have it.

S4- mentions it seems they are having doors slammed in their face. 

S5- Maybe mother has surpassed means to help her

Reader- mentions possible not wanting to deal with the issues brought up.

S3- maybe mom thinks she’s doing fine on her own

Reader- fixation on death may be significant

S6- Asking questions with no answers

S7- mentions braces- how they look… couldn’t follow her but she mentioned how children are glorified after death.

“I’ll die and you’ll be sorry”

Dr. White enjoyed how you read it.

Reader mentions no “?” marks