"Election Time"

By: Lamont B. Steptoe

Unsettling America, Page 250

Presenter: Reani King

Respondent: Courtney Stroud

Biographical Information:

Lamont B. Steptoe is a poet / photographer / publisher born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is author of eight books of poetry, including Mad Minute, Uncle's South China Sea Blue Nightmare, and Dusty Road. He is a father and a Vietnam veteran.

He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 1994, and received a 1995-96 Literary Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

He has read his work at the Library of Congress, the National Library of Nicaragua, the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, and colleges and universities throughout the United States. Steptoe is also an activist in human rights, environmental issues, and gay/bisexual issues.

Literary Objectives: This poem covers several of the objectives set for this class, 1d, 2c, 3a, and 6b; however, the two that seemed to be the most relevant are

1d: The Color Code which states that "Literature discusses skin color only occasionally. . .", and 3a: "The Dream" factoring in setbacks, the need to rise again, and a quest for group dignity.

 No one else has attempted this poem so I am flying solo.

Read the poem:

Term:

    Allusion: An indirect reference to a person, event, statement, or theme found in literature, the other arts, history, myths, religion, or popular culture. Bedford Glossary,page 11.

Lines 4-6 "the President will still be white

 and male

 and wasp," and line 24

"still uphold laws of dead white men"

 are an allusion to the White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant male who founded the laws of the United States. 

Interpretation:

I felt this poem was appropriate considering this is an election year. I feel that Steptoe is trying to convey that no matter what laws have changed, until there is more of a minority voice things will seem to change on the surface while the root of the problems still exist, ignorance, prejudice, and inequality.

Questions:

Why do you think he uses so much allusion?

What was your overall impression of the poem?

What do you think needs to happen before the issues discussed in the poem can change?