Michael Warr, “Brain on Ice: The El Train Poem”

Presenter:  Megan Yeates

Respondent:  Laura Moran

Recorder:  Dan Negrotto

Objective 4: “To register the minority dilemma of assimilation or resistance – i.e., do you fight or join the culture that oppressed you?”

Objective 5a:  “To discover the power of poetry and fiction to help ‘others’ hear the minority voice and vicariously share the minority experience.”

“Brain on Ice” was first published in Michael Warr’s book of poetry We Are All the Black Boy.  A resident of Chicago, Warr found the city’s Guild Complex, a cross-cultural literary arts center in 1989, and was a recipient of the Gwendolyn Brooks Significant Illinois Poets Award.  Brooks once said of his work:  “His poetry is frank and full-bodied.  Michael has a sharp eye and a sanity that refuses to make compromises.”  His latest work, a collection of original photography and poetry, is entitled Poetic Aperture: An African-American Interprets Africa.

Seemingly a straightforward poem, “Brain on Ice” examines a man’s observations while riding on a train.  Its complexity arises, however, in how the speaker views his fellow passengers and how he feels the passengers perceive him.  By choosing a poem as his format, Warr makes a powerful statement without overindulgence or frills.  The tone is blurred between mild anger, resentment, matter-of-factness, and slight bitterness (but also has a comical tone, for example, in lines 17-21).  It moves from an empty seat on a train ride to the idea that everyone is a slave of some kind.

Several issues are brought forth in the poem:  1) That the dominant culture is a victim of popular culture, especially movies, mainly those in which African-Americans cause “problems”: Mandingo, Super Fly, The Color Purple, and perhaps film versions of Native Son and Malcolm X,  2) That although the speaker, by his description, looks “raceless” or unidentifiable by race, with his Givenchy tie, Bass Boy loafers, navy blue overcoat, Toshiba laptop, and a copy of New York Review of Books, people still associate him with stereotypical views because of the color of his skin, and 3)That the train ultimately arrives at the same destination for everyone, meaning “We’re all in this together despite our pasts and skin colors.”

In response to the poem, students felt that the speaker’s attempt to assimilate seemed futile because stereotypes remained a barrier for the dominant culture, and his often sarcastic tone was a way of dealing with and expressing the hurt, inhibiting him from offering a solution.  But, as one student observed, perhaps there is no solution.  Another student proposed that the speaker was not overly angry with the passengers of the train possibly because of his achievements (he seems to have done very well for himself – wearing nice clothing, carrying name-brand items, and a Harvard law degree).  Had he not done so well for himself, he may be inclined to be extremely bitter. 

Laura pointed out how the American Dream had failed for the speaker; he is apparently highly successful, received an excellent education, owns fine things, yet he still feels slighted and unequal.  She also added that “Brain on Ice” is a common term for using methamphetamines, a drug which stays in one’s system for a long period of time.  This could be compared both to slavery and prejudice’s impact on society; the minds of the speaker’s fellow passengers have not escaped the impact of stereotypes and racism.  Dr. White concluded the discussion by clearing up the meanings and origins of the allusions used in the poem.