25 April 2006

Poetry presentation: Hamod (Sam), “After the Funeral of Assam Hamady,” UA 288

Reader: Tonya Grasha

Brief Biography: Sam Hamod has a long list of accomplishments in his life; he is a author of poetry with a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1980. Hamod has taught at various universities including but not limited to Howard and Princeton. He has also served as Director of The Islamic Center of Washington DC, as well as being former advisor to the US State Dept, and founder of 3rd World News.

Read Poem: UA 288

Objective 2a: to chart variations and stages of the immigrant narrative.

Stage 4: “Hamode! Get over here and pray!”

“No I’ll watch and stand guard.” * These two quotes are an example of assimilation. While the father and grandfather still practice their religious rituals, the son Hamod prefers to just watch. We further see this when he says, “I’m embarrassed to be with them”

Stage 5: “I hear them singing as I travel halfway across America to another job burying my dead I always liked trips, traveling at high speed but they surely passed me as I am standing here now trying so hard to join them on that old prayer blanket.”

Here we clearly see Hamod longing to reconnect with his culture, and wishing he had embraced his families’ culture while he still had his grandfather and father around.

2d: character by generation:

1st generation- the grandfather, holds on to his culture and reminds the younger generation.

2nd generation- father, he is torn between the cultures of his old world and assimilating to the new world; he still participates in the rituals but only once he has been reminded.

3rd generation- Hamod, has completely assimilated; refusing to join them on the prayer blanket.

Questions:

1. What do you think his point is in saying, “me driving the 1950 Lincoln ninety miles an hour?”

2. What do you think he meant by saying, “as if pain behind my eyes could be absolute?”