Agent: Dan Kirschen and Tina Wexler, ICM. Parker writes, “I’d miss my booty/ in your butt/ would hate/ to reach back/ and find history/ borrowed not branded.” She also examines self-doubt in the roiling poem “The President’s Wife,” wondering “What does beautiful cost do I afford it/ Do I roll off the tongue/ Is America going to be sick.” Parker’s poems are as flame-forged as a chain locked around soft ankles. There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonc uses political and pop-cultural references as a framework to explore 21st century black American womanhood and its complexities: performance, depression, isolation, exoticism, racism, femininity, and politics. In “ Freaky Friday Starring Beyoncé and Lady Gaga,” the two pop stars are posed not as adversaries but as host and parasite Lady Gaga becomes a metaphor for white supremacy’s theft of black culture and its compulsion to discredit black genius. It’s a representative example of Parker’s vision of how a woman’s identity can be shaped by the labels forced upon her. Morgan Parker is the author of There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé, a Goodreads Choice Award semi-finalist, and Other Peoples Comfort Keeps Me Up at Night, selected by Eileen Myles for the 2013 Gatewood Prize. Her word choices-“sex,” “sassy,” “low-income,” “mean,” “exotic,” etc.-emphasize the way that black women are dehumanized and objectified through language. In “13 Ways of Looking at a Black Girl,” Parker reflects the rippling noise facilitated by patriarchy and white supremacy.
Employing fierce language and eschewing fear of unflattering light, Parker ( Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up at Night) pays homage to the deep roots and collective wisdom of black womanhood.
0 kommentar(er)
